TRAVELOGUE OF A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Lucknow – Ayodhya – Prayagraj –
Varanasi – Mathura
“To tread the path on a never ending journey, willingly seek to submerge self with nature;
To understand coincidence as
bounty of nature, willingly embrace the unknown in nature;
To realise the secrets of the
unknown, know that it’s being one with nature.”
-
Veteran Col RS
Sidhu
My quest to seek greater understanding of provenance of the occult phenomenon on the battlefield, convinced me to undertake a spiritual journey to the known spiritual abodes of Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ayodhya and Mathura. That this goal coincided with the deep desire of my spouse to pay obeisance at these centers of spirituality, eased the decision matrix.
We decided to drive down from Dehra Dun in our tried and tested Volkswagen Vento, as we wanted to keep our itinerary relatively flexible. This facilitated us to mould our journey to go with the flow, and the long drives gave us ample time to share our individual understandings, thus heightening our overall spiritual experience.
Journeying to Lucknow
The drive from Dehra Dun to Lucknow is more than 700 kilometers. But the
journey is comfortable as the route follows four laned toll roads and
expressways. From Dehra Dun we drove via Mohand tunnel to Biharigarh, from
where the four laned Saharanpur – Chandigarh toll road takes off. At Gagalheri
we branched off onto the Muzaffarnagar four lane toll road, which seamlessly
merges with the four laned Muzaffarnagar bypass, and thereafter onto the four
laned toll road to Meerut. Here on we followed the double laned Meerut bypass road
before getting onto the Meerut Delhi Expressway which merges with the Eastern Peripheral
Expressway. At Greater Noida we left the Eastern Peripheral Expressway to drive
across Greater Noida onto the Yamuna Expressway. Somehow the project planners
have not catered for connectivity between the two expressways. At Agra the Taj
Expressway also acts as a convenient link road to move onto the Lucknow
Expressway. Thence we followed the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. Overall it took us
under eleven hours to reach Lucknow.
Exploring Lucknow
We hired a local cab for the day to explore the sights,
sounds as also the culinary world of Lucknow of old. We had already decided to
forego the standard meals for the day to enable us to explore the snack
delicacies that Lucknow is renowned for. After apprising the cab driver our
points of interest, we let him set the itinerary for the day as well as the
route to be followed.
Our first halt was at Sharma Tea, at Lalbagh,
renowned for its butter bun, ‘chai’ and samosa. It was early morning and
most of the shops in the market were yet to open for the day. The road here is
reasonably broad, but the densely parked vehicles of the customers made it
appear narrow, while also testifying to the popularity of the tea shop. The
buns, filled with freshly churned butter, the aromatic ‘chai’ in earthen
pot, and the finely ground potato and herbs filled samosa, appealed to both the
senses and the stomach.
Next halt on our itinerary lay at the complex
housing Imam Bara, Picture Gallery, and the Chhota Imam Bara. The Imambara is a
labyrinth of narrow passageways, colloquially called ‘bhul bhulayya’ which
may loosely be translated as ‘passageways for getting lost’. Only a part of the
complex is open for view for the public, with the passages which lead deep into
the labyrinth having been walled off due to public safety concerns. We decided
against taking a guide, and got dutifully lost in the dingy passageways full of
musty smell. It took us half an hour of exciting explorations to find our way
out of the maze. Taking a guide would have spoilt this fun.
The close by Picture Gallery houses the portraits
of erstwhile Nawabs of Oudh. We were disappointed by the poor maintenance and
haphazard display arrangements, characteristic of most of the old monuments of
Lucknow.
Having spent three hours exploring the medieval
structures, it was time to refresh ourselves with more of the old world
culinary delicacies of Lucknow. We first went to Chowk, the old market of
Lucknow. Here we savoured the ‘Malaipan’ and ‘Jalebi’ of Radhe
Lal Mishthan Bhandar, followed by the ‘Lassi’ of Shree Lassi Bhandar. ‘Kulfi’
of Prakash Kulfi at Ameenabad and ‘Aloo Tikki’ of Shukla Chaat House at Hazrat
Ganj rounded up our gourmet tour.
Selection Centre on Cantt Road has an extensive
array of ‘Chikan’ embroidery clothes. It also has assured quality at fixed
prices, a big disappointment for the ‘bargain hunters’, but a manna from heaven
to those unskilled in the fine art of bargaining.
Ambedkar Park, spread over almost a square
kilometer, lies along the Gomti riverfront. Aesthetically designed, its famous
open air ‘elephant gallery’, featuring statues of sixty odd elephants, is its
USP. Extensively floored with polished granite and other stone floor tiles, it
exudes a breadth of fresh air with its vast open space, coolness from its
vicinity to the Gomti river, amphitheaters, auditoriums and fountains. It has
also developed a distinct aura of its own. We also found it a good enough place
to burn off some of the calories we had imbibed during our exploration of old
Lucknow.
Hazratganj, the upmarket shopping complex of
Lucknow, turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as sizeable number of its
built up spaces gave an uncared for appearance.
The evening was spent at Surya Officers Institute,
in the very enjoyable company of my veteran course mates from our Academy days,
Col JP Ahlawat and Capt Sujeet Singh, and their families. It was while we were walking
down to the car park post dinner that an interesting coincidence occurred. In the car park, Sujeet requested one of the drivers
of another visitor’s vehicle to take our photograph, and I just blurted out to the
driver, “Mujhe kyon lagta hai ki aap Mishraji ho?” To the surprise of all of us, he responded,
“Mera naam kuchh aur hai par sab mujhe Mishraji ke naam se hi jante hain!”
Ayodhya
Day two started with our drive to Faizabad and Ayodhya, the twin mofussil
towns. The drive was uneventful. The road state was good and the traffic was
light. We reached Faizabad, where we were to stay overnight, by mid-day. Post
lunch we started on our tour of Ayodhya, accompanied by a local escort.
There’s hardly anything to indicate when you have left Faizabad behind and
entered Ayodhya. Soon the road turned into narrow lanes barely adequate for
vehicles to pass each other. Suddenly we came face to face with static and
mobile picquets of armed police guarding the lanes and by lanes. Few people
could also be seen lounging at roadside tea kiosks, staring obtrusively at passers-by.
Though not in uniform, they had police written all over them. We had entered
the heavily guarded outer security zone of Ram Lalla temple premises, the
birthplace of Lord Ram.
The Ramlala site has a three tiered heavy security, manned by Central
Reserve Police Force, the civil police, and assortment of intelligence
agencies. Heavy barbed wire fences, reminiscent of prisoner of war cages, and
electronic surveillance devices bounded the whole complex, including the
passageways for the worshippers. The actual site of the temple was
barricaded by another barbed wire fence, with signs of construction activity in
progress. To enable unhindered reconstruction of the temple, the Ram Lalla idols
had been temporarily removed for display at another part within the complex.
Ancient artifacts unearthed during archaeological excavations were on display
along the pilgrims passage. These artifacts did allude to the presence of an
old temple at the site, which predated the Babri Masjid.
As we passed by the site of the original Ram Lalla temple, it felt as if
the environment was surcharged with latent electric current. Probably the faith
and reverence of the masses of worshippers may have had something to do with
it. My own body vibrations became enhanced and I could feel a warm throbbing
sensation in the center of my palms. I moved in a sense of daze, part of the
crowd of worshippers and yet far removed from it, overwhelmed by a surrealist
feeling of hovering above it all. The feeling was quite akin to my experience
three months earlier while paying obeisance at Pathar Sahib Gurudwara near Leh,
and I wondered at the similarity of the experience.
The close by Kanak Mahal is the abode of Mother Sita, consort of Lord Ram.
The temple in the inner courtyard displays three pairs of idols of Lord Ram and
Mother Sita. The door to the inner sanctorum is adorned with glass enclosed overlays
depicting the ten ‘Avatars’ of God Vishnu, including the ‘Kalki’
the future ‘Avatar’. What’s most interesting about these ‘Avatars’
is their sequence of arrival, that coincides with the evolution of life form on
earth – ‘Matsya’ (fish), ‘Kurmi’ (tortoise), ‘Varaha’ (boar),
‘Narsimha’ (part lion part human), ‘Vaman’ (dwarf human), ‘Parsuram’
(warrior saint), ‘Ram’ (pursuing idealistic way of life), ‘Krishna’
(pursuit of materialism), ‘Buddha’ (Enlightened One), ‘Kalki’ (the
future one).
The Hanumangarhi locality is situated on an earthen mound, the highest
part of Ayodhya. As the name suggests, it has a temple dedicated to Shri Hanuman,
the most ardent and powerful follower of Lord Ram. The folklore maintains that Lord
Ram, pleased with the faithful services of Shri Hanuman, accorded him the status
and privilege of a King by accommodating him in the highest abode in Ayodhya. A
‘Vijay Sthamba’ (Victory Pillar), believed to be brought back from Sri
Lanka by Shri Hanuman, is also housed in the temple complex. Standing atop the
roof adjacent to the sanctum sanctorum we had a bird’s eye view of the
township. The close by centuries old temple of Lord Shiva provides just the
perfect backdrop reflecting the value apportioned to the devoted services of
Shri Hanuman.
The
ritualistic evening ‘aarti’ on the banks of the flowing Saryu river is a
grand event to experience. It is held at the spot where Lord Ram is believed to
have taken ‘Jal Samadhi’. Open air, terraced steps for spectator gallery,
the quietly flowing Saryu river in the forefront, and the faith of large
numbers of devotees, ensures free flow of etheric energy and adds to the spiritual
ambience and overall experience.
Dating of
the Birth of Lord Ram
As an
interesting aside Aadikavi Valmiki in 1/18/8-10 of ‘Ramayan’ has
recorded details of the date of birth of Lord Ram as 9th ‘tithi’
of ‘Chaitra’ month, ninth day after ‘Amavasya’ (moonless night), Moon
near the star ‘punar vasu’ (Pollux’) in Gemini constellation, and Moon
and Jupiter shining together in Cancer, with the ‘Grahas’ (planets) and ‘nakshatras’
(star constellations) positioned as under: -
Sun in
Aries
Saturn in
Libra
Jupiter in
Cancer
Venus in
Pisces
Mars in
Capricorn
Astronomical calculations with the aid of computer
software places the above astral occurrence, when viewed from the
latitude/longitude of Ayodhya (25*N 81*E), last witnessed on 10th
January 5114 BCE. Considerable trouble
undertaken to record the details of a fictional character?!! Similarly
the Mahabharat war can be astronomically dated to have occurred in 3067 BCE,
near two thousand years later. Here it’s also interesting to know that the astronomical alignments
reoccur every 24,000 years or so, the astronomical term being ‘Precession of
Equinoxes’!!
Prayagraj
The drive
from Ayodhya to Prayagraj was as uneventful as between Lucknow and Ayodhya. It
took us two and half hours to complete the 150 plus kilometers journey.
The first
place we decided to visit was of course the ‘Sangam’, the confluence of
rivers Ganga and Yamuna. As per legend the mythical Saraswati river also joins
the other two rivers at ‘Sangam’, though no physical evidence of the same
is visible.
Interestingly,
a deep well known as ‘Saraswati Kup’ is located within the premises of
the fort located on the banks of the Yamuna river, two kilometers from the ‘Sangam’.
This fort also houses an ordinance
depot of the Army. The Yamuna river during its flow at Mathura also has a ghat
known as ‘Saraswati Ghat’.
Near
Badrinath, in Uttarakhand, the locals also speak of the existence of a
Saraswati river which flows for a very short distance before disappearing
underground.
Ancient
Hindu scriptures do record the existence of Saraswati river which originated in
the Himalayas and flowed between the Yamuna and Sutlej rivers towards present
day Rajasthan and drained into the Arabian Sea near Kutch region. Satellite
imagery also supports the existence of a subterranean flowing water channel
along this course.
We hired a
boat to take us to the middle point of the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna
rivers for a ritualistic dip in the flowing waters at
the ‘Sangam’. The water channel was over 800 metres wide but the two
rivers merged in silence, indicative of their great depth. There were several
boats moored in the middle of the ‘Sangam’, with submerged bamboo
platforms to facilitate the taking of the dip at the confluence. The
ritualistic dip proved to be enervating.
Thereafter
we drove to the nearby ancient ‘Barey Hanuman’ or ‘Letey (lying
down) Hanuman’ temple. We were privileged to participate in the evening
‘aarti’ at the temple, a spiritually satisfying experience.
The ‘Saraswati Kup’ and ‘Vat
Vraksh’ (Banyan tree) are both located within the premises of the Fort.
As the legend goes, Lord Ram and Mother Sita prayed at the ‘Sangam’, where the
‘Vat Vraksh’, grew before commencing their fourteen years ‘vanvas’
(exile). On the completion of the exile they again returned to the place for
offering thanks giving prayers, and blessed the ‘Vat Vraksh’ with
eternal evergreen life. A 7th Century CE Chinese traveler, Hwen
Thsang, has recorded about this holy tree in his writings. However, no written
records exist about the origins of the ‘Saraswati Kup’.
A panoramic view of the ‘Sangam’
from the ‘Presidential Viewpoint’ at the fort rounded up our experience for
the day. We reached the view point at just the right time, with the sun setting
on the horizon to the west, the near full moon rising from the east and the
first stars being visible in the night sky.
Interestingly
it is awash with knowledge of cosmology, of electromagnetic vibrations being at
the core of the cosmos, while delving into the aspects of an omnipresent circle
of time wherein all time past, present and future co-exists simultaneously beyond
the known dimensions separated by electromagnetic vibrations.
Varanasi
We hired a taxi for
the day, and left Prayagraj at 0600 hrs to reach Varanasi by 0830 hrs. The
drive along the four laned toll road was smooth, with minimal traffic at this
early hour.
After picking up
our guide for the day, we headed straight for the temple of ‘Kal Bhairav’,
the gatekeeper of Kashi. This temple is located in a narrow lane, approximately
ten minutes walking distance from the road where vehicles can be parked. After
seeking the blessings of ‘Kal Bhairav’, which activated the energy
centers within the body, we headed for the ‘Kashi Vishwanath’ temple.
The present day
Varanasi, answered to the name of Kashi in times past. The old Varanasi lies
ensconced between the Varuna and Assi rivers to its east and west,
respectively, with Ganga river marking its southern limits. Kashi, the sthamba
(pillar) of light, the city of Lord Shiva, the oldest continuously habited
human settlement in the world, is mentioned in the earliest texts of Hinduism,
such as Skanda Purana, Upanishads and Vedas, as does its most
famous temple the ‘Kashi Vishwanath’, one of the twelve ‘Jyotirlingas’ of Lord Shiva.
‘Kashi
Vishwanath’, central to Hinduism, has been razed to the ground several times in its past, only to rise
from the dust like the proverbial phoenix rises from its own ashes. The last
time it was destroyed was by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in the 17th
century CE, who converted the partially destroyed ruins into the ‘Gyanvapi
Mosque’. The current ‘Kashi Vishwanath’ structure, adjacent to its original site, dates to close of 18th
century.
Encroached
upon since centuries, the temple and its immediate environs are now being
restored to its original glory. The constricting habitations in its
neighbourhood have been acquired by the government, widening the complex over
57000 sq mtrs. The approach roads are being widened, and a broad 350 mtrs long
corridor is linking it to the ‘Dashashvamedh
Ghat’ on
the Ganga river.
On reaching the location of the temple,
we saw construction activities in full swing. The neighbourhood was awash with
armed police security and electronic security devices. Despite the hustle and
bustle generated by ongoing construction activity, we could perceive the beauty
and magnetic appeal of the premises. The ‘Jyotirlinga’, that represents
the form of the residing deity ‘Vishwanath’, is miniscule in size
relative to the structure, but the raw energy emanating from it is palpable and
can be easily experienced. No wonder the temple is central to Hindu belief, and
we personally felt blessed and elated.
Post ‘darshan’ at ‘Kashi
Vishwanath’, we ventured into the neighbouring by lanes for breakfast at Ram Bhandar, famous for its ‘kachori’ and ‘jalebi’, and shop
at Chaudhry Silk for the famous Benares silk.
We next offered obeisance
at ‘Sankatmochan Hanuman’ temple.
Thereafter we moved
to Sarnath, on the outskirts of Varanasi, to visit Archaeological Survey of
India museum, followed by lunch at close by ‘UP 65’, a quaint happening joint
serving yummy multi cuisine snacks and meals.
The Ganga flows due
west to east at Varanasi with a total of 84 ghats along its northern bank,
starting from ‘Assi Ghat’ in the west to ‘Adi Keshav
Ghat’ towards
the east. Cremation of the dead is carried out at ‘Manikarnika Ghat’, and ‘Harishchandra Ghat’. These ghats
are also believed to be the haunts of ‘Aghoris’, the practitioners of
the occult, my current subject of interest, though from the battlefield point
of view! The ‘Dashashvamedh Ghat’ is the center of
attraction of the
evening ‘Ganga Aarti’, which during this season
starts at 1830 hrs.
By 1700 hrs we
reached ‘Raj Ghat’, one of the more renowned ghats that lies towards the
east, for the boat ride on the Ganga river and witness the renowned ‘Ganga
Aarti’. The river distance between ‘Raj Ghat’ and ‘Assi Ghat’ is
approximately five kilometers. We hired a boat for the to and fro journey
between the two ‘ghats’ and witness the ‘Ganga Aarti’ midway at ‘Dashashvamedh Ghat’.
The upstream boat
ride to ‘Assi Ghat’ was completed during daylight hours, giving us ample
opportunity to get a good view of all the ‘ghats’ enroute. At ‘Assi
Ghat’ we got down to explore the place as also wait for the sun to go down
and lights to come alive on the ‘ghats’. We were fortunate to be at
Varanasi on a day prior to ‘Dev Diwali’, a major festival here which
falls on the full moon immediately after ‘Diwali’. Special lighting had
been laid out all along the ‘ghats’, giving them a fairy land
appearance.
As the boat floated
downstream towards ‘Dashashvamedh Ghat’ we were enchanted
by the night lights and the serenity of the flowing Ganga river. I was
inexorably drawn into a meditative spell and could sense the energy flow in the
atmosphere. My attention focused on the burning pyres at the ‘Manikarnika’
and ‘Harishchandra’ ghats, which burned more brightly than the ‘Ganga
Aarti’ lights of ‘Dashashvamedh Ghat’. Witnessing the burning funeral pyres and the celebratory ‘Ganga
Aarti’, simultaneously in time and space, depicted to me the ‘Kaalchakra’
of life and the immortality of the soul. Was there a lesson to be drawn from
this realisation?!!
The ‘Ganga Aarti’ rituals commenced on time at ‘Dashashvamedh Ghat’. A myriad of
boats filled with spectators jostled for space on the river front. The
loudspeakers carried the chants of the Aarti to all, as five different lamps
were lit during the rituals to propitiate the ‘Panch Bhuts’ (five
elements of matter in nature), earth, wind, fire, water, and ether.
Witnessing the ‘Ganga
Aarti’ was the grand finale of a day well spent. We thereafter started on
our return journey and were back in Prayagraj by 2230 h.
Mathura
The journey to Mathura was uneventful
except for a minor coincidence. My spouse was deciding a suitable time and
place to halt for lunch and I interjected that we shall come across it at 1330
hrs, and two hours later when she identified the halting place, it was exactly
1330 hrs.
It was 1830 hrs and dark by the time
we checked in at Mathura for the night. But the attendant advised us that the
time was still right for ‘darshan’ of the ‘Krishna Janam Bhumi’
temple. So off we went to the temple for a very satisfying paying of obeisance
at the shrine.
Next day we checked out by 0800 hrs
and drove down to Dwarkadheesh Mandir on the banks of the Yamuna river. We
parked our vehicle a kilometre away from the shrine and walked the rest of
distance. The doors to the temple had just been opened after the morning ‘aarti’,
enabling a comfortable ‘darshan’.
The energy at the sanctum sanctorum could be easily experienced.
From there we made our way to Holi
Gate, roughly another kilometer distance to Shankar Mishthan Bhandar for the
traditional Mathura breakfast specialty of bedai, kachori, jalebi and lassi.
With this we decide to end our
spiritual journey and headed back to Dehra Dun.
Commentary
This travelogue revolves around
energy vibrations for a good reason. Our knowledge, even about the physical
human body has gaps. The modern medical science struggles to explain the role
of pituitary gland, the position of the exotic third eye in the esoteric human
body. Similarly, the presence of a second brain in the solar plexus, one that
controls the reflex actions of the body and all along acknowledged in Yoga
postulations of Hinduism, has been accepted by the medical science only at the
turn of the 21st century. It
is these same Yoga postulations that propagate the path of yoga and meditation
to raise the energy vibrations of the human body to enable it to move into the
higher spiritual dimensions.
The spiritual journey was eminently
satisfying. The coincidences encountered during the journey, and the smooth
changes effected in the itinerary enabled better contact with esoteric energies.
Even the overall context of understanding of provenance of the occult
phenomenon on the battlefield was furthered by coming into contact with a new
persona with first-hand experience in the field during 1971 War.
Thanksgiving
My heartfelt thanks to my course mates and comrades-in- arms
Col JP Ahlawat and Capt Sujeet, as also to fellow Gallier Maj Gen Sharad Bikram Singh, without whose active
support and assistance this trip may not have met its true objective.
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