Kalachakra

Kālacakra (Sanskrit: कालचक्र; IAST: Kālacakra; Telugu: కాలచక్ర Tibetan:  Wylie: dus-kyi 'khor-lo; Mongolian Цогт Цагийн Хүрдэн: Tsogt Tsagiin Hurden) is a Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles".

Healing Bowls

TIBETAN BOWLS

Are handmade bowls made of metal alloy. A special sonar is created by rubbing on their edge with a wooden vaqueta, introducing a range of harmonic sounds or overtones. It has a sound that lasts and echoes for a long time, changing the vibration of the environment.

Benefits of Tibetan Bowls

1. Relief of stress and anxiety.
2. Improve concentration.
3. Improvement of creativity.
4. Improving the vision (physical, mental and spiritual).
5. Balance of the cerebral hemispheres.
6. Restoration of the balance of the endocrine system through the vibration of the pituitary gland.
7. Relieve sinusitis and headaches.
8. Encouragement of the activity of alpha waves for deep meditation.
9. Increased energy through the stimulation of cerebrospinal fluid (possibly the physical form of energy kundalini).
10. Balance and clean the charkas and aura (and the corresponding organs and glands).
11. Clean environment.
12. Easy access to intuition and higher consciousness.

Sandalwood Carvings

These sandalwood artworks were so intricately carved that you think needles were used to whittle them. These are definitely museum pieces.

Pashmina

Namaste Arts & Objects also offers pashminas in all colors. Pashmina is a type of cashmere wool which comes from the changtangi or pashmina goat indigenous to the Himalayan plateau. One goat sheds approximately 80-170g (3-6 ounces) of the fiber. Pashminas are hand-spun, woven and sometimes embroidered. The Nepalese had been manufacturing cashmere for thousands of years. The water pashminas at the top photo sell for P1,800 each. The larger hand-embroidered shawl below sell for a much higher price. Namaste also sells shawl made of yak wool for those cold windy nights.

Tiger's Eye

During this Year of the Metal Tiger, the bead to have is tiger's eye. This quartz has a rich yellow and golden brown stripes, with a fine golden lustre when polished and is distinguished for its chatoyancy (a vertical luminescent band like that of a cat's eye). It is a protection stone and Roman soldiers in the past wore it for that purpose when they went to war.  Healthwise, tiger's eye relieves high blood pressure and is also said to protect and relieve the wearer from bronchial asthma, kidney, rheumatic heart disease, otitis and psoriasis. Tiger's Eye is used for focusing the mind. It is said that Tiger Eye offers protection during travel, strengthens convictions and confidence. This very warm stone is beneficial for the weak and sick. In Namaste, a tiger's eye sells for about P150. They also have Tiger's eye pendants and earrings.

Bracelets

You wish you have the neck of a giraffe so you can wear all the bracelets that Namaste can offer

Rings

If ring's your thing, Namaste has everything

Priceless

This is a bowl made of solid Himalayan crystal bedecked with gold and ruby. You talk about priceless and this is it.

Rainbow Jet Crystal

This is a huge and splendid rainbow jet crystal. Price upon request.

Healing Bowls

Tibetan singing and healing bowls sell from P2,800 to P5,800 in Namaste. This depends on what you need them for. Do you want to meditate or heal or both? You love animals?  Let the Namaste custodians guide you through your choice. They have a wide variety of singing and healing bowls in every size and purpose.

Namastefied

A confluence of cultures can be gleaned in the nooks and crannies of Namaste

Introducing Namaste

Namaste Arts & Objects is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jiwan Ratna Shakya. Wife Alice Shakya, a Baguio girl, started the shop in 2004 with the aim of bringing her adopted country, Nepal, closer to the Filipinos. One simply could visit the shop at the 1^st Floor of Porta Vaga in Session Road and experience what it is to enter a bazaar in Kathmandu and fall in love with Nepal's distinct culture and tradition through arts and relics that remind of the Shangri-La. Our focus is on Asian Arts like new and collectible books and music CDs on Buddhism, Tibetan arts as well as a wide variety of silver accessories and décor. We also have a wide array of genuine Tibetan DZI beads, singing and healing bowls, malas, amber, stones, beads and lucky charms that have a spritual healing effect. We also have colorful shawls made from the best wool from the Himalayan plateau. Some are even hand embroidered and dyed naturally. These shawls, particularly the pashminas, are given as a sign of respect to loved ones and trusted friends. Come and visit us. Namaste.

Year of the Rat

If you are a rat, your lucky charm is bamboo and your protector is Avalokteshvara. You need the 1,2 DZI beads and your crystals are lapis lazuli, sodalite, sapphire, aventurine, rose quartz and prehnite. A rat bracelet without a DZI sells in Namaste for P1,400 and P2,805 with a 1,2 DZI.

Year of the Tiger in the Tiger Year

If you are a tiger in this Tiger Year, your lucky charm is cicada and your protector is Akasagarbha. You need the hotu, lotus DZI beads and your crystal combinations are citrine, clear quartz, rutilated quartz, amethyst, tiger's eye, hematite and amber.The tiger necklace sells at Namaste for P1, 926

Year of the Snake

If you are a snake, your lucky charm is elephant and your protector is Samantabhadra. You need the 6, 15, tigertooth DZI beads and your crystals are red ruby, red garnet, citrine, rutilated quartz, sodalite and lapis lazuli. This bracelet sells for P2,811 and P1,757 without the DZI.

Year of the Rooster

If you are a rooster, your lucky charm for 2010 is lucky bat and your protector is Acala. You need the 1, 8, 15 DZI beads and your crystal combinations are lapis lazuli, citrine, rutilated quartz, sodalite and aquamarine. For more information on this and other items at Namaste, call the shop at 442 2197. This particular bracelet sells for P1,160

Year of the Sheep

If you are a sheep, your lucky charm this 2010 is hotu and your protector is Vairocana. You need the 10, 21, 15 DZI beads and your crystal combinations are obsidian, black tourmaline, clear quartz, citrine and onyx. This sheep bracelet costs P1,500.

Year of the Pig

If you are a pig, your lucky charm is 5-coins and your protector is Amitabha. You need the 5, 7 DZI beads and your crystal combinations are amethyst, aventurine, citrine and sugilite. Pig necklaces in Namaste sell for P1,175 and P1,495 while this one with the DZI bead sells for P2,767.

Year of the Rabbit

If you are a rabbit, your lucky charm is ruyi and your protector is Manjushri. You need the 3,6, ruyi DZI beads and your crystal combinations are lapis lazuli, clear quartz, aquamarine, sapphire, citrine and rutilated quartz. This sells for P3,227 and P1,577 (without the Ruyi dzi). For more information on this and other items at Namaste, call 442 2197.

Year of the Ox

If you are an ox, your lucky charm for 2010 is holy gourd and your protector is Akasagarbha. You need the tortoise, medicine DZI beads and your crystal combinations are clear quartz, citrine, rutilated quartz, obsidian, amethyst, Herkimer and amber. The ox bracelet here sells for P1,320.

Year of the Monkey

If you are a monkey, your lucky charm for 2010 is piyao and your protector is Vairocana . You need the dorje, 5-bat, ruyi, 6 DZI beads and your crystal combinations are clear quartz, citrine, rutilated quartz, amethyst, lapis lazuli and sodalite. This bracelet with a dzi bead is worth P2,635. Those without are worth from P785 to P1,410. You can call Alice at 09155995836 for special appointments regarding lucky charms and other things.

Year of the Horse

If you are a horse, for 2010 your lucky charm is vase and your protector is Mahasthamaprapta. You need the garuda, 11 DZI beads and your crystal combinations are amethyst, red agate, red jasper and ruby. The bracelet with DZI bead costs P3,595 while the one the DZI without costs P1,510. Photos by Andy Zapata

Year of the Dragon

If you are a dragon, your lucky charm is Heaven's luck and your protector is Samantabhadra. You need the 4, tortoise, longetivity DZI beads and your crystal combinations are red agate, red rutilated, citrien, lapis lazuli, sodalite, aquamarine and red jasper.



(Photo by Andy Zapata) In Namaste, this bracelet is worth P1,349

Year of the Dog

If you are a dog, this 2010 your lucky charm is corn and your protector is Amitabha. You need the 12, lotus DZI beads and your crystal combinations are amethyst, aventurine, citrine and sugilite. This will cost you P1,940. For more information on this and other items at Namaste, call them at 442 2197.

Year of the Tiger

This glass tiger was just sold a few days after New Year's Day (the Western version). But don't worry we have lots of lucky charms for you

New Year's Tip: Hold On

Yes, you got to hold on to your last year's lucky charms

Healing Stones

Here's an article on Namaste that came out in Business Mirror:

When afflicted with lupus, a disease that turns the body's defenses against the body itself, 49-year old Alice Shakya in her younger years almost lost hope.

There is no apparent cause for the disease, but Shakya suffered disorders affecting her organ systems, skin, joints, and internal organs. She consulted many doctors for the best possible treatment for her illness and was open to try every possible way if it meant her survival. And then she discovered the healing power of crystals and various stone minerals.

Married to a Nepali artisan, Shakya was introduced to the surprising power and energies of the crystal world and with her determination to get well coupled with the help of modern medicine, she succeeded her battle with lupus.

"For me it's a miracle. There are many things we do not know about stones and its inherent powers based on researches and studies," said Shakya.

She related that there is a link among DNA, the mineral kingdom and divine creation which has been made known around the world and far back in time, and that stones, such as spheres of crystals, have a potentially enormous significance and are long used to cure diseases, heal emotional rifts and many other tales of benevolent supernatural properties of stones.

"That is why, in return to what these stones have done to help me heal from my illness, I, together with my Nepali husband, decided to put up a shop devoted to rare stones and many other artistic antique objects. I owe it to them, however partly," Shakya revealed.

Now, her clients range from doctors, businessmen and professionals who get from her their respective stones, beads or charms which they use to for their personal security, peace of mind and healing their illnesses in the various aspects of their lives

Shakya does not deny owning and managing the only shop in Baguio City, the only one in the Philippines in fact, that offers pricey items and objects. Now on its fourth year, Namaste (located at the ground floor of Portaga Vaga Mall, Session Road) is the only place where one could find the best and finest wools, antique statues, rare gems and stones, and the most artistically designed arts and crafts from Nepal, Pakistan and India.

"Expensive may be the operative word when talking about Namaste shop. But we are very proud of the fact that what we hand to our clients are not only the objects that they buy, but we also hand to them a portion of the chest containing bits and parcels of the rich culture and history of the makers of our products," 49-year old Shakya shared.

Alice recalls with triumph the most important battle she had waged in life so far: the battle for her dear life itself. "You don't need to have faith in it. It will develop the faith in you," Shakya related as her family added the Namaste store to the string of businesses they started in Nepal and Philippines after she got past lupus.

She said the expensive prices of Namaste price is owed to the fact that they sell genuine and rare products that are made of diminishing sources and also because of the amazing stories behind their crafts.

Shawls

For one, Namaste sells shawls made of the best wools coming from the high Himalayan plateau. One is the shatoosh, known as the "king of wools, which is the best, finest, lightest, warmest and known well with its expensive price.

Legend says that an egg wrapped in gossamer cloud of shatoosh left in the sun cooks in a few hours. Finer than human hair, one-fifth of a human hair, it comes from the undercoat of a chiru, a young antelope found in the frozen high altitude deserts of Tibet and China.

Shakya says that the rarity and value of shatoosh due the growing demand for the fabric led to the decimation of chiru, placing this animal under the list of endangered species. Today, slaughter of chiru is completely banned under international law and so the art can no longer sustain itself because the survival of a species is such in
grave danger.

Another is the pashminas or soft fleece that comes from the neck and underbelly of an ibex, an animal from the remote region of Ladakh and Tibetan plateau. The high altitude combined with the mountain goat's meager diet and inherent genetics enable it to grow a coat of wool which is among the finest and warmest on earth. Here, the animal is not harmed in this process. Real pashminas are still available but expensive.

Neither shatoosh nor pashminas is native to India or Kashmir, though Kashmiri pashminas and shawls are available. By way of caravan and trade they become available in other places.

Another bulk of wool available worldwide is raffle, a pure wool made from domesticated goat, a machine spun, merino, fine in texture but not comparable to pashmina, Its price is also far cheaper, lucky is person who has the opportunity to enjoy the amazing material, Shakya said.

Mark of aristocracy

Native shawls represent a form of aristocratic high classification to the wears. Each region has its own expressions, its own vocabulary of fabric and colors. Embroidered with these shawls were the epics and stories, their dreams and symbols most dear to them.

The fine quality of the wool evokes the buttery softness of the pashminas. Shawls hold a particular and pre-eminent place like other garments in a Nepali society, like the saris and dhoti. Indeed shawls sometimes are unstitched, thus giving them a multiplicity of uses. It can be an element of decoration, as an art piece due to its amazing colors.

However, before the surface of beauty and softness of the wool, there are resonances of their meanings which are profoundly connected with myth and symbology, a cultural indicator of aspirations and mostly status. Some are ornamented with hopes and dreams of the maker, as well as their daily life's encounters.

In earlier times, shawls were essentially a male garment and a gift of woolen shawls is a mark of great respect towards the receiver. In Indian and Persian regions, saints, sages, great teachers and their nobles are honored with the presentation of a shawl which is practiced up to this date. In their royal courts, kings present shawls to their
nobles as a mark of favors. Also, the exchange of cost by shawls between rulers was part of a ceremonial protocol. So, fine shawls made of fine wools became a mark of aristocracy, wealth and status even in a warmer climate.

This traditional rare and expensive, as those of shatoosh, was passed on from one generation of women to the next generation. It is a treasured item for a chest, often times, a mother saves for years just to be able to secure a gift for her daughter's wedding.

Shakya explained that stones and a person's respective bead turn bad situations into good ones. "With our complicated lives right now, people use stones and bead for
protection from bad situations in their personal lives, relationships, careers, businesses or physical conditions," she said.

For improving one's relationships, moonstone, rose quarts, amethyst are recommended are the best stones to use. Citrine is best for business people who want to become more prosperous and improve their productivity. Moldavite is known for its multiple properties such as healing, bringing of happiness and good relations specially combined with seraphinie, tanzanite, phenacite, sugilite, pietersite and tourmaline. They are also known as synergy of stones for love, healing, protection
and prosperity.

Tibetan DZI beads are well known with their healing power and good effects. Alexandrite gem is known in Russia for its joyful vibration and powerful stone for good fortune and inner transformation as it embodies heat energy, higher mind energy, and as a stone layout or jewelry that stimulate inner adaptability.

Namaste! Many people in South and Southeast Asia greet each other with "Namaste" to start the day. It is a Sanskrit word (नमस्ते, Hindustani pronunciation: [nʌmʌsˈteː], from external Sandhi between namaḥ astu and te)which means, Bow to God, and usually accompanied by the hand gesture, Añjali Mudrā.

Namaste is also the name of the small shop inside Porta Vaga along Session Road in Baguio City, Philippines which is the only Nepalese-Tibetan store in the country. It is owned by Alice Shakya who also owns, with his wife, the biggest bazaar in Kathmandu.

This blog attempts to bring you Namaste, the store, to you. So once again, Namaste.