Places of Pilgrimage Copyright © 2017 by Sri Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Trust, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
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Places of Pilgrimage Copyright © 2017 by Sri Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Trust, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. All Rights Reserved. The copy right and the rights of translation in any language are reserved by the Publishers. No part, paragraph, passage, text, photograph or art work of this book should be reproduced, transmitted or utilized, in original language or by translation, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or by any information, storage and retrieval system, except with prior permission, in writing from the Director, Chaitanya Jyoti Museum, Prasanthi Nilayam - 515134, Anantapuramu District, Andhra Pradesh, India First Edition: July 2017 Published by Sri Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Trust (Maharashtra), Chaitanya Jyoti Museum, Hill View Stadium, Prasanthi Nilayam, Ananthapuramu Dist - 515134, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ph : 08555-289521 Printed at Vaivee Offset Printers, Shop No. 25, A.P.H.B., O.U. Road, Vidyanagar, Hyderabad - 500 044. FOREWORD This Book indeed is an inspiration to the reader as it gives a composite vision of the most spiritually potent aspects of the pilgrim centres. The description below each picture enhances the spiritual understanding and the Divine beauty of each of these. On going through the Book, I am confident that the dormant spiritual urge of every reader will be ignited and one's journey to achieving awareness of one's inherent Divinity, will be intensified and hastened with joy and bliss. I have to congratulate Col Bose on this publication, which is a manifestation of his incessant efforts to bring to the common man the message of the Master in a simple and effective way, very much in the attractive manner that he has preserved the beautiful Chaitanya Jyoti Museum at Prasanthi Nilayam. I am deeply impressed with the publication. Sri Nimish Pandya All India President Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation India Gurupurnima 9/7/2017 Prasanthi Nilayam ABOUT THIS BOOK God manifests on Earth in different forms to guide and protect all creation, especially human beings. As Swami once observed, when God first created the Universe, He felt that one thing was missing – and that was an entity, who would understand the purpose of creation and also know, who the creator was. So God created Man and instilled in him three basic urges, I must live, I must know and I must be happy. He also created a system of 4 concepts, which would sustain the human race and guide its functioning. These are, firstly, the concept of the Universal soul (Param Atma), secondly, the concept of the Individual soul (Jeevatma), thirdly, the concept of Karma and transmigration of soul towards perfection through a series of births and deaths and lastly, the concept of moksha or liberation from this endless cycle of births and deaths. God manifests as (i) Nirakar i.e formless (ii) Sakar i.e with form as Avatars, Saints, Sages and other Divine Beings, and (iii) Consecrated idols in holy and sacred places. Pilgrimage to these places is very important. Swami has reminded us that in sacred places even if a mantra is chanted without full devotion, it still becomes more potent; the power of the mantra chanted here, is greatly enhanced. It is for this reason that our ancestors laid so much stress on pilgrimage to holy and sacred places. Our country is full of pilgrimage places but due to constraints of space, we could display photographs of only 75 of these in Chaitanya Jyoti. This display has created a surge of interest in our visitors and many wanted to know something of these places. For those pilgrimage places, which could not be included, we beg forgiveness. Holy places pertaining to all major religions have been included to give a broad sweep to the concept of pilgrimage and kindle wide ranging interest in this form of spiritual awakening. With love and humility, we present this book containing photographs and brief descriptions of these 75 places, to our visitors. Col S K Bose (Retd) Director, Chaitanya Jyoti Museum INDEX 1. Mount Kailash 39. Parsi Fire Temple, Navasari 2. Amarnath Temple 40. Ohel David Synagogue 3. The Thikse Monastery 41. Konark Sun Temple 4. Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib 42. Meenakshi Amman Temple 5. Hemis Monastery 43. St. Thomas Mount, Chennai 6. Hazratbal 44. Sri Krishna Math, Udipi 7. Haridwar 45. Venkateswara Temple 8. Vaishno Devi 46. Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple 9. Lumbini 47. St. Philomena's Church 10. Kamakhya Temple 48. Arunachaleswara Temple 11. Parashuram Kund 49. Brihadeeswarar Temple 12. Dashashwamedh Ghat 50. Bishnupur, Bankura 13. Kushinagar 51. Muktinath 14. Vishwa Shanti Stupa, Rajgir 52. Murudeshwara Temple 15. Shri Digambar Jain 53. Ramanathaswamy Temple Bada Mandir, Hastinapur 54. Sri Krishna Temple 16. Jama Masjid, Delhi 55. Sabarimala 17. Hazur Sahib, Nanded 56. Kareng Ghar 18. Birla Mandir, New Delhi 57. Naimisharanya 19. Lotus Temple 58. Kashi Vishwanath Temple 20. Jain Temple, Ranakpur 59. Salim Chishti 21. Mahakaleshwar Temple 60. Kalighat Temple, Kolkata 22. Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh 61. Shree Govindajee Temple 23. Dargah Moinuddin Chishti 62. Unakoti 24. Ajanta Caves 63. Virupaksha Temple, Hampi 25. Ellora Caves 64. Vivenkananda Rock Memorial 26. Gurudwara Patna Sahib 65. Golden Temple, Amritsar 27. Pandharpur Temple 66. Dakshineswara Temple 28. Dilwara Jain Temple Complex 67. Palitana Jain Temples 29. Chitragupta Temple 68. Badrinath 30. Triambakeshwar Temple 69. Kedarnath Temple 31. Gurudwara Bangla Sahib 70. Gangotri 32. Haji Ali Dargah 71. Yamunotri 33. Parsi Fire Temple, Udvada 72. Dwarka 34. Bodh Gaya 73. Puri 35. Belur Math, Kolkata 74. Sringeri 36. Haji Malang, Kalyan 75. Kanchipuram 37. Church St. Francis Xavier, Goa 38. Shravanabelagola 1. MOUNT KAILASH Mount Kailash is a striking peak standing in the South West corner of Tibet in the Himalayan Mountains at an elevation of 6638m (21778 ft). It serves as the source of two of the longest rivers in Asia. The Indus and the Brahmaputra. Another local name for the mountain is Tise Mountain (“Water Peak” or “River Peak”). For Hindus, it is the home of Lord Shiva and a symbol of His Power Om, the destroyer of ignorance and illusion. In Jainism, Kailash is also known as Meru Parvat or Sumeru. Ashtapada the mountain next to Kailash, is the site where the first Jain Tirthankara, Rishavanath attained Nirvana/Moksha. Tantrik Buddhists believe that Mount Kailash is also the home of the Buddha Demchok, who represents the Supreme Bliss. The path around Mount Kailash is 52 km. long. It is here that Shiva gave 5 lingas to Adi Shankara to install at different corners of the country, which Adi Shankara did. 2. Amarnath Temple The sacred Hindu shrine Amarnath Cave, located in Jammu and Kashmir at an altitude of 3888 m (12756 ft), is also dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located at a distance of 141 km from Srinagar and can be reached through Pahalgam town, which is 46 km away. In Amarnath cave, the stalagmite is formed from water drops and grows up vertically from the cave floor, which is revered as a sacred Shiva Linga. It is believed that Queen Suryamati in the 11 th century gifted Trishuls, Banalingas and other sacred emblems to the temple. According to legend the valley of Kashmir was submerged under water and Kashyap Muni drained off the place through a number of rivers and rivulets. After draining off waters, Bhrigu Muni was the first to have Darshan of Lord Amarnath. When people heard of the lingam, it became an abode of Lord Bholenath for all believers and became a pilgrimage place. The temple can only be reached after an arduous trek through steep and winding mountainous slopes. 3. The Thikse Monastery This monastery is affiliated to the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located at an altitude of 3600 meters (11800 ft) in the Indus valley, approx 19 km east of Leh in Ladakh, India. It is a twelve story complex and houses many items of Buddist art such as Stupas, Thangkas, oil paintings and swords. The main points of interest are the Maitreya Temple installed to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to the monastery in 1970. It has a 15 meters (49ft.) high statue of Maitreya (Future Buddha).A wall at the entrance to the assembly hall depicts murals of the Tibetan Calendar with Bhavachakra, the wheel of Life. The wheel has insignia images of a snake, a bird and a pig that signify ignorance, attachment and aversion. In the early 15th century, the founder of Gelug School, often called “The Yellow Hats”, sent six of his disciples to remote regions of Tibet to spread the teachings of the new school. This building is also known as Mini Potala because of its architectural similarity to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. 4. Gurudwara Hemkund Sahib Hemkund Sahib is a Sikh place of worship located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand in the Himalayas, at an altitude of 4632 m (15197 ft). It can be approached from Gobind Ghat on the Rishikesh- Badrinath Highway. This sacred place is dedicated to Guru Gobind Singhji (1666- 1708), the tenth Guru and is also mentioned in Dasam Granth. With its setting of a glacial lake surrounded by seven mountain peaks, each adorned by a Nishan Sahib on its cliff, Dasam Granth also mentions that at this place Pandu Raja practiced Yoga. In addition, Dasam Granth says God ordered Sikh Guru Gobind Singh to take birth while he was in deep meditation at the Hemkund Mountain, because he had an important role and the time had come for it to be played out. The Gurudwara is also singularly unique for its location in the lofty Himalayas, making it the only one built at an altitude exceeding 15000 ft.The design was done taking into consideration location and altitude and is also the only pentagonal Gurudwara in the world.