Istanbul is a city that bears a history from
the ancient time, going to the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of official
Christianity and then falling under the Ottoman conquerors and establishing the
Islamic era. The mix of work, tourism and spirituality was a very happy one in
my case. I was there for a concert of George Enescu Philharmonic Choir together
with Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra with opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini. This
opera has the famous aria Casta Diva, which was often offered to Shri Mataji in
musical programs. I succeeded in joining a sahaj program while I was there. I
understood they are 100 yogis for a population of 14 millions, which is very
little. But the Islamic propaganda is very aggressive this time. I remember
that 20 years ago I haven’t seen many women wearing hijab. Now half of them do.
Especially the young ones. And they look pretty arrogant too. Turkey is a laic
state, though, due to Kemal Atatürk, a realized soul.
What I find very beautiful there is the mix of
the Christian vestiges and the Islamic art. Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque
situated on the two ends of a square are just a sample. While visiting Chora
Church, which it is famous for her mosaics and fresco, I found out the canons
of the representing the Holy Virgin and her mother in early Christianity. First
of all, the pronaos of the church represents the whole life of the Holy Mother
of Christ and we can see that She is equal important in that time with Jesus.
The color for the Saint Anna (Mother of the Virgin) is pink (Shri Lakshmi),
while the color of the Virgin’s clothes is blue (Shri Radha). Also, the
Creation it is represented as a spiral (Kundalini) which has on her sides the
Sun and the Moon. Enjoy the pictures!
