Golden Jaisalmer

Temple pics are of Jain religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called a jina ("conqueror" or "victor"). The ultimate status of these perfect souls is called siddha.

Jain doctrine teaches that Jainism has always existed and will always exist, although historians date the foundation of the organized or present form of Jainism to sometime between the 9th and the 6th century BCE.

Jainism is a small but influential religious minority with as many as 4.2 million followers in India (with its 1.2 billion!). Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy for a religious community in India and Jain libraries are the oldest in the country.

The large, solitary figure and tiny statues behind B & S are not of Buddah, but of Mahavira, an ancient sage who is believed to have established the tenets of Jainism in 6th c. BCE.

Camel riding only disappointment of trip so far. We thought we had arranged for a more " authentic " experience, but turns out, we hadn't! But our jeep ride to the small tent area through the desert, our evening and morning rides to the dunes, and the night entertainment were great anyway. Well, M & S loved the camel riding; B tolerated it; G --a thumbs down!
But as you can see, he cut a mean rug with the local dancers at night!