Welcome to one more narration of a historical place of significance that I just saw and visited in Orissa. On 23^rd Feb I saw the Black Pagoda, also called the Sun Temple. I had heard so much about it that I could not wait to see this master craftsmanship called the Sun Temple in the beach city of Konark. I have shared quite a many photographs of it in the last article ‘Another enthralling journey to India’s ancient heritage sites-III Konarka’ and you must have also found those pictures awe inspiring. When I was walking through the several levels and places of wonderful panels of artistry in Konark temple, I paid my homage and gratitude to all the technicians, sculptors and the immense hard work of the 1200 workers and masons who toiled excessively over a period of more than 6 years to make this beautiful monument around eight centuries ago.

Even today it is strongly held true by the locals and others there that those 1200 workers were executed by one King because the temple’s construction did not go right in the manner the King wished and wanted . The foundation of the temple remained weak because there was some fault in its designing since beginning and therefore the temple in due course of time began to fall and crumble little by little. I thought to myself even when I was too preoccupied with taking pictures at the site that I must pay my respects and homage to all those 1200 workers, labourers who could not live enough to see the ready structure that they had made with their own sweat and hard labour. If only the Kings and Emperors rule peacefully, there would not have been so much futile killings and sufferings on this planet…. .I was pondering and lost in these thoughts before and after I saw the Sun temple and there was a hidden sense of pain inside which I did not express to anyone. I felt sorry for all the innocent lives that were taken away mercilessly for no fault of theirs.

The same kind of feeling was resonating in me when I thought of the Kalinga war. Long-time back in a stray moment as a young girl I had wished strongly to see Kalinga and Kurukshetra where the two most gruesome battles for land were fought on this subcontinent. I wanted to pray for all those lost lives and for world peace on that ground. When I read my history lessons in middle school I imagined the whole scene and sequence about the Kalinga war and it was pretty real for me even then. I could not believe it as a young girl that somebody could kill so many innocent people for the sake of becoming a bigger king and making his kingdom larger just to call himself Ashoka, the Emperor!! Since I arrived in Orissa, I was very eager to see the site where the heinous war was fought for the sake of just power! !Quite quirky for me even to this day!!!

After I finished sightseeing at Konark’s Sun Temple, I moved ahead towards Bhubaneshwar around mid day.

On my way just eight kilometres before the capital Bhubaneshwar, I stopped at Dhauligiri to see the Peace Pagoda. Before I describe this important place, I will have to go back more than two thousand years ago in India’s history for you to understand the great significance of this place.

Magadha King Ashoka attempted to annexe Kalinga, today’s Orissa keeping in view of the policy of territorial expansion of Mauryas for political and economic reasons. The people of Kalinga put up a stiff resistance but the mighty and brutal Magadhan army squashed them. More than one lakh warriors and civilians of Kalinga dynasty and ten thousand of Mauryan dynasty were killed apart from colossal damage and destruction on both sides. Kalinga was looted and plundered and people were captured and taken with them to Magadha. It is said that the nearby river called Daya river became red with blood with so much horrific death play that took place at the site.

The site at which this battle took place is Dhauli, next to Dhauligiri hills just eight kilometres south of Bhubaneshwar. Even now the hill has vast open space adjoining it.

The unprecedented bloodshed of this war prompted Ashoka to adopt Buddhism. He laid down his weapons because he had seen so much blood and death before his own eyes and felt that he was the cause of so much destruction. This war motivated him to devote the rest of his life to Ahimsa or non-violence and Dharma Vijaya victory through Dharma. He ended his military expansion and led his empire to peace, harmony and prosperity for the rest of his life. He saw to it that Dhauli became an important centre for Buddhism activities. He built several Viharas, Chaityas and pillars there.

Today there is a dazzling white peace pagoda that was built by the Indo Japanese efforts. Japan Buddha Sangha and the Kalinga Buddha Sangha took the permission of the Central and local government and made this peace pagoda in 1972. If you happen to get a chance to see this place, do not miss this opportunity because the pagoda has many panels of life incidents of Lord Buddha and some of King Ashoka’s submission and propagation of Buddhism in this land. I am grateful to God and my Gurus for making my heart so sensitive so as feel it important to take some time off from my busy schedule and dedicate my prayers and silent peace intentions for those unknown dead innocent souls! My silent prayer to Mother Earth to bring more peace in our thoughts and minds so that there is no violence and merciless killing around us and we may live in peace and tranquility forever!!

The site of Kalinga war today

Peace Pagoda at Dhauligiri

To tell you the truth dear readers, my main purpose of visiting Puri was to visit the Jagannath Temple and Konark Sun temple. I was anxious and eager on 21^st Feb to start off for Konark the very next day early morning to catch the first rays of the Sun on the black Pagoda. That temple’s real beauty is when the first slight shimmering golden rays of the morning Sun fall on top of the black pagoda like temple. They say it looks out of this world! But the locals were asserting that I must not at all skip seeing Chilika Lake before I leave Puri. Well, I knew it was worth visiting but in winter season I thought when I could see many, many exotic birds from as far as Caspian, Balkan and Mediterranean Seas besides from the upper heights of the Himalayas.

And after observing on 22^nd Feb morning that the mornings are misty in Puri these days, I changed my plan and decided to go to Chilika Lake just after seeing the Sunrise at the beach on that day. I should admit that I  have no regrets for changing my schedule at all because though I saw a few birds but then I was able to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins closely in the far off part of that lake. This lake is about fifty kms from Puri and takes one and a half to two hours time one way by car. Best time to visit early morning.

Now Chilka is a brackish water lagoon, the largest in India and second largest in the world. Brackish means that the lake has more salinity than fresh water but not as much as sea water because the fresh water that the lake gets from some river tributaries at one point mixes with the sea water of Bay of Bengal near an island. I visited this point where the lagoon unites with the ocean. Such places automatically change your state of consciousness, one feels so expanded and limitless, just like our indomitable Spirits.  And please let me know how you feel after what I said about our Spirits feeling so free and limitless in places where there is so much open space, unlimited sky and limitless water……Try to get a feel of what I am saying after you see those photos . One must experience this sometimes to recognize oneself….

Chilika is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian subcontinent and is likewise a home for a number of threatened species of animals and birds. The endangered Irrawaddy dolphins are also found here and are protected species in this region. I have uploaded some pictures of them to share with you, but believe me taking their photos was a great challenge as an untrained eye cannot locate the dolphins because their colour, which is dark slate blends extremely well with the lake water and moreover they are too fast to emerge and dive back in the water at a hurried speed. To focus and shoot such fast moving objects was never so challenging for me. But I am glad I endured the harsh weather on that day and I have come home with such enriching experiences. Who would have thought that one day I would be so clever enough to shoot dolphins in their natural habitat?

There are four islands around this lake and the Rajhansa island is where you can find these dolphins after travelling about twenty or so kilometre in the sprawling lake by motor boats. Nevertheless, the effort and time spent on this exclusive trip was worth every moment and I would love to re-visit this lagoon in future if I get a chance but in December, to watch the spectacular wild life and migratory birds from all over the world.

On one of the islands is a dilapidated Shiva temple which I did see in the end though briefly because although we tried to make it fast, yet the whole sightseeing trip took me four hours excluding travel time from Puri. And for next time I shall remember that I must set out at six in the morning to see every little thing on this gold mine of nature’s mindboggling water body’s treasure….

Chilika Lake, a place of peace and tranquility

The starting point to get in the motor boat

The jetty

 The boat

Water everywhere

Red Crabs

Me on boat, a bit pensive. So much prana, creative energy, so much life energy all around me. Sensing that…..

Birds resting on bamboo sticks

My view on the right side

 On left side

View in front

Looking for dolphins very intently…

 First sight of dolphins at last!

Multitude of white birds nearby

 Folks and their lives moving on boats…

Wasn’t getting to see any more dolphins in much time as they are reclusive and human onlookers are restless. We were leaving the protected area and I was wondering that I hardly saw anything. After that wave of disappointment, this bird proved to be a good omen for me

 It’s presence gave me happiness and the moment it took its flight, it gave me a sense of joy and freedom. I gave up glumness and started taking pictures again…

 Later it struck me like a lightning that this bird was a harbinger of serenity and joy because while I was taking its pictures quickly, I was turning my torso towards right side of the lake following it where a happy twosome dolphins were swimming ecstatically and our boatman changed the direction of our boat to let me see the grey dolphins a bit unmistakeably this time. Wow! Can you see the white lucky bird near the dancing dolphins as if sent by Providence to show me the spot   where to look for them!

Don’t miss that white speck in the far background. It is the same white bird which brought hopefulness and happiness back in me. These are two dolphins swimming happily and one can see their fins and tail.

Our boatman finds his dinner!

On our way to the island where the lagoon meets the ocean

A hut of the fisherman I guess…

The meeting point of the sea and the lagoon, but before that an island

Resting in the shade for a while to rehydrate myself on the island near the gulf….

Fresh Seafood for sale

Pearls too

Returning to the shore

Secluded Shiva temple in a crumbling state on another island, our last stop…….

Coming up next…….Konark temple

The joy of meditation is unknown to people. Just a few moments of being one with the existing illuminating Spirit is all that is required to refine my inner sensibilities and find overflowing stream of Ananda or blissful happiness. The ecstasy of God-given Joy is my true wealth. The limitless knowledge that is unfolded in divine moments is the most valuable thing I possess today……

Thinking of all this I was dipping and slipping further more in the infinite celestial world without any inkling that all along there was a silent spectator who was listening to my extremely feeble thoughts floating in the upper cerebral space. Some moments of extreme silence was experienced which made me understand the importance of-

Shunya or void that is so significant in Pranayam. I am talking of the empty space or void that one gets to observe between one inhalation and one exhalation. It is a moment of silence, peace; a moment of thoughtlessness, a moment of egolessness. It is a moment of graciousness. It is a state of Brahma, a state of nivrati or nirvana. It is during complete silence of one’s mind that God is reached I recognize today. And out of such silence came this unfaltering and unswerving golden voice of God with a ray like streak of glowing white light entering the right side of my upper head.

“First of all bow down reverentially to all your divine Gurus and touch their feet in abstract form in obeisance and gratefulness. They have done for you what nobody ever does for any other human. You were completely devastated and ruined once. They have revived, up surged and levitated you to dazzling spiritual heights. In spite of recurring mental and physical obstacles, you made speedy developments because the Gurus were empowering you silently to overcome all the hurdles on your path. The more you wanted to rise, the more power they supplied you. Gurus help only those who have total faith and endless trust in them. In the entire course of spiritual journey, there are many phases of ebbs and flows because of one’s karmic story, but the Guru is strong and resilient enough to sail you through all along until the day when you arrive safely at the shore. Those who doubt and do not feel or know the hidden godly powers of the Sadguru will not be able to traverse far. So hold on to the mast of the sailing boat even during the rough weather and feel the power of God inherent in the Divine Gurus.

There are two contradictory forces around us. One is the Light of God residing inside and the other is its conflicting force which we can name as Mayic or Asuric force in the form of fear, self-doubt, worry, panic and other low feelings and thoughts coming from the energy-field created outside by the masses. These two forces are in contradiction to each other and opposite in direction thus there is always a conflict between them. This force weakens your Spirit. It also diminishes your concentration and attention span and should be eliminated. Not a vestige of such depleting force should remain anywhere inside you.

Those of you who wish to increase your spiritual powers must understand its importance and during your meditation times, you must-

Submit all the weaknesses to the deputed Gurus. Your power lies in your Spirit and those of you who wish to walk up to end point must expel all the unwanted thoughts in order to make the mind extra ordinarily strong. A strong and robust mind shall sustain and put up with all the worldly and spiritual pursuits. The power to overcome diseases- mental and physical both, to overcome life’s obstacles and self-created mental blockades depends on the quality of the mind one possesses. A strong and bright mind shall withstand all the initial tests taken by the Guru to help you to qualify and deserve Self realizations and Atma Bodh- realization of one’s own real identity.

Therefore, remove all the mental barriers and surrender to God in the form of Guru and enter the kingdom of serene Divine world.”

 Conclusion

• You are what you think.
• You will become what you will think.
• Remove all the depleting thoughts buried deeply inside your mind and trust in God and his entrusted dispensed Gurus.

Insights of twilight meditation of 19/2/2012  before embarking on yet another round of holy pilgrimage to Jagannath Puri and Mukteshwar temple in Bhubaneshwar, Orrisa.

# Shunya, a state of Brahma, nivriti, nirvana

# Two conflicting forces around us- One is Light of God inside and the other is Asuric, conflicting force as fear, worry panic or doubt coming from outside

# Expel all weak thoughts and submit to your Guru

 

Dear readers,

This time of the year is for travelling and touring India’s pilgrimage centres. I am just back from one of the twelve Jyotirlingas or centres of Shiva’s Light called Mallikarjun temple on mountain Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh near Hyderabad very close to river Krishna.

As photography was prohibited inside the temple premises, I could only take a few at the gate of the temple. Although most of South India temples look alike in architecture outwardly, the inside of the temple has a variety of styles of wonderful temple architecture to offer. And Mallikarjun temple was no different. It was one of the most beautiful temples I have ever seen in South India!!

A  highly charged ground made all the more difference to the place and added so much more power to the premises . There were many small temples dedicated to various deities but this temple is mainly dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Ma Parvati.

I shall give you more information on this later as I will need some  time to settle down and compose a new blog entry regarding my insights. Until then, take a look at these pictures of the recent journey that I made to Sri Sailam.

As usual, I was attracted to this blooming tree full of mauve flowers at the Mumbai airport.  As I alighted, I grabbed the opportunity to take some shots of these beautiful flowers. What a lovely way to start the journey ahead!

Saw these blooming trees in abundance at Hyderabad airport too.

We began our journey on 6th Feb from Hyderabad. It takes about five hours by car and seven or eight by bus.

The setting of the golden Sun as we drive and were about to reach…

The special moon on the journey with us.  At dusk, the moon became more splendid by showing its face in between the branches and with shades of pink and lavender sky as the backdrop!!

Just about half an hour away from Sri Sailam, in the mountains and forests flows river Krishna. Took a spontaneous stop to capture this mystic image- Krishna at night!!

Next day morning, at the feet of Lord Shiva…

The main gate of the temple with five golden kalash.

So many people’s faith and devotion embedded in these….Nandi bull and Shivalingas made of cement sold in the road side shops…..

It is an exclusive opportunity to catch a glimpse of beautiful birds in my city. As birds are quick to take a flight, this picture of Bulbul was taken delightfully near the dam on river Krishna while we were having a small cup of tea!

We visited a few significant places in the mountains. One was called Shikharam, the highest place in the area where a small Shiva Temple was built on a hill top and we can see the whole region with a clear view. On top of this temple is a small Nandi bull.

We have to see through the horns of the Nandi bull by resting the thumb and the index finger on its horns and sort of making a circumference out of it all. If we are able to see the far off golden kalash of the Mallikarjun temple through it in that position, one is sure to get Moksha in this life time!

Or so they said! Everyone tried their faith and luck and I don’t know if this is true but I enjoyed the whole experience and took some very interesting pictures also!!

Close to the complex of the temple is a place called Paaldhara, the stream of milk and Panchdhara, five streams. It is this special place laden of tranquility where Adi Shankaracharya meditated and composed two important compositions- Shivananda Lahiri and Saundarya Lahiri…

A small temple dedicated to Adi Shankaracharya.

Streams flowing next to the temple which have healing properties.

The place had thick foliage and large trees. Some huge Banyan Trees were acting like an umbrella protecting the sacred place.

Paid my respects to the pious soul Shri Adi Shankaracharya at this holy place and felt gratified.

The next day morning as we were returning to our base, we stopped at one more important place called Paataal Ganga. It was the holy river Krishna where I paid my respect and fond remembrance to my father and other relatives who are no more with us. I did a small ‘tarpan’ without any formal ceremonies.

‘Tarpan‘ is an offering of holy waters done at river sites in India where we offer our memories or respects to the departed souls. It is also done for spiritual redemption. During the shraddha month of Hindu calendar, ‘tarpan’ or water is given to all the forefathers and other relatives who are no more.

This journey was very special for many more reasons which I may write about in my forthcoming articles . It will always be recalled with sweet memories in future for years to come. It felt like there was a paradise in the Sri Sailam precincts, such was the wellness feeling all around the place. No wonder it is called the Kailash of the South. The thoughts lingered with me when I took this picture from the flight which I have titled where- Heaven meets Earth!!!

 

# Kailash of South India, Mallikarjun

# Pilgrimage to Mallikarjun, one of twelve Jyotirlingas

# River Krishna

# Paaldhara, Panchdhara, Adi Shankaracharya composed Shivananda Lahiri, Soundarya Lahiri

#Paataal Ganga, Tarpan, offering to departed souls

 

Part A

15^th Jan’12 and it is 1.18 a.m. Last minute preparations in full swing to make a trip and travel to Aurangabad to do the much awaited sightseeing of the world famous Ajanta and Ellora Caves. During the day, there was less time and more tasks to accomplish. I slept very late and to relax my exhausted body, I meditated in the bed. The body, in next to no time became relaxed and tension free and I slipped into profound meditation. All of a sudden, I saw many roots hanging from a large Banyan Tree. The dangling roots touched my upper body and sort of made me more focussed and my attention was immediately brought to the centre of my two eyebrows. The large Banyan Tree stood firmly on my upper torso and I saw dazzling light in it. In that bright Light I saw an image of His Holiness Shri Mahavatar Babaji. Seeing him, I sought his blessings before embarking on my journey to interior Maharashtra, the site where the world class monuments stand as a master piece and glory of human endeavour towards refining and purifying its soul by making monuments as places of worship and advent of new awakening.

The dazzling Light entered my upper brain with its sensations tingling up there and along with this there occurred expansion and relaxation in my brain. With so much Light entering my nervous system as you would expect, I felt extremely comfortable and relieved of all day’s weariness. At this point in time, Shri Shri Mahavatar Babaji spoke to me mentally with kindness, “This is not enough. Wait. Let more Light circulate in the rest of the brain so that it can accommodate more new knowledge. You will not need any sleep tonight because one great positive thought has more power to rejuvenate your mind and body than a few hours sleep at night. The power in sankalapa (thought) is immense. If you increase the power of your sankalapa by very positive and potent thoughts then your requirement of sleep will decrease. So increase the power of your thoughts, make powerful sankalapas.”

In all my humility, I thanked the Holy Spirit Shri Mahavatar Babaji and abided by his wish. Although I was anxious to take at least a few hours sleep before leaving, I gave up the idea by surrendering to God’s wish and accepted God’s wish as mine. I spent quite sometime in the bed roaming in the spiritual world with a new sense of accomplishment by not being a slave to sleep and also not worrying about missing the early morning flight. I was relaxed and assured  that with God’s blessing and having Mahavatar Babaji’s inner vision before embarking on my holy trip, everything is going to be perfect and splendid….I floated in so much comfort and ecstasy that instead of sleeping I wanted to get started in the middle of night although I hadn’t blinked my eyes even once! For a long time, my heart was brimming over, overflowing with gratitude and appreciation for God’s kindness and graciousness. My heart swelled up with gratitude even though the body was dead tired since  12.30 a.m. I thanked God ever more for giving me so much seva, service for choosing me of all the people to do this service. There are many types of seva God told me and guiding people with wisdom and light is one of them. As you know that these trips that I am making to heritage centres of India these days are not at all my own idea.

As I have mentioned in the beginning of this segment that Shri Mahavatar Babaji will be sending me to some world heritage sites of India and he would tell me something that no historian, archaeologist or traveller would know. My aim and vision is to re-visit these sites and get spiritual knowledge that is buried in times with the help of meditation and guidance of the realized souls. My focus throughout the night was what would God reveal to me this time? What is that God wants me to know? What must have happened during those times in history that we people today do not know and is of great spiritual importance for us and that we should be knowing now? What next?

In such moments out of nowhere my soul began to speak to me, “According to Hindu calendar, today is your birthday. Ask for any boon from me, I shall grant it!” I felt a flux of light at my heart centre.

Without any time spent here and there, I prayed to my Soul, “My beloved God, my sweetest Lord, give me more insight in yet deeper meditations. May I always, always worship you;  may I always do your bhakti, may I always serve you. That is all I want. The rest of my requirements and cares you shall take care of obviously and I am certain about it.”

After saying this, I was mentally transported again to my infancy stage when I remembered that I had prayed to God in my mother’s lap as a baby. “May I never again sleep in the lap of ignorance”, I had  pleaded to my Soul  and I also recalled the power of praying intensely on our birthday and how I had once prayed and pleaded very intensely to God long time ago  before I was even born to unshackle all my karmic bonds in this life itself.

The soul in me threw open the closed gates of yet another higher door of cryptic knowledge by unfolding this enigmatic awareness by explaining me, “ Although we have light of God in our soul but sometimes our soul is very close to God. This means that in some rare moments, there is excess divine light in us, even though it could be for a very short period of time. If we make an affirmation, a positive affirmation at that moment, it could prove to be monumental and it could be the turning point. It can change the future course of path for anyone. To rise in Spirit, one must make very powerful thoughts irrespective of external detrimental conditions. The power in thought is more powerful than the power of food and sleep put together. Therefore, do not think or grow anxious about not getting due rest or sleep but instead have powerful thoughts and increase the physical stamina and endurance by increasing the attention span on God and depend solely on the sankalpa, thought of God to energize you all the time. And what I have just told you is what you should be writing in your upcoming post once you return. The content of the post is crucial so make the draft now before leaving.”

I looked at the watch it was 1.15 a.m.  I, being cautious and wishing not to lose any trace of this sublime divine knowledge, sat up and wrote down part A of this article before leaving for Aurangabad very early morning to see the Ajanta and Ellora caves on 15^th Jan’12.

Part B

20^th Jan’12 and it is 6.20 p.m. I am at this moment writing the later part of my post after I have visited and seen the magnificent caves of Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra, India and returned on 17^th night. And dear friends what a rare experience that was! I wonder why did I never get a thought or an idea thrown at me by someone to see these most exquisite caves?

I had not even fathomed before that people living more than 2,500 years ago in India could make such awe inspiring monuments with such humble instruments like that of just a chisel and a hammer!! And seeing is believing! Although I had known for years that these caves are world heritage sites and the caves are of Buddhism, Jainism and Shivaism category but my trip to these sites were not at all from religious point of view. My perspective was very different and all the time I was wondering why were these caves made?

Once I reached the Ajanta caves on 15^th morning around 10.30 or so and started seeing the line of caves I had reached my saturation.  It was mind boggling; the magic of just being in an ancient Buddhist cave was really awesome. Standing inside them with great surprise and wonder, I could visualize the monks walking here and there carrying out all the ceremonies and rituals and how people must have come to pay their respects to Lord Buddha in those caves long time ago. But for the signs of vandalism, harm and damage done to these master pieces left me depressed and disturbed. All the day long, a sense of sadness was felt and it lingered after I saw so many overwhelming and grand idols defaced and dishonoured by some unknown people ages ago.

And the next day on 16^th morning, I visited two caves of Jainism category. As we reached quite early, there were just a few people and I relished every moment spent there seeing carefully every bit of the fine architecture with a deep sense of wonder and respect. I am certain that somehow the later generations were first inspired by these monuments and the Dilwara temples made of white marble in Rajasthan today have drawn inspiration by these Jain temples made about two thousand years ago. There is a lot of similarity between the layout and style of architecture between them and these cave temples.

My jaws dropped literally when I first saw the Ellora’s Kailash Shiva temple after the Jain cave temples. A thrill of electric ray like feeling ran through me when I first entered the huge complex and courtyard of Kailash temple and was left in a trans-like state.  There was so much positive energy in this particular place that I was immediately infused with remarkable energy to capture this great moment of my life. I was inspired and hungry to photograph every master piece installed there by taking as many photographs as possible in the very little time available to me.

I had never ever imagined that man could make such beautiful monuments as places of worship without any modern engineering and machines. And all the pains were taken merely to connect to God in some ways! How very fascinating! This goes on to prove, I thought to myself, that praying and meditating are really very important for we humans and we are just not doing that, I wonder why?

In fact, I only saw three cave temples in four hours in Ellora because they offer so much to see and savour. I left the rest of the caves because one needs at least four days from morning to night to see all the details and appreciate the classic beauty of each and every idol and figure made out of just chiseling the hard black mountains in both the places. In any case, I was so satisfied with what I had seen that I actually did not want to see any more caves, more so because ordinary people lack love, regard and reverence for such grand places of worship and their behaviour is only contrary to what it should be in such elegant caves!

Now though the historical facts were written everywhere on boards but no one answered my one question. Even when I had seen all the caves at Ajanta and in the following day a few at Ellora, I was stuck with one question, “It is clear that humans made these monuments with just a hammer and a chisel but why would they make them? And most importantly- “Who got the first idea of making these caves? From where did this idea come?” I was all the time talking to myself silently. Obviously, no one can answer this to me in the physical world but I was really, really intrigued and a bit restless beneath and I didn’t know why.

Yesterday around 5 p.m at home, I was very peaceful and wanted to meditate in the midst of some ongoing problem. I knew that no wonder what kind of problem I face, I shall find an answer and solution by connecting to God because God knows everything. Also my certainty about God’s appearing before me to direct and lead me to complete my pending assignment of posting a new entry made me feel very comfortable and relaxed.  With gentle rays of love and peace thrown at the upper skies by me, I sat in blissful peace on my bed and was lost in the unexplored and unknown regions of celestial areas. Just then I saw a beam of thick Light coming beyond the Earth and originating much beyond the Earth and touching me. I wished to know from where the beam of Light was originating. My inner vision saw that the beam was endless and was coming from infinity. I concluded that there is Light beyond the Cosmos that I know of but then where is the beam of Divine light originating from? Who is sending it to me? Why is it coming to me?

At this juncture, my soul began to speak to me, “This whole creation was created with the thought sankalpa of God. First came the thought, then the Cosmos. The thought of God has Light in it. That sankalpa of God is still present in this Universe. It is present even today and cannot be wiped out; it is so powerful. There can be catastrophes on the Earth, but this Universe cannot be wiped out because it is my will and sankalpa that it should be conserved and should continue to exist.

 If you connect your thought with this thought of God, you shall be empowered. The Spirit in you is also light of God. Only a pure heart can know and understand all this.

In order to make some spiritual energy hubs on this planet, I had this first thought and it was me who first sent out this positive thought in a Mahatma, a holy Spirit so that these caves could be constructed more than two thousand of years ago. Through this Mahatma, the thought was transferred to some other people and the caves were made. These prayer halls or Chaityas as they were called, were meant to be places of worship, praying, chanting and holy activities. But later some destructing civilization vandalized it in order to gain supremacy. Wars are mainly fought for supremacy, proving a point because of one’s ego or just plain jealousy or even hate. From time to time, one civilization tries to gain supremacy over other civilization by force but the creation will never be destroyed because it is my will. The defacing and ruining that you have seen and has disturbed you is done by one civilization because of not gaining supremacy but out of hate.

Before the actual outward damage happened, there was something unnoticed that took place. The monks in the beginning were pious and were carrying on their duties well. Later on, after about eight hundred years or so, the civilization peaked and the monks in the Viharas and Chaityas  became immodest and hungry for power thus spoiling the unseen atmosphere, the atmosphere of thoughts and sankalpa. The air became polluted and at this time, another civilization took over this place forcefully and damaged the work and toil put up by so many labourers and other people during the medieval times of Indian history. Whenever the negative thoughts over power the positive thoughts, there is bound to be regression and destruction. Therefore, have very positive thoughts and increase the intensity of positive thoughts in the atmosphere by meditating and positive affirmations. In today’s world also there is a silent war of thoughts going on between two countries and civilizations to gain supremacy. Those civilizations who try to be most powerful by negative means in some time face downfall because God will stop them and not allow excess negative, detrimental vibrations in this Universe. Those nations or people who resort to immoral and unethical means to overpower others shall be overthrown by their own wrong doings in due course of time.

Nevertheless, the bad air is again and again cleared and sanctified by the good deeds and thoughts of good and pious people. There should be more good karmas than bad karmas from everybody to gain lasting peace and happiness and well being. Very sadly, most people are like empty cane baskets- light and hollow. They do not possess profound and spiritual thoughts. To make your life more blissful and joyful, one must learn to meditate on the thought of God and their thoughts should be one with God’s wish. Learn to prolong your mind’s attention on God and go deeper still inside and I shall reveal to you many hidden facts about God’s sinless, pure world. Only a pure mind and heart shall be blessed with such divine revelations!!”

Ajanta Caves

 

 

 

 

Ellora Caves

A Foot note– As flash is banned in the caves to preserve the murals and frescoes, I was not able to take the photograph of the most wonderful painting of Lord Buddha at Ajanta- that of Padmapani, Buddha with a lotus in his hand. Some photos on the blog appear to be dark and may also be blurred as they were taken with great difficulty in the dark caves. Inconvenience is regretted.

 

Revised and updated on 24.07.22

The will of God or sankalpa of God to make Ellora caves carved out of one piece of mountain was 3,00,00,000 3 crore years ago.

 

Key words

# Mahavatar Babaji          #Ajanta Caves   # Ellora              # 800 years ago, destruction of Ajanta Ellora caves, vandalism     # sankalpa, wish of God

#Padmapani 

Today is the first day of the year 2012 and for me it is a very favourable day to begin with by submitting a post as a resolution and promise to myself that in spite of our extremely demanding and challenging lives, our commitment to God and Gurus shall never take a back seat. So after resting for a while, I am back at my laptop this evening typing my feelings and recent spiritual experience which took place only last late evening.

Prior to my narration I would like to wish all of you a very blessed and auspicious year ahead.

May this year give you more insight, more blessedness and may you march ahead and rise in your Spirit as each day progresses!! Even if we have to keep pace with our hectic daily schedules, may we never ignore or overlook our constant inner spiritual progress as the wheel of sansara shall never stop and this life is too precious to be washed out in less productive actions.

If you can recall I have mentioned to you in the last post of 30.12.11 that I took a short break and we went out of town for four days. Out of fatigue and lack of sleep in the previous many days, the body revolted and I was in agonizing pain yesterday as I became unwell and I had no choice but to rest and lay down in bed for a few hours. Since the last few days and more so after paying my obeisance to Lord Shiva at Trayambakeshwar temple in Nasik, lately, the silent chanting of ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ has been in progress while carrying out all the work in the day. So to alleviate my pain, I took the best medicine that I think works best in times of crises for me. I switched off my mind from the external world and with full faith I began to chant the mantra ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ repeatedly.

Immediately I felt peace coming to me and the mind easily became quiet and very silent. Peace and silence took me deep inside my soul where I reached the innermost chamber of God’s residence. I pleaded Him to rid me off with the excruciating pain so that I could save time to continue working for Him without any loss of time and much break. Although I knew that the body would recover in minimum time required for its recovery, I requested God to speak to me as talking to God always brings me so much joy and relief. It is the best medicine and remedy to all my problems that recur off and on.

I would like to inform you that during the last few days unfortunately I had to deal with so many people who were instilled with very low level of consciousness although I had ignored and disregarded them by keeping  my mind fixed only on God to save my mental energy for a higher purpose. But yesterday I met somebody who crossed all limits of sanctity. This combined with my hectic schedule eventually took its toll on me.

I fell ill and I was resting on the sofa with eyes closed and my mind on my beloved Param Guru Shri Mahavatar Babaji.  I got instant relief and in no time, everything fell silent and the sound of Om started ringing in both the ears. All my attention was transferred to this sacred sound and I immersed in deep peace and relief as though there was no pain at all. I only wanted to hear Om as nothing outside is ever as good as this. The domain of God and our Spirit is very blessed and I always crave to be in that realm as much as possible because it is very peaceful there. It is blissful to be in contact with one’s Spirit. My soul always longs to be there and during such divine moments I also pray to God to let me keep on being there as long as possible as I don’t feel like returning to the normal world after so much holiness purifying me every time I visit there, never mind how short the stay must have been!

 God is all pervading and omnipresent and He knows every little thing that we see, do or experience. God began by educating me with this knowledge, “Leaving just a few, this whole sansara is full of people who have not controlled their mind. Their mind compels them to make so many horrible errors after errors because of which they fall one after the other in degraded births and there is no way for them to rise up. Their bad karmas bring about bad results and in turn they fall in lower quality of lives and consequently a bad mind compels them to do more bad karmas thus bringing upon them more error, misery, grief and suffering. The never-ending cycle goes on.

It all starts with the mind which has the power to drop you from a height to one’s abysmal low. You used to think that meditation is for controlling the mind because the weak and copious thoughts used to bother you. But you did not know that all the men in the world except for a few are all governed by the agitated, insatiable and dirty nature of mind which drops the soul of the individual in hell and such souls cause so much negativity and nonconstructiveness on the earth. Therefore, the saints and the spiritual Gurus lay so much stress on controlling the mind because there is so much suffering for the soul to go through all this because of so much darkness in them -life after life after life.

And once someone understands that purity of thought and mind is the key to a wholesome, peaceful and balanced life, that individual will practice meditation and will stay away from bad people as much as possible. The interaction with the worldly people cannot be avoided completely but retaining your sanctity, stability and purity of soul is utmost important. Therefore, stay in silence; recover from the impurities of the thoughts of others with the name of God who is the best healer and make your life more divine and peaceful by always remembering God in spite of the extra burden placed on you. It is possible to balance the purity of the Spirit and the contrasting dirt and muddiness that exists outside you by constantly remaining with God and Gurus. Rest a while to recover and get back to your normal spiritual life. Never forget that you are a child of God and those of you who wish to be sheltered and protected in the arms of God must always listen to the counsel and warnings of the Guru. Those people who get lost and drift in this world never realize that they are going on erring and their ignorance about the presence of divinity within themselves is causing so much pain and misery to them.

However, those souls who have worked on themselves since many births and incarnations one day arrive at a point where they are face to face with their pure, unblemished Spirit and they are constantly protected and cleansed by their divine Gurus so that their sanctity is maintained and they in turn rise up further in spite of either karmic load and/or their spiritual aspirations. Such a stage is arrived when the disciple has innumerable good karmas to his/her credit and the good karmas give power and bounce to his/her abundant spiritual growth and evolution. It becomes imperative for the advanced yogi and aspirant to become aware of his duty to keep himself pure and uncontaminated all the time as the Spirit does not favour or oblige any murkiness clouded over it at any time.

In fact, a stage comes when the disciple reaches the pinnacle of spiritual progress and it becomes the will of God to keep the aspirant clean and spotless by saving him/her every time abundant  unclean energy engulfs him/her. The disciple should also listen to the voice of God for smallest of directive that may come directly from within or from the Sadguru who is constantly guarding his much loved disciple.”

 My realization that came about out of the silence of my soul today –

The Spirit likes to remain unalloyed and uncontaminated so that it can remain in its glory, purity and sanctity. The pure state of Spirit emanates joyousness, spiritual insight, tranquility and it knows and has the answers to all the quirky problems that we face each day. The Spirit in us gives us the power to be in a state where the rays of divinity cascade in us and in doing so we come in touch with its endless beauty, timeless knowledge more vast than any ocean that we can perceive of and enduring joy and peace. The thirst to drink this nectar is voracious in me!!