Haridwar and Rishikesh

Shiva at entrance to Haridwar

Arrived in Haridwar at 8.30am, dropped my bag at a tourist office/hotel and went straight to bathe in the Ganges beside Hari-Ki-Ghat (literally meaning the feet of God), considered the most auspicious place to bathe here. Since Haridwar is where the Ganges leaves the mountains to flow down to the great plains below, I was told it would be cold. It was a little cold, but swimming in summer in Ireland is miles colder.

Main Bathing Ghat, Hari-Ki -Pauri

Haridwar, meaning ‘Gateway to God” and is also known as  Hardwar. The nuance in spelling reflects the preference of Vaishnava and Shaivite understanding of God as Vishnu ( ‘Hari’) or as   Shiva (Har).

Haridwar is one of four  sacred sites where the Kumbha Mela (pitcher festival) is held every 12 years (Prayag/Allahabad), Nasik and Ujjain are the others). The festival rotates between these four places with lesser celebrations every six years. The Kumba Mela story  describes how immortal nectar fell from the heavens at this place and I’d love to tell you about it, but alas I have not the time.

Spending only six hours in Haridwar, visiting places on a rickshaw, I decided to move on to Rishikesh as it promised to be closer to the mountains. That’s all I needed to hear and it’s only one hour away by bus. I am also acutely aware that my precious time in India is fast running out and am greedy to see as much as I can.

Everyone is bathing here

So, after my bus ran over someone on a motor cycle, (luckily only the bike got damaged), an angry mob gathering to adjudicate, and another bus rescuing me from stagnation, I arrived in Rishikesh and booked into a place just over looking the Ganges.

I am now in Rishikesh  racing to fill a few blanks before I leave for Badrinath  tomorrow at 4am. From there I hope to go to Kedarnath and then Gangotri and Gomukh, the source of the Ganges.

There are many variables involved in the time it will take to do this, not least the amount of rain that falls and possible landslides that could block roads. It lashed more heavily than I’ve yet seen rain lash this evening, so I hope all will be well higher up. It takes about 12 hours on a bus to get to Badrinath.

Lakshman Jhula Bridge Rishikesh

Rishikesh rests at the foothills of the big ones yet  even these hills  are huge and covered with forests and there’s a huge rocky Ganges gully crashing right through them. Raw …wild…beauty.

Rishikesh

It feels as if nature is in control here and not simply peeping through from pockets of respite from human hands here and there. And even though the Beatles since their Maharishi days have left a New Age legacy here, with lots of Western yoga people, yoga pants, massage, crystals, tarot cards, horoscopes, and meaningful conversations on ashram roof-tops everywhere, it is still a raw beautiful place.

For me mountains  force  ‘uplift’…..  physically and metaphysically and the lure of the real sky scrapers is almost palpable.  I cannot think of any more fitting place to journey towards a temple and hopefully I will visit Shiva in Kedarnath and Vishnu in Badrinatha and finally get to Gomukh.

Actually I’ve had to revise the order of my travel as now you need a permit to walk the 18kms to Gomukh. So temples first. So I will be off-line for a few days as I travel through the mountains.

Mother Ganga in Rishikesh

 

Varanasi: the City of Burning and Learning

Varanasi from the train (its the blurry strip in the middle).

Arrived  this morning in Varanasi from Calcutta and booked into Hotel Alka over-looking Mir Ghat on the Ganges. Varanasi (or Benares, its Muslim name) is made up of the names of two rivers, the Varana and the Assi which join the Ganges on the north and south borders of the city.

Shasti Brata in his  India The Perpetual paradox,(1985) describes Varanasi as “the oldest continual living city in the world at an age  reckoned to be a little under 3000 years. He calls the city where Hindus “go to die” as the “city of burning and learning, where metaphor and reality interweave to form the tapestry of living history.”

It is believed that anyone who dies in Varanasi will attain moksha or freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara) and attain the highest spiritual reality. This is why many old people come here to die and even more will be brought here to be cremated along the banks  of the Ganges.

Originally the city was known as Kashi, the City of Light,  as it was believed that the jyotirlinga,

Varanasi from a boat

Shiva’s fiery pillar of light (a story found in the Shiva Purana, amongst other sources), came through the earth and flared up into the sky here.

The Kashi Vishvanatha Temple is also here. This is one of the most famous and ancient Shiva Temples in India but non-Indians do not have access to it. The security surrounding the temple is very evident with many armed guards at each entrance. Apparently this has to do with raised Muslim Hindu tensions in the area and not a zealous attempt to keep white-skins out.

Old  compulsively-obsessive-temple-destroyer Aurangzeb himself destroyed this  temple too in 1669 and constructed Gaynvapi Mosque right beside it, where the mosque remains  today. The temple had been destroyed and rebuilt many times before this, but the current temple was built by Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

Panoramic Ganges view from Hotel Alka

It rained heavily shortly after arriving so it wasn’t until this evening that  some sense of Varanasi beyond the labyrinth of narrow alley-ways and Indian  hustle and bustle emerged.

Having just returned and noticed a computer in the lobby I thought I’d  post  something of  one of the most beautiful rituals I’ve seen yet. To those who question the point or purpose of ritual  I say go to this one. It is simply an experience worth having.

Every evening at 7.30pm this  ceremonial offering (aarti) to the river Ganges, considered a sacred mother to all life, takes place. The whole experience,  out on the river; watching the brahmins in brilliant orange and white robes at the ghats perform with  synchronised, almost dance like movements; the gentle lapping of water ;  cool breezes in the darkness;  hundreds of hushed pilgrims and tourists gathered around on boats and steps, made for a mood  of reverential awe. It was certainly helped too by the sacred songs and mantras resonating, unusually,  at a suitably devotional pitch.

Priests offering puja (worship) to the Ganges

There is Youtube clip that has footage of the ritual, though the brahmins were dressed differently that day. You can find it here.

The fires of huge lamps lit up the sky and incense and frankincense wafted through the night as people gently offered their own little  flower lamps to the rippling back of Mother Ganga.

Spectacular fire lamp offering

Offering floating flower lamps to the Ganges

But  before I wax on too lyrically about the uplifting spirituality of the whole experience, ritual may also serve less edifying ends. A  savvy and articulate youth, Raj, was my guide for the evening. He pointed to one of the  eight or so brahmins lined up on the bank and said with unveiled disgust:

“You see him, the one with the balding hair, he’s not really a brahmin at all. When this puja is over he will go over there and smoke cigarettes and talk to the tourist girls”.

“So he’s a bit of an actor then? ” I said.  ” Do you think he just likes to do this in front of the crowds, to be a bit of a celebrity? ”

He laughed saying ” Yes. This one he thinks he is the Michael Jackson of Varanasi.”

I ended my evening back at the hotel restaurant watching  flames seemingly  floating  far out on the Ganges. I asked what it was and the waiter said it was a poor man’s cremation on the opposite  side of the river – one who could not afford a burning on this side.

So as my Ginger and Honey and Lemon tea arrived, I watched the blazing funeral pyre from my side of the river. It  looked like one of the little candle lamps offered by pilgrims at this evening’s ritual, floating far across the water. It flickered and gradually faded as Mother Ganges carried a soul home.

Tomorrow morning I will go out on a boat at dawn to see the sun rise over life and death at the Varanasi Ghats (broad steps leading down to the river for bathing). Then in the afternoon I will head for Prayag (Allahadad) and catch a night train from there to Mathura.

 

Kanchipuram

Arrived in Kanchi on Sunday evening 16th August. Kanchipuram is known as the ‘Golden City of Temples’ and is considered one of the seven main sacred cities of India. It has over a hundred temples there today but is said to have had over a thousand. I saw four, two Visnu temples:  the Vaikuntha Perumal Temple and the Varadaraja Temple and two Shiva Temples: The Ekambareshvara Temple and the Kailasanatha Temple.

It rained quite a bit on the evening and morning I spent in Kanchi  so the bit about the’ Golden’ city was lost on me. It was all a bit sludgy so I decided on a whirlwind rickshaw tour of the four main temples. I had about one hour in each which is absolute blasphemy given how much there was to see, but I wanted to arrive in Tirumala before nightfall.

The first temple I visited, was the Vaikuntha Perumal temple, a Vishnu Temple, built in the 8th century by the Pallava king Nandhivarman Pallavamalla. It  is unusual in having three sanctums, with Vishnu in reclining, standing and sitting pose respectively. I took darshan of Vishnu in his sitting pose and on ekadashi and festival days the other forms are open to the public.

Vaikuntha Perumal Temple Kanchi

The temple is small with grassy verges and the sounds of devotional music greet you as you step into its courtyard. There was only one other visitor there with me so the priest was very generous with his time and showed both of us around the inside of the temple.

He explained  why the walls and carvings of the temple were so badly deteriorated. Apparently no one knows the exact mix of sandstone and other materials that comprise these walls and so cannot restore them.

With his blessings and some sweets, I left to visit a Shiva Temple, the Kailashanath Temple.

Vaikuntha Perumal

The Kailashanatha Temple is probably the most beautiful and best preserved of the four temples I visited in Kanchi. It is a small temple and also possibly the oldest, built in 7th century by Rajasimha Pallava.

Kailashanatha Temple

When I sought my rickshaw driver’s help in finding  the concealed entrance to the inner sanctum on the side of the temple, he told me I could not go into the temple. Nonetheless we went in together and both my driver and I were met and welcomed by a most gentle Brahmin who, in impeccable English inquired about my pilgrimage and explained to us the details and story behind the huge Shiva Linga in the dark cavernous shrine.His family  name was Subramanian, and his family have been priests there since the 14th century.

Unlike the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, whose architecture it resembles, this temple, away from the eroding forces of the sea, seems to have survived incredibly well. The brahmin also shared his concern for the future maintenance of the temple due to lack of knowledge of the exact constituents of the sandstone edifice.

He also inquired whether or not education was corrupt in my country and then launched into a polite yet vehement criticism of the Indian Government’s ‘propaganda’ forcing people into  technological and vocational fields of  education. He decried the lack of interest in culture and traditional forms of learning.

It’s funny, I seem to remember a similar lament by Professor Gombrich at Oxford a few years ago. He would have had much to share with this little brahmin on the other side of the world. I left very happy to have met him and with my rickshaw driver urging me on to the next temple, The Shiva, Ekambareshvara Temple.

Ekambareshvara/Ekambaranatha Temple

This is the largest temple in Kanchipuram, and though parts of the main temple were built by the pallava Kings, the rest of the huge temple complex was built mainly in the 16th and 17th century. None of the  gopurams (tower gateways) are opposite each other nor are the walls of the temple parallel to each other. For me this lack of symmetry created a sense of  discordance. Or perhaps it was also because it was raining as I arrived with little time to appreciate its open spaces.  I was glad to enter its inner hall ways.

Corridors of the Ekambareshvara Temple. I took the picture without my contact lens, as you can see.

At first I was refused entry to the inner sanctum by a rather pushy brahmin. When I mentioned the word ‘donation’ he changed his tune. Inside, although there were quite a few visitors, the brahmins at the shrine were welcoming and allowed me to take extra time viewing the Shiva Linga. It is made of sandstone and is believed to have been made by Parvati (wife of Shiva) and worshipped by her  when she was separated from him.

There is also a mango tree (said to be about 3000 years old) here under which Parvati is said to have worshipped Shiva and performed penance for offending him. Naturally she won him over with her extra-ordinary feats and they continue to live happily ever after.

Parvati's Mango Tree

The Varadaraja Temple

The third temple I visited was this major Vishnu Temple built by the Kings of Vijayanagar in the 12th century. It is counted along with Tirupati and Sri Rangam as one of the major temples in South India.Varada means bestower of benedictions and raja means king.

Entrance to the Varadaraja Temple

Sri Varadaraj

In this temple I had a brahmin guide who took me around the 1000 pillared hall with its myriad carvings from the Puranas and the Ramayana and showed me up the stairs of the small hill on which the deity of Varadaraj is located.  It was not such a steep climb and the large, standing deity towers down upon all those ascending to pay their respects.

Hanuman lifting mountain

The story is that Lord Brahma had Visvakarma, the architect of the demigods, make a wooden deity of Lord Varadaraja. The utsava-murti (festival deity ) is said to have emerged from Lord Brahma’s sacrificial fire. It was felt that the wooden deity would be ruined if constantly exposed and worshiped. Therefore the deity was immersed in the temple tank, and a granite deity was installed in its place. It is taken out for viewing every 40 to 50 years.The next time will be 2019 and the temple expects hundreds and thousands of pilgrims to flock  here for this rare privilege.

Temple Tank

Kamakshi(Love-eyed)  Amaan(Goddess) Temple

Finally I arrived at the Kamakshi Amaan temple and was a bit pessimistic about gaining entrance given my Meenakshi experience in Madurai. However, Nick  (that’s Dr Nicolas Sutton to those of you who don’t know him)  furnished me with the name of  a Mr Shastri who had been very kind to him on his visit to the temple. So, as I was being ushered away from the entrance for being the freckled-pasty- skinned pariah that I am, I asked for Mr Shastri please.

A look of recognition in the eyes of the guard mellowed his approach into one of direction to the far corner of the temple. There, befittingly adorned with  body paint and brahmin thread, sat Mr Shastri who never heard of Nick Sutton.  ‘How many Mr Shastri’s are there ? ‘ I asked, and he laughed saying there were many, maybe 30. But the laugh may have mellowed him, or perhaps the  potent vibration of the name Dr Nick Sutton did it, because he waved a hand towards the guard and told him to show me around.

So thank you Nick, for Mr Shastri. I’m sorry I never got to meet the gentleman himself, but I had a much appreciated guided tour of the Temple. I took no photographs, because I didn’t want to push my luck.

The temple is  one of three main holy places of Goddess/Sakti worship in India, the other two being Madurai and Varanasi and was built by the Cholas in the 14th century.

Within the temple too there is a Vishnu shrine, The Varaha Perumal Temple, located just left of the entrance to the inner shrine which was the first place the guard took me, before showing me into the inner shrine where the Goddess is seated on a lotus. There is also a shrine to Shankara Acarya (who installed a chakra here) within the temple.

To further add to my good fortune, the bookseller at a bookstand without asking for any payment gave me free gifts of   pictures of Kamaskhi, and a gold-coloured coin with Kuvera (the treasurer of the Gods) and Lakshmi (the Goddess of Fortune) on the other side. I thought the OCHS  might benefit from this little blessing.  Maybe we should install it somewhere in the centre.- Every little helps!

I left this final temple visit in Kanchipuram  feeling very much blessed by the loving glance of Kamakshi and with prasadam ( sweets given out at all temples) bursting from plastic bags I raced off to collect my bag from the Hotel and catch a bus to Tirumala

 

Thirukkalukundram

Stairway to Heaven

From A Tourist Guide:

“The village of Tirukkalikundram 16km east on the road to Kanchipuram, is locally famous for its hilltop Shiva Temple, where a pair of white neophran vultures, believed to be reincarnated saints on their way between Varanasi and Rameswaram, used to swoop down at noon to be fed by the priests. No one knew how long these visits had been going on, or why, in 1994, the vultures suddenly stopped coming. Their absence, however, was taken as a bad omen, and, sure enough, that year massive cyclones ravaged the Tamil Nadu coast.”

As there are 400 steps to climb barefoot I was glad I arrived  in the evening so the steps were not hot. Despite the popularity of this place, there were only three other pilgrims there with me.The views from the top were breath-taking,  bathed in the  etheral beauty of the evening sun’s golden rays. I reached for my camera and the battery was flat, so I’m afraid I’ll have to keep that one for myself. Below is one from the internet.

The Panoramic View from the Shiva Temple

 

Arunachaleswara Temple

This is one of the largest temples in all of India. It was built by the Vijayanagar ruler Krishnadeva Raya (1502-29) but the inner part of the temple dates back to the 11th century and most likely was built upon the site of a much earlier wooden structure.

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Arunachala from the sacred Mountain

The temple houses one of the five element lingas, Shiva incarnate, as fire. Every year in November/December there is the vast crowd-drawing Kartika Deepam celebration during which a bonfire is lit on Arunachala mountain over-looking the temple . The mountain is considered a manifestation of Shiva  and on full moon nights thousands of pilgrims circumnambulate it barefoot (about 15kms).

I found this temple the most peaceful and beautiful temple so far, partly due to the beauty of its mountainous surroundings and the tranquil crowd-free atmosphere of the place. There was also the sonorous sound of slow chanting piped throughout the temple complex which added to the spiritual ambiance.

Shiva devotee Arunachala

 

Chidambaram

The name Chidambaram comes from chit, meaning “consciousness”, and ambaram, meaning “sky” . It  refers to the expanse of the skies or ‘expanding consciousness’. This 10th century temple, (built during the reign of Vira Chola Raja and later reconstructed by Raja Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar in 1520) is the home of the famous Sabhanayaka Nataraja Temple.

The Chidambaram temple

It is the original temple dedicated to the  Nataraja (Lord of Dance) form of Shiva,  found in his famous dancing pose (Ananda Tandava), with one leg in the air and four arms.Apart from this being another  architectural eye-fest , this  is one of the few temples which houses both a Vaishnava and Shaiva shrine side by side.

In a shrine close beside the shrine to Lord Nataraj (and two linga forms) is the shrine to Govindaraja, a form of Vishnu reclining on Ananta sesa. Sri Vaisnava priests conduct the puja, or worship to Govindaraj while a class of local brahmanas (Dikshitars) conduct rituals for Lord Nataraja. The temple is an important pilgrimage site for both traditions.

The Iconic Nataraja

I found the priests at this temple welcoming and generous with their time without asking for money. One of the Dikshitar priests, Ganesh,  perhaps in his 40s with thick -lensed pink spectacles, kindly handed me two pages of typed paper on which  the digested wisdom of his years as a temple priest was succinctly outlined. He refused my attempts at recompense and simply wished me well. It read a bit like a New-Age Eckhart Tolle chapter, but given his generousity of spirit I received it with gratitude. Here’s a  sample of what he wrote (verbatim):

Everything we do, we must wait and quiet for the right time. Please try always to be a giving person, what we giving to the people, we receiving from God. God is no where. God is now here. All is Lord Nataraja’s play and blessings. Everything comes for a very good reason. Everything is perfect. And provided. Life is a circle. Happiness to bring sadness, sadness to bring happiness. If you follow Shiva, only happiness and u can be sixteen years old always in your life.

He may have needed an editor but I appreciated his attempt to  help others (particularly Westerners) see beyond what might appear as alien and inaccessible Shiva ritual and practice.

 

Kumbakonam

Sarangapani Temple Kumbakonam

Kumbakonam, known as the Temple Town, is a  former capital of the Chola kings in the 7th century, and is about 4 hours by bus from Tiruchirappelli. It has about 15 temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva around the town centre and there is also a rare temple to Brahma  here too.

The Sarangapani temple, mostly built by the Nayaks between the 13th and 17th century ( the central shrine dates to the Chola period, 10th-12th C.E) is considered to be one of the most important Vaishnava temples in South India along with Sri Rangam (Tiruchiappelli) and  Sri Venkateshwara or Balaji Temple in Tirupati. Here again Lord Vishnu is seen reclining on Ananta Sesa, the celestial serpent.

My experience here was very welcoming. Arriving in the evening of the 9th in time for the evening ritual, I was met with the sweet smell of hay and cows as soon as I stepped through yet another fabulous Dravidian gopuram (gateway). There, to one side, was a small cow sanctuary (goshalla) complete with new born calves.

The evening was balmy and breezy and I was among the very few visitors to the temple that evening. This allowed for a tranquil and unhurried stay. A group of  eight brahmins, in a small inner courtyard immediately in front of the inner sanctum, were reciting prayers in unison from their Sri Vaisnava scriptures. I sat for about a half hour, welcomed by the altar priest, in the timeless space of sacred chant until I was ready for sleep and repeated it all again the next morning before leaving for Chidambaram.

The Cow Sanctuary at the Sarangapani Temple

 

Namakkal and Tanjore

NAMAKKAL

This was a busy day, meaning a day with a lot of bus. Tiruchirappalli to Namakkal was an eight hour return journey in the morning,  and then 5 hours return trip to Thanjavur (Tanjore)  in the afternoon, but it was worth every bit of it…bumps and all.

At Namakkal there is the Digambara Anjaneya Temple where a huge deity of Hanuman  is bathed (abhishek) with various auspicious substances every day at 11am. The whole process takes about an hour,  is accompanied by music and cheers and attracts a full house to its semi-open temple.

The experience defies all rational explanation as to  why a ritual of showering preparations of milk; of turmeric; of sandalwood; of yogurt; of rose water; of flowers etc.  over the deity by some priests should arouse such fervent enthusiasm.

Yet, sitting there , with streams  of  shifting liquid colour silhouetting  the form of the deity; accompanied by music and celebratory cheers with each showering ; and with all the stories of Hanuman’s heroism and devotion surfacing  within with the awakening from without, I too felt the point of this sweet ritual. But  don’t ask me why!

Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

TANJORE

Tanjore/Thanjavur

The Brihadeswara or Rajarajeswara Temple in Tanjore, dedicated to Lord Shiva, and built by Rajaraja Chola in 1010 A.D., is the largest and highest of the Chola temples and stands as a symbol of Chola greatness.

It is probably the most impressive place to visit in terms of immediate impact. With its immaculately maintained temple complex and a constant stream of international visitors it is feels like the World Heritage site it really is.

Arriving here in the evening was a lucky stroke. Gentle breezes  banished clammy clothes and the setting sun bathed the sandalwood hued stone in a glowing ethereal light. The paving underfoot was cool allowing for a peaceful and unhurried  visit.

The many sculptures of Nandi, Shiva’s bull, along the top of the peripheral wall were silhouetted beautifully against the evening sky  and the temple priests of the gigantic Brihadeshwara Shiva Linga were courteousness and welcoming.

Tanjore

Entrance gate to Brihadishwara Temple Tanjore

Nandi's at Night

 

Madurai, Meenakshi, and Me.

Meenakshi Temple

Arrived in Madurai at 3pm, Monday August 3rd and found a small Hotel (Sri Devi Hotel) with stunning roof views of the incredibly beautiful Meenakshi temple. Showered, changed into sari and rushed off to try my luck with taking darshan of Meenakshi Devi.

The present temple was built in the 17th century, but it’s history goes back to the Pandhya kings around 2000 years ago.It is believed to have been destroyed in 1310 by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur.

The temple has two main sanctuaries dedicated to Sundareshwara (Lord of Beauty) and Meenakshi, his wife. The  temple complex houses 14 magnificent Gopurams or towers including two golden Gopurams for the main deities, that are sculptured and painted in the elaborate Dravidian style.There is a fabulous thousand pillared hall and it  is estimated that  there are over 33 million carvings in the temple!

Hotel Roof Top View

Another roof top view

I was refused entry to the inner sanctum for not being a Hindu at the first attempt. Thus began a merry-go-round of pass-the-parcel (me = parcel) with the temple administration. I pleaded my : ‘I’ve-been-a-practising-Vaishnava-for-over-20-years’ case with the Deputy Officer, the Superintendent, the Joint Commissioner and finally after a two hour wait across town, with Rajendra the local branch head of the Arya Samaj. He in turn put me on the phone to the President (Subodh Chander) of the Tamil Nadu Arya Samaj.

Each interview was met with sympathy and understanding, but the bottom line was I needed a Hindu Conversion Certificate to enter the inner sanctum of the temple where the deity of Meenaksi resides. The President offered to perform a shuddhi ritual for me and also a fire sacrifice (homa), amongst else which would entitle me to my certificate. I was told that I should wait in Madurai until next week when he would be visiting and all this could take place.

Rajendra showed me the elaborate certificate with a signed declaration of ones conversion to Hinduism complete with photo id.

I then asked the President if all this was necessary just to have a two minute darshan of Meenakshi and could I just go and see her in the morning. Finally he agreed that since I had to leave tomorrow, and that I did not in fact need to perform any Hindu rituals personally, it would be alright to see Meenakshi without more formal qualification. He further added that if there was anything else he could do to help, he was at my service.

An arrangement was thus made for me to meet with Rajendra at 9am at my Hotel the next morning when he would take me to the shrine.

Next morning I waited for an hour and Rajendra did not show up and the phone number he had given me remained switched off. I finally gave up and decided to catch the bus to Ramesvaram instead.

En route to Ramesvaram (4 hours) I mentally churned the whole idea of what it means to be a Hindu. In our Hindu Studies classes this first introductory class always produces divided opinion, as we expect. The origin of the word ‘Hindu’ is explained as a term designated by the Persians for those people living beyond the river Sindhu. It was not a term these people applied to themselves nor did it refer to a single tradition. It was an umbrella term for a wide range of beliefs and practices with many over-lapping similarities. Along with an over-view of the historical development of the term, the class also debates the issue of birth vs character and practice in defining a Hindu. There is usually lively debate on the subject just as there always has been within Hindu traditions themselves.

Meenakshi Devi

These varying perspectives are always stimulating but here in Madurai, to find myself on the receiving end of a personal rejection, aroused a surprising sense of hurt and indignation. Travelling to Ramesvaram, I mentally relived all the ‘He-said-and-I-saids’ and all the ‘I-could-have –said-and-should-have-saids” of the previous day. The energy behind my mental rant was interesting and I couldn’t seem to just let it go or ‘drop-the-bone’.

Then, sitting there on the over-heated gear box of the bus my eyes caught sight of the smiling face of the Goddess Meenakshi looking directly at me from the front of a shopping bag at the feet of the lady sitting directly before me. She appeared to be looking directly at me with kind smiling face and right hand uplifted in the pose of benediction.

Instantly all mental angst evaporated in that smile. It seemed that all the codes or laws of any particular brand of religion or tradition seemed in that instant unable to restrict or contain the workings of the Divine. I may not be allowed access to Menakshi in her shrine, but that is not to say Meenakshi is restricted in her access to me. The divine female principle is a lofty theological concept way beyond my grasp or understanding but such a well-timed smile from a handbag panel did more for me then than theology could ever achieve.

The whole episode reminded me of a T-shirt I saw in Jaipur:

God is Too Big To Fit Into One Religion

My journey to Ramesvaram from then on became a peaceful and happy pilgrimage and despite a little hour and a half hitch along the way I arrived in time to bathe and take darshan with no problems at all at the Ramnathaswami temple, with the famous  Shiva Linga  said to be fashioned originally  by Sita devi from sand and installed here by Lord Rama.

Got back to Madurai around mid-night feeling tired, happy,  healed, and resentment free.

Dayananda Sarasvati(1824-1883) founder of the Arya Samaj initially employed the shuddhi ritual to purify and readmit the Hindus who had converted to Islam or Christianity; however, soon it was made into an instrument of conversion to Hindu tradition redefining its essence from birth to belief.

A little Hitch on the way

Bathing at Ramesvaram

 

Festival Time

On my last night in Vrindavan (Fri 24th) I was lucky enough to catch the start of the festival of Jhulan Yatra, the Radha Krishna swing festival at the famous Banke Bihari Temple, the most popular temple in Vrindavan.

Every year at this time the deities are put on a swing and bedecked with flowers. Some temples allow worshippers to participate in this festival by pulling the swing with a rope. Unfortunately no photos were allowed, but you can see the throne without the deities on their webpage photo gallery here

The temple was a forest of flowers and greenery and packed with pilgrims.The ornate golden throne on which the deity was swung was strewn with hundreds of garlands and everybody seemed intoxicated with the sheer delight of being there. Contagious stuff and a really uplifting send off from Vrindavan.

Next morning took the 6 hour bus journey to Jaipur. As we set off the whole bus sang songs to Banke bihari. That was the only word I understood. Seems they were a whole community or village who had travelled from Jaipur for the festival.I like travelling on buses as it offers more insight into life here than a taxi. And even though I unfortunately speak no Hindi, the language of travellers is universal. The sharing of food, water and space along with the non-verbal language of gesture and expression forge a comfortable camaraderie that doesn’t need words. I like this.

I arrived in Jaipur at midday was met by a friend who lives there and off we went zipping through city traffic on her moped. After a wash and change we were lucky enough to catch the annual festival of Teej, the festival for married ladies.

The deity of Parvati (wife of Shiva) is taken out on the streets preceded by a fabulous procession of Rajasthani colour, splendour and pomp.On this day married women pray for the well-being of their husbands and their marriage.We had a birds eye view from the roof-top of a temple.

Rajasthani dancers - the birds eye view

Elephants Everywhere

Festive Bulls

Parvati in procession

Parvati up close, although not so close that you can really see her

In the evening we zipped around the city on the scooter to catch the Julan Yatra celebrations at three temples whose original deities were transferred to Jaipur from Vrindavan for safe-keeping from Aurangazeb in the 17^th century . He’s the Mughal Emperor most famous among Hindus for smashing temples and desecrating deities.

Scooting in Jaipur

These temples are those established by the celebrated Goswamis of Vrindvan, the Govindaji Temple, Radha Damodar Temple and the Radha Gopinatha Temple. We also visited another small temple, Radha Vinod temple with beautiful flower mandala decorations on the floor.

Flower Mandala

Jaipur is beautiful. It seemed yesterday too to be filled with festivities….the festival of Teej on the streets and Jhulan Yatra in all the Krishna Temples. It was a tsunami of colourful celebration and I couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to the city.

Below is a youtube clip of evening worship at the Govindaji temple.  The enthusiasm of the crowds, the simplicity and sweetness of their chanting, and the welcoming informality of it all made for perfect endings to humid, bustling days in Jaipur