North India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda, Day 10

Paartha writes:

Saturday, May 31st

The next day we left around noon since Swami gave an interview in the morning to a filmmaker who is working on a documentary about Bhakti. During the bus ride Swami told us the story of the Pandavas in exile:

“During one year of the Pandavas exile they had to be incognito. So they were in exile. Why were they in exile? They lost the game of dice. During that time they also lost their whole property, everything. Of course Draupadi was very angry even with her husbands, because they could not protect her. This was the moment when the Kauravas tried to remove the clothes from her, and in that moment she called on Krishna, and he covered her with endless clothes. 

It so happened that they were sent back to their palace but with one condition, that they had to be 12 years in exile, but one year they should live completely incognito, no one should know about them. So they came here to this place (Palace of King Virat) where we are going. Bhim became the cook, another one of them became the person who looked after the horses, he was very good, Yudhishtira became the advisor of the king, Arjun became the dancer, he was dressed like a woman for one year and was called Brihannala. He was a very good dancer. During this year, King Virat was the only one who knew that these were the Pandavas, and he gave them willingly a place, but he did not tell anybody. During this year, the kingdom flourished, became great, this kingdom for which nobody even cared about before, nobody even bothered about, you know it was always the last one probably, but during that year it flourished so nicely, but nobody knew why. In Kauravas place, Shakuni was very wise. Shakuni is the uncle of the Kauravas, and he was an excellent man, his mind was superfast. Krishna also said, one person that I am scared of is Shakuni, because he knows always ahead my plan. But, one person that Shakuni was always scared of, was Krishna. Specially when Krishna would say to Shakuni: “mamajiii” (uncle), Shakuni would get scared and would say “Yadhavji, don’t call me mama”. Why? Because Krishna killed his own uncle, Kansa. And of course nobody wants to be in Kansas place. So every time Krishna would purposely call Shakuni mama, so mama would get super scared. So, in this place here, this is where the Pandavs were. So Shakuni said yes I know they are there, but I don’t know how they are there. So they went there and tried to find out who is who. So they said to King Virat “for sure the Pandavas are hiding in your palace, tell us”. And the king said “No, if the Pandavas were here I would consider myself great, but they are not here”. Then after that the Kauravas said that they would fight his army if he doesn’t let them look but Virat said “no, this is my kingdom, even if they were here, they’d be under my protection. I will not allow you to search or ask anybody any questions”. He was a just king and the Pandavas of course respected that. 

So the rule was like this, that until the last day (of exile) till the sun set, nobody should even recognize them. So when it reached that time, the Kauravas were attacking the kingdom of Virat Raj. The Kauravas divided their army, surrounded the place. So Arjun, dressed as a woman, went with the prince only, the young prince who was fourteen years old at that time, Arjun took him, cause all the other men were on the other side. When they started attacking they came from both sides. 

So Arjun took the prince only to go there. The time was ready to attack. The prince shot an arrow (but upon seeing the enemy army), but the prince got scared. Arjun would say to him “fight!”. But then he looked at Arjun and said “You are an eunuch, what do you know about fighting? You don’t know the art of fighting. But Arjuna said “I am telling you, fight,fight!”, revealing his identity as Arjuna. But the prince could not fight, so Arjuna took over and put the Kaurava army to sleep with a special weapon (astra sammohana) he had obtained, thus gaining time (Bhishma did have a counter weapon but did not use it since he wanted the war to end). They went in the forest nearby, where before while being incognito, all the Pandavas had hidden their weapons in the forest. So Devi (Maya) hid with her maya the weapons. So it was time now. When Arjun went there, Devi gave back the weapons to Arjun. Arjun took his time until sunset. When the last ray of sun disappeared, Arjun came, this time in normal clothes, and he started fighting with the Kauravas to protect King Virajs place. Then after that battle they installed the Shiv ling. This was to say “thank you” to Devi to hide their weapons and to be grateful for the one year of incognito. Krishna asked them to put that Shiva Ling there. 

In this garden (where we are at the moment) Draupadi used to meet Krishna and the Pandavas whenever they asked to meet. You know how they asked to meet? There is a certain Laddhu, which is Peysanka Laddhu . So whenever Bhim made Peysanka Laddhu and sent it as Prasad to everybody, they knew that they had to meet there. The King did not even like Peysanka Laddhu, but on the day they had to meet, Peysanka Laddhu would be on the tray.”

When we arrived at the site of the Shiva Lingam it was 46°C hot, the A/C of the car not really functioning. We quickly went inside the temple since there it was at least a little bit cooler. As you can see on the picture, it is slightly thinner at the bottom. The priest explained us, that this is because when the Pandavas installed it, it was Bhim who put it there, and since he was too strong, he “squeezed” it a bit as he was holding it. 

Below the temple there were two ponds, one which was inside the building and was used by Draupadi to take her bath, the other one outside which was used by her husbands. However, when we were there the boys of the village had taken over. 

The priest said that the water of this pond, which is only 5-6 feet in depth, never finished since it was built. That town therefore never had any water problems, whereas in the surrounding area there is always a scarcity of water. 

The next temple we went to was Kalika temple. It is believed that a few hairs of Sati fell in this place. (However, the “official” place where Satis hair has fallen is Dakshineshwar Temple in Calcutta where Sri Ramakrishna used to worship.)

The story of this Kalika temple goes back to a king with name Jai Singh who had placed an idol of Kali there. Once during Navaratri as the ladies of the temple were chanting, one young lady entered the palace and began singing together with the other women. She was of exquisite beauty and her voice was the most melodious. After the singing was over, the woman said to the king “I am happy, ask me for a boon”. The king said that he wanted to marry her. On this the Goddess got angry and cursed the king saying: “You have become agnostic and proud due to your kingdom. Both you and your kingdom will get destroyed!” Saying so, the Goddess disappeared. The idol of Kalika began entering into the earth. A saint who lived behind the palace implored the Goddess to stay there for the benefit of mankind. She stopped entering the earth and only Her head remained above the surface. In this way She is still present there today and worshipped there. The king was later killed in battle and the town got deserted for some time before it was rebuilt later. 

One can wonder why She would treat this king in such a “harsh” way, but whenever the Goddess or a Saints speak out a curse to someone, it is always a blessing in disguise. As humans our perception is limited and we see only what is happening to us on this physical level, which is nothing compared to the evolution and learning of the spiritual soul that we actually are, throughout different incarnations over centuries and milleniums and beyond. 

Blurry picture of Kali Pindi (you can see Her at the bottom, with a crown on and golden eyes) since it is often not allowed to take pictures of the original deities.

 We bought some Prasad and Sarees to offer to Kali and walked down the steps to have Her darshan. When we entered the Sanctum we saw Her glorious form of a Pindi. It was a love filled atmosphere and we were able to remain several minutes in front of Her, worshipping and praying to Her. It felt as if She was very happy to see Guruji and us visiting Her there. After Darshan Guruji stood there a while praying. After circumbulation a priestess (?) gave me the Prasad for our group and blessed some of us. 

Guruji praying in Kali Temple

The remaining day we had free to do some shopping and watching a Hollywood movie (X-Men) in Hindi language. Not sure what amused the Indians in the cinema more, watching the movie, or the fact, that 40 Europeans (Goras) watched a movie in which they did not even understand one word…

North India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda, Day 9

Paartha writes: 

Day 9, Friday, May 30th 2014 

On Friday morning we left Naino Devi to continue our pilgrimage towards Mansa Devi Temle and Chandigath. Just as it started getting very hot when the sun came out, the sound of thunder filled the air, and within few minutes rain started pouring down, making the temperature very pleasant.

On our way, we stopped in Anandpur Sahib (Holy City of bliss), the “birthplace” of Sikhism as it is known to the world today. 

The Guru Dwara (“Door to God/Guru”, a Sikh Temple) looked very impressive and beautiful. At the entrance, those who did not wear a turban (everyone in our group…) had to put on a small scarf to cover their heads. This is the only requirement to enter into a Guru Dwara. 

We walked up the steps and finally entered inside and did parikrama (circumbulation) of the Guru Grant Sahib (the holy book of the Sikhs), the holiest spot of the temple. Around the Guru Grant Sahib sat one man who was reading from it, while three other men were singing kirtan. Present inside were also Guru Gobindhs weapons which he used in his fight against the moguls, including the sword which was given to him by Jwala Mata. Then we sat down for about 10 minutes. The atmosphere in there was very peaceful and awe inspiring. Gurpreet then told us more about the history of Sikh religion, and this temple in particular. 

He told us that the founder of Sikhism is Guru Nanak Dev. During the 17^th century the moguls began invading India from the north west. Subsequently they also tried to force their religion on the Sikhs. Guru Teg Bahadur and three of his closest devotees resisted conversion and were tortured and killed. 

After a lot of suffering of the Sikh people, the next Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, went on a pilgrimage to Jwala Devi (Divine Mother in the form of a flame, see last report). There he received Darshan of Jwala Mata and was instructed by Her that the time had come to take up arms to defend Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) against the invaders. She handed him a sword and instructed him to found a new warrior class within Sikhism. 

Short after, Guru Gobind Singh’s children were captured. They were summoned in front of the Mogul. Proudly they walked in and said that they were never going to give up their faith. Subsequently they were buried alive. While being buried, they were told, that all they had to do was to accept Islam as the only true religion. But they remained steadfast, including the youngest child, a 4 year old boy, and were killed.

When he came back from Jwala Devi, he assembled all his warriors, and he asked for a volunteer who would give his head for their cause. Eventually one man came forth. He took him in his tent and came back out, holding his head in the hand and showing it to everybody. He announced that he needed another volunteer. Again one man came, and this time he came back out with two chopped heads in his hand. This repeated itself until he had five heads. When he went back into his tent, after a few minutes he came back out, and along with him the five men, their heads back on their necks as if nothing had happened. These five men became the leaders of five groups of warriors. They are  considered “Panj Piaras”, the five beloved disciples of the Guru. Together they managed to stop the conversion of Hinduism to Islam and protect the Hindu and Sikh traditions. 

 Sikhs, in their own language (Punjabi), are called Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh, in order to identify the Sikhs instructed them to keep five things starting with the letter “K”: Kes (long Hair), Kanga (small comb to keep hair tidy), Kada (bracelet, symbolizing courage), Kirpan (Sword to protect the weak), Kacha (long undergarment symbolizing chastity). 

Guruji said, that all the ten Gurus of Sikhism (Guru Gobind Singh was the last) were re-incarnations of the first one, Guru Nanak. Guru Gobind Singh then instructed the Sikhs that the only thing that the Sikhs would worship after him would be the Guru Granth, their holy book. That is why in Sikh temples one doesn’t find any images of deities, not even the picture of the Guru. 

Outside the temple is the Akal Takht (a long spear) which is the symbol of the Sikhs. 

On our way out, it was interesting to note that there were not only the usual shop stalls with devotional items, but also many stalls with knifes and swords, since it is every Sikhs duty to defend their nation and protect the weak. 

We continued our bus journey and finally arrived at Mansa Devi Temple. Mansa Devi is especially known for fulfilling ones wishes (Mansa = wish) and for liberating ones ancestors. The head of Sati has fallen at this spot.

The whole history of the temple and of Mansa Devi is quite long and connected to a saint with name Zart Karu. In those days, Janmejaya was conducting a great snake “Sarpa satra”, a sacrifice that would destroy all living snakes. Janmejay bore a deep grudge against the serpents for having killed his father Parikshit by a snake bite (after the curse of a sage). This led to a dramatic decrease of the snake population in the world and they were threatened to get extinct. On enquiry of the Gods, Brahma spoke to them, saying, that only if a saint with name Zart Karu, who was the only remaining descendant of the snake race, would beget a son, their race would be spared, cause only Zart Karus son would be able to stop the snake sacrifice on earth. The snake king Vasuki promised, that he would give his sister’s hand to Zart Karu so that she could bear a son from him. 

Zart Karu at that time was roaming the earth in spiritual pursuits. He did severe tapasya (penance) in order to gain spiritual power and insight. One day he came across a tree on which he saw with his spiritual eye, some ancestors hanging invertedly from the branch of the tree over a ditch, threatening to fall into it any moment. He immediately felt pity for them and said, that he would spend the fruits of his entire spiritual merits/powers in order to save them. He enquired who they were and they said that they are the ancestors of the snake race and that due to nobody being there on earth to care for their welfare, they were doomed. They said that no spiritual powers would help them, only if their Vansh-Parampara (family lineage) would be upheld, they could be spared from their fate of falling into hell. They said that there was only one in the whole family-heritance and he was also useless since he had become a famous Sadhu with name Zart Karu who was greedy after spiritual practice. They said to him, that if he were to meet Zart Karu, he should tell him about their condition and ask for help. On hearing this, Zart Karu became sad and with choking voice he said to them: “You are my fathers & forefathers. I am your begotten son Zart Karu.” He agreed on getting married and have a son, under the condition, that he would not have to take the burden of feeding her unto himself. 

The snake king Vasuki himself gave his sister to Zart Karu and agreed to look after her even after marriage. They got married and Vasuki’s sister eventually bore a divine child who was named Astik. He was brought up in the court of snake king Vasuki with great care and concern. He finally convinced Janmejaya to abolish the snake sacrifice and peace was established. So in that sense Vasuki’s sister fulfilled the wish of the snakes and therefore became famous as Mansa Devi, fulfiller of wishes.

 Darshan of Mansa Devi over Guruji’s shoulder…

 After visiting the main temple of Mansa Devi and having Darshan of Her, we walked a little bit further up and visited another temple which was built there. Guruji was very impressed by the beauty of it. Around it were big trees. One of them was a bilva tree, famous for its three leaved leafs that are dear to Lord Shiva. We then sat there a while near the temple and rested.

Once we got into the bus we continued our journey towards Chandigath. In the outskirts of Chandigath there is a place called “Chandi Mandir” where we stopped with our bus. It was already getting dark. We got out of the bus and first had to cross the railway line. Right behind it was the temple of Chandi (Kali). It is in this place that, when Chandi was fighting the demon Mahishasur, got so in rage, that She could not be stopped by anyone, Shiva Shankar lied down in Her pathway to stop Her.

 When She saw Him lying there, She was so surprised, that She stuck Her tongue out in surprise and calmed down. In some narrations it is said the Shiva lay there as a baby, and when She saw the baby, Her motherly feelings were awakened so She calmed down, took the baby in Her arms and suckled it at Her breast. 

Since then Ma Chandi is there in the form of a Pindi. When the Pandavas were in exile, there was one year that they had to live completely incognito as per the agreement of the game of dice. During this time they discovered the hidden image of Chandi Devi in the forest and began to worship it and performing tapasya. Ma Chandi was pleased with them and granted them the boon of victory and presented them with weapons. The pujarini (priestess) gave to each one of the group a lot of Prasad and then we walked back to the bus. 

Next Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda: South India (December 9th til 22nd, 2014)

If you would like to participate in the next pilgrimage with Sri Swami Vishwananda, here is the latest information about it: 

Bhakti Marga offers travel packages for people interested in pilgrimages to holy sites. 

Pilgrimages are journeys where we travel on the outside to reach deeper levels in the inside. When one travels on a pilgrimage, the journey becomes more than an ordinary trip. After every pilgrimage the accounts of those who participated speak volumes. They undergo a major spiritual transformation, each one in his or her personal way. 

Bhakti Marga, under the guidance of Sri Swami Vishwananda, has hosted pilgrimages to many parts of the world, rich in religious history, such as India, Israel and France. The latest pilgrimage will take place in South India from December 9^th – 22^nd, 2014. 

Participants will have the chance to visit ancient temples in the heart of South India, often referred to as the “homeland of Ayurveda” and the “Land of God”. They will also get the opportunity to explore the backwater towns and villages of South India on a traditional Indian boat. 

South India with its palm trees, spices, tea-and-coffee estates, beaches and wonderful quiet landscapes is the perfect place to let go of your worries and immerse yourself in the spiritual wealth of the land. 

As part of the pilgrimage, special trips to Mysore, the “Sandalwood City”, and Bangalore are planned; where hidden treasures are waiting to reveal themselves. 

To register for the pilgrimage please click on the following link: 

http://form.jotformpro.com/form/40845459781971 

Registration deadline for the Pilgrimage is June 15^th, 2014. 

North India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda, Day 8, Satsang

May 28th, Satsang:

Paartha writes: 

After dinner (when I was already in bed) Guruji gave another satsang which I transcribed from the video recording the next day in the bus, as good as I could understand, so again forgive any possible mistakes:  

Guruji: “Today you had a lovely Darshan of Bhagalmukhi Devi and yesterday you had lovely Darshan of Jwala Devi. And you know in Jwala you have the 7 flames, each one is one of the Shaktis, each represents one of the Kundalini (centers) inside the body. That’s why the two last flames that were down in the kund, they were more brighter, burning more strongly. All the Jyotis, the three lights, the light which is the Kali light, the triangle, this represents the heart chakra, down the throat chakra and the left one, medium size, nex to the big one, is the Ajna, and the upper one the Sahasrana, the crown chakra. 

All the other places where Devis is, there is just Swaroop, the form of Her, and the pindas are part of Her, but also a form, whereas the Jwala mukhi it is Herself, the fire is Herself. 

Today we went to Baghlamukhi. When you read about Her she seems very fearsome, but in reality She is not. In the mind of people when you were reading you had another image of the temple, you thought oh my goodness she is wild and destructive, but when you went there we saw, the energy of the temple is not so. She is in one way annihilator of the negative qualities inside, She creates the balance. Some people thought oh my god,  she changes good in bad etc, no, what She wants is that one masters both sides. In every sadhana you do, you go through such stages where both qualities are present, and both qualities you have to rise above them. Krishna said to Uddhava “Don’t waste your time on good and don’t waste your time on bad, they are just passing, they don’t stay, and they will not lead you anywhere” Bhagalamukhi stands for that, master and rise above, not only the good, and not only the bad. But the tendency of man is to hang only on the good, but yet they suppress the bad inside of them. But you have both qualities inside of you. It’s just that you have to control it. If you control it, then you go above it. That’s why very often there is certain things that arise which you don’t want to see, in yourself, I am not talking about anybody else. You put it away and suppress it and put it inside yourself, not knowing where, yet it is there. That’s why in life there is a circle that repeats itself. The fact that similar experiences happen is due to that pattern, that you have not risen above it. Once you rise above it, it will stop haunting and bothering you. That’s what Bhagalamukhi stands for. Of course today we had lovely Darshan of Naino Devi. And you know it’s funny, again, like in the other temples, until now all the Darshans were wonderful. There was not one Darshan that you could do that was not nice. Today, to go to Bhagalamukhi was also very important. 

Because we are doing the Navadurga, nine Goddesses, but the nine Goddesses, they need one Mahavidya at least. There are ten Mahavidyas symbolizing the ten directions which the Shaktis look after (the 8 directions plus up and down = 10). These are the Mahavidyas. And also Naino Devi it was also really, really nice to be there."

Q: In all temples there is a big tree, why?

Guruji: Very often it was a saint who was doing tapasya (penance) there or the Pinda was located under the tree. These trees are mostly sacred trees, like the tree in Naino Devi is a Pipal Tree. The priest said that the Pipal tree is very sacred because it energizes your prayer. Pipal represents the prayer of Brahma. In the Pipal is also the birthplace of Adishesh. He was born inside the Pipal tree. That is why this tree is also dear to Lakshmi Narayan, that’s why there was also a Lakshmi Narayan temple inside. Of course you have also other trees, all deities are linked to some sort of tree (plant). 

Q: You said that when we go for Darshan if we have full trust we don’t ask anything because Mother knows what we need, and on the other hand you said that if God appears in front of you, be prepared what you ask for, so in this moment you have to ask for something or…?

Guruji: No it’s not that you have to ask for something, but being human, humans always have a demand. For example today we went to Chintpurni and one man was asking Gurdeep if I can tell about the future. Well I can tell him about his past and his future also but I am not there for that. This is the mentality of people going to the temple, they go to temple because there is an aim behind it. Most of the people. But the simple people they would go to the temple because they have this relationship and devotion, they will not need to ask anything. And also, if She appeared, it’s not that you have to ask, She knows it, but She will test you, what you want, you want an object with a limitation, or you want something which is beyond limitation, She will give you that choice. 

That’s why when Krishna appeared to Surdass (Surdass was blind) and gave him his eyes, he was able to see everything, but he did not look at anything except Krishna. Krishna said “What do you want?” And Surdass said: “Lord I have seen you, now take back these eyes”. This is the test that God puts to the person. Somebody who is not fully sundered they will fail it. They will get everything else but they will loose the most important. So He gives you the choice between the world and Himself. 

Q: Today when were offering Devis eyes, what does it symbolize? 

Guruji: Naino Devi Temple is the place where the eyes of Sati fell. 

Sri Naino Devi

Q: (I did not understand…)

Guruji: Everything is important and everything is not important. You see you have both into it. As you have eyes to see, it’s important, otherwise you would be blind. Use these eyes, cause you are looking at something good for once. And if you are looking at something good it means it brings also good things to you. Because from eyes to eyes there is always rays that flow through. These rays bring a lot of things also to you, that’s why they tell you look at the eyes (of Devi). 

Guruji then ended the satsang and everyone went to bed.

However, there was one nice thing which he said already on one of the first days: He said that he got the book “Call of the 9 Goddesses” (describing the Pilgrimage that we are doing now) already as a young boy and since then dreamed of undertaking this pilgrimage. He said that now this has finally come true, after 30 years… He also expressed the wish of repeating it with another group some time in the future.

Jay Mata Di!

North India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda, Day 8

Paartha writes: 

Thursday, May 29th

The first temple we visited was Bagalamukhi Temple. Bagalamukhi means “crane headed” and also “face of wisdom”. She is one of the ten Mahavidyas and is prayed to for victory (in battle and in court cases), against gossip and against enemies in general. However, She only brings justice when it is deserved by the devotee. She can also change everything into the opposite. She is the force in the universe that brings balance, good becomes bad, bad becomes good, etc, ultimately in order to bring the devotee beyond the opposites, beyond duality, to the Divine. It is generally stressed to have a proper initiation by a Guru for performing Her sadhana. 

Everything in the temple is in yellow color since it is the color that Bagalmukhi likes most. Also the devotees and priests wear yellow clothes. Guruji remarked that the yellow color gives the temple a very bright atmosphere. The deity of Bagalamukhi was installed by no other than Lord Rama himself, hence a very long time ago. He then prayed there to Devi, when he set out to reclaim Sita, for victory in battle. Bagalamukhi gave him the powerful “Brahma Astra” weapon with which he killed Ravana. 

It is interesting to note, that even Ravana’s son, Megnath, did penance there to be victorious by praying to Neelamba Devi by performing 1000 yagnas. However, Lakshmana and Hanuman stopped him so the sacrifice was not completed successfully.

We had Darshan of Devi and one priest was very kind and made a close up photo of Her with Guruji’s phone:

This is how She is depicted normally, holding the tongue of the enemy (demon) in one (silencing him) and a club in the other hand.

Behind the temple, a few steps down, there was another, smaller temple, that housed a big Shiva Lingam. This Shiva Lingam was actually installed some 5000 years ago by the Pandavas. Guruji and everyone else paid their respects to Shiva.

We continued our journey and arrived about an hour later at Chintpurni Temple. The deity there is “Chinna Mastika”. She is present there in the form of a pindi (rock formation). It is said that part of Sati’s feet have fallen here. The temple was founded by a devotee of the Goddess called Mayidas. Mayidas was the youngest of three brothers. His father had already been a known devotee of Durga Devi. Since Mayidas showed no interest in the family business and neglected it, his brothers excluded him from it. He was not unhappy about it since it allowed him more time for worshipping the Goddess. One day he went to his in-laws on foot. On the way he rested under a banyan tree. While he was sleeping, he dreamt of the Goddess in the form of a young girl in all her splendor and glory. She instructed him to build a temple at this very spot. When he awoke he continued his way but could not stop thinking about his dream. As he returned from his in-laws he stopped at the same tree and intensely prayed to Ma to reveal to him Her plans. Suddenly everything around him turned into divine light and She appeared to him riding a tiger. She told him that She was present beneath this tree in the form of a pindi (rock formation) since time immemorial and instructed him to build a temple and worship Her there. He said he is a fearful, weak and uneducated man, and doubted that he could achieve at this, since there was not even water at this place. She blessed him and said not to worry and instructed him to remove any big stone he could see and that he would find water there. She also assured him that he and all his descendants would have the exclusive right to worship Her there and that they would always be taken care of. After the revelation of Durga, Mayidass became completely fearless and was full of ecstatic love for the Goddess. 

He went to the first big stone he saw, turned it around and water gushed forth from underneath. He immediately started constructing the temple and it is there ever since. The stone can still be seen at this place. 

Chinnamastika Devi is usually depicted as standing on a love making couple. She holds a sword in her hands and has just cut her own head. From her neck two streams of blood gush out and “feed” Her two attendants, the two yoginis Ajay and Vijay (who according to the story have asked her for food since they were hungry). A third stream of milk also gushes from Her neck with which She feeds Herself. Her standing on the couple can be interpreted as creative energy (Kundalini) and the two streams of blood representing “Ida” and “Pingala” Nadis (energy channels) which she feeds since they are hungry (representing ever “hungry” duality). The white stream of milk would represent “Shushmna Nadi” (main energy channel) which means keeping the creative energy within and feeding Divine mother Herself (representing non-duality, oneness).

The atmosphere of this place was especially serene and peaceful. Unfortunately we did not have so much time to spend there since we still had a long way to go on that day.

We drove again down from the mountains (hills) into the planes and entered the state of Punjab. It was interesting to see that as soon as we entered Punjab everything seemed cleaner and better organized than before. We did not stay in Punjab very long, soon we entered again into the state of Himachal Pradesh and then finally reached our destination, Naino Devi, situated at the hill top. There we got into our “hotel” which actually was an ashram. After scrapping off the chalk of the shower head it was even possible to take a shower which really helped in this hot wheather. 

In the evening, short after our arrival, we went up to the temple which was very near. Naino Devi temple is the place where Sati’s eyes have fallen on earth. She is also present there in the form of a pindi. We received Her darshan. Twice a day She is smeared with sandal paste and in the evening She is also put to the, similar like in Jwalamukhi Temple. After Darshan the main priest showed us around in the temple. 

He said that sometimes the flame of Jwalamukhi “comes” to Naino Devi temple and then people can see a blue flame over the temple roof. If one touches that flame, five small flames appear over ones fingers, without burning the person. He himself has witnessed it.
(more about this see following link: http://www.3marg.info/pilgrimages/maa-jwalaji-temple/9forms-jwala-maa.shtml)

Guruji asked him, if it was possible to get some of the sandal paste that was on the murthi. The priest said, that he has NEVER given this sandal paste to ANYONE. But he said that for some unknown reason he feels compelled to give some of it to Guruji. In that moment one could see so much love and devotion in his eyes and it was truly touching to see how much dedication he had to Ma and how  “protective” he was of Her, yet on seeing and experiencing Guruji he felt that Mother wanted him to give some of her sandal paste to him. Some of us sat for a couple of minutes under the Pipal tree. Swami said that whoever mediates under a pipal tree, the effect of their sadhana is a hundredfold stronger. Short after we attended the aarti and the bed time ceremony for Ma. 

It is always nice to see how the local people are amazed to see (white!) Vaishnavas visiting their Shakti Peeths. Many of them have never seen a Vaishnava visiting their temple, not to speak of a “white” (Gora) Vaishnava! It happens often that we are asked to take pictures with the local people or other Devi Devotees. It shows how the path of Bhakti can transcend all nations and traditions, since Bhakti is inherent in them all.

Happy we returned to the ashram to have dinner. 

(At this night Swami Vishwananda gave another Satsang. Paartha transcribed it, we will post it tomorrow)

North India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda, Day 7

Paartha writes:

May 28th, Wednesday

This Wednesday morning we were able to sleep in because we only left at noon. It was good to rest a bit. Some braves ones however managed to get up in the morning and met for Om Healing at 8am. Together with some of the Indians at the Hotel, altogether 27 people, they did the Om Healing dedicated to the Tibetan people.

After a long breakfast we got into the bus and started our journey towards Jwala Mukhi Temple. We reached there some time in the afternoon and went straight to the temple, which was only 5 minutes walking distance from the place we stayed for the night. 

We ascended some steep stairs and finally got on the platform where this impressive and beautiful temple was situated. 

The deity of the temple is “Jwala Devi” or “Jwala Mukhi” (Jwala = Flame, Mukhi = Face). It is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths and is the place where the tongue of Sati fell. She is also called Dhumra Devi. What is special about this temple is that Devi is there not in the form of a murthi or a pindi, but She is present in the form of an ever burning flame. The main flame, Jwala Devi herself (Kali), is surrounded by 8 other flames, one of them right next to Jwala being Annapoorna Devi. Over Jwala Devi’s flame is a triangle representing Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati. 
When we arrived, there was practically no queue for Darshan and we were able to take a lot of time for Darshan. One priest led us through all the shrines and explained us everything in the temple. He told us that nobody has so far been able to explain why these flames appear there. According to the book “Call of the 9 Goddesses”, the last 40 years have been wasted by the Indian government in the pursuit of finding some source of gas in that location. Eventually they have given up on it. 

But not only in recent times, already King Akbar (ca. 16^th century) tried to “challenge” Jwala Devi. There was a saint called “Dhyanu Bhakt” (who gave the name to Vajreshwari Devi also, mentioned earlier) who travelled with a big group of 1.000 devotees to Jwala Devi in order to praise her. He was stopped by Akbar’s soldiers since they were such a big group. Akbar inquired from the saint why he was going there. Dhyanu Bhakt told him, that Jwala Devi was a Goddess who had supernatural powers and that he was going to worship Her. Akbar did not believe. He took up a sword and chopped off the head of Dhyanu Bhakt’s horse and said to him, he will only believe in Her power if she put back the horse’s head. Dhyanu Bhakt left the palace with his people and eventually reached Jwala Mukhi. There he prayed to Devi very intensely, but She did not give him any sign or indication that She heard his prayers. He got so desperate that he said that if She did not put the horse’s head back on, Akbar (and subsequently everyone else) would not believe in Her power and his faith would be in vain. He had so much faith and love in Her, that he just cut off his own head with his sword and held it in his hands as an offering to the Devi. 

In that moment She revealed Herself to him and told him, that she has fixed the horse’s head back on the horse’s neck. She also put back his own head on his body. She told him to go back to Delhi and see for himself. 
Also Akbar and everyone in the court was amazed to see the head of the horse back on its neck. Dhyanu Bhakt prayed to Devi that not everyone was ready to cut his own head and that She should satisfy the desires of Her devotees also through simple offerings of flowers and coconuts. She blessed him and confirmed that this is the way it will be.

However, Dhyanu Bhakt, out of his immense Love for Her, later cut off again his own head as an offering to Her. She put it back on his neck a second time and told him, that it would not be possible to put back a third time. Dhyanu Bhakt replied to Her, that living separate from Her would not have any meaning anyway, and cut it a third time in order to remain with Her in spirit eternally. 

There is also a smaller shrine for Jwala Devi as Swaroop (in a murthi form) where She was installed on five human heads (skulls). The heads were given to Her as an offering of five devotees. These “human sacrifices” were not forced upon the devotees by other people, but they did this as an act of intense love and devotion. They gave back “their” life to the one who had given it to them in the first place. 

Even the fact that the horse got back its head did not fully convince Akbar so he sent his people to extinguish the flames of Jwala Mukhi. His people covered the flames with steel plates. But just a bit later, the flames appeared again, this time right above the steel plates. Then they built a pond around the main flame and tried to extinguish it with water, only to see the flame burning above the water right afterwards. Whatever they tried, they could not extinguish the flames. Finally Akbar realized that the flame must have a Divine origin. Akbar was a righteous king. As an atonement for his sin he sent a cover for the temple roof made of pure gold. However, as soon as the cover was fixed, it changed its consistence and fell down from the roof. When examined, to this day, it was not possible to determine the material it had changed into, but it is certainly no gold any longer and does not look beautiful at all. All this was interpreted as a sign that the Devi did not accept the “excuse” of Akbar. 

The cover is still exhibited in the temple today.

Another king, who came to pray for victory, was more successful. After having won the battle with Devi’s grace, he gold plated the whole roof of the temple. 

That roof is still there today. 

We stayed a long time in this temple and enjoyed the presence of Devi there. Later in the evening the upper part of the temple was opened and we were able to visit it as well. The upper part, where also some of the flames are present, is run not by the normal priests, but by a group of “Naths”. Naths, according to Guruji, are warriors and see themselves as protectors of dharma. Their origin goes back to Matsyendranath and Guru Gorakh Nath who is mentioned also in the first travel report. Guru Gorak Nath once stayed in Jwala Mukhi. He fixed himself some rice to boil in the hot water pond there but did not put the rice in just yet as he was going to cook it when coming back from bhiksha (asking for alms). However, he never came back and was never to be seen again by anyone (Guruji said that he is still alive in his body). But since then, the water is cold and has not become hot. Although the water is boiling (you can see it bubbling and steaming), when you put your hand in it the water is cold. However, when one puts rice in it, the rice does get cooked as if it was boiling hot water. It is believed that Jwala Devi is still waiting for Gorakh Nath to come back to cook his rice. 

When we came down to the main temple we waited about half an hour and then at 21:30 another part of the temple opened its doors and the people (and us) streamed inside. 

In the center of the temple was a beautiful bed. We sat down near the bed and the daily evening ceremony of putting Ma to bed started. While singing a “lullaby” the priests put Devi to bed by putting all ornaments and sarees (which people offered) on Her bed. It was a very sweet scene to look at how all the devotees watched how “their mother” was put to sleep.