Psyche & Co. presents · Divine Human Mystery School · Part 3 of 7
Where stone meets sea, and sacred art becomes devotion you can touch.
Psyche & Co. presents the third part of the Divine Human Mystery School with Andrew Harvey: a week by the Bay of Bengal at Mahabalipuram, among the granite temples and carvings of the Pallava kings. After the stillness of Bodh Gaya, the journey turns to the body, to the senses and to sacred art as devotion made visible.
The Divine Human is not only an inner realisation; it is something that wants to be embodied and expressed. Here, where artists once carved whole hillsides into prayer, we explore how creativity, beauty and the physical world can become paths into the sacred.
The place
Mahabalipuram, on the coast of Tamil Nadu, flourished under the Pallava dynasty, and its Group of Monuments was listed by UNESCO in 1984. The Shore Temple, built in granite around 725 CE under Narasimhavarman II, also called Rajasimha, stands at the edge of the sea. It holds two shrines to Shiva, with a small shrine to a reclining Vishnu between them.
Nearby is the Descent of the Ganges, a vast seventh-century relief carved in the open air across two granite boulders, some 29 metres long. A natural cleft between the boulders becomes the river itself, and water may once have flowed down it. Gods, sages, animals and life-size elephants turn towards the stream. A figure standing on one leg in austerity is read either as Bhagiratha, who brought the Ganges down to earth, or as Arjuna seeking Shiva's blessing; Shiva stands beside him.
The teachings
- The Descent of the Ganges: grace pouring down into the world, and the long patience of the one who prays for it.
- Shiva and Vishnu side by side at the Shore Temple: the powers of dissolution and preservation held in one sacred space.
- Sacred art as embodied devotion: making, seeing and touching as ways of prayer.
- The sea as teacher: rhythm, vastness and the dissolving of rigid boundaries.
- The Divine Human in the body: why awakening must reach the senses, not only the mind.
A sketch of the days
- ArrivalGathering by the sea, an opening circle and a first walk among the monuments. A sketch of the days; the final programme will be confirmed.
- Days 2–3The Descent of the Ganges: time with the great relief, and teachings on grace and aspiration.
- Days 4–5The Shore Temple: Shiva and Vishnu, practices at the edge of the sea, and reflection on dissolution and renewal.
- Day 6Sacred art: contemplative looking and simple creative practice as devotion.
- Day 7Integration and closing: gathering the week, and looking ahead to the next stage of the journey.
This is an outline to give you a feel for the days. The final programme, teachers and timings will be confirmed with the dates.
What you'll take home
- A felt sense of how beauty and creativity can open the heart.
- Embodied practices that bring spiritual life down into the senses.
- A new way of seeing sacred art, in India and beyond.
- For practitioners, ideas for working with imagery, the body and creative expression.
- Renewed energy for the second half of the Divine Human journey.
Who it's for
This part is for psychotherapists, psychologists, artists and thoughtful laypeople drawn to the meeting of art, body and spirit. No artistic skill or knowledge of Hindu tradition is required. It can be taken on its own, or as part of the full seven-part journey. Dates are to be confirmed; register your interest to hear first.
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Dates, prices and bookings for Divine Human Mystery School, Part 3: Mahabalipuram are being confirmed. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment places open.
Thank you ✦ we'll be in touch as soon as dates are confirmed.
Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Anandavinash (CC BY-SA 3.0); Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 3.0); Rangan Datta Wiki (CC BY-SA 4.0).