My images are part of a personal journey in which I search for answers to fundamental questions about life, its meaning and purpose, and later attempt to understand the ultimate nature of reality.
This quest has taken me to every nook and corner of India, including nearby Himalayan states and regions such as Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Zanskar, and Ladakh (Little Tibet), where I have met Buddhist philosophers, Vedantic yogis, agnostic spiritualists, scientists, and charlatans alike.
Many of my images were shot in remote Himalayan monasteries dating back 1500 years or more. Constant interaction with brilliant Vedic and Buddhist scholars has led me to understand that the concept of a “Creator God” proposed by organized religions is a simplistic one. It fails to fully comprehend that unconditioned, non-dual, eternal, omnipresent force. God is not a glorified “personality” sitting somewhere in the universe, directing the lives of people or attending to the minute details of day-to-day operations. We need to understand that the Universal Mind does not exist separately from the universe, but within it and as it.
The universe was not arbitrarily created through any external intervention, but is self-born and governed by the eternal law of cause and effect. The impressions of all objects in the universe lie dormant within the inner depths of the Universal Mind until they are activated by the working of karma. They are then projected into our familiar space-time dimension, which we recognize as the material world. The universe is not only self-actuating, but also self-determining.
As I continue this unfinished search, I find it pertinent to quote a Sanskrit shloka (verse) written 3000 years ago by an Indian monk named Adi Shankaracharya.
Translation: Neither am I the mind, nor intelligence nor ego. Neither am I the organs of hearing (ears), tasting (tongue), smelling (nose), or seeing (eyes). Neither am I the sky (space), nor the earth (matter), neither fire nor air. I am pure blissful consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva.
About Madhur Dhingra
Madhur Dhingra is a minimalist, surreal, and fine art photographer based between Toronto, Canada, and New Delhi, India. He was born in Delhi as an only child into a family deeply affected by the aftermath of the India–Pakistan Partition. The violence and upheaval of the Partition forced his once-affluent family, who had been living in Pakistan, to migrate overnight to New Delhi, leaving everything behind and becoming completely penniless. This sudden displacement created a lasting sense of insecurity within the family.
Although he was born years after these events, he grew up inheriting that unresolved trauma, constantly reminded of the visible scars left by the Partition. At the age of seventeen, he joined the Merchant Navy as a deck cadet, leaving college in his first year. He embraced life at sea and showed a strong aptitude for navigation, eventually being promoted to navigating officer. During his first year, he barely thought of returning home, fully immersed in his desire to see the world, meet people from different backgrounds, and experience diverse cultures.
After five years of sailing, a sense of restlessness and inner emptiness set in. The novelty faded, and he realized that his temperament no longer aligned with life at sea. He eventually decided to quit and return to join the family business that awaited him. His father was delighted by this decision. He married and soon became the father of two children, all before the age of twenty-four. The following years passed quickly as he focused on providing for his family. Raising his children with care and affection became his highest priority, offering them the love he himself had lacked during childhood.
Some years later, the same feelings of restlessness resurfaced. Searching for a way to fill this persistent void, he found photography, which became a profound form of personal fulfillment. He studied photography at the prestigious Triveni Kala Sangam art institute in Mandi House, New Delhi. He later began working in product photography, collaborating with major advertising agencies.
He has held solo exhibitions in India and France, with upcoming shows scheduled in the United States in 2024 and 2025. His work has been published in numerous international magazines. His life as a photographer continues, driven by an ongoing search for meaning, expression, and inner balance. [Official Website]
