Angel's Heaven - Photos of Children (1)

Whatever my trips may have been in the past, under the convenient mask of spirituality, and however much of that may have crumbled down to rubble, some base ideals remain. One needs to do good things in his life. Good things.

There was a time when I thought it was about saving the universe. Several recent vivid experiences of real life have given me a golden understanding of the fact that there is no universe deprived of its integral constituents. And while there's little one can do for subatomic particles, there is a world of good one can do for other sentient beings.

There was a time when welfare meant creating an abstract spiritual impulse in others — a sneaky echo of the holy name, or a tidbit of profound metaphysics — all rooted in my subjective faith. There is, however, a platform for everything — and for example in the case of these children, a sound platform is created by unreservedly extending love and care wherever it is in demand.

Yes! Contributing to the need of the moment without fruitive calculations of future spiritual profundity, another petty feather in the cap. Holy names my ass. Feed those children first.

Here are a couple of recent photos taken at the rooftop of the Angel's Heaven orphanage.

This is Aishwarya, Amrit's wife, with some of the children. Sarina, the kid at the right, is the latest addition to the family — and has sure enough had hard time adjusting to her new life. For some reason, she found a backup daddy in me... There was no going to bed, no end to tears without going to uncle first...

Two girls busy working with colorful papers....

A little toddler busy playing with an extraordinary device...

My friend Santos, president of the Universal Peace Foundation, visiting the orphanage and teaching an origami trick to the kids.

Mami, Santos' Japanese wife, playing with the children. The girl at the front is sitting on Santos' djembe, a popular Japan-made percussion instrument.