Caverns of Gupt Godavari ( Chitrakoot)

We left for Chitrakoot from Allahabad after having breakfast. The road to Chitrakoot is really very bad and our van had tire puncture. So we got delayed by more than an hour.

There are a number of places around Chitrakoot connected with Lord Rama. Part of the town is in UP and rest is in MP.But it appears that both states are neglecting this important pilgrim centre.

 Gupt Godavari is a perennial stream of water in the caves on Kamadgiri. It is a huge cavern with beautiful formation. Here we do not see the normal stalactite found in most of the caverns. It appears as though some persons have chipped the rocks to make this. There are pedestal formation on which idols are kept. There are three caves from one of the points water comes and to reach that point, one has to wade through the water in narrow gaps between the rocks. Even though there are electric lights, the whole place lacks proper management in handling the crowd.The whole setting is simply breath-taking, with green mountains all around. 

Since we were already running late on our schedule, we had biscuits and grapes as lunch. Then we went to  Sati Anusuiya Ashrama. This is on the banks of river Mandakini and the ashrama has lot sculpture depicting the scenes of Ramayana..From there we went to Sphatic shila where Lord Rama was resting. This stone feels very soft and smooth.We have to skip one or two places for it was getting dark and we were not too sure about the road. As we feared,  our van tire got punctured and we have to wait in a kind villager's house for 2 hours .We really experienced the hospitality of rural India. Finally we were back in our rooms by 11-30 PM.

For anyone , who likes to see the Chitrakoot area, they should plan to stay overnight at Chitrakoot, where you can get decent accommodation.

 

Quiet flows the Ganges!

Ganges at Varanasi is unique. Ganges is joined by Varan river and Asi river. The ancient city Kashi lies between the two rivers and is called Varanasi now-a-days.

The most important event, that should not be missed  is the evening Aarti at Dasashwamedh Ghat. We had the opportunity to watch this from the boat, parked in front of this ghat. Before the aarti which starts at about 6-00 PM, Most of the pilgrims go on the boat ride seeing the various ghats (numbering 40).

Our boatman, Bhailal gave us the details of all ghats, which were very interesting. Harishchandra Ghat is where the bodies are cremated and the ashes are thrown into the river. There was a big queue of bodies waiting for their turn. Most of the maharajas  have built mansions of the banks and the ghat are named after them.

Cremation at Harishchandra Ghat

The water level was low . We have to get down about 40 steps to touch the water. But, the boatman told that there was 60 feet of water in the centre of the the river. The Ganges at Varanasi looks still on the surface as though it is a lake. Lots of foreigners were taking the boat ride.

Bhailal told that Varanasi is famous for five things.1. Ganges 2. Viswanath 3.Saree 4. Pan( Betel) and 5. Brahmin's( priest) endless demands. We also saw an Aghori ( A reclusive  cannibal) sitting on the banks.

Ganga Aarti

We had a wonderful view of Ganga Aarti. Two sets of priests did the aarti.The first set of five priests dressed in red clothes  and the second set of seven priests in white dress. The rituals are the same. There were seats arranged for VIPs on the banks. The ceremony lasts for about 30 minutes. I felt that there was not a big crowd, compared to what I had seen at Haridwar.

Sun Rise 

On the western bank is the city of Varanasi. because of the various offerings of flower, mala, floating lights, the western bank is polluted. I heard that during night, this bank is cleared of the debris.So next day we took the boat to the other side where we really had a good dip.Then we proceeded to Saranath

Dr.Ambedkar Memorial Park Lucknow

 On my visit to Lucknow, I was curious to see Babasaheb Ambedkar Park, because of the newspaper comments on this project of Mayavati ( ex CM of Uttarpradesh).

Once we forget the huge funds accounted on this project, we have to but appreciate. This huge park (more than 100 acres) has no trees or plants. The entire area is laid with polished stones. This has statues of Dr. Ambedkar, Narayan Guru,Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Sant Kabir das and many others. All are huge ( about 18" tall). These statues are housed in two buildings with hemispherical domes. The entire dome is clad with metallic design. In the centre of both the buildings  are the statues of Mayavati. The statues are identical . Mayavati's figure has been sculpted on four sides ( similar to our Asoka stupa).

Dr Ambedkar's memorial building is almost 250 metres away from the Mayavati building .Dr Ambedkar's statue is unique here. The statue is in sitting posture similar to Lincoln Memorial in Washington  DC  USA.The entire stretch is lined with statues of elephants ( 25 pairs).The entire park has special lighting.Powerful beams from various points of the park converge on the sky forming like an umbrella. Most of the other lights had been switched off to save electricity. So we have to imagine only about the fully lighted park.

People will visit the Nawab's Imam baada,I feel one should visit this park also

Personal (Family) doctor Vs Polyclinic specialists (Corporate Hospital)

Big companies provide medical benefits to their employees. Since the employee is too busy with his job and career, he goes to the company approved corporate hospital for even for small ailments. He is not bothered about the charges.

Now he is attended by some doctor. This doctor prescribes a series of tests and after the test reports only, he decides his course of treatment. If the patient happens to go for a second time, most probably the attending doctor is different, unless it is specified. Then if that doctor is not available for that day, the patient ends up with another doctor, who goes through the earlier records to decide his treatment or further tests. These tests will be explained as to make sure that there are no other problems other than complained.

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, Japan, who turned 101 last year, is one of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators. He advises

“When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure. Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone.” 

Today, many that go to the doctor with problems in their daily lives hear that their problems are 'stress-related' but don't know the reason or how to stop it. Doctors today are encouraged to know more, but ask less. They have access to huge amounts of medical information, but rarely take the time to have a real conversation with a patient to find out about other factors in their lives including how they actually live them

The Bio –psycho- social model, or BPS, instructs the medical professional to take not only the sheer physical status of the patient at a given point, relying on physical measurements, but to take other factors in. These factors may be psychological (thoughts, emotions, behaviors) and/or social (socio-economical statues, environmental and cultural issues).

This approach is followed by homeopathy practitioners.

If you have a family doctor, who knows you very well over years, he will advise you the course of action, with few or no tests.

Akshardham Temple , New Jersey

BAPS (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) have built their largest Swaminarayan temple at Robbinsville .New Jersey, USA
The construction of this temple has created a number of records. When one approaches the temple area, neither the typical tower nor the flags can be seen. This is because the entire temple is encased inside a square structure. On entering this, you will be wonder struck with the beauty.The entire temple is constructed with marble. We were told by the volunteers that the marble slabs quarried at Italy, were sculpted by the artisans of Rajastan. 15339 sculpted marble pieces were shipped to Robbinsville. This temple is very much similar, in many aspects, to Dilwara temples at Mount Abu. All the pieces have been put together by skilled artisans at the site with the help of local engineers and BAPS volunteers.

It is interesting to note that no two pillars are identical. The rectangular ceiling above the four pillars are intricately carved. None of the rectangular ceiling are similar. The temple has two hemispherical domes packed with fine bracket figures, chandelier type carving in the centre, and innumerable motifs. The whole temple is lit with concealed LED type spot lights to enhance the beauty of the carvings.

The flooring is covered with different designs created with various coloured stones. The flooring has been done with underground heating so that the marble will not be too cold. The entire space within the encasement building is temperature controlled.

In this temple complex, there is a huge convention hall ( Maharaj Pramukh Swami Sabha hall), which has a seating for about 2000 people. This hall is flanked on either side by full size indoor basket ball courts.
More details about the temple can be had from
HTTP://www.baps.org/Global-Network/North-America/Robbinsville/News.aspx

Adventure at Muktinath

We,a group of ten people went to Nepal to have the darshan of Muktinath. This is one of the Divyadesams outside India.

Our travel to Muktinath was full of adventure, even though our travel agent arranged everything. I like to share my experience with the people who are interested in visiting Muktinath. Going to Pokhara from Kathmandu by road is very interesting. On the way , we visited Manokamna Devi temple. The ride by cable car to the shrine is breath-taking. One should avoid going to Manokamna temple on Saturdays, as there will be heavy rush and one may have to wait for hours to get the cable car ride.

From Pokhara, one has to take a flight to Jomsom, the base for going to Muktinath. The flight to Jomsom by small planes is operated only in the morning between 7 AM and 10-00 AM. The plane has to fly between the mountains and if the wind in the gorge is high, the flights are not permitted. One has to count his luck to have the flight on the day. We met many people in the hotel, who could not have the flight.

We were lucky to get the flight to Jomsom. The hotels here display the menu board in Tamil. The hotels offer idli, dosai, sambar, rasam etc. We were supposed to go to Muktinath temple , which is at an altitude of 12000' by jeep. Here our adventure started. The jeep operators were on a strike. Our hotel owner suggested that we could go on motorbike.The distance from the hotel to Muktinath temple is 25 kms. Only we got on the bike, we started to realise the adventure in this ride.Literally there is no road and the path is full of stones and pebbles.The path crosses Gantaki river bed and continually winding and rising.With the chill wind blowing on our faces, we at last reached Muktinath with our hearts in our mouth. The eldest member of our group is 75 years and no one believed that we traveled to Muktinath by bike.

The temple is managed by some Nepali women. There is no puja or archana in the temple. There are 108 theerthams ( only spouts) in which devotees take bath, Then they dip themselves in the two ponds in front of the temple. After the darshan,we were lucky to get the jeep, which had started plying.

We had an wonderful and awesome experience and all felt the Viswa roopam of the Almighty in this trip.

Kailashanathar Temple at Kanchipuram

Last week I had been to Kanchipuram and visited some temples which I had not visited in my earlier visits.

The most interesting one was Kailashanathar temple. This temple complex is under Archaeological Survey of India. It is situated slightly outside the town. The temple opens at 9 A.M like an office. All temples under the control of ASI ( Darasuram temple near Kumbhakonam, Avinashi temple near Erode) have the same timings.

When I saw the temple first, I felt as though the Mahabalipuram temple had been lifted and placed there. The difference is that the entire temple is made of sand stone. So one can see the heavy wear and tear of all sculptures due to the weather. ASI are patching those damages with some lime mortar mixtures. In spite of all, one can never miss the beauty of this Pallava architecture.

There are two Shiva lingams in this temple. The mythological story is that these were worshiped by Lord Vishnu and Muni Naradha. The lingams are unique . They have sixteen faces,each representing one kala and not circular. The lingam with Avudai is made of pure black granite. It is shining without a drop of oil and looks grand. There is a belief that doing parikrama inside the temple is equivalent to doing parkrama of mount Kailash. For doing this, one has to crawl through a small hole in the wall and come out through another hole.

The outer prakaram is full of beautiful sculptures.  People visiting Kanchi should include this temple also.