Here in Ellora, the difference between the Buddhist and Hindu views of the world and of human beings can be felt as much as this.

The Kailasanatha Temple is truly an explosion of energy. You can feel the energy of Hinduism, the enormous mass of it, all over your body when you come here.

There is no doubt that the Ellora Caves here are among the best in India.

Buddhist Grottoes of Ellora Cave 10.

The moment I entered the hall, I felt a chirping sound! It really happened! It is often said that an electric current runs through your body, and that is exactly what happened.

I will never forget the impact it had on me. I have encountered many different monuments and works of art, but this is without a doubt the pinnacle of them all.

The Elephanta Grottoes are Hindu ruins located on Elephanta Island in Mumbai Bay.

The three-faced statue of Shiva here is renowned as one of India's masterpieces. Before heading to Ajanta and Ellora, I would love to see this statue myself. So I took a boat from Mumbai to Elephanta Island.

Saanchi is a World Heritage Site famous for the largest and oldest existing stupa, and is considered a very important site in the history of Buddhism.

The word "stupa" is not very familiar to us Japanese, but to put it very roughly, it means "a grave containing the remains of Buddha or his disciples. It is also the origin of the word "stupa" in Japan.

Many Buddhist sites, including the Khajuraho site, have long been forgotten in India.

They were buried in the earth and did not see the light of day until the English discovered them in the 19th century. But is it really possible? How is it possible that no one knew about such huge ruins? I had such doubts.

Shiva Linga is absolutely unavoidable when considering the Hindu faith.

As we saw in the previous article, this Shiva Linga sits as an important presence in Khajuraho. It would be significant to study this Shiva Linga for comparison with sexually stoic Buddhism.

I came to Khajuraho for a reason. I wanted to see "something" here. I am sure you will be surprised at what I see here.

The number one Indian Hindu art in my mind is here by far. It is without a doubt the pinnacle of Indian art.

Late October 2023. I set off again for India.

I was determined to be thoroughly "Gentile" on this trip.

Gentiles...

I think this way. "Gentile eyes make the journey more exciting." Travel forces us to separate ourselves from our daily lives and transforms us into Gentiles.

India in August was too severe. I had to learn from that lesson and complete the itinerary successfully this time. I carefully rethought my plan and prepared for the second expedition to India and Sri Lanka, which was to begin at the end of October. In this article, I would like to describe the general itinerary and objectives of this expedition to India and Sri Lanka.