The Treasures of the Himalayas / Сокровища Гималаев

The Treasures of the Himalayas - Exhibition - Pondicherry - Sri Aurobindo Ashram / Сокровища Гималаев - Выставка - Пондичерри - Ашрам Шри Ауробиндо

Joint photo-poetic exhibition of Ritam (Dmitrii Melgunov) and Anton Jankovoy at Sri Aurobindo Ashram (Pondicherry, India) - February 11 to 16, 2016. Совместная фото-поэтическая выставка: Ритам (Дмитрий Мельгунов) и Антон Янковой - Ашрам Шри Ауробиндо (Пондичерри, Индия) - 11 - 16 февраля 2016 г.

* * *

Dear respected friends,

NAMASTE!

It is already several times that I had this great honour and privilege to present my photo works in the Ashram Exhibition House which is blessed having been visited by the Mother Herself. I started my studies of photography from very humble beginnings and still continue to develop my knowledge and skill in this modern evolving art. This time I am very happy to share with you again some new captures of the unimaginable beauties of the grand immemorial Himalayas. I am especially happy to be able to present you this time also the wonderful photo art of my very dear friend Anton Jankovoy from Ukraine who is an internationally renowned travel photographer and, perhaps, the best photographer of the Himalayas I have ever met. Anton travels a lot in the Himalayas, mostly in Nepal, and he, like myself, is in love with the Himalayan vasts and tries to share their opulent treasures of grandeur and loftiness with other people. Anton also is a lover of Eastern spiritual philosophy and culture and feels special very deep reverence for Sri Aurobindo and His vision. So he, like myself, considers it a very great honour and privilege to have this opportunity to present his works in the Ashram for the followers of Sri Aurobindo and Mother’s children. Anton was supposed to come here too to participate in the exhibition, but, unfortunately, some unfavourable circumstances prevented him from coming.

In the first hall you will find works of both Anton and myself. In the second hall my new photos of the Himalayas are presented. in the third hall you can enjoy Anton’s works and read more from him.

Let me remind you that already for some 25 years I have been studying and trying to translate into Russian Sri Aurobindo’s epic Savitri. During deeper studies of this new Veda Sri Aurobindo’s mantric power of word manifested in Savitri converted me into a poet. So by now I have already published in my poetic translation more than half of the epic as well as some other poetic works of Sri Aurobindo. When I got involved with photography I spontaneously started writing poems inspired by different photos of mine. In this way I have written many poems dedicated to the Himalayas. But since my native language is Russian, naturally, I write poetry mostly in Russian. So I regret to say that the majority of the poems presented here are in Russian and I managed to translate only few of them into English. For some poems I provide a prose rendering into English. Some quotes from Sri Aurobindo’s poetry are also presented in the exhibition to enrich and deepen your comprehension of the Himalayan images.

As a bonus to the main exhibition I presented here also some of my photos of butterflies, these wonderful ‘conscious flowers of air’ how Sri Aurobindo calls them in Savitri. Their almost divine beauty and perfection, their winged freedom attract my heart since early age. So photographing butterflies is one of my favorite, like photographing the Himalayas. I hope you will enjoy with me their otherworldly beauty and harmony. I have written a lot of poems dedicated to butterflies as a symbol of the soul’s freedom and beauty and to the world of butterflies as a symbol of the new world of beauty and harmony and bliss and liberty. I presented few of those poems here.

We are extremely happy to present our joint work here in the center of Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s work for our kindred souls aspiring to Their Ideal of higher Beauty and Harmony manifested on Earth. In our works we try to express this higher beauty which we feel in some of the most divine creations of God on Earth, the Himalayas and the butterflies.

We are deeply grateful to all our friends who help organize and manage this exhibition. Our deepest gratitude to the Mother and Sri Aurobindo for this marvelous Grace to present our works here.

The exhibition is dedicated to the Golden Day and to the friendship and oneness of all nations and people of Earth and Peace and Harmony in all the world in the Light of the Divine Mother.

Ritam (Dmitrii Melgunov)

Anton Jankovoy: http://www.jankovoy.com
Ritam: http://www.savitri.su

*

Let Light be poured on all the earth
And Peace inhabit every heart.
The Mother

* * *

The Himalayas’ Fane

In the blue deep soaring above the world
From the pure ether’s lofty white, behold,
Carved by the Gods’ immeasurable dreams
The Himalayas’ Fane eternal gleams.
The daring lines, the spans like wings in flight—
You are the Soul’s manifested might,
Your peaks aloft, your skyward-striving steeps
Reveal the Spirit’s aspiration-sweeps;
In the huge ridges’ enigmatic row
The godheads’ living faces boldly glow;
The sphinxes grand, the meditation’s rocks,
Keep the God’s mystery in the epochs;
The sacred pyramids’ upsoaring climb
Uplifts the soul to the heights sublime:
Up to an ever higher rapture’s call
Like steps to the supernal Source of all
The Himalayas’ Fane aspires in flight,
God’s reverie in the ethereal height.
O Spirit’s pure flame of white that shone
Into the solid light of the living stone,
Your grandeur’s face inspires the mortals’ hearts
To climb to the Immortals’ high ramparts,
To the white Timelessness’ unbound halls
To rise beyond the narrow earthly walls
And bring down from the architects divine
The dreams and deeds like mountain tops to shine:
O Himalayan peaks, austere and grand,
Up to the sky arisen high you stand:
You reign above the world of crawling clay
Like architecture of the Gods at play,
A Scripture of the inspired mantra-crests,
You feed all souls’ sempiternal quests;
Amid the world’s uproarious fuss and noise
You are its highest and its holiest Voice,
The Spirit’s tablets above the earth’s years
Telling the secrets of the griefless spheres.
O Himalayas’ timeless Fane of white,
With the divine perfection so bright
You light the world and open to us
The gates to the sweet breadths of Paradise.
The summits’ dawns down to the nights you bring,
The skyey Veda-calms to the ages sing,
Show to the eyes peak-revelations steep,
Grow in the hearts flame-aspiration deep;
The triumph star of the souls’ sacred fight,
Your Fane fulfills their prayers for the height,
Unveils in them God’s hidden living shrine
And leads the world to the Victory divine
Inspiring all to climb to God along—
O Himalayas’ Fane, God’s Veda-Song!

O Himalayas’ Fane, God’s Triumph strong!

Ritam

*

Храм Гималаев

В бездонной синеве паря над миром,
Из белой выси чистого эфира
Сплочен богов мечтою бесконечной,
Сияет Гималаев Храм предвечный…
Могучие черты, разлеты-крылья —
Запечатлелось в вас Души всесилье,
И кручи-взмахи, пики-дерзновенья
Являют Духа высшие стремленья…
Громад непостижимых строй великий
Очам раскрыл божеств живые лики…
Гиганты-сфинксы — глыбы созерцанья
Хранят от века тайны мирозданья…
Сакральных пирамид вершины-взлеты
Возносят душу в горние высоты —
Ввысь, от восторга к высшему восторгу,
Ступенями к всевышнему Истоку,
Стремится Гималаев Храм надмирный,
Как греза Бога в вышине эфирной…
О, высей Духа чистый белый пламень,
Сплотившийся в живой лучистый камень,
Твой лик великий вдохновляет смертных
Стремиться ввысь, к величию Бессмертных,
В бескрайних белых вечностей чертоги
Взбираться из земных сует убогих
И миру приносить от зодчих горних
Величье дум и дел — как пиков горных:
О, Гималаев строгие вершины,
Вы зодчеством богов непостижимым
Царите в вышине над миром бренным —
Скалистых мантр Писаньем вдохновенным
Всех душ вы утоляете исканья —
Святейшим, высшим Гласом мирозданья,
Как Духа вековечные скрижали,
Глася о тайнах мира без печали…
О, Гималаев белый Храм предвечный,
Божественной красою безупречной
Ты озаряешь мир, нам открывая
Врата в просторы сладостные Рая,
В веках поешь тишин надмирных Веды,
В ночах цветешь вершин зарей победной,
Очам гласишь прозрений-пиков шлоки,
В сердцах растишь стремленья огнь глубокий —
Звездой, триумфом душ священной битвы,
Твой Храм вершит их высшие молитвы,
В них раскрывает Божие наследье,
Весь мир ведя к божественной Победе,
Являя миру к Божеству дорогу…
О, Гималаев Храм, о Веда Бога!..

О, Гималаев Храм, Победа Бога!..

Ритам

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