Vishnu exhibition at Art Gallery of NSW

Yesterday I visited the NSW Art Gallery with Xenia to see its exhibition on Vishnu. In Hinduism, Vishnu is the great Sustainer, one of the Trimurti alongside Brahma the Creator and Shiva the Destroyer. The exhibition was wonderful, with ancient stone carvings and beautifully detailed paintings full of colour and symbolism. It was a fascinating glimpse into one of the world's richest spiritual traditions.

I sometimes find Hinduism a little overwhelming with its countless gods, goddesses, symbols and manifestations. It is a remarkable example of the richness of human imagination and our capacity to express the sacred in so many different forms. Yet what resonates most deeply with me is its mystical foundation: the idea that all these forms ultimately arise from one source, Brahman—the infinite ground of being. In many Hindu traditions, the deepest truth is that Brahman is not separate from us but is the very essence of consciousness itself. That vision of an underlying unity beneath the apparent diversity is one of the things I find most compelling about Hindu philosophy.