0:00 chapter forty one of autobiography of a yogi by paramhansa yogananda an idol in south india
0:31 you are the first westerner dick ever to enter that shrine many others have tried in vain at my words mr wr. Wright looked startled, then pleased. We had just left the beautiful Chamundi temple in the hills overlooking Mysore in southern India.
0:53 There we had bowed before the gold and silver altars of the goddess Chamundi,
0:59 patron deity of the family of the reigning maharajah as a souvenir of the unique honor mrore. The Maharaja H.H. Sri Krishna Raja
1:31 Wadiyar IV is a model prince with intelligent devotion to his people. A pious Hindu,
1:39 the Maharaja has empowered a Mohammedan, the able Mirzaza ismail as his duwan or premier popular representation is given to the seven million inhabitants of mys the Yuvaraja, Sir Sri Krishna Narasinghar Raj Wadiyar had invited my secretary
2:12 and me to visit his enlightened and progressive realm. During the past fortnight, I had addressed
2:20 thousands of Mysore citizens and students at the town hall, the Maharaja's college,
2:26 the university medical school, and three mass meetings in Bangalore at the National High School,
2:33 the Intermediate College, and the Chetty Town Hall, where over 3,000 persons had assembled.
2:40 Whether the eager listeners had been able to credit the glowing picture i drew of america i know not but the applause had always been loudest when i spoke of the mutual benefits that peace his travel diary gives the following account of his impressions of my hills hills dotting the emerald panorama like excrescences of black stone and the play of colors is enhanced at the ever-changing canvas of God, stretched across
3:48 the firmament, for his touch alone is able to produce colors that vibrate with the freshness
3:55 of life. That youth of colors is lost when man tries to imitate with mere pigments for the lord resorts clouds and so on and on
4:36 he plays night and morning alike ever changing ever new ever fresh no patterns no duplicates no colors just the same the beauty of the indian change in day to night is beyond compare elsewhere
4:54 often the sky looks as if god had taken all the colors in his kit and given them one mighty kaleidoscopic toss into the heavens i must relate the horizon and squashing like an overripe tomato line of comforting banyan trees, in between a grove of towering coconut palms, with vegetation
5:47 nearly as thick as in a jungle, and finally, approaching the crest of a hill, we came face
5:53 to face with an immense artificial lake, reflecting the stars and fringe of palms and other trees,
6:01 surrounded by lovely terraced gardens, and a row of electric lights on the brink of the dam,
6:08 and below it our eyes met a dazzling spectacle of colored beams playing on geyser-like fountains,
6:15 like so many streams of brilliant ink, pouring forth, gorgeously blue waterfalls, arresting red cataracts, green and yellow sprays, elephants spouting water,
6:28 a miniature of the Chicago World's Fair, and yet modernly outstanding in this ancient land
6:36 of paddy fields and simple people who have given us such a loving welcome that I fear it will take more than my strength to bring Yoganandaji back
6:47 to America. Another rare privilege, my first elephant ride. Yesterday the Yuva Raja invited
6:56 us to his summer palace to enjoy a ride on one of his elephants, enormous beast i mounted a ladder provided to climb aloft to the howdah or saddle which is silk cushioned and box-like and then for a rolling tossing swaying and heaving down into a gully too much thrilled to worry or exclaim but hanging on for dear life southern india rich with historical and archaeological remains is a land of definite and yet indefinable charm
7:34 to the north of mysore is the largest native state in india hyderabad a picturesque plateau cut by the mighty Godavari River.
7:47 Broad, fertile plains, the lovely Nilgiris or Blue Mountains,
7:52 other regions with barren hills of limestone or granite.
7:57 Hyderabad history is a long, colorful story,
8:00 starting 3,000 years ago under the Andhra kings and continuing under Hindu dynasties until AD 1294
8:10 when it passed to a line of Muslim rulers who reign to this day. The most breathtaking display
8:18 of architecture, sculpture, and painting in all India is found at Hyderabad in the ancient rock-sculptured caves
8:27 of Ellora and Ajanta. The Kailasa at Ellora, a huge monolithic temple, possesses carved figures
8:37 of gods, men, and beasts in the stupendous proportions of a Michelangelo. Ajanta is the site of five cathedrals and 25 monasteries,
8:49 all rock excavations maintained by tremendous fresco pillars on which artists and sculptors
8:58 have immortalized their genius. Hyderabad city is graced by the osmania university and by the imposing mecca masjid mosque where ten thousand mohammedans may assemble for prayer
9:13 mysore state too is a scenic wonderland three thousand feet above sea level abounding in dense tropical forests the home of of wild elephants, bison, bears, panthers, and tigers.
9:29 Its two chief cities, Bangalore and Mysore, are clean, attractive, with many parks and public gardens.
9:38 Hindu architecture and sculpture achieved their highest perfection in Mysore
9:44 under the patronage of Hindu kings
9:46 from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The temple at Bihur, an 11th-century masterpiece completed
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