- A Monks Cell
A Monks Cell in Carthusian monastery The Grand Chartreuse - A visitors Cell
I rang the great bell at the convent gate, and begged for hospitality. A tall, cowled monk received me, but uttered no word. He merely made a sign for me to follow him, and, closing the gate and shooting the massive bolts, he led the way across a court, where I was met by another monk, who was allowed to break the rigid vow of silence so far that he could inquire of strangers what their business was. He asked me if I desired food and rest, and on my answering in the affirmative he led me to a third and silent brother, and by him I was conducted to a cell with whitewashed walls. It contained a small bed of unpainted pine wood, and a tiny table, on which was an iron basin and a jug of water. A crucifix hung on the wall, and beneath it was a prie-dieu. - Annapurna
Annapurna - Arjuna shooting at the fish
Arjuna shooting at the fish - Balarama
Balarama - Battle of the Kurus and Pandavas
Battle of the Kurus and Pandavas - Brahma
Brahma - Buddha
Buddha - Buddha
Buddha - Buddhist Temple and Dagosa at Kelaniva, Ceylon
Buddhist Temple and Dagosa at Kelaniva, Ceylon - Carthusian Brothers in the Kitchen
Carthusian Brothers in the Kitchen of The Grand Chartreuse - Carthusian Father going to midnight office
This strange community of Carthusians is divided into categories of "Fathers" and "Brothers." The former wear robes of white wool, cinctured with a girdle of white leather. Their heads and faces are closely shaven, and the head is generally enveloped in a cowl, which is attached to the robe. They are all ordained priests, and it is to them the rule of silence, solitude, and fasting, more particularly applies. The fasting is represented by the daily bill of fare I have given, and it never varies all the year round, except on Fridays and certain days in Lent, when, poor as it is, it is still further reduced. The solitude consists of many hours spent in prayer in the loneliness of the cell, and the silence imposed is only broken by monosyllabic answers to questions addressed to them. Sustained conversation is a fault, and would be severely punished. Aspirants for the Fatherhood have to submit to a most trying novitiate, which lasts for five full years. After that they are ordained, and from that moment they renounce the world, with all its luring temptations and its sin. Their lives henceforth must be strictly holy in accordance with the tenets of their religion. The Brothers are the manual labourers, the hewers of wood and drawers of water. They do everything that is required in the way of domestic service. They wear sandals on their bare feet, and their bodies are clothed in a long, loose, brown robe, fastened at the waist by a rope girdle. On both branches of the Order the same severe régime is compulsory, but on Fridays the Brothers only get a morsel of black bread and a cup of cold water. The attention to spiritual duties is all-absorbing, and under no circumstances must it be relaxed. Matins commence in the chapel at twelve o'clock at night, and continue until about two o'clock. - Carthusian Fathers singing
In the Chapel at daybreak - Chapel of St. Bruno
Before leaving the neighbourhood I paid a visit to the Chapelle de St. Bruno, which is within half an hour's walk of the monastery. It is erected in a very wild spot, said to be the site of the saint's original hermitage. There is nothing particularly interesting in the chapel, which is in a state of dilapidation. But it is curious to speculate that here dwelt, in what was little more than a cavern, the man who, by the austerity of his life and his gloomy views, was able to found a religious Order which has endured for many ages, and is one of the few that escaped destruction during the revolutions and upheavals of the last century. The situation of the Chapelle is one of singular loneliness and desolation, and for eight months of the year at least it is buried in snow. - Christ on the Mount of Olives
Trial proof of the key block of Christ on the Mount of Olives, after Bassano. National Gallery of Art - Daksha
Daksha - Dasabhuja
Dasabhuja - Entrance court to La Grande Chartreuse
"La vie d'un bon Chartreux doit être Une oraison presque continuelle." [The life of a good Chartreux must be an almost continuous oration.] The above is the legend that is painted on the door of every cell occupied by a monk of the silent Order of Carthusians. To pray always for those who never pray; to pray for those who have done you wrong; to pray for those who sin every hour of their lives; to pray for all sorts and conditions of men, no matter what their colour, no matter what their creed; to pray that God will remove doubt and scepticism from the world, and open all human eyes to the way of faith and salvation. Such is the chief duty of the Chartreux. - Ganesa
Ganesa - Ganga
Ganga - Garuda
Garuda - Hanuman
Hanuman - Har-Hari
Har-Hari - Indra
Indra - Jagaddhatri
Jagaddhatri - Jagannath
Jagannath - Jesus carrying the cross
Jesus carrying his cross - John Wesley
John Wesley, Methodist minister - Kali
Kali - Kali dancing on Siva
Kali dancing on Siva - Kalki
Kalki - Kamadeva
Kamadeva - Kartikeya
Kartikeya - Krishna holding up Mount Govardhana
Krishna holding up Mount Govardhana - Krishna slaying Bakasura
Krishna slaying Bakasura - Lakhsmi
Lakhsmi - Manasa
Manasa - Monkeys constructing the bridge at Lanka
Monkeys constructing the bridge at Lanka - Panchanana
Panchanana - Parvati worhipping the Linga
Parvati worhipping the Linga - Radha worshipping Krishna as Kali
Radha worshipping Krishna as Kali - Ravana
Ravana - Sarasvati
Sarasvati - Sasti
Sasti - Shitala
Shitala - Siva
Siva - Siva and Parvati
Siva and Parvati - Siva slaying an Asura
Siva slaying an Asura - Siva temple at Benares
Siva temple at Benares - Sugriva
Sugriva - The Banyan Tree
The Banyan Tree - The Bel
The Bel - The Fig Tree
The Fig Tree - The Krishna Avatara
The Krishna Avatara - The Kurma Avatara
The Kurma Avatara - The Lotus
The Lotus - The Matsva Avatara
The Matsva Avatara - The Nrisingha Avatara
The Nrisingha Avatara - The Parasurama Avatara
The Parasurama Avatara - The Rama Chandra Avatara
The Rama Chandra Avatara