Nothing deterred our revered Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji from fulfilling His mission of undertaking a yatra to Kashmir’s Shankaracharya Temple, Hari Parbat, Ksheer Bhavani, Verinag, Martand, and Amarnath. Not the 3,000 km long, arduous road journey, not the media coverage of the supposedly artificially enhanced ice Shiva lingam at Amarnath, not the news of heavy rains, snowfall and landslides which had disrupted the yatra prior to Swamiji’s move from Delhi, not the untimely break down of a vehicle in His convoy even before we had reached the Banihal Pass which marks the entry into the Srinagar Valley, not the adverse effects of high altitude and lack of oxygen on two of our toughest colleagues during the steep 14 km trek from 8,500 ft to 13,500 ft in a space of six hours, not the extraordinary security situation arising out of the terrorist attack at Lal Chowk, barely 6 km away from our hotel in Srinagar and not even the violent crowds at Pattan, which had disrupted our plans to visit Baramullah and Uri sectors with the hope of viewing through powerful binoculars the ruins of the Sharda Devi Temple, located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
It was befitting that such a pioneering pilgrimage should commence from Chitrapur with a short halt at Karla, since it is well known that our latter day Swamijis, particularly HH Swami Parijnanashram III had desired to visit these holy locations, which in one way or the other are closely connected with the Saraswat Brahmins. Thus, for those of us who were fortunate to be in the entourage of HH Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram and to listen to Him and to His Samvit Sadhanayana, Mount Abu companion of yester years, the soft spoken Swami Bhuvananand Giri, it was more than just a pilgrimage. It was an energising and inspiring experience; an informal, brief and seminal enquiry of our roots and religious heritage- a curtain raiser for further research that our laity can undertake to commemorate 300 years of the glorious history of our Sri Chitrapur Math.
Pathankot to Srinagar (Wednesday 21st June to Thursday 22nd June 2006)
The detailed itinerary had been thoughtfully crafted by Colonel Manohar Karpe, who had catered for adequate cushioning in time and space to enable us to make mid-course corrections to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Thus, the vital time lost due to the unscheduled night’s stay with Colonel Railkars’s Delta Force Signal Regiment on Wednesday 21st June in the midst of terrorist infested Batot in Doda district not only enabled Gautam Mavinkurve to carry out emergency repairs on a vehicle of our fleet, but also gave us the time to rest and prepare ourselves for the oncoming strenuous journey. By 4:00 am on Thursday 22nd June we were off to Srinagar. After a sumptuous breakfast hosted by CSO Brigadier Prem Bisht , our guides Subedar Nand Kishore Sharma and Subedar Tara Chand Yadav joined and accompanied us for the rest of our journey.
About 25 km from Shankaracharya temple to the west of the Dal Lake, Srinagar, lies the Hari Parbat, on the crest of which is Hari Parbat Fort ( 18th century). On the Western slopes of the hill a temple dedicated to the Goddess Sharika has been consecrated. At the entrance to the temple is an awesome triangular rock formation, which represents the Devi yantra. Here
the
two Swamijis did japa to seek the blessings of the kuladevatas. We left Srinagar
by late afternoon to reach Sonamarg on the foothills of Amarnath, an hour before
dusk. At the Army’s neatly laid out tented camp at Sonamarg, the Commandant, Col
M N Khan briefed us on the perils, pitfalls and precautions to be taken on our
ensuing journey to the Amarnath cave, scheduled to begin at 4:00 am on 23rd
June.The Amarnath Yatra (Friday 23rd June 2006)
Before setting off on the uplifting journey to endeavour to communicate with the Divine, we organised ourselves into three groups, Army style. The LOB (Left out of Battle) group which stayed behind in Sonamarg to protect our invaluable deities and silver pooja articles, the scouts or the group mounted on horses/mules which was to move
ahead and ensure proper
arrangements at each halt and at the cave and our main group trekking on foot
led by HH. Within the groups we had a ‘buddy system’, ie partners to look after
each other’s safety and welfare. Col Karpe was made responsible for doing a head
count at all halts. It was perhaps because of an occasional elusive member of
the trekking group that the chore sometimes became a ‘headache count’!Amarnath means immortal God ie Shiva or Mahadeva, God of all gods. After travelling on foot or on horse-back on one of the most enchanting routes of the world, the yatri experiences a feeling of being ‘upward and divine’ on entering the holy Amarnath cave which is not small and long like Vaishnodevi but is high and vast and almost three quarters the size of a football field. It is the cave which is divine because it is there that Shiva is believed to have revealed the secret of life to His Consort Parvati, the beautiful daughter of the Himalayas. Because of the improvement of roads and the availability of helicopter services the Amarnath cave is now accessible for a longer period of time than it was before, i.e. from mid June to early August, till Raksha Bandhan day.
During this time, water drips slowly from the top of the cave and freezes into an ice lingam. Shiva’s upadesh to Parvati was believed to have been given on full moon day when the shape of the lingam is complete. According to legend, a pair of pigeons appeared and overheard the vad-vivadh (question and answer session). Some believe that the same pigeons visit the shrine during the yatra period. Others believe that the pigeons are Parvati and Shiva incarnate.
On reaching the cave, Swamiji and His entourage were personally received by the Director of the Amarnath Shrine Board, Col KN Raina and the Chief of Special Police Operations DIG Shalley Singh. Col Raina had served under my command in Udhampur (J&K) almost fifteen years ago. He kept his promise of ensuring that Swamiji was given the same honour as is given to the Rashtrapati. For the darshan virtually the entire cave was reserved for our group and both the Swamijis sat on asanas on
the icy ground of the cave and did japa and HH prayed to Lord Shiva in a serene atmosphere. Swami Bhuvananand Giri
had taken the pains to bring along with Him perfectly pressed belpatras,
preserved carefully between the pages of a book. These and silver belpatras were
offered. During these rituals we observed the three ice lingams, the largest one
believed to be Shiva, the medium one Parvati and the smallest, their son Ganesh.
I was alternately concentrating on guiding Lt Sukhjit Sandhu, who was filming
the events in the cave and I was also so absorbed in watching Swamiji meditating
intently, that I forgot to look for the pigeons. Later I consoled myself by
praying that when Swamiji releases the pigeons during the Tercentenary
Commemoration at Mumbai in 2007, two of them would surely reach the Amarnath
cave. Some of the topographical features which tower on the high mountains surrounding the cave and which were captured beautifully on camera by my buddy Dr Ravi Bijur were indicated to us by Col Raina. They had an uncanny resemblance to the various symbols of Mahadeva such as-
a) The Sheshnag, symbolising the seven headed mythical snake.
b) The half moon on Shiva’s jata.
c) His son Ganesh.
d) His bull Nandi.
Col Raina also pointed out the pattern of the lines, forming an Om on the massive mountain face. Finally he showed us the five rocks called the Panch Pandavs high on top of the snowy mountains, from where it is said that sadhus used to leap down hundreds of feet into the snowy depths. Most lost their lives and are believed to have achieved moksha. The rare ones that lived became immortal.
Quite naturally, in view of the current controversy about extra snow being manually packed around the ice lingam, we informally asked the Amarnath authorities about their views on the subject. They stated that the size of the lingam depended on two environmental factors, the phases of the moon and the temperature both inside and outside the cave, which is now much higher than in the past. They attributed this rise in the temperature to several factors such as the 2005 earthquake and general global warming which has caused the glacier to recede, an increased pollution level due to a larger number of vehicles reaching closer to the cave than hitherto, because of improved road conditions, a substantial rise in the number of yatris, horses, mules, cooking langars or bhandaras and the recently introduced air service which results in a large number of helicopters periodically hovering at the entrance of the cave prior to landing, causing warm air waves to enter into the mouth of the cave. They further stated that if at all some snow was packed around the lingam, it was an act done in good faith.
Swamiji observed that it is the cave that is divine as the upadesha took place therein, that the lingams are physical objects, which enable sadhakas to focus on the Divine and that stress, fatigue and pain disappear on reaching the cave; a fatigue more pronounced than the one experienced during the Mansarovar yatra as the gradient is far steeper here. Swamiji regarded as auspicious, the shower of rain that marked the culmination of our yatra; the Lord endorsing the success of our endeavour.
Here it is worth quoting the words of Sister Nivedita who wrote of Swami Vivekanand’s experience at the holy Amarnath cave, “So saturated had Swamiji become with the presence of the great God , that for days he could speak of nothing else.” Later Swami Vivekanand recounted, “I have never seen anything so beautiful, so inspiring.”
Ksheer Bhavani and Manasbal (Saturday 24th June 2006)
After completing the fulfilling yatra to Amarnath and returning to base camp at Sonamarg late at night, it was but natural to wake up the next morning at a more gentlemanly hour, to move into a comfortable hotel at Srinagar and have a relaxed day. At about 11:00 am on Saturday 24th June we reached Ksheer Bhavani hoping to locate a Samadhi of a Chitrapur Saraswat saint who was believed to have lived during the period covering the gap years before the year 1708, which marks the beginning of the Sri Chitrapur Math.
Alas, the persecution of the Hindu pandits and their subsequent fleeing from Srinagar in the 1980s has led to a further lacuna in information. The only priest at the beautifully laid out complex of Ksheer Bhavani did not know much about the history of the temple, nor was he aware of the existence of any Samadhi there. Fortunately the leaflet handed out at the temple and the book published by the J&K Civil Secretariat of the Hindu Sansthan revealed some interesting details. They state that eminent saints have undertaken sadhana in the Ksheer Bhavani complex and have experienced spiritual bliss. In 1886 Walter Lawrence noted, ‘ Perhaps the most sacred place in Kashmir is the spring at Ksheer Bhavani.’ By the 1920s a small marble shrine had been constructed in the middle of the sacred spring fed kund which signifies an ocean of infinite energy. Ksheer Bhavani is eulogised as the Goddess of learning and knowledge at the mundane level and the Goddess of wisdom and enlightenment at the spiritual level. She is regarded as the form corresponding to the Goddess Saraswati.
Swamiji considers Ksheer Bhavani to be a powerful Devi kshetra. He emphasised that the water surrounding the devi temple is extraordinary and stated that even Swami Vivekanand had done prarthana at this holy place and that when he saw the dilapidated state of the temple as it existed then, he is supposed to have wept. The unique feature of the water in the kund surrounding the Devi temple is that it is believed to exhibit miraculous changes in colour from time to time. It is said that a pink, milky or light green colour indicates auspicious times and black or dark red indicates disaster and death. Swamiji and Swami Bhuvananand Giri did japa, performed pooja in its precincts, and belpatras were offered to the water in the kund. The simple prasad bhojan that we were offered by the Army at Ksheer Bhavani appropriately consisted of the traditional rice and milk kheer and halwa-puri. The word of Swamiji’s presence having spread, a large number of devotees thronged to seek HH’s blessings. A perfect end to a beautiful morning, before we proceeded to the Army unit, 13 Rashtriya Rifles at Manasbal lake.
Manasbal Lake
13 Rashtriya Rifles is located just south of the beautiful and expansive Manasbal lake.
The battalion prides itself as being an Ashoka Chakra battalion, as one of its commanding officers gave up his life fighting militancy, in the highest traditions of the service and was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the nation’s highest peace time award for gallantry.
The current officiating commanding officer Lt. Col SS Rathore SM briefed Swamiji on the performance of the battalion in dealing with terrorists through military operations. He also elaborated on the Operation Sadbhavana ie the Army’s efforts to win the hearts and minds of the local population through education programmes , medical facilities and other relief measures. Swamiji presented medical relief stores such as Electral, Dispovan syringes and Electrozal donated through the magnanimity of Shri Ashok Chandavarkar of the Fairdeal Corporation. The viability of Shri Chitrapur Math offering a wider range of assistance and contributing to Operation Sadbhavana was discussed by Swamiji and Shri Prabhakar Bantwal, President Standing Committee, who offered lightweight artificial limb facilities at the location and surgical facilities through Rotary International. Dr Ravi Bijur offered his services for eye surgery camps in J&K. Later that afternoon we all enjoyed a peaceful cruise on shikaras in a virtually private area of Manasbal Lake. On our return, Swamiji met the officers, ladies and children of the battalion at the Officers’ Mess in Manasbal. There, Swamiji sang with his usual grace and flair, a bhajan, which was preceded by a pravachan. He patiently answered the queries fielded by the participative audience. By the time we had returned to Srinagar for a well-deserved rest at the hotel, Swamiji had won the hearts and minds of the Army.
Meeting the GOC 15 Corps, and visit to Verinag and Martand Temple (Sunday 25th June 2006)
At 10am on Sunday morning, HH Swami Sadyojat Shrankarashram met the Corps Commander, Lt Gen SS Dhillon AVSM,VSM who oversees and coordinates all military operations against terrorists in the vast mountainous territory of Jammu & Kashmir. This significant meeting was possible because as a young officer, the then Capt Dhillon had served under Lt Col Karpe. Swamiji expressed his gratitude to Gen Dhillon for the excellent arrangements that had been made by the Army throughout His visit. HH particularly praised the perfect security and administrative arrangements on the treacherous route to the Amarnath cave. HH also articulated his positive impressions on the role that the security forces were performing in order to ensure normalcy. He praised the Army’s role in Operation Sadbhavana and reiterated his offer of medical assistance. The Corps Commander in turn appreciated the gesture, gratefully accepted HH’s generous offer, expressed his delight at meeting such a young and learned Swamiji who had provided so much spiritual support to the troops in so little time and ended by inviting HH to visit Leh , Ladakh and Kargil in Oct 2006.
On our way out we stopped at the Signals outfit which under the guidance of Brig PS Bhist had played a silent background role in ensuring that all arrangements had been efficiently executed.
Because of the firing that had taken place in Pattan, we were advised to change our original plan and to instead visit Verinag and the Martand temple. Avoiding the disturbed area of Lal Chowk HH’s convoy reached the high security area of Verinag, a sacred Hindu location about 50 km from Srinagar. Located here are the springs that feed the river Jhelum and it is around these springs that Emperor Jehangir built the Moghul gardens. Here Swamiji said his prayers and meditated at the two lingams within the complex. A beautiful semi-circular courtyard surrounds the spring. The architecture is a mix of Hindu and Muslim styles with elegant arched corniches where at one time Hindu idols must have been placed. Two water channels perennially full of gushing water flow between the tree lined lawns of the spacious gardens. Swamiji sat in the shade of a Chinar tree next to the building housing one of the Shiva lingams and while the Army served hot tea and biscuits we arranged ourselves in a circle and sang bhajans along with Swamiji.
Martand Temple
Swamiji prayed at Martand temple which is a Surya devasthan signifying twelve aspects of the Sun God and second only to the Konarak temple. In front of the temple are large artificial kunds which abound with hundreds of black fish. It is considered auspicious to feed these fish with channa before commencing or after completing the yatra to Amarnath. Of the 400 Hindu pandit families which had fled from the area around this spacious temple complex of Martand, also known as Mattan, 12 families have returned to rebuild and improve the structures around the temple. The President of the Purohit Sabha of the pandits offered us a delicious Kashmiri Prasad bhojan. While it was being prepared all the pandits congregated in Swamiji’s room to share their hopes, aspirations and woes with HH. On meeting them Swamiji felt that a sense of confidence was building up within the pandit families and their efforts to improve the infrastructure around the temple needed to be encouraged by Shri Chitrapur Math, as it would enable more devotees to visit and stay at this holy place. We returned to the hotel at Srinagar by 4:30 pm. This provided adequate time to those who wanted to buy Kashmiri hand crafted walnut wood and papier-mache items as souvenirs of their visit to J&K.
The return journey ( Monday 26th June 2006)
In the wee hours of 26th June, HH and his entourage commenced the return journey to Pathankot. Enroute they were received at Udhampur by the family of Shri Ved Brat Khanna who hosted the lunch after which HH blessed them with a pravachan and the entourage sang melodious bhajans along with Swamiji. By the evening Swamiji and the group reached Pathankot safely and on 27th June HH was received at Kavle Math, Delhi with full traditional honours. It was a perfect end to a memorable yatra to the rishi bhoomi of Kashmir; a yatra rendered even more momentous as HH Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji is the first Mathadipati of Shri Chitrapur Math to undertake a pilgrimage to this sacred region of our origin.