Kyle Tortora

Janmashtami: Celebrating the Birth of Lord Krishna

“Don’t judge me by what I am doing. Among the armed, I am like ram: I am like a crocodile among fishes, the Ganga among rivers. Dear Arjun, I am the beginning, the end, and even the middle of existence.”
Lord Krishna

Hindu devotees throughout the world will be celebrating Janmashtami or Gokolashtami as it is known in North India on August 10th, 2012. The festival, also known as Krishna Jayanti, commemorates the birth of Hindu God Lord Krishna with enormous joy and long-standing traditions. This holiday is generally celebrated over a period of two days, or after midnight when the Lord Krishna is said to have been born.

Many rituals mark this event, including fasting, bhajans or songs of praise with traditional dances, and pujas or intense worship. A Lord Krishna statue or idol plays an important role in the pooja process. The day starts with a Gopal Krishna statue receiving a bath of gangajal (holy water of Ganga), ghee (liquid butter), honey and curd. The statue is adorned with precious jewelry and new clothes, preferably in the color yellow. A blessing and offering of bhog or food is given to the statue and followed by praise of Gopal. Throughout the day, the festival is observed with much happiness and devotion to the Lord Krishna.

Janmashtami is also a time of gifting to your friends and relatives to show respect and care for your elders. Lotus Sculpture carries the finest polished bronze and three metal Gopal Krishna statues. Each of them are one-of-a-kind, hand-made masterpieces made from the lost wax method from artists in South India.

Above all, it is a time to rejoice in the glory and share the teachings of Krishna.

Zen Garden Buddha Statues: Bringing Serenity & Beauty to Your Outdoor Space

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”
~Chinese Proverb~

With summer in full swing, it is a pleasant time to enjoy nature and relax in your garden. A way to enhance and bring tranquility to any environment is to place a Buddha statue, particularly a portrayal of Buddha in a meditative state. The positive and peaceful energy of a Zen Buddha sculpture helps keep you in balance and harmony.

First, to accentuate your garden, and to create the best possible chi energy, the meditating Buddha should be seated on a pedestal off the ground. With the lotus throne, or padmasana, this position signifies gratitude and humility. Typically, the Buddha’s hands lies in his lap, one over the other, with thumb tips touching. This is known as dhyana mudra of meditation.

Another step is to plant with odd numbers in your garden to create balance and “yang”. Yang, which refers to the “sunny side”, is a masculine symbol and reflects the sun and day time. Since odd numbers are yang, they are considered auspicious, with a multiple of nine bringing the most positive energy.

Most of the large, stone garden Buddha statues at Lotus Sculpture are one-of-a-kind; created by artists in Bali. They are hand carved from lava stone, which is quarried from the volcanic mountains of Indonesia. The lava stone is a solid stone that is perfect for any type of location and weather conditions – hot or cold, wet or dry. The stone is versatile in that it can be colored in a wide spectrum of colors. It can also be polished or unpolished giving it a clean or rough feel. In humid conditions, when left untouched, it takes on a very mysterious, antique-look as you would see in the temple ruins of South East Asia.

Shiva as Dhakshinamurti Quotes

Dhakshinamurti, Shiva as the south facing lord — Bronze Shiva as Dhakshinamurti, the south facing lord

“Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, the abode of all wisdom, teacher of the whole world, healing those who suffer from the disease of samsara.
Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, who is the meaning of “Om“, whose form is pure knowledge, who is taintless and utterly silent.”

“I extol Dakshinamurthy, the handsome youth who has transmitted the truth of Parabrahm by silent speech; who is surrounded by a host of venerable sages as disciples, all absorbed and established in meditation upon Brahman; who is the Supreme Teacher; who displays the sacred sign of fusion of the soul with the Absolute — the joining of forefinger and thumb — the paragon of bliss; who has a resplendent face replete with the rapture of the Self-Existent.”

“May this obeisance be directed to the Blessed Dakshinamurti to Him who takes the guise of the auspicious Guru, to Him whose eight-fold Form is this entire motionless and mobile cosmos, manifesting as earth, water, fire, air, ether, the sun, the moon and the soul; beyond whom, all-pervading and supreme, there exists nothing else for those who truly search!”

“Let us Praise Dakshinamurthy, the Supreme Father,
who is ‘having the Opening to Delight’,
who Delights in the Self alone,
who is the Embodiment of Delight,
who is with a Hand (with fingers closed in the fashion of) Sealing in
Brahman (as it were),
who is the pre-eminent among Spiritual Masters abiding surrounded,
by the foremost among spiritual disciples, who are Rishis resting in
Brahman,
who is a small boy,
who is of the Form of the Supreme Brahman, and
who denoted (the Supreme Brahman) by the Expounding that is Silence.”

“A young guru, imparting knowledge of Brahman through silence, surrounded by rishis who are firmly established in wisdom.
Teacher of teachers, whose gesture signifies wisdom, whose nature is fullness, smiling, reveling in himself, I worship that Lord Dakshinamurti.
Seated on the ground under the banyan tree, bestowing knowledge to all the rishis who have assembled near him…
teacher of the three worlds, destroyer of the miseries of birth and death, I bow to that Lord.”

Shiva, Lord Nataraja Quotes

“Because You love the Burning -ground, I have made a Burning-ground of
my heart – That You, Dark One, hunter of the Burning-ground, May dance
Your eternal dance.”~ Bengali Hymn~

Nataraja in Puja ceremony — Bronze Nataraja statue in puja ceremony

“The source of all movement,
Shiva’s dance,
Gives rhythm to the universe.
He dances in evil places,
In sacred,
He creates and preserves,
Destroys and releases.
We are part of this dance
This eternal rhythm,
And woe to us if, blinded
By illusions,
We detach ourselves
From the dancing cosmos,
This universal harmony…”
Ruth Peel

“O my Lord, Thy hand holding the sacred drum has made and ordered the heavens and earth and other worlds and innumerable souls. Thy lifted hand protects both the conscious and unconscious order of thy creation. All these worlds are transformed by Thy hand bearing fire. Thy sacred foot, planted on the ground, gives an abode to the tired soul struggling in the toils of causality. It is Thy lifted foot that grants eternal bliss to those that approach Thee. These Five-Actions are indeed Thy Handiwork..”
~ Chidambara Mummani Kovai~

Hindu God Shiva Nataraja statue — 4 Foot tall Dancing Shiva as Lord Nataraja

O Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram,
King Dancer of Thillai Ambalam,
Beloved consort of Sivakami Sundari,
Bhuvanesvari, Rajarajesvari,
Destroyer of sin, bestower of prosperity,
Remover of suffering, giver of Immortality,
Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

Holder of Trident, drinker of poison,
Master of Yogis, ruler in the Sun,
Dweller in Kailas, rider of Nandi
Destroyer of Cupid, Lord of Siddhi,
The three-eyed Lord, the five-faced God,
The blue-necked God, the God of gods,
Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

Thou art my Guru and sole-refuge,
Salutations unto Thee O Lord of Mercy,
Bless me with Thy shower of Grace,
Let me behold Thy benign face,
Let me merge in Thee for ever,
This is my real fervent prayer.
Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

Cruising for Ganeshas & Buddhas in Bali!

Bali….I was amazed that I got through India without getting sick. In my 10 years of 15 trips to India, I have managed to get a wide range of illnesses ranging from ordinary bugs to full-on, 105-degree temperatures. I dodged the bullet on this trip! I was amazed! I jumped on the plane to Bali and patted myself on the back. Well done Kyle!

“My favorite days in Bali are spent on my motor scooter visiting the markets and being invited into homes in village workshops”

After arriving in Bali I sat down to a nice dinner at a respectable restaurant then quietly went to sleep that night. I awoke at 5 am with an acrobat in my stomach. Yup, sick off the first meal I ate in Bali! That is what I get for counting my blessings to early! I spent the next day going through the lava stone workshops of my friend Christian, looking for quality Buddha statues that his family has been producing in Bali for the past 20 years. He consistently has the best quality Buddha carvings as well as the best coloring for the statues. His artists can produce any color or texture in the stone. Each year I have seen a consistent improvement in the statues.

On previous trips, I have always shied away from Bali style Ganesha statues. I was so used to the refined lifelike appearance of Ganesh in my travels through India, that the more crude Ganeshas of Bali did not seem attractive to me. However, this year I opened my eyes and really saw the Bali style Ganesh for the first time and I liked what I saw. There is a quote that I love about Ganesh; “If you take home a stone and worship it in full faith, over a course of time you are bound to see the image of Ganesh.” I truly saw Ganesh in the stone! His fat almost tribal qualities are a perfect variation to the Indian style Ganesh. As usual, I bought too many of them! I can never say no to a good statue! In roaming thru his workshop I was consistently fighting back the desire to sit down and go to sleep or just fall over. But I made it through the day…then on to Ubud, the cultural center of Bali to visit my Buddha woodcarvers!

Wayan with unfinished 6 foot Buddha statue — *Wayan with unfinished 6 foot wood Buddha statue*

My favorite days in Bali are spent on my rented motor scooter cruising through the markets, stores, and back village workshops in Ubud. I must go to 30-40 shops a day. It is not easy to find quality wood Buddhas in Bali. There are hundreds of shops selling wood Buddhas however, over the years I have only found a small handful of artists who actually carve with a true feeling for the work they are doing. Two artists that consistently make beautiful Buddhas are Mr. Sayub and Mr. Wayan. Wayan and his son carve my large standing Buddha statues on a blooming lotus base. This year he has carved two of them for me. One 8 feet tall and the other 6 feet tall. The detail and time taken on the flowing robes of the Buddha set his Buddha apart from other standing Buddhas!

wooden buddha statues in Bali — *Sayub with his son displaying his unique Buddha statues*

My other artist who I always look forward to seeing is Sayub. He makes small Buddha statues each usually with a very unique hand position. The thin fingers of each statue and minute detailing in the robes in my opinion crown him the current king of Balinese woodwork…at least for Buddha statues! I also managed to pick up some very large wood statues including a 7 foot Kwan yin, 8 foot meditating Buddha, and two other 7 foot standing Buddhas. After a couple of days of searching for Buddhas and cruising through rice fields on my scooter, it was time to return to the coast.

I noticed in the shops in Ubud that there was some new metal work in Bali and I was determined to find out where they were being made. The statues were of Hindu gods and goddesses in various forms.

The style was more similar in style to Cambodian Hindu and Buddhist statues with many arms and small weapons. I thus headed into Denpasar, the capital to check the markets. I knew I would not find the source here but I did find many shops that were selling the statues I was looking for.

After many questions to many dealers, I finally nailed down the source of the metal Hindu statues which I went to the following day. My search was rewarded and I choose some beautiful images. My favorite being a dancing Vishnu statue like no other I have seen before. The statue reminded me more of a Nataraja figure. I find it so fulfilling to start on a search for new sculpture mediums and designs and then achieve my goal. There is nothing like finding new artists!!!

By this time on my trip, I really needed a reward. I spent the past 23 days working, flying, scooting, exploring every day, and deserved a day off. I went to the quiet surf beach of Padang Padang and got a bungalow on the ocean and spent the next day surfing and enjoying the ocean and stillness. My body and mind appreciated the day of mental tranquility and relaxation! Here is a video I shot from my bungalow. Yes, it was paradise!

Then I was off to Bangkok, Thailand, and the last leg of my trip!

Click here to view the Wood Buddha Statues Made in Bali

View All Kyle’s Stories from His Travels and Meet the Artists!