2011.02.26: February 26, 2011: Williams Meyers writes: The practices of the sadhus, the vividly decorated or nude Hindu ascetics in Nepal RPCV Thomas Kelly's striking color portraits, are simply beyond me
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Nepal:
Peace Corps Nepal :
Peace Corps Nepal: New Stories:
2011.02.26: February 26, 2011: Williams Meyers writes: The practices of the sadhus, the vividly decorated or nude Hindu ascetics in Nepal RPCV Thomas Kelly's striking color portraits, are simply beyond me
Williams Meyers writes: The practices of the sadhus, the vividly decorated or nude Hindu ascetics in Nepal RPCV Thomas Kelly's striking color portraits, are simply beyond me
Thomas Kelly went to Nepal in 1978 as a Peace Corps volunteer, and lived in Kathmandu for decades. He was able to take these intimate, frontal portraits because he knows most of the subjects personally. "A sadhu's body is a display of his ascetic identity." "Renouncing his birth family for that of the Hindu gods, a young sadhu adopts as his new family Vishnu, Brahma, or Shiva as well as his guru and brother sadhus." "This Vaishnava sadhu has written sacred text, likely a mantra or hymn, across his face." "The Aghori still use human skulls in rituals." "[E]xtreme practices are not only performed to control sexual desire but also to eliminate other spiritual obstacles: the pleasure of eating is destroyed by only drinking milk and attachment to the body is severed by the painful act of remaining standing for twelve years."
Williams Meyers writes: The practices of the sadhus, the vividly decorated or nude Hindu ascetics in Nepal RPCV Thomas Kelly's striking color portraits, are simply beyond me
Religious Experiences
By WILLIAM MEYERS
Body Language: The Yogis Of India and Nepal
Rubin Museum of Art
150 W. 17th St., (212) 620-5000
Through July 4
[Excerpt]
Patrick Leigh Fermor tells of staying in the Abbey of St. Wandrille, a Benedictine monastery in France, in "A Time to Keep Silence." The monks lead ascetic lives in isolation from society, in silence and in prayer. They pray for mankind, and it is the sense that their prayers make a difference that gives meaning to their lives. Though this practice isn't part of my own religious tradition, I find it comprehensible. The practices of the sadhus, the vividly decorated or nude Hindu ascetics in Thomas Kelly's striking color portraits, are simply beyond me.
Thomas Kelly Textual Tilaka, 2002 Pashupatinath, Kathmandu, Nepal Archival Lambda color print 40 x 26 in. Credit: Thomas Kelly
Mr. Kelly went to Nepal in 1978 as a Peace Corps volunteer, and lived in Kathmandu for decades. He was able to take these intimate, frontal portraits because he knows most of the subjects personally.
The wall texts are necessary to understand the significance of their body painting and practices.
"A sadhu's body is a display of his ascetic identity." "Renouncing his birth family for that of the Hindu gods, a young sadhu adopts as his new family Vishnu, Brahma, or Shiva as well as his guru and brother sadhus." "This Vaishnava sadhu has written sacred text, likely a mantra or hymn, across his face." "The Aghori still use human skulls in rituals." "[E]xtreme practices are not only performed to control sexual desire but also to eliminate other spiritual obstacles: the pleasure of eating is destroyed by only drinking milk and attachment to the body is severed by the painful act of remaining standing for twelve years."
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: February, 2011; Peace Corps Nepal; Directory of Nepal RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Nepal RPCVs; Photography - Nepal; Exhibits; Museums
When this story was posted in June 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Peace Corps: The Next Fifty Years As we move into the Peace Corps' second fifty years, what single improvement would most benefit the mission of the Peace Corps? Read our op-ed about the creation of a private charitable non-profit corporation, independent of the US government, whose focus would be to provide support and funding for third goal activities. Returned Volunteers need President Obama to support the enabling legislation, already written and vetted, to create the Peace Corps Foundation. RPCVs will do the rest. |
| How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Wall Street Journazl
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Nepal; Photography - Nepal; Exhibits; Museums
PCOL46885
86