Hi, I am Narayan Kaudinya. And i welcome you on this journey, the Road to Nara !
I am an Ethnographer and a practicing Indologist. I did my masters in History and further learnt Sanskrit, Yoga and Nerve-therapy. At 24, pushing most academic sounding, office sitting works away, i felt compelled to know and understand the world and my country, Bharat/India.
I travelled, and as it happened i took up teaching in Kashmir and further up in the remote villages of Baltistan in the foothills of Karakoram Ranges. For around three years and many states later there came a time when i felt that it was only while teaching i learnt how to laugh, to see, feel, breathe, love and cry -with children, and mostly resource-less parents in the harshest-freezing border conditions.
I write, and work as a documentary photographer and Filmmaker, with numerous published, exhibited and some awarded stories. In my travels and life i have let nature lead me, the divine mother, and as a Yogin, my resolve here is to share my experiences and thoughts as honestly, and through them to blossom in everyone the power and possibility in pursuing your breath, that you seek your true nature with courage and curiosity.
Here, on this road i will share my spirit, my love for nature, the elements of life that are us. And in doing so, i'll be happy to see you along.
Hi Narayan, beautiful post!. Hope you and yours are well and safe. Peace and love from Oz my friend.
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Yes, dearest Gary, it seems things are getting better in a way, people are slowly getting over the fear of the shock that came. I hope you are doing things happily to Gary.
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Beautiful Nara…
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Well said! Being kind to others can really make one feel peaceful!
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Hello dear happy P. Yes, one of the most natural ways for all of us, to be kind and humble in our ways. Hope you are doing well. Thanks for coming over.
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Beautiful. However, also to add certain times one just need to accept however difficult it might look.
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Thank you for coming over and for the words here. Absolutely, i think that is the foundation for bigger possibilities, to accept however the present is.
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Narayan, If people understood just this much, how much better we would all be! All the best! Cheryl
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haha, cheryl. Yes. but you know, even to connect like this. Like writing here and you reading there also took so much of unimaginable time. I think one day all this will also reach to all those ears to want to listen.
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And yet there are some who just want to be left alone and crave nothing more than isolation. The hermitage, the pillar in the Sinai desert, the cave in the Himalayas foothills. Love is all indeed but sometimes to give love we need to give the ability to live in and for nature. Sometimes the voice of your god is to ve found in the stillness, the cry of an eagle, the murmuring of the wind. Indeed we do not all want the same thing. We should give freedom to each other to live as we choose.
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Yes Anthony, that may be termed as personal peace 🙂 But you know all great peace earned never stayed if one used it for oneself. All knowledge has to be shared, Because it is the only way to be free.
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World peace will never be achieved without personal peace I fear. Enlightenment is person by person. Sharing knowledge is one thing, making the right use of that knowledge is a very different challenge. We are no good to ourselves or others if we are unable to achieve peraonal peace. If we are not at peace with ourselves then we can not share, for we would have nothing worthwhile to share.
It is not a question of selfishness. Merely a showing of the way. Leading by example if you like.
We do not all have to do great things. We can make a better world by spreading peace little be little. Once we have achieved it.
But who am I to say? That has been my experience these 64 years past. But others may have different paths to follow.
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I absolutely agree with you Anthony. If I am not happy, how can I give/spread happiness !
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So true, Narayan. In my confined space during these times of home isolation and social distancing, I do the little that I can each day to make a neighbor smile.
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Rosa, thank you so much for coming over. Your presence is always lovely, i am certain your neighbours and whomsoever comes in contact with you, smiles.
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I am seeking to listen to understand. The world needs more listeners. Thanks for sharing.
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Absolutely Ali. Because ears show can show you the future.
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Illusion of peace and an upheaval task of understanding…this post makes one crave more to be recipient. Nicely penned Narayan
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Thank you Richa. Somewhere while reading your words made me realise that it is not easy to attain peace. The best of our texts, philosophies have come out from war lands.
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You’ve caught the very essence of peace perfectly in one line Narayan, yes peace is difficult to attain, more so when not disturbing the equilibrium around you. Yet we find peace in every moment, my daughter’s hugs give me peace…im sure your travels somewhere give you that 🙂
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Now, i imagine travels might be the only thing from which i may attain peace but i dont see it happening in a completely free environment.
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Now It can’t be found as simple and clear as it is written here👍😇😇
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Thank you dearest Aushi 🙂
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😊😊
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So true. Thanks 🙏
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Really enjoying reading through your poetic insights this morning. Wishing you an abundance of peace.
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Welcome E, and its lovely to have you and words here.
Your Wishes are most kindly accepted. Love.
Nara
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As always, you turn simple, yet complex truth into original prose, thoughtful, and beautiful.
I love it.
Joanna
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In awe of you. Joanna.
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Not as much as I am of you, Narayan.
Joanna
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❤️️
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Beautiful post. Peace to you!
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Ann, thank you ❤️️
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Finding common ground to be able to unite in our quest for peace isn’t easy. We need to leave parts of our selves to meet others half-way, we need to be open to change. To see the bigger picture we have to look further away and up, rather than at our feet. Whether it is possible to have peace on a global scale, is debatable because humans are attracted to wars. But if we start in our corner and teach young children to share, to be kind – we will at least have a chance of a peaceful life.
Joanna
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So true.
And it will happen, in a distant future for which borders, differences and perceptions have to be melted.
Nara x
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I mentioned before that I will read your essays a few times, and perhaps add something. I felt uneasy thinking about the somewhat naive belief that pervades now in many people’s writing that it is possible to alter the essence of human nature. For millions of years, people felt at their happiest within their own tribe. Fairness is a human concept; we don’t often see it in nature. We can only change things in our corner. If we are fighting a corner, the cause must matter. As Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “It is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
With your idea of teaching children in the remote parts of the world, you’re achieving your goal.
Joanna
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I imagine human nature like most other get inspired by their company, like that quote that ‘mob never thinks’. Fairness, i am afraid could also be a moral or an ethical way of living for numerable few, but it is. We wouldn’t have come this far in civilisation had there been no Mother Teresa or even Gandhi, as you just mentioned, and many more, seers and sages trying to live with righteousness.
There was a time when i was moving from one village to the other teaching with organisations but i do not know how much it can be done. Because you know even though we were there without any expectations but village elders, leaders, authorities and local politics has a lot of say in these matters and it made our life hell for a little while that we had to actually leave.
So, i came back and you se Joanna, mother and I started this small primary school for kids and lets i have plans make it work as an art-travel-education school but lets see.
Thank you Joanna.
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