Nepal: Spirituality is Everywhere

One of the many design elements decorating Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu

Photos by Starr Studios

My exposure to religion started at a very early age. I was raised in the ultra fundamentalist sect of Christianity known as Jehovah’s Witnesses and like many others raised in dogmatic belief systems, there was an attempt to instill in me that what I was taught as a child was unquestionably true. But for people raised like that like to ask questions, its a tough road ahead for the themselves as well as their indoctrinators.

My late teens consisted of combing through books on Buddhism and Western Esotericism, anything I could find in used book stores that let me explore different, bigger ideas of what others believed about who we are and what our existence is all about. This, of course, was completely forbidden by my religion, so it was all done in secret, a pattern that well continued into adulthood as I tried to straddle the fence of keeping relatives happy, staying out of trouble with the leaders of the church and exploring ideas that excited me and how I saw the world.

Patan Durbar Square, Kathmandu

I eventually left the religion I was raised in and have amassed a large library of what I view as the most exciting ideas humankind has come up with to make sense of what we are all doing here.

So, when I had the opportunity to travel to Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha, where the ancient beliefs of Hinduism, Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism converge, I was beyond excited. The swirling nose accompanying the “Buddha Eyes” painted on many of the Buddhist Stupas in Nepal is considered by many Nepali to be a reference to the unity of all faiths.

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu

What surprised me most was how intertwined spirituality is in every aspect of living in Nepal. In the West, if people go to church at all, its typically a Sunday thing, maybe major holidays at best. In Nepal, you are immersed. In Kathmandu, seemingly every city block has a shrine or temple, buildings are carved in impeccable detail with gods, goddesses and symbols conveying complex ideas about our own consciousness and interconnectedness.

One of the countless street shrines of Kathmandu, this one is for Ganesha

Once you get out into the foothills and rural areas, the temples and shrines become smaller and more humble, but the attention to the divine is just as ubiquitous.

Shaivite Priest caring for his small village temple in North-Central Nepal

There is something really beautiful about communities of people decorating their towns and homes with the intent to not forget our divine nature or the fact that we are all connected. The world would be a much more peaceful place to live if we all had an outlook like that.

One of the many monkeys at Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, also known as “The Monkey Temple”

I love the act of exploration. It took a lot of years to not be willing to hide the fact that I love to explore the viewpoints of others, including the beliefs that have shaped their cultures. I could probably spend the rest of my life just exploring Nepal. I am proud to explore and try to understand what others think and believe. I don’t hide any longer.