Sunday morning, the bus brought us to the temple of Simhachalam. The temple compound is located on a hill above the village. It is a temple dedicated to Lord Narasimha, the avatar of Lord Vishnu as the Man-Lion. It is a temple of Vishnu with in its centre a lingam, symbol of Lord Shiva, a unique combination of the energies of the 1^st and 2^nd ray.

Every year before the beginning of the Guru Puja, we go to this temple to be in the presence of the vibrating energies. Together with many other pilgrims, we crossed the outer and inner part of the temple before entering into the innermost part, where the lingam is installed. We chanted the mantra OM Namoh Narayanaya, connecting to the energies of the place. As a blessing, the priests gave us some water and Tulsi leaves.

In the inner compound I spoke some words to the group about the symbolism of the temple. Then we gathered again our belongings which we had to leave outside the temple. While some of the group took the bus to go downhill, I preferred to descend with a friend via the steep stairs through the forest – a most lovely pathway into the valley. It was quite hot and so we were happy to drink some coconut water downhill.

There the Indian brotherhood had again set up a little kitchen for us Westerners in a nearby court, where we had our lunch and relaxed for a while. I then had a look at the ongoing work of setting up the big hall for the Guru Puja celebrations – tents, a stage, and the altar with the pictures of the Masters – a tremendous logistic and organisational work with a great number of volunteer workers who have prepared for this occasion over several months. I walked on to the village lake to see how the area has recovered from the hurricane of autumn 2014. Though there still were palm tree trunks and trees with dead branches, life had returned. Also the nearby little palm forest where we usually go for “siesta” looked nice again, though there were still traces of the huge devastations.

At half past five the Master Kumar opened the Guru Puja with a small ritual to Lord Ganesha, accompanied by chanting of Vedic hymns by pundits. Then there was the evening prayer followed by the first discourse, in Telugu. It was translated into English, and then to Spanish, French and German. I listened to the German translation and re-translated it to English for my notes. taking notes is a good exercise for staying aligned with the flow of the Energy.

The content of the 7 discourses was an old Indian scripture describing in symbolic form the incarnations of a soul through several births, how it got stuck there and how it slowly found the way out of the bondages of the body. A fascinating story but too complex for telling here.

There were again three ritual highlights – Monday the water ritual in honour of the first Logos Shiva; Tuesday, the Lalitha Puja in honour of the divine Mother; and Wednesday the fire ritual in honour of the Second Logos, Vishnu. There were various book presentations and other smaller contributions. Of course it was again a good occasion of exchanging with Indian friends. And I also enjoyed the daily “siestas” in the nearby palm forest – it had quite completely recovered after the big hurricane of 2014.

Late in the nights we were happily falling into our beds only to get up again very early in the mornings. Now is a day of relaxing. Most group members will go back tomorrow, to Europa or the Americas. Together with 4 friends, I will do a small pilgrimage to Bhuvaneshvar and Puri in Orissa (Odisha) and return a little later.

Last Friday in the afternoon the group went to Ramadri, a beautiful temple compound at a hill slope overlooking the Gulf of Bengal. This site has been given to the WTT end of the 90s and had been slowly developed to a vibrant spiritual centre. There is a small school run by the WTT where children from the surrounding villages receive free education, food and clothing as well as spiritual education besides the normal curriculum. There are also a number of small temples and shrines and a cow-shed where by now 72 cows are held in a very good condition. The milk is used for the children, worship activities and free distribution. Above all, for many years the place has been charged with a special ritual related to the sound of cosmic fire, RAM. This has magnetised not only the compound but created a strong influence in the surroundings.

After visiting the various small temples and shrines as well as the cow-shed the school children gathered to recite various Vedic hymns and later received new clothes and school material. While dusk set in and flocks of birds crossed the place we had beautiful meditation before returning to Visakhapatnam.

The next day the seminar closed with a closing ceremony and a beautiful dinner offered by Sri Kumar to the group.

It was quite hot when we left by bus to Rajahmundry last Tuesday afternoon. An Indian friend told me that it is about 7 degrees above the average temperature in January – and we felt it.

I enjoy these bus rides – a good occasion for some in-depth talk to a friend or just looking out to the countryside.The only interruption was a short coffee break somewhere at a palm forest. When dusk set in I saw that quite a number of the “youngsters” in the other bus, which was driving before us had started dancing – I smiled and thought of “Bollywood”…

It took about 5.5 hs – the bus was old and there was quite some traffic on the roads. I asked myself whether in India they drive on the left or the right side – no way to discover…

The WTT brotherhood gave us a warm welcome and a delicious dinner – and we quickly fell to sleep – “camping” in a big hall.

Early next morning I went to the nearby Godavari River to have an early morning “holy bath” in one of the most holy rivers of India. Sri Kumar explained that it is charged with leonine energies and that every 12 years there is a huge Kumbha Mela in the month of Leo. Luckily it was dark when we went into the river – during daylight the water turned out to be more dirty than in the previous years. Nevertheless, the etheric purity and radiance does not depend much on the physical. I hope that soon some people get the idea that it might be good to clear the plastic bottles. In the water I stumbled upon a net and some clothes…

After morning meditation we welcomed the Sun on the roof of the WTT centre before we set out to a journey to Amalavaram. We drove through a lush nature with a lot of plant and tree nurseries. There is an extensive irrigation system and the area is very rich and fertile.

After over 2 hs drive we arrived at the town of Amalavaram, where some old members of the WTT had invited the group. Mr Murti Ganti, a retired professor of nuclear physics and his big family gave Sri Kumar and us a warm welcome with coffee and some sweets. We then set out to a tour by walk through the village. First we walked to the temple of Rajalakshmi, the village goddess. Sri Kumar explained that all town there have a protective deity looking over the well-being of the people and newcomers greeting first this deity.

Then we proceeded to an old Shiva and a Vishnu temple, where small ceremonies were conducted. There was a vibrant energy around. I just stood for a while in a stream of light, thrilled. Afterward we visited the central family house of the Murti’s – a house built over 100 years ago according tot he ancient science of Vastu. Mr. Murti explained the principles of this house and how it protects against the high temperatures – with a covering of dried coconuts, among others. There was no iron used in these houses, iron having the energy of Kali, the dark Iron Age.

After a sumptuous lunch at the family house and some coconuts in a huge coconut plantation we returned to Rajahmundry.

Next morning, after another bath in the river, meditation and breakfast we made a small tour through the temple quarter along the river. Sri Kumar explained us how the whole area had developed over the last 40 years, with the central impulsion coming from the WTT and the substantial services rendered by the local group.

We first visited a Dattatreya temple of the Dattapeetam movement, where a smal ritual was conducted, then proceeded to the Hare Krishna temple, a beautiful construction, a Kartikeya (Mars) temple with very martian energies, the bath place at teh river and anotehr temple dedicated to Gayatri, the World Mother. Then we set out to a 2 hs boatride with some members of the India brotherhood. They made a kind of lotto with us and wanted us to dance. I felt a bit reminded of my disco times in the 70s – though I would have preferred just to enjoy the river ambiance I decided to participate…

After lunch we again started our return journey, arriving quite tired around 7.30 pm.

The seminar of the WTT with Sri Kumar here in Visakhapatnam is going on at full swing. He is speaking on “Female Hierarchy” on the cosmic level and in us – a very sublime topic. The seminar is at the hall in the huge  5 storeys-building of Sri Kumar with an open platform on the roof – with a great view over the surroundings and the ocean. The building was finished some months ago, and there are still some floors where construction work is still on.

Sunday morning, there was a beautiful fire ritual at the basement. Afterwards I had a talk with Mr. Kaligotla, an elderly gentleman. He showed me a newly planted mango tree at the left backside of the building. Near that part there had been a big old mango tree who carried lots of fruits. Mr. Kaligotla told me that before the construction work started, Sri Kumar had a long talk of over an hour with the old tree explaining tot he tree that he felt very sorry that he has to get the tree removed and thanked him for all the tree had given. He felt that the tree gave his consent to be removed. He promised to the tree to plant there another mango tree. And this Sri Kumar did when the house was set up. He got a tree which was brought up at exactly the time of the removal of the old tree. Now this new mango tree is like the rebirth of the old one.

After the talk I went up to the 6th floor and enjoyed the sun reflecting in the ocean…

The time is running by fast, and in less than an hour we are supposed to go to Rajahmundry, a city about 180 km south of Visakhapatnam. There we will stay for 2.5 days, coming back Thursday night.

Mr. Kaligotla and the new mango tree

Last Wednesday early morning my wife brought me to the train station. A few minutes later the lights of the train appeared at a distance and grew bigger until the wagons stopped. When I entered, I thought, now my 21st journey to India starts – what might it bring this time? About 1.5 hs later I was at the check-in of Qatar Airways in Zurich Airport. I was looking around to find my friends Anna and Meini but no one was there. When I entered the plane I thought, it seems that I’m travelling alone. But suddenly they appeared – they were the last ones to get through the check-in… In the afternoon we changes planes in Doha, then arrived past midnight in Hyderabad, where we took a 2hs nap in a transit hotel before going through the check-in controls for the flight to Vizag. And one hour later the voice of the stewardess said: “Welcome to Visakhapatnam airport”. Murthi was already waiting at the entrance and brought us to the taxi.

We were much astonished to see that not only the airport was looking like new – it had been demolished by the hurricane of October 2014 – but also there was a lot of green and new trees, not only around the airport but all along the highway – I could not discover any traces of the severe devastations of 14 months ago.

We stopped at the new house of Sri Kumar where my friends were to be lodged. I waited outside, but an Indian couple came out the house and told me to go up to the 4th place, where Master Kumar and Kumar were just sitting in their living room. They greeted me with a warm smile and some words of welcome – a beautiful surprise.

Later at the WTT retreat centre some Belgian and Spanish friends were smiling – such a cordial ambiance. We were about the first ones to arrive. This time a lot of group members from Europe and Argentina will attend the seminar, so not all could be lodged in the retreat centre – some at apartments near the beach, others at an apartment in Sri Kumar’s house.
In the evening after meditation Sri Kumar addressed some words of welcome; we shared a chocolate cake and sat together for some time before falling into our beds….

Early next morning, 1st of January, we set out to a walk along the beach road to Master EK Sundavaram, a statue of the master set up 20 years ago. Members of the local brotherhood had beautifully decorated the place. After the meditation they were singing some stotrams (holy recitations) followed by a small ceremony. Then breakfast was served to all. When we returned to the retreat centre, the Sun had already increased his power. We were intensely sweating when we were back at our home.

Sunrise at Hyderabad airport when entering the plane to Vizag

It is the first exposition of my paintings which started Sunday morning at the Café Bilderbuch in Berlin. And setting up the exposition was a smooth and inspiring experience.

Last Saturday 5 am. The car windows are frozen. After putting the last luggage into the boot, I have to use the ice-scraper. A few minutes later we are on the highway. On the way to Basel, there are only very few cars around. A quarter past 6 we arrive at the border to Germany. The custom declarations were all ready (it was quite some work beforehand…) and so it takes only some minutes to go through the Swiss and German customs. Then we are heading north, nearly 1000 km of highway drive. It is a beautiful day with a gorgeous sunrise. And when we arrive at Berlin the Sun has already set and it is getting dark again.

Our friends where we stay the two nights give us a warm welcome. After dinner we discuss last details for coordinating the setting-up of the exposition of my paintings. And early Sunday morning, after a short group meditation and a quick breakfast, we are driving through the empty streets of Berlin. The Café Bilderbuch is a huge café located on two floors – we will set up the exposition at the ground floor – and for this we have just two hours, from 7 to 9.

The car access to the Café Bilderbuch is from an inner courtyard. The other helpers are already there. But the previous exposition is still on the walls…. Our helpers take these paintings carefully to a side room. A quarter past seven the artist couple arrive – and get angry that their paintings were already down. They were told that they can take down the paintings till 9 am – and we were told to be ready with the exposition until 9 am… After some “reconciliation work” the artists calm down and we continue the preparations. Time is running fast. We set up two teams and I supervise the work, leaving much freedom to the helpers. And they do a great job. When the first guests enter around 9 am, we are still working and the service team is a bit nervous. But around 9:15  70 paintings are set up. It was an incredible moment – all were feeling like in a dream. I had not thought it would have been possible to arrange all the paintings and in this short time.

A friend, a music teacher and guitar player, arrives with some members of his family to give a vernissage concert. And while we are relaxing with the breakfast he plays a number of songs. In the meantime the café is filled with guest. And while I am going round to control the paintings, a waitress comes to me and says, “These are very beautiful paintings, I like them a lot.” I smile.

Two small paintings cannot be found, neither in the luggage nor in the café (and also not at home – they were in the list for the customs). I also smiled – maybe somebody had taken them. I had decided not to ask for any money for the paintings but to give them, at the end of the exposition, when people want them. I just inform about the costs of the production and the work and leave it to the people to decide whether they give money and how much, feeling inspired for this by the example of my teachers.

There are some nice exchanges in the afternoon and evening followed by a short night. Then yesterday again a highway ride over nearly 1000 km. When we enter our apartment in the evening we are very tired but happy about the whole trip to Berlin.

Yesterday a small group met in the Paracelsus-Centre of the WTT in Einsiedeln to celebrate the Winter Solstice. This solstice is one of the four cardinal points and very good for meditative alignment. It is the beginning of Capricorn, the moment of the turning of the Sun from his apparent southward journey back to the north and it has a deep spiritual significance. As Sri Kumar says, the rays of the Sun of Capricorn are the blood of the Saviour.

On the way to Einsiedeln, for a few moments there was a gorgeous dawn over the Alps. I stopped on a highway parking to catch the view. A short moment later the sky closed and soon it started raining.

We had a beautiful meeting at the birthplace of the great initiate, with meditation, silence and perceiving the surrounding nature. Please find here some impressions of the meeting.

Ten days ago, I visited friends of a WTT group at the Lake Constance area. We had a few walks together and I joined two group meetings, one of their Herbal Health group and one pre-Christmas meeting of the study group, with a beautiful spiral of light from a candlelight ceremony.

We also had some walks together in the surroundings. We visited an old pilgrimage chapel in the forest, Maria im Stein (Maria in the Stone), with a very vibrant atmosphere, and and the place of a 100 years old limetree with a nearby watchtower. The weather changes between fog and brilliant clear sunshine created a very special ambiance. Here are some impressions of the nuances of light.

Capricorn is called the Mount. The experience of the mountain peak symbolises initiation, the summit of long and intense striving. After having reached the top, you have to return to the valley in order to share the essence of your experience and to guide other seekers.

About eight weeks before creating the painting an image of the Sri Yantra and of beings of light descending onto Earth came to my mind. Later, while in Santa Fe, Argentina, I saw an image of Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak of the Andes and also outside the Himalayas. The Aconcagua is the seat of an etheric ashram of the Master of the Violet Flame and Violet is the colour for entering into the subtle worlds. Only two days before I started working on the painting the details arranged in the inner view. It dawned to me to put the Sri Yantra on the top of the mountain, symbol of the Divine Mother and of pure consciousness.

I fused two photos of the Aconcagua, created a violet vibration penetrating the image, transformed a picture of the Sri Yantra, worked on the light reflections of a photo from the skyline of Santa Fe and of a staircase. I transformed the staircase into the colours of red, blue and yellow, representing the three rays of Will, Love and Intelligent Action. These lights are again surrounding the sphere of blue, pink and white light penetrating the Sri Yantra. I combined the stairway with the light reflections as a symbol of the ascending and descending souls. Then I created a central column of light from the top to the bottom representing the Antahkarana, the bridge of light leading to the highest realms.

See more pictures on the site with my paintings. If you want to print the image, you can download the file in medium and high resolution format.

The mist over the country during the last days creates a magical ambiance making the forms appear from out of a light filled field, blurring the contours. Saturday morning I went to Berne city to do some errands. My camera caught some motives of the advent season decoration in the old town. The five-pointed stars around the “Münster” (cathedral) captivated me anew – they are reflecting the yearning of the souls towards the light. And some shop windows were showing traditional handicraft work or were trying to motivate customers with special arrangements. Find here some impressions.