Deepavali / Diwali - Commercialization, Consumerism, & COMMUNITY

As a Tamil Hindu, I never celebrated Diwali. As an Indian American I now do. It’s heartwarming to see Diwali bringing together people of diverse faiths and cultures, celebrating light, hope, and community.

classical traditions, cross cultures, culture, cultures, desi american, educate, faith, global cultures, hindu, hinduism, history, hometown, indian american, interfaith, love, new york, my story, nyc, oneness, religion, religions, reflections, spirituality, tamil, tamil american, tamil nadu, temple, unique, unity, unityindiversity, world religions, diversity and inclusion, diversitysangeetha kowsikDecember 1, 2024hindu, hinduism, festival, santha, sikh, sikhism, muslim, islam, comm, community, festivals, holiday, high, holidays, deepavali, diwali, nyc, new york city, new york, south asia, south, southindian, south indian, tamil, tamil culture, tamil american, american, desi american, usa, pakistan, music, culture, cultural diversity, cultu, cro, global culture, global cultures, beauty, fashion, querr, queer, transgender, lgptqi+, diversityandinclusion, diversity, educate, educationComment

Transforming Spaces : The Power of Indian Classical Music

I adore that Indian Classical Music is a form of worship, the interconnectedness between Hinduism and Islam, the beautiful melodies and various ragas, has to power to transform and unite, but most of all it’s the way to reach the divine, who is LOVE!

appreciation, art, california, classical traditions, compassion, cross cultures, culture, cultures, desi american, diversity, educate, education, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, hindu, hindu temple, hinduism, history, impact, hometown, holiday, inspiration, indian american, interfaith, islam, language, languages, love, music, my story, nyc, oneness, prayer, reflections, religion, religions, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil, tamil american, tamil nadu, temple, unityindiversity, unitysangeetha kowsikOctober 31, 2022music, musician, musicians, classical, classical music, inclusivity, indian, southindian, south india, tamil nadu, tamil, tamilnadu, tamil culture, tamilamerican, tamils, hinduism, hindustani, carnatic, Karnatic, raga, ragam, melody, temple, temples, hindu, hindu temple, hinduarchitecture, temple worship, worship, faith, international, interconnectedness, interfaith, islam, sarod, sarswati, sound, sounds, transformative, transform, bhakti, devotion, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, sangeetha, sangeetham, sanathanadharma, sanatana dharma, vishnu, saraswati, tradition, traditions, ancient, ancient cultures, ancient traditions, contemporary, amir khusro, purandardasa, saint, ganapati, ganesha, ganesh, deepavali, diwali, festival, high holiday, holiday, ritual, rituals, practice, riyaaz, riyaz, lineage, spirtiuality, friendship, love, unity, unityindiversity, community, comm, history, educate, education, educateyourself, yoga, meditation, appreciation, creatives, creative, mughal, court, king, dynasty, family, cultures, culture, crosscultural, cultural diversity, south indian, bengal, bengali, indian arts, india, north india, southasia, asia, sufi islam, sufi, sufism, heritage, sacred, puja, prayer, mystory, story, experience, my experiences, my truth, truth, samaveda, veda

A Muslim Musician wrote a MANTRAM!

A mantram can be repetitive (but doesn’t have to be) and is used for meditation, prayer, and maybe even to set your intentions/goals. For me, Alam Khan’s album Mantram is a true spiritual/religious experience. I LOVE every single track and I am in tears by the end of it, but happy tears because I’ve seen my beloved Lord. It reminds us that no matter how much crap and emotional turmoil we’ve all gone through in life, HOPE & LOVE is what wins at the end.

appreciation, art, california, change in thinking, change, classical traditions, compassion, cross cultures, culture, cultures, education, educate, diversity, design, desi american, friendship, faith, global, global cultures, hindu, hindu temple, hinduism, history, hometown, impact, inspiration, interfaith, inclusion, indian american, islam, love, museum, my story, oneness, nyc, new york, reflections, religion, religions, spirituality, spiritual activism, south asia, tamil, travel, unique, unity, unityindiversitysangeetha kowsikOctober 1, 2022hindu, hindustani, hinduism, music, musician, musicians, islam, mantra, mantram, new music, classical music, indian classical dance, dharma, sanatana dharma, indian arts, india, indian, sarod, composer, community, unity, unique, unityindiversity, south asia, southasia, south indian, southindian, south india, temple, worship, aliakbarkhan, temples, hindu temple, cali, california, mystory, ritual, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, friendship, muslims, muslim, ohm, japa, homam, designer, artist, creative, creatives, crosscultural, faith, belief, hope, love, compassion, shiva, vishnu, practice, prayer, sanskrit, sanathanadharma, sanathana

Interconnectedness, Hate, Love, & Ahimsa (Non Violence)

As a lifelong practicing Hindu who adheres to the principle of Ahimsa, which means “nonviolence” meaning not to harm any living creature with your words, thoughts, or physically.

it boggles my mind that the 3 great Abrahamic faiths of the world Christianity, Judaism, and Islam lived in relative peace and unity, and gave the world beautiful art, architecture, and an interconnected culture before someone drank CUCKOO juice, and decided to fill their minds/hearts/brains/souls with hatred and expelled Jews and Muslims, which led to the bloody Spanish inquisition of 1492!

These are my reflections of the interconnectedness, unity, inspiration, and beauty, I saw through religion, faith, culture, and art.

activism, activist, appreciation, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, classical traditions, create the change, cross cultures, culture, cultures, design, diversity, distinctive, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, graphic design, hindu, hinduism, history, impact, inclusion, holiday, inspiration, interfaith, islam, language, languages, museum, my story, music, oneness, painting, religion, religions, prayer, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, travel, unique, unity, unityindiversity, travel diaries, reflections, world religions, islamic art, racism, Islamophobia, anti semitism, love, compassion, new york, nycsangeetha kowsikAugust 31, 2022art history, art, design, designs, designer, history, museum, the metropolitan museum of art, truth, hate, love, compassion, islam, islamicarchitecture, architecture, reli, faith, interfaith, islamic, judaism, jew, jewish, christian, christianity, fatima, prophet, spain, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, portugal, heart, one love, true love, mystory, my truth, jesus, interconnectedness, international, unity, unityindiversity, community, communities, travel, travelling, instatravel, travel blogger, travels, granada, cordoba, castle, seville, allhambra, pilgramage, typography, stereotypes, gratitude, activist, activism, racism, change, bethechange, connected, colonization, culture, crosscultural, cultural diversity, cultures, ancient traditions, tradition, traditions, world, oneness, one world, oneneww, global, global culture, global cultures, antisemitism, phobia, hatred, peace, understanding, educate, education, educateyourself, blog, blogger, non violence, ahimsa, gandhi, india, dharma, sanatana dharma, sanskrit, southasia, southasian, southasianartist, southasianart, south aisa, south asia, south indian, south india, together, unique, ancient cultures, beauty, shrine, prayer, worship, pattern, repeat pattern, islamicart, islamic art, islamic pattern, andorra, iberian, Iberian Penninsula, spanish, sephardicComment

Hindu/Religious VS. Spiritual/Dharmic/Vedic - Gym, Puja, Design

Since when did the word “RELIGION” or “RELIGIOUS” start to freak people out? It boggles my mind.

If a Muslim says they are religious they are immediately branded as a “Terrorist”, If a Christian says they are religious they are immediately branded as a “Bible-thumping, right-wing, Trump lover”
If a Hindu says they are religious they are immediately branded as a “Cow piss drinking, right-wing, Modi lover”

Becoming Chaplain was the first time I ever spoke up about “Being Hindu”. It was never an identifying mark for me, not something I went around proclaiming, I’ve always lived my faith, I just WAS, Gym, Puja, Design, every single day!

appreciation, california, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, childhood, classical traditions, create the change, cross cultures, cultures, desi american, design, diversity, educate, education, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, hindu, hinduism, history, inclusion, hometown, holiday, inspiration, interfaith, islam, language, oneness, religion, religions, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil, tamil american, tamil nadu, unity, unityindiversitysangeetha kowsikFebruary 28, 2022hindu, hinduism, hindu temple, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, dharma, sanskrit, sanatana dharma, india, south indian, southindian, south india, southasia, south aisa, southasianart, southasian, faith, interfaith, interconnectedness, puja, pujaqueen, ritual, prayer, meditation, journey, mystory, temple, hindustani, islam, islamicart, islamic, muslims, muslim, racism, partition, experience, my experiences, mytruth, my story, my life, my everything, authenticity, authentic self, truth, true love, love, gratitude, understanding, educate, unity, unityindiversity, compassion, community, communities, temples, hinduarchitecture, cultures, culture, museum, the metropolitan museum of art, fashion, design, designer, art print, artist, art

LORD AYYAPA - An INLCLUSIVE Hindu Deity who is BELOVED by Hindus, Muslims, Christians & who's prayer came from Buddhism!

A Hindu Deity whose pilgrimage & fast is taken by 40 to 50 million people of all faiths/backgrounds yearly! A deity who unifies Hindus, Muslims, Christians, etc., people of all backgrounds/faiths. Showing that the mighty divine is SUPREME and belongs to ALL creation regardless of class, background, faith, gender, etc. The divine deity who symbolizes equal rights for the LGBTQI+ communities.

activism, activist, classical traditions, change, cross cultures, cultures, diversity, faith, education, global, friendship, global cultures, hindu, hinduism, history, inclusion, interfaith, islam, oneness, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil, south asia, tamil nadu, travel, unityindiversity, unitysangeetha kowsikNovember 16, 2021ayyapan, unityindiversity, unity, communities, islam, lgbtqi, lgptq, equality, hinduism, fast, pilgramage, pooja, puja, uniqu, uniqeu, unique, interconnectedness, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration

OOH "Girl GODS" Happy Sri Devi Navarathri!

I serve as the Hindu Chaplain/Spiritual Advisor of NYU and Columbia Universities. I often think to myself what kind of world are we leaving for the next generation?
I believe in being the change, building a world of inclusivity, peace, unity, love, and compassion. Show, share, include folks of all faiths/ backgrounds in your holidays, celebrate together (it’s not that difficult to be kind and compassionate).
Last year during Navarathri, a young Shia Muslim girl (student at NYU) wanted to learn about Hinduism and to visit a Hindu Temple (there are no Hindu Temples in Manhattan, had to rent a car (lysol it first drive to Queens, hello covid! ).

BLACK MUSLIM EXPERIENCE, UMMAH, EID & ME - Juneteenth

I was the ONLY non-Black, non-Muslim, non-Hijab, non-Nikab wearing person/lady there! Did I feel any different? NO! I was welcomed with so much love and respect into this Ummah! (Community)

Art for the Love of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) - Tanjore Painting meets Islamic Patterns

For hundreds of years Tamil poets have composed devotional poems adopting the voice of a mother, addressing praises to an extraordinary child. Called pillaittamil ( "Tamil for a child”), major genre of Tamil literature.” Muslim poets used the genre, to praise the Prophet (PBUH), members of his family, and various walis (“friends of God”) who’s tombs are revered in Tamil Nadu.

My design incorporates Tamil script, Tanjore (Traditional Classical style of South Indian (Tamil) painting), traditional Islamic patterns in the background/cradle, & cradle (the poem states “so I can place you in the cradle, and rock you happily, come joyously. Muhammad, who has the truth, come joyously, come”)

cross cultures, unity, unityindiversity, inclusion, cultures, global cultures, appreciation, interfaith, childhood, classical traditions, diversity, friendship, global, history, holiday, hometown, inspiration, music, oneness, travel, art, design, graphic design, typography, language, languages, educate, education, museum, religions, spirituality, impact, activism, activist, spiritual activism, create the change, change in thinking, change, faith, religion, hindu, south asia, tamil nadu, tamil, tamil american, indian american, desi americansangeetha kowsikMarch 6, 2021islamicart, islamic, islam, islm, islamicarchitecture, islamic art, islamic pattern, pattern, tanjore, tanjore painting, painting, art, design, crosscultural, culture, ancient cultures, tamil, tamil culture, south india, south indian, southasian, southasia, southasianartist, southindian, tamil nadu, tamilnadu, tamil americna, tamil american, tamilamerican, mix, prophet, saw, muhamad, prophet muhammad, tamizgh, tamizhl, classical painting, ancient traditions, tradition, traditions, cultures, global culture, learn, educate, education, educateyourself, activism, contemporary art

Arabic Ganesha Chaturthi

EVERYBODY LOVES GANESHA! I have many Muslim/non Hindu friends who love Ganesha. Musicians who travel with a small statue, Arabs girls who find him adorable, Yoga practitioners etc. His image is found across the world (Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, archeological evidence even shows ancient South America!) 🌏

His image is on Indonesian currency (a predominately Muslim nation) ☪️

design, diversity, cross cultures, classical traditions, global, friendship, faith, global cultures, hinduism, history, holiday, hometown, inspiration, islam, music, oneness, religion, travel, unitysangeetha kowsikAugust 27, 2020hindu, ganesha, ganesh, vinayak, vinayaka chaturthi, ganesh chaturthi, ganesha chaturthi, festival, islam, hinduism, culture, unity, unityindiversity, unique, holiday, independence, independence day, freedom, colonization, british, british raj, raj, lokmanya tilak, freedom fighter, fight, change, celebration, indonesia, global, global culture, holy month, holy, faith, pilayar, tamil, ohm, om, yoga, spiritual, spirituality, musician, musicians, bethechange, for change, for the culute, history, politics, politian, bollywood, film star, marriage, love, art, design, devotion, desi, deity, desiart, southasian, southasia, india, arabic calligraphy, arabic, typography, fashion, style, luxe

Krishna Janmashtami and The Prophet's (PBUH) sandal

Islam and Hinduism teach the unity of God / service to mankind — a message both Prophet (PBUH) and Lord Krishna taught.

cross cultures, design, diversity, classical traditions, childhood, california, religion, oneness, islam, unity, hinduism, global cultures, global, faith, friendshipsangeetha kowsikAugust 12, 2020krishna, krishnajanmashtami, mystory, hinduism, islam, hindu, muslim, oneness, tamil, southindian, educate, prophet, tradition, designer, arabic, arabic calligraphy, interfaith, faith, tamil culture, love, design, share, desi, desi artist, india, identity, feet, artist, culture, kolam, krishnalove, hadith

#blacklivesmatter. One World. Be the Change.

All FAITHS (symbols of every major faith). ONE WORLD. WE Together stand against racism!

diversity, design, cross cultures, classical traditions, california, friendship, global, global cultures, hinduism, history, inspiration, oneness, religion, travel, unity, islam, faithsangeetha kowsikJune 2, 2020hindu, hinduism, hindu temple, deity, faith, interconnectedness, interfaith, intense, god, allah, islamicart, islam, sikhism, sikh, zoroastrianism, fire, symbol, meaning, concept, connect, love, understanding, unique, divesity, dialogue, peace, blacklivesmatter, black, darkness, whitesupremacy, racism, fight, justice, change, bethechange, shinto, shintoism, jainism, jain, africa, african, murthi, divine, diversity, shani, yama, krishna, lord, goddess, kali, kalima, one world, world, problem, georgeflyod, southasia, southasian, southasianartist, south asia, southasianart, desiart, desi, design, designs, devotion, deva, designer, mahadev, product design, compassion, passion, anger, angry, protest, protestart, protest art, white, knowledge, know, solidarity, community, family, humanity, engage, engagement, sexism, dark

Maha Shivaratri : Lord Shiva & Arabic

God Sees all, even if you can't see him, he sees you!

diversity, classical traditions, cross cultures, faith, global, global cultures, hinduism, history, holiday, inspiration, islam, music, oneness, religion, travel, unity, childhoodsangeetha kowsikMay 4, 2020shiva, shakti, ohm, om, hindu, hinduism, faith, india, indian, southasia, southasianart, southasianartist, south asia, intense, sanatana dharma, love, temple, bhakti, devotion, design, designs, designer, art, artwork, artist, earth, heart, fortheculture, interconnectedness, connected, connect, crosscultural, culture, ancient cultures, global culture, global, spiritual, spirituality, god, ishwar, parameshwara, king, abhishekam, hindu temple, dancer, cosmic dancer, yoga, veda, scripture, flower, flowers, true love, bhajan, bhajans, music, lord, beauty, beautiful, healer, doctor, teacher, guru, master, compassion, knowledge, learn, educate, cycle, break stereotypes, oneness, fight, happine, holiday, holy month, phase, moon, chandra, puja, pooja, poojas, mighty, mankind, savior, one, one world, concept, conceptualart, conceptual, corvid, covid virus, virus, corona, corona virus, neelakanta, neel, blue, favorite, ishta devam, deva, devam, ruler, ruling, ruler of my heart, my everything, everything, jai, hara, hara har, mahadev, shankar, shankara, shiva rathri, rathri, night, shivas night, shiva night, bhang, sufi, sufi islam, islam, islamicart, history, islamic art, unique, my story, story, bhagavan, hadith, prophet, ihsan, ishan

Ram Navami (Hindu Holiday) : in Arabic Language

Rama in Sanskrit means "one who gives joy to others/divinely blissful / the noble one"
Karim in Arabic means "generous/noble, one of the 99 names of Allah"