Each and every being is a temple,
Pillars of light, beaming into our world.

Traveling India for six months, I sought the most raw, real depths of life there. To capture this shot, I set out while still cloaked in darkness at four A.M. through the bustling "Pink City" of Jaipur. I climbed the ancient Hindu pilgrimage site of Galtaji in the deserts of Rajasthan and awaited sunrise while meditating on a cliffside. Just after bathing in the morning light, an ideal moment arose that easily could have been missed. This shot is about presence, being ready & aware to capture the light of each moment.

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May our light and love reach out to everything, just as the sun's light pours all across the Earth. To the spider and even the smallest ant, to the storm in its brief existence and to mountains that live much slower than we can take in with a single human life, may we know that every single one is vital, and each may we honor as sacred and significant within our lives.

In the oldest religion of the world, Hinduism, every being is held sacred, but cows are particularly honored. Cows are symbols of earth and represent all of life. Honoring the cow is believed to inspire connection with nature and greater gentleness, a virtue of Hinduism that promotes non-violence or "ahimsa." The monkey also reminds us of the powerful element of balance. May we remember to play and enjoy life as well.

This is part of the ancient Hindu pilgrimage site called Galtaji in Rajasthan, India, but whereas the other temples of Galtaji or the "Monkey Temple" have "kunds" filled with spring water in which pilgrims bathe, this particular temple is dedicated to "Surya," the Sun God in Hinduism. Built on the town's highest peak, the Sun Temple or "Diwan Kriparam" overlooks the "Pink City" of Jaipur and the sun's movement across it.

Sun Temple at the Ancient Hindu Pilgrimage Site of Galtaji Temple,

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

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© Kaya Satori of Satori Studio