I had held a workshop at
Nainital, at Bara Pathar, for a whole week on the topic, ‘Death
and Rebirth’. A successful workshop, a lovely stay at this
abode perched on a mountain-top prepared us to take up our package
tour of the three Dhams with Shubh Yatra.
The six of us -
Deepshikha, Ela, Aloka, Bokul, Gauranga and myself - reached Haridwar
on the 9th of June. We bathed in the beauty of Sri Aurobindo Yoga
Mandir, prayed at the Relics Centre and then with all the confidence
of the Mother’s grace and protection, drove to Rishikesh on 10th
June. A whole day drive took us to Uttarkashi…
Our hotel, Devansh at
Uttarkashi, was bordering the Ganges, known as Bhagirathi at this
juncture. All of us felt elated and fortunate to be in the lap of
Ganges - vast and beautiful, full of strength and peace, like the
image of Mahakali herself. Less we knew that six days later, the same
Ganges, so full of peace and beauty, would show us its Rudraroop!
We were looking forward
to the dawn of 11th, for that was the day when we would be going to
Gangotri, our very first dhaam! The long drive - which had
become an endless drive because of the never-ending traffic jams, did
not drench our enthusiasm when we reached Gangotri. We lost no time
in stepping into the cold waters of the Ganges. Image of Ma Ganga
descending on Shiva’s locks came up in my mind as I or
reverentially took the water and put it on my head! People around us
were literally dipping in the waters - young and old, and even
babies! It was a sight quite unforgettable - did these devotees not
feel the cold of the icy waters? What protected them? Was it not
their faith which shielded them? Like all other pilgrims, we too
joined the queue and had the darshan of Ma Ganga in the
imposing temple that stood against the magnificent grandeur of the
Himalayas!
Happiness, satisfaction,
devotion filled our heart as we drove back to spend the second night
in the lap of Ganges at Uttarkashi, in the same hotel Devansh! Our
third day was comparatively a long one - driving on the mountain road
which took us through secret curves of valleys and forests, peaks of
bare rock dotted with snow, while continuously we were following the
meandering flow of the Ganges. Peace and patience were what we
experienced on this day which ended in Hotel Bhagirathi at Guptakshi.
Our car driver, Pandeyji
informed us that in the morning hours of that day, a large landslide
had blocked and destroyed a long portion of the road to Gangotri and
many pilgrims were stranded on either ends of the landslide. We
thanked our stars that we had just escaped what could have been a
disaster… We had not yet imagined of the catastrophy that awaited
us at Kedarnath…
We reached Gaurikund, on
the 13th, by early morning. From there we had to trek or horse ride
fourteen kilometres to the Kedarnath temple - that was the challenge
in front of us. Mentally we were prepared for this arduous steep
climb. Ela chose wisely to go on the horse right from the beginning.
Bokul, Gauranga and Aloka trusted their physical capability and
decided to trek the steep climb. Deepshikha too started trekking but
after a heroic effort for 2.5 km she had to give up and get on a
horse-back. I too accompanied her on a second horse and our climb to
Kedarnath took at least four hours. The trekkers took nine and half
hours by the time they reached our hotel Punjab Sindh Awas.
Trekking from Gaurikund
to the Kedarnath temple is in itself a miracle, I felt. On a narrow
road of twelve feet or so, there were horses mounting up or going
down; palkiwalas were heaving young and old passengers while another
row of palkiwalas were almost running down the steep and slippery
cobbled and at places cemented road; the basket carriers silently
trudged up and down for their day’s earnings. There was absolute
chaos on the road, which had a rocky mountain on one side and a
perilous steep drop on the other. And yet, what was unbelievable was
the joy, the devotion, the satisfaction, the quiet enjoyment on the
faces of the devotees. It was as if it was their life’s mission and
neither the pouring rain, nor the dangers of the path, neither “the
wind and the weather beating round” them could deter them. It is as
if they were in the heart of their hearts responding to Sri
Aurobindo’s invitation: “Who will come with me? Who will climb
with me?... Stark must he be and kinsman to danger…” They
were mostly hooked to the consciousness of what lay behind their
chanting of the mantra, “Om Namah Shivaya” and no danger
and doubt caught their mind.
The night, the dark night
without any electricity supply, was very cold indeed. But we tucked
ourselves in the very warm blankets after a sumptuous meal of bread
and chapatti which we carried in good quantities. The continuous
pre-monsoon could not dampen us because we were in high-spirits,
looking forward to the darshan the next morning. It rained the
whole night. But the morning of the 14th dawned with no signs of any
danger or destruction that was being prepared in the clouds and the
mountain peaks. The night rain had ceased giving us a pleasant two
hours wait in the one and half kilometre queue to go inside the
temple.
When we stepped in the
sanctum sanctorum of the temple, noise and jostle and chaos broke
out! Yet, I was feeling quiet, peaceful and shantimaya inspite
of all the pandemonium around. I was searching with my eyes, Lord
Shiva’s statue or a Lingam. But lo! and behold! There was only a
huge ghee-smeared rock, in the shape of the hump of Nandi! It was
believed to be swayambhu! I could not believe my eyes at what
I was seeing! Is this the ‘murthy’, the ‘idol’, the
‘rock’, the ‘image of Shiva’ that lakhs of devotees have been
worshipping for thousands of years—I asked myself ?
- Prof. Ananda Reddy
(to be continued)
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