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

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2012/07/reason-behind-char-dham-yatra.html

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

Badrinath

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2016/03/idols-worshiped-at-badrinath-and.html

Kedarnath

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2016/03/idols-worshiped-at-kedarnath-and.html

Gangotri

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2016/03/idols-worshiped-at-gangotri-and.html

Yamunotri

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2016/03/idols-worshiped-at-yamunotri-and.html

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  

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

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2012/07/reason-behind-char-dham-yatra.html

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)

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2013/06/an-ancient-town-devastatedlet-it-be.html

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2013/09/dhari-devi-do-not-move-her-she-

controls.html

http://bhoj11.blogspot.com/2015/06/shivling-symbol-of-formless-god.html

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

Shivling the symbol of the formless God

Article last updated on 30th september 2016

Shivling’s were worshipped worldwide.

Below is the photo of the Siva Lingam which was dug-up from Vatican City and is now exhibited in Gregorian Etruscan Museum Vatican City.

Siva Lingam which was dug-up from Vatican City is exhibited in Gregorian Etruscan Museum Vatican City.

One of the meanings of the word Linga in Sanskrit is a symbol. Thus Sivaling is the Symbol of the God without a form residing over the entire universe.

Swami Vivekananda described Shiva Lingam as the symbol of the Eternal Brahman, that the worship of Shiva Lingam – a description of the beginning less and endless of the Eternal Brahman  

(Brahman means the totality of the cosmos / the ultimate God who can never be defined / the one with no beginning or end)

There are various types of Shivling which are made from different materials like meteorite stone, crystal etc.

Meteorite stone Shivling

Shivling’s made from meteorite stone are oval (egg) shaped.

They represent the cosmic egg “Brahmanda” signifying the egg from which the Universe was born.

Now, why would someone want to worship an egg shaped Meteorite stone; simply because it is the egg from which life originated on Earth. In short it brought our DNA on earth.

In 2011 NASA proved this, below quote from the NASA’s website:

“NASA-funded researchers have evidence that some building blocks of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life, found in meteorites were likely created in space. The research gives support to the theory that a “kit” of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorite and comet impacts assisted the origin of life.” (Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)

One such black meteorite in a silver frame in the eastern corner of the Kaaba at Mecca

The black meteorite stone; it has been broken into a number of fragments and is now cemented into a silver frame in the eastern corner of the Kaaba at Mecca

Crystal Shivling

Adi shankaracharya was a reformer he travelled India wide establishing Maṭhas (monasteries) and reestablishing ancient temples and propagating the Advaita philosophy, he is said to have presented Spatik (crystal) Ling’s to the 4 monasteries he established in the 4 corners of India and to other temples mainly in south India.

When I visited the Chidambaram Nataraj temple in Tamilnadu I had the good fortune of having a darshan (auspicious sight) of the crystal ling

Some believe that Spatik (Quartz crystal) to be Ice which is compressed under pressure for centuries and hence turns into a crystal

Reference note: Theophrastus, the pupil and successor of Aristotle, in his book on stones mentions a stone called crystal (Kp~o'raAAo~). This name, apparently, is derived from Kpgo~--icy cold, and ar contract. It would seem from this that the ancient Greeks, as implied by Pliny, believed crystal (modern quartz) to be a variety of supercooled ice'.

The centuries old Spatika Lingam held in Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai had developed cracks and hence a new six inch tall Spatik Shivling with the right specification has been brought from Himalayas in 2012; The dimensions and design of these ancient Shivlings are authentic and they must be taken as a reference unlike the new age Gurus / Godmen who built all shapes and dimension Shivlings to impress people.

Crystal (Spatik) ling

Crystal (Spatik) ling

Worship of the Crystal (Spatik) ling

Mercury (Parad) Shivling

I have no reference to any ancient Vedic temple having a mercury Shivling.

Of late some new age gurus have made huge mercury Shivling’s, I have visited one such ashram in Haridwar, various others can be viewed on the Internet; But they all have a totally different shape, that means that they are not made as per the  Vedic specifications.

Also sites who sell this product list a lot of benefits for the mercury Shivling, to promote their sales /business.

One such Dhyanalinga (huge Shivling with a solidified mercury core) has been built by a self-styled godman at Coimbatore in India, he has even built a Theerthakund (a pool of water, visitors have to first take a dip / bath in this theerthakung before entering the place where the Dhyanalinga is kept)

A 680 kgs mercury lingam is kept immersed in the Theerthakund and people take a dip / bath in the mercury water and enter the Dhyanalinga area without wiping their bodies.

I am sure that the flamboyant new age gurus know nothing about ancient Vedic science of solidifying mercury or removing the toxic effects of mercury.

On the very website of the Dhyanalinga, in the theerthakund section this godman has written; I quote directly from his site... “…. And mercury is the heaviest substance on the planet…..” he is wrong; mercury is not the heaviest substance on the planet, even gold is much heavier than mercury.

People who take a dip here may be at a risk of mercury poisoning  

Narmadeshwar Shivling

It is said that the Narmadeshwar Shivling’s were created millions of years ago when a meteorite collided with the earth at what is now the source of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh, India

The tremendous heat of the collision caused a fusion of the ambient rock and the meteoric material. Over the ages a river began to flow through this area and the combination of these factors produced the unique condition in which pieces of the fused matter, revolving in the river bed over thousands of years took on the distinct ovoid form. The oval form is markedly different from the flatter, thinner rocks normally appearing in the river bed.

Once a year, after a long dry season and just before the beginning of the monsoon, when the river is at its lowest, the villagers, working with oxen and rope, go out onto the river bed and pull the stones from the water. The stones are then hand polished.

I have a wish to go to this place and get a Narmadeshwar Shivling.

Narmadeshwar Shivling’s

Narmadeshwar Shivling’s

Wrong interpretation of the form of Shivling

Lingam in Sanskrit means sign/ mark/ inference/ symbol/ an emblem / The image of a god, an idol / gender/ time scale / The effect or product (that which is evolved out of a primary cause and itself becomes a producer) / a proof/ evidence.
And it is wrong when people interpret the Shivling as the male organ of shiva; as shiva is without any form then how can he be represented with an organ  

The Shiv Shilla at Kedarnath

Below is the photo of the Shiv Shilla at Kedarnath.

The Kedarnath temple does not have a Shivling it has a huge rock called the Shiv shilla

The Shiv Shilla at Kedarnath 

This article may be updated in future

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