On spiritual communities-Walks around Mumbai Feb 2023

Posted on February 26, 2023 by prashant bhatt

We went to Father Agnel Ashram where we have prayed over the decades. The Sunday Mass was going on, and the hymn- ” All I want is you to remember me, loving you” was apt for the trip. Remembered coming to Father Agnel when I used to stay in Parel, (KEM-Mumbai-1993-1996) and the many facets of Mumbai which I was introduced to. Being part of the spiritual traditions of Western India, a Vincentian who started his schooling in Pashan, Pune- 1973, going to Father Agnel after six years in Canada was a pilgrimage I was looking forward to.

Remembering conversations in Ontario- with Sagar on the shores of Lake Ontario, the groups and communities of which we are part of, and how these shaped us.

Father Agnel Ashram-Bandra -Mumbai-Feb 2023

Jalaram Bapa Mandir- Meditations- The Spiritual Traditions. We had some interesting walks, talks and the highlight was going to a temple in Bhiwandi. “Prashant, yahan par humari shaadi hui thi” ( We got married in this temple) I was told about the significance of the temple, as we went there on Jalaram Jayanti. (Nov 4,1799- Feb 23,1881).

Memories of May 1966, and many nuances of how the first post independence generation of India found their way.

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Colloquys at Manresa

Posted on February 5, 2023 by prashant bhatt

Contemplation means different things in different schools of spirituality. For Ignatians it meant becoming personally present through the imagination in an event in the life of Christ ( From A Method of Contemplation, Spiritual exercises of St.Ignatius, Loyola- Manresa Retreat House, Pickering, Ontario).

Mysteries walk- Manresa-Jan 2023

               On this visit to Mississauga by Sagar the family came with me to Manresa where we walked through the labyrinth and then we went to the Pickering waterfront. Applying the exercise of contemplation which should be closed with a colloquy – I told them how we can use the imagination in prayer to access to a deeper level of ourselves than we are generally conscious of.

In our personal journeys as a family, we have stayed in Biblical lands and Malta is the site of the shipwreck of St.Paul

A colloquy is simply a conversation – by speaking exactly as one friend speaks to another. So spend time in meditation, contemplation, imagination and speak to your Higher Power to express one’s desires, gratitude or needs.

Tree of Renewed Life-Manresa chapel- Jan 02,2023

The Labyrinth-Manresa-Jan 2023

Previous perspectives- Niagara Walk- 2013-January-Exploring local histories

https://prashantbhatt.com/2013/01/14/niagara-walk/

Lodhi discussions- Delhi-2015 August

https://prashantbhatt.com/2020/04/25/letters-and-journals-1970s-to-now/

Later we walked to Pickering Waterfront

Remembering some discussions of yesteryears

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Birds in Dialogue: Winter break walks 2023-Jan

Posted on January 29, 2023 by prashant bhatt

Birds in Dialogue

One day we went to Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (AKM) when Sagar had come to Mississauga from New York for his winter break. As we walked through the galleries we had a communion with some exhibits, came in better touch with our own experiences of the past decades.

In the early 19th century, two British sisters, Elizabeth Gwillim (1763-1807) and Mary Symonds (b.1772) produced hundreds of watercolours of the local flora and fauna , and landscapes around Madras (present day Chennai) in Southern India. Elizabeth’s paintings of 104 species represent a substantial contribution to ornithology in India. This is a continuation of the tradition of nature studies which has a long history in Indian, Persian, Arabic art and literature.

Previous perspectives

National Rail Museum-2008-Delhi

Museums with children

https://prashantbhatt.com/museums-with-the-children/

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