27 March, 2016

Idols worshiped at Uttarakhand’s Chardham and Chardham during winters


The idols worshiped at uttarakhand Chardham’s

Uttarakhand winter chardham yatra

Winter abode for Uttarakhand chardham idols

People / Swamis / yogis who stay over in Uttarakhand chardham during winters

The spiritual supermarket based on Mahavatar babaji’s name in Badrinath


Have written this article after a long time, after returning from my last Himalaya trip I spent time in researching and drawing the Shree yantra


The chardham circuit in the Himalaya is open for six months from May to November and closed during winters

Please refer below link



For commercial reasons the government of Uttarakahand is promoting the winter Chardham yatra


There is a lot of misconception regarding this, people think that the main idols of temples are shifted to their winter abode, but this is not so.


There is also a lot of misconception regarding the People / Swamis / yogis who stay over in the chardham’s during winters when the respective chardham towns are abandoned, they are considered to be special and highly elevated spiritually again this is not so


This article is based on my own personal experiences and the first-hand information that I have collected as I travelled to these places and stayed there for a long period of time

I have written four articles on each of the Uttarakhand Chardham, all your questions will be answered.


Please click on the names of the dhams or the links below to read the respective article














Feel free to ask me any further questions and I recommend staying over for a few days in each dham. I always travel after monsoons when there is no rush and rates are less  


26 March, 2016

Idols worshiped at Badrinath and Badrinath during winters


More photos added on 3rd November 2016

The idols worshiped at Badrinath

Winter abode for Badrinath idol

People / Swamis / yogis who stay over in Badrinath during winters

The spiritual supermarket based on Mahavatar babaji’s name in Badrinath



The chardham circuit in the Himalaya is open for six months from May to November and closed during winters


Please refer below link


For commercial reasons the government of Uttarakahand is promoting the winter Chardham yatra


There is a lot of misconception regarding this, people think that the main idols of temples are shifted to their winter abode, but this is not so.


There is also a lot of misconception regarding the People / Swamis / yogis who stay over in the chardham’s during winters when the respective chardham towns are abandoned, they are considered to be special and highly elevated spiritually again this is not so


This article is based on my own personal experiences and the first-hand information that I have collected as I travelled to these places and stayed there for a long period of time


This article is about Badrinath and is the last in the series of four articles


Badrinath





















bell of the temple
                                                   
                                             

Me outside the temple





The small building before the temple is where the chief priest stays



Top view of temple






In the Garbha gruha (sanctum sanctorum) of the Badrinath temple apart from the main idol of Badri narayan (Badrinath meaning husband of Badri {Lakshmi}) of shaligram stone which is Swayambhu, (Sanskrit: स्वयम्भू) means "self-manifested" or which was created by its own accord (by the way this ancient idol is khandit meaning broken, yet it is still worshiped) there are the idols of Udhav, Narayan , Nar, Kuber, Garuda and Narad. (all these idols face east)


Idols at the temple





Old photo of the idols before someone donated gold and diamonds and remade the interior





one gokulashtami everyone was outside the sanctum sanctorum celebrating the birthday of Lord Sri Krishna, I was almost alone in the temple and the main idol which is usually covered up was fully open I spent hours looking at the meditating Vishnu, this old photo shows the idol without any cover 







Outside facing the Garbha gruha (sanctum sanctorum) from left side clockwise there are these small temples of—Lakshmi who is Vishnu’s consort (the chief priest of the temple had told me that the lord Vishnu is known by the name Badrinath meaning husband of Badri because in Sanatan Dharam women are so very respected that the name of the wife is taken first, like we always say Sita Ram.

Then there are small temples of Vishnu swarrop,Adi Shankarachary’s statue, Nar-Narayan, Hanuman, Ganta dev (the kul dev of the bhotiya tribe who stay at mana village) then the place to perform Yagna (Vedic fire ceremony) and again a Hanuman temple


Adi shankaracharyas statue in the temple premises





Below are photos of the Narad kund the story goes that when Adi Shankaracharya re-established the Badrinath temple (the Chinese had taken over the temple and thrown away the main idol and were carrying out animal God worship)


Adi Shankaracharya recovered the main idol from Narad Kund and established procedures to be carried out for worship.
After the Badrinath temple was re-established Sanatan Dharam once again flourished. 








  
Winter abode for Badrinath idol



During winters when the temple is closed for six months the idol of Lakshmi is taken inside next to her husband and the idol's of Udhav and Kuber are moved to Yogdhyan temple in Pandukeshwar ( Yog Badri one of the panch Badri temples). It is on the Joshimath—Badrinath route situated very near govindghat the place from where treks to valley of flowers and hemkund sahib start

Unlike the belief the main idol is not shifted to Joshimath or anywhere else

Yog badri temple at Pandukeshwar



The official web site of the temple http://badarikedar.org/ states that “the devotees can perform the winter puja, darshan & abhishek of Lord Badrinath at Pandukeshwar/ Narsingh Temple Gaddi Sthal, Joshimath with same rituals & traditions as performed at Shri Badrinath Temple” ….this is not so, they have just added Narsingh Temple  at Joshimath because there is a dispute between people of Joshimath and Pandukeshwar to attract pilgrims since it is their source of income, here the same rituals go on throughout the year and nothing is shifted from Badrinath to Joshimath

Also read about the eternal lamp which keeps burning for six months (click on link below)




People who stay in Badrinath during winters


Apart from the security personnel of the Indo Tibetan border police some swamis and yogis stay over during winters they require a special permission from the Government.


Now the Government has become strict in giving permission as initially many people used to take permission and then come down to lower altitudes during peak winter.


Regarding others who stay I know a few of them they are very well equipped having more than enough food stock, insulated places to stay , generators even a battery to start the generator so that they do not have to crank start, some even keep their assistants with them. When required they use the communication equipment of the security forces who always help them.


I do not find them special in any way as they are just surviving in a harsh cold environment like many people do


Below is a photo of a mouse he also stays over during winters in Badrinath collecting his food well in advance before the winter sets in, so you see nothing so special in staying in a very cold environment in winter it is only a matter of survival





A three day trek from Badrinath takes you to Satopanth lake, this is believed to be the last journey of the Pandavas currently no one stays at Satopanth during winters, there are a few babas, Sadhus who stay there during summers only  

Satopanth lake




Years back I was impressed when I met these people who stay back during winters as I spent more and more time in and around Badrinath I got to know the real picture, have always seen these people do frequent rounds at the bank’s ATM to check their ever increasing bank balances, got first-hand information of the people who were cheated by them, once they have your telephone number they keep on calling you for money, below I have written about two such persons.


Of course I have met a few people who stay in remote places they never accept any money from anyone and spent their time doing their spiritually practices.



The spiritual supermarket based on Mahavatar babaji’s name


 The world first heard about Babaji courtesy Paramahansa Yogananda's book “Autobiography of a Yogi” and Sri Yukteswar Giri’s book “The Holy Science”.


Ever since Mahavatar babaji has become a big name in the spiritual supermarket.


Please read this article (click on the link below)



There are those who claim to be his disciples and they all use the word “direct disciple”


Many such people are found around Badrinath


There was one baba he stayed high up near charan pakuka (on the way to Neelkanth) he also claimed to be in direct touch with Babaji. He had a huge box; he claimed that his physical body would be in this box and his spirit would travel to meet Babaji. The last time he called me was in November of 2012 when he was collecting funds to spread Babajis message of a possibe destruction of the coastal regions in December 2012 (The 2012 end of the world phenomenon) Below is the photo of the box which is still lying at Badrinath in the same cottage, nothing heard about him.  






Another baba stayed in Badrinath continuously for more than sixteen years. He kept silence for all these year’s even then he kept two mobile phones with him, completely money minded he claims that he is in touch with Mahavatar babaji on a daily basis and has made a huge fortune. Below is his photoshopped image with a tiger but he does not realize that tigers are not found at very high altitudes he should have used the image of a snow leopard instead. 





His guru claims that he was in school with Motilal Nehru (father of Jawaharlal Nehru) who was born in 1861, he has made a red colour timber cottage which is the centre of attraction in Badrinath and also has a cave high up on the Narayan parvat (mountain). People are impressed to see someone living so high up on a mountain, few know his real story, by the way this cave was raided twice by forest department over various allegations; I will not write more about them or anyother person I met but hope people awaken and are not impressed with such babas like I was and ended up losing my time and money.  



Visiting Badrinath in winters

All the chardhams in Uttarakhand are abandoned in winter, the temples sealed.

But there are a few people who visit these places in winter, some do it to experience the peace and tranquility and absorb the spiritual vibrations when no one is around others do it as an expedition as one has to travel over snow covered roads.


Special permission IS required to visit Badrinath.


There is a motorable road right up to Badrinath, but again this trip should not be attempted without a local guide.


Feel free to ask me any further questions and I recommend staying over for a few days in each dham. I always travel after monsoons when there is no rush and rates are less  


Badrinath temple in future will be shifted

There is an ancient Narasimha temple in joshimath on the way to Badrinath a famous feature of the ancient black stone idol of Narasimha is that its left wrist is getting thinner by the day.

Legend has it that when the wrist breaks off, there the current Badri vishal temple at Badrinath will become inaccessible and new temple will be bhavishya badri.

In the early morning puja this wrist is shown to the people and then covered up throughout the day

The new temple is called Bhavishya (future) Badri, it is located at a elevation of 2744 m 15kms drive from Joshimath  to tapovan then another 4kms to saldhar then 6kms trek to bhavishya badri

Swayambhu (self-manifested or that which are created by their own accord ) idols are currently in the process of formation at the temple


Below photos of the bhavishya badri temple and self-manifested idols which are currently in the process of formation at the temple






photo clicked November 2009



Below are 2 photos I clicked in October 2016 you can compare them with the above photo clicked in 2009


photo clicked October 2016



photo clicked October 2016

It is predicted in the scriptures that when the good age comes that is when man will be closer to god than the present day badrinath will be covered in snow
And hence cannot be accessed
How I interpret this is there are 2 parvats in badrinath Nar {human}and Narayan {god} They both will be merged symbolizing union of god and man This may happen because cracks formed in the neelkhant parvat which is in-between the nar and narayan parvats. Scientist have predicted that snow accumulates in the cracks in neelkhant and an earthquake can cause an avalanche to flood the entire valley of badrinath hence the valley will come in its original form water / ice {himalaya—kingdom of ice} and man also in his original form {much closer to god} however this is my personal thought.


Very old photo taken in 1882 of the trekking route from Joshimath to Badrinath, the motor able road was constructed after the Indo China war




I will write another blog about various places in and around Badrnath



24 March, 2016

Idols worshiped at Kedarnath and Kedarnath during winters


The idols worshiped at Kedarnath

Winter abode for Kedarnath idols

People / Swamis / yogis who stay over in Kedarnath during winters



This article is about Kedarnath and is the third in the series of four articles


The chardham circuit in the Himalaya is open for six months from May to November and closed during winters

Please refer below link




For commercial reasons the government of Uttarakahand is promoting the winter Chardham yatra


There is a lot of misconception regarding this, people think that the main idols of temples are shifted to their winter abode, but this is not so.


There is also a lot of misconception regarding the People / Swamis / yogis who stay over in the chardham’s during winters when the respective chardham towns are abandoned, they are considered to be special and highly elevated spiritually again this is not so


This article is based on my own personal experiences and the first-hand information that I have collected as I travelled to these places and stayed there for a long period of time 



kedarnath


Kedarnath temple







Me at Kedarnath with the famous Nandi in the background







Shiv Shilla is a huge stone which is worshiped at Kedarnath








The temple faces South (approximate)


On the eastern side of the town on top of a hill is the Kal Bhairav temple guardian deity of Kedarnath









Town of Kedarnath in 2010; totally destroyed except the temple in 2013
















You may also like to read  (please click on the link)









From Rudraprayag to Kedarnath

The town of Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini


From here one can proceed to Badrinath as well as Kedarnath


On the way to Kedarnath from Rudraprayag  I visited the following ancient temples--Koteshwar Mahadev cave temple, Ukimath, Kalimath (where worship of Shree Yantra is carried out), vishwanath temple at Guptkashi, Nala temple and the triyuginarayan temple it is believed that the Gods married here when they walked on Earth and the eternal fire is still kept burning here which is a witness to the marriage of the Gods. People collect the ashes from the fire to achieve marital bliss or with the hope to solve bad karma  regarding matrimony

Koteshwar Mahadev cave temple on the bank of river Mandakani







Kalimath



Shree Yantra at Kalimath



Vishwanath temple at Guptkashi



Triyuginarayan temple



Can you see the white smoke coming out; this is smoke from the eternal fire 





Winter abode for Kedarnath idols


shiv shilla cannot be moved anywhere, during winters some panchdhatu (five metal combination) idols which are kept with the chief priest are moved down to the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath (Okhimath) one of them is the Bhog Murti (this idol has to be offered food daily)



Palanquin (doli) in which idols are carried to their winter abode and back























People who stay in Kedarnath during winters


No one stays over in Kedarnath in winters and it is completely abandoned


Visiting  Kedarnath in winters


All the chardhams in Uttarakhand are abandoned in winter, the temples sealed.


But there are a few people who visit these places in winter, some do it to experience the peace and tranquillity and absorb the spiritual vibrations when no one is around others do it as an expedition as one has to travel over snow covered roads.


Special permission IS required to visit Kedarnath


The old trek route started from Gaurikund to Kedarnath via Rambara, a total treking distance of 14 kms  after this route was destroyed in 2013  after that the trek was from Sonprayag to Kedarnath- Total 24 Kms which required two night halts. From 2015 new trekking route starts from Gaurikund to Rambara (7 km), then to Limchuli (5 km), Limchuli to Kedarnath (3 km), Total distance 15 km.
Never attempt this trek in winters without a local guide


Feel free to ask me any further questions and I recommend staying over for a few days in each dham. I always travel after monsoons when there is no rush and rates are less  


Kedarnath temple in future will be shifted


There is a prophecy that in the time to come the present day Kedarnath will be destroyed, the new temple will be at Joshimath.


A Swayambhu (self-manifested or that which is created by its own accord ) Shiv Shilla is currently in the process of formation at Bhavishya Kedar Temple in Joshimath


The Swayambhu (self-manifested or that which is created by its own accord ) Shiv Shilla at Bhavishya Kedar Temple in Joshimath




Very old photos of Kedarnath temple—year 1882







Old road to Kedarnath in 1882



1962 photo




Old photo year 1882 of Ukhimath temple which is the winter abode of Kedarnath idol