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Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Day I Got Literally Elevated....

"Vaishnodevi Sojourn"






Jai Mata Di!!!
The cry that fills every heart with prayers and sanctity was coming from every direction.The air was laden with waft of sweet divinity.The believers were singing,dancing and chanting in sync with their climbing feet.I was in trance.I was in awe.Never before my mind felt this milndlessness.I was experincing bliss.
                       It all started when i recieved a phone call from my brother.He asked(actually told me!!)me to come to delhi for a trip to the sacred mountain of Mata Vaishnodevi which he had planned alongwith his three other friends.And I set sail.Catching the train to delhi was the first task,so after that i was left with the task of finding my brother`s new dwelling place.As i didnt had any google maps or GPS with me,and the rickshawallah knew the place as good as me,it took me a good 1-1.5 hours more than it should have to dump the load on my back.
      After a sumptous meal and a refreshing bath in the afternoon,my well fed stomach ordered my mind to close my eyelids.In the evening all set to go,we fed our rucksacks.The auto took us to the railway station where we met up with our other Co-yatramen.A first class AC coach which was anything but like an AC coach took me into its arms and lullaby`ed  me into a soundless sleep.
          Morning dawned ,and with that last sip of the tea from the papercup,we took off to find our next carrier.Having being welcomed by an unexpected sweltering heat in Jammu,we were hoping for a better show in katra,the next stop wheerwe were headed to.Having boarded a bus to katra,the vaishnodevi sojourn now was on road.
      The flying past visions truly spellbounding,I ignored the heat,I shook off the growing oscitances.The eyes now could see in the distance the summit wherein lies the heavenly abode.Bus journey over,we afforded ourselves a hotel where after getting fresh,we had a nice luncheon.The call of the "Bhakti" made us start our trekking a little earlier.
              The travails of travel not visible,we started our hiking in much high spirit.With some checkpoints halting our march,we fled past the calling by- street vendors.The circuitous sidehill road took us past several shops ,some selling music,some mountain delicacies,some the paraphernalia people take to the temple like bandanas,sweets,framed photos of the deities,ringlets...the whole atmosphere was rife with a ingrained frenzy.
                    
 The mules carrying the incapable and braving those who wont take the toils and moils racing past,their masters caning them for being slow,groups of people going together briskly walking and singing peaens,old ladies braving aching leg,the sadhus draped in all saffron and sporting a beard worthy of years of meditation..all of these add to the majestic atmosphere.But the appetizers were just whetting my apetite.I knew the real meal is up there,atop the jagged cliff of the noble mountain.
                              The weather was in no mood to relent though,the sun making dangerous faces was making us drink more and more water.My hike was getting laborious.I was the black duck.I was hampering the progress of our group.Constantly puffing,coughing and panting ,I was sapped by the heat rays and the humidity.But still my mind was in the right place.I struggled to keep the pace with the rest of my pack and was soon lagging behind.
                      The pain was instant.The creature still clinging to my tshirt.The sting bore deep in my skin.I was just bee stung 3 seconds ago.A warrior bee like a torpedo fired towards me,came from a sweet shop and ahoy suddenly i felt an injection of searing heat.I took out the bee tough,now a spent force with its sting being half broken and the half now residing peacefully within me was a creature to be pitied.Neways,as this happened i got too much behind and got a crocin and some water as a punishment.
                            It seems the bee has afterall been a nice omen.The weather suddenly improved in leaps and bounds.Rain started to pour,washing away all of our tiredness and ofcourse my chest pain and gave our journey a new philip.As i was drooling over the prospect of improved weather with a cup of tea to boast,i suddenly realised that my backpack was too heavy and shouldnt have brought this much of luggage with us.As the trek got higher,the surroundings turned foggier,the crowd thinner some languishing some ahead,my legs turned to logs demanding my foot to pound more to carry them.Meanwhile we laughed our way,with each of us taking dig at each other`s pace.Challenge it seems transcends every pain.The visage of the mountain now had a snowy tinge to it.We were just about to reach our first destination.I realised that very day how my stamina has depleted over the years,i rued the computer games,i rued the studies.
    
The light shone!The resplendence unmistakable.The concourse teeming with every passing second,the enroute to the main shrine now had the look of beeline.Started by taking a holy bath,we waited in the queue for good part of 3-4 hours.Then we were free.Free to go and wash our karmas.The all pardonable ,the all alms giver,the evil decimator,the all wish fulfilling vaishnodevi Maa was calling our hearts.Only a glimpse!Only a flash!,thats what i got to see of the sacred shrine.The three natural stones depicting three Devis.But was worth it.Every second of it.

               I kind of missing some details here,but i think we ate something before we moved ahead.And then the conundrum.Whether to go down to rest and sleep which we all needed badly enough or muster a bit more of our energy for the hike to Bhairon`s Shrine.Interesting story is the bhaironath`s,one which i watched in a movie and to my surprise the same movie was played everywhere.According to some well preserved legends,the trip to the vaishnodevi shrine is understood incomplete if you miss to pay homage to the vaishnodevi blessed bhaironath resting place.And who were we to question the authenticity of  legends? So we took the call in vertical direction.
            Still a good 1-2 hours upward steep climb remaining,we were trying out new tricks to save energy.Coulndt stop also,as some wise men said if you stop you would never be able to get up.So had to keep moving.Tried walking backwards to rest my hind legs.Nearly got tipped off the cliff in doing so,i received a rap on my knuckles from my elder brother.Ably supporting me,he carried my backpack for me seeing me bee stung and all.And after a back breaking,leg shaking ascent we were atop the resting place of baba bhaironath.
                       Didnt took us much long to start our descend.The mind was feebly awake to the pain in the legs.The heart was heavy with divinity.Two options of decent were with us:stairs or the circumventing road.The path didnt matter though.The road that goes to the ultraconscious mind was already underway.Just putting one feet after another that too unconsciously and letting the cool breeze carass the hair,having the sweet smell of sweets fill the nostrils,having the ears being driven in ecstacy by the sounds of the bells being rung,the hymns resonating driving the mind to soundless sopor....All of it was so surreal.
      And then something real cracked in the heavens,and they poured!It started raining bells and whistles(cats and dogs arent apt here).And we scurried for shelter.The poor mules and horses got a big reprieve.People in scores got under the shelter tailor made for such a natural fury.As they say ,be careful what you wish for...god have a tendency of giving out in nimiety.
              
   Even the heathens would agree that the place had an aura.Even when you are just sitting idly waiting for the rain gods to finish their uploading,the prayers kept coming.Prayers of lacks and crores of individuals have taken the place of microbes in the air.And the familiarity to godliness wasnt endemic to only this holy shrine.They say that the entire region is blessed.I was left with several wishes.People come here with prayers,wishlists to be granted by the almighty.But suddenly and surprisingly i realised i didnt wished for anything.Infact i was leaving the place with a bagful of more wishes,more contentment,more peace.The prasad that we got with ourselves was something that was testimony to the celebrations that took place that day.Celebration in our hearts!

     All these thoughts criss crossed my mind as we finally arrived down .I thought all my life we have been making a mountain out of a molehil.The things we strive for,the things we kill for,the things we put our heart and soul for...viz money,women(men for women!),fame,comfort,power...are such petty and inconsequential materialistic pursuits...they dwarf in comparison to one alit heart!

The heart that is alit is tantamount to thousand  pilgrimages....


PS: visit the holy shrine if u havent still..be at Peace..Jai Mata Di!!!

Random Musings...