Accidental gain from Badrinath

 Accidental gain from Badrinath 

The kapat of the temple of Badrinath (UK) were closed on 17th November 2024 when we were in Haridwar. Our original plan was to spend one day in Haridwar, two days in Uttarkashi and two days in Rishikesh touching Devprayag. But while taking dinner on 17th, we changed our programme and decided to visit Panchprayag and replan the visit as we travelled. On 18th, we made halts at Devprayag (confluence of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda), Dharadevi, Karnaprayag (confluence of Pindari and Alaknanda), Nandprayag (confluence of Nanda and Alaknanda) and reached Joshimath by evening. We visited Jyotir Math the northern peeth of Atharvaveda established by Adi Guru Shankaracharya by appointing his disciple Todakacharya as its first head. There is a cave in which we could see the two Shivlingas made of crystal brought from Badrinath and one ancient Shivlinga. The main hall of the Peeth has one side the seat of Shankaracharya and opposite to it the crystal Shriyantra in the shape of Shivlinga four feet above and four feet underground. The side walls have idols of 64 yoginis covering the walls. The present Jagadguru comes occasionally at the time of opening and closing of Kapat of Badrinath Temple and to attend to other events organised at the Peeth. He stays mostly in Varanasi otherwise. We visited the Narsimha temple. Lucky we were that we got a room and dinner service at NTPC Guest House. Next day morning, there was no water flow in the taps as we forgot to keep the bucket full with water as the water pipes get chalked in mountains in winter. The campus was empty and the service staff was to come at 7 AM. Considering the travel schedule, we somehow managed our daily routine using jug water and water bottles available and departed for Badrinath at 6 AM. 

We reached at Hanumanchatti at 7 AM and stopped for Darshana. One security man came out of the tent hearing the sound of the car and told us to return unless have a written permission of the authority to move forward. I requested him to allow to travel to visit the Badrinath temple from outside and also argued that had we not stopped for darshana of Hanumanchatti the road was open and we would have travelled ahead when he was in his room. He allowed us and we reached Badrinath at 7.20 AM. It was empty town with all shops closed and no humans except few individuals seen at the hot water stream near the temple. 

In the absence of the rush of the pilgrims we could enjoy the nature, the flow of river Alaknanda, the temple premises very well. We had no plan to take bath in the Tapta Kunda located in the courtyard but somehow when we went there it has attracted me. I didn’t carry a towel and changing clothes as there was no plan to take bath and the car was parked away. But the attraction of the natural hot water pool containing sulphur was pulling me in. In absence of rush for the bath, I took bath for an hour in that sulphuric hot water as my wife also went for a bath in the women pool. I allowed the inner garment to dry on its own, put on same clothes and moved forward towards Mana, the first village of India facing China border. It was empty village except the sound of couple of starlings. We visited Bhim pul, Saraswati Dhara, Pandavas route to heaven, Vyas cave and Ganesh cave where the epic of Mahabharata composed and returned. We halted at Pandukeshwar at 11 AM and have darshana of Kuber, Yogbadri and Vasudev Temples. At 12 PM we reached Vishnuprayag to enjoy confluence of river Dhauli Ganga with Alaknanda and reached Rudraprayag in the evening to have magnificent view of confluence of river Mandakini with Alaknana. The road changed to the right to go for Gangotri. We concluded our visit of five Prayags and reached Srinagar (UK) in the evening where we got a room in HNB University guest house. 

I shall write the details of our journey to Uttarkashi and Gangotri later but the intention of this article is to narrate  how an accidental change in our tour programme pulled us to the Tapta Kunda of Badrinath which has resolved my health problem I was facing for 55 years. 

When I was 9 years old, my back was injured by the forceful jump of opponent players when I was touching the border line while playing kabaddi in the street of my chawl. After a pain for a fortnight, I forgot the incident but as I grew older the fracture was fused through sacralisation of L5-S1 vertebrae with the hip bone. It had restricted my mobility and weaken my left side of the body. 

When we returned home after the trip of Badrinath, it gave me a great surprise. My left hip fused with the vertebrae for 55 years suddenly got relieved, the neck was relived from the tension and with the removal of inflammation in the spine the irritation of mind has gone. Isn’t it an accidental gain out of a visit of a famous temple whose doors were closed?

Jai ho Badri Vishal ki😊🙏🙏🙏

Punamchand 

30 November 2024

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The Lost Gold

 Lost Gold 

There is a couple in their nineties. The man narrated a story of their past, a story of ‘lost gold’. 

The couple went to attend a marriage. The lady in rush or in pressure of silky garments dropped ornaments weighing 12 tolas. They came to know after some hours and the mood of joy changed into a state of sorrow. Wife was crying and husband dropped a letter before his house deity that he wouldn’t accept the gold even if it was returned by somebody. 

Luckily, the gold was found out by a poor unemployed man who came next day and handed it over to the family. But the husband was determined to not to accept it. They debated for whole night and as the husband was adamant, they finally decided to offer it to the Guru of the man who found out the gold. The man was follower of BAPS Seaminarayan. They all went to offer the gold to Pramukh Swami. As he was getting ready to pick up flight for London his access was denied initially. But when Dr. Swami came to know that the visitors have come to offer gold, they were allowed to meet. They dedicated the gold to him but he advised it to do so before the Shriji. Two idols (Swami-Narayan) were brought immediately to whom they offered the gold, of which half was kept and half was returned as offerings. Look at the nature of the husband, he sold it to the market and from the money received, he organised a lunch party of his society of 160 families, narrated the whole story of the lost gold and paid respect to the man who returned the gold by giving him a silver memento of Sidi Saiyyid’s jali. 

My wife asked me a question, who became the real beneficiaries of the lost gold? Neither the family who lost it, nor the person who found it. The BAPS and the Society were the real beneficiaries who received the lost gold and the delicious lunch respectively. The story proceeds further. 

The man who returned the gold was unemployed after closure of Calico Textiles Mill. He went as volunteer to serve water in the Katha of Morari Bapu organised by Karasanbhai Patel of Nirma. The man came in the eyes of Karsanbhai and luckily for him he was from the same village of Karsanbhai. He was appointed in the store section and later promoted to supervise the purchases of the company. The company gave him flat near law garden Ahmedabad and granted scholarships for the education of his daughter. He visited USA couple of times and live happily these days. 

The husband who denied accepting the gold was making will of individuals free of cost, and by chance he made a will of a Marvadi Sheth of a tree garden in Kolkata who invited the couple in a marriage event of the family. The Marvadi Sheth gifted a gold necklace of 25 tolas to his wife. The lost gold doubled and returned though another hand. But the story moves further. The husband was a sleeping partner is a travel business which went in losses. One day, the wife of his partner raised the issue of some losses in the business. He immediately gave away those 25 tolas of necklace to her. But how long one can held an unlawful collect. They return the necklace after three years when the couple returned from the USA. 

Good acts always pay back. 

Punamchand 

28 September 2024

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Met a gorgeous Lady

 Met a gorgeous Lady

I met a gorgeous lady in Delhi this week. When she introduced herself as Ms. Shashi Uban Tripathi (IFS:1970), I couldn’t catch her surname. When I asked her again she replied with a broad smile on her face. ‘Uban is my surname from my father and Tripathi is a surname from my husband’. Uban was their native place located in North West Frontier Province. Her father was a Captain in Indian Army and was posted in Delhi at the time of partition of India. Her grandmother was living in Ravalpindi. When she was to move to Delhi as Pakistan was formed, she denied by saying राजाओ का बँटवारा होता है, प्रजा का बँटवारा नहीं होता। However, the family somehow convinced her to come to Delhi as her daughter in law was expecting a delivery of her first baby (Ms. Shashi). She came but was saying that she would return to Ravalpindi after three four months. She couldn’t because the situation worsen thereafter. 

Whomsoever the migrants one meets, their love and attachment to their native land and love to the people of that land are visible on their face and expressions. Many of them don’t carry the hatred of partition instead remember the days of loving relationships of both the communities. Destiny had scattered their lives. The act of violences by some anti socials and misguided youths hurt both the communities badly resulting in killings of one million people and displacement of 15 million. They couldn’t forget, the warmth of relations as well a the unfortunate partition. However, life has to move forward. 

Ms. Shashi was born in the year of Partition of India. After her graduation, she joined IFS:1970 and served in the External Affairs Ministry and abroad as Ambassador & High Commissioner to Poland, Zimbabwe and Canada. Her husband Manilal Tripathi was also from IFS:1970 had served on various capacities as diplomat of India. Ms. Shashi served as Member of UPSC post retirement. 

She was sharing anecdotes. It was Indian PMs visit to Moscow in 1979. He was accompanied by the MFA Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mr. Gujaral was the Ambassador. The couple was serving as First Secretary in the Indian Embassy of Moscow. The Embassy had prepared the toast speech of H’ble PM in English. But when Mr. Vajpayee came to know that the USSR President Brezhnev was going to toast in Russian, he proposed that our PM would toast in Hindi. But who would translate? There was no facility of translator and the officers and staff were carrying english background. Finally, Mr. Vajpayee himself translated the speech and gave dictation to Ms. Shashi who wrote it down on a paper neatly. PM Morarjibhai read the toast speech in Hindi. What a coincidence it was that the three men present in the event Morarjibhai, Vajpayee and Gujaral became the PM of India. 

At 76, she carries childlike innocence and her face lights up with her smile. She is a diplomat in action, very courteous, speaks precisely, reads carefully, writes neatly and verifying before sending the note to another hand. I read somewhere that neat handwriting is a sign of organization and discipline. Furthermore, people who write neatly tend to be reliable and dedicated. They are conscientious and take a pride in their work. They have a strong work ethic and are meticulous about following instructions and procedures. I could mark all these qualities present in Ms. Shashi Uban Tripathi. Our salutes to her.🙏🙏🙏

Punamchand 

13 November 2024

New Delhi

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Spirituality is a quest

Spirituality is a quest 

Search of knowledge is the basic instinct of humans living on the earth including India. Who is He behind the play/creation was the quest and in realising Him (knowing the truth), man used his available five senses of perception and ultimately surrendered when failed to realise. It was beginning of the prayers. All our practices and rituals of religions are mainly aimed at realisation of the true self. If atom-quantum-photon is the basic element behind the creation of the visible world, consciousness is us is the basic element of the universal power of the Purusha/God. All mantras, suktas are payers to pray the Shakti of the Shaktiman and all the japs, tirthatans, meditation, yoga, etc, are means to realise Shakti and Her Shaktiman. The five senses of perception when are outward, run after the world-bhog for getting happiness. But when fail, revert inward and make the mind powerful which connects itself with the soul/individual consciousness and the smaller I further deeper get connected with the universal real I in Samadhi. Knowledge of the real true self (the eternal- सनातन) is the quest.

As all humans are not equal intellectually, therefore, they interpret the pathways differently and therefore there are many practices and orthodoxies across the Indic and other religions. 

Spirituality/peace/happiness is the inner most thrust of the mankind, therefore humans will continue running after it knowingly or unknowingly.

Punamchand 

29 October 2024

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Indian Spirituality, a search for thyself

 Indian Spirituality, a search for thyself

Many Indian myths are symbolic and therefore carry multiple interpretations. Let some people call them imaginary or some call them rich thoughts of ancient Indian minds but even if they are imaginary, are useful in the research of modern science on theory of creation.

A mechanical diploma holder clerk (Einstein) had changed the vision of the scientific world with his thoughts in the beginning of 20th century and within a century modern physics has uncovered many mysteries of creation with the theories of Big Bang, black holes and strings. Physicists have identified four fundamental forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear) and 12 building blocks made of 6 quarks (up, down, top, bottom, charm, strange) and 6 leptons (electron, electron neutrino, muon, muon neutrino, tau, tau neutrino) along with gluon, photon, z boson and higgs boson. The photons released by the Big Bang are makers of our universe/s of galaxies, stars, planets and satellites but what was before Big Bang, what is dark matter and dark energy are yet to be proved with evidences. The biologists are simultaneously working and have discovered DNA, RNA and mRNA. But the beginning is yet to be made on the ‘origin of thought’, whether it is a product of physics or beyond. Some of the scientists have started addressing consciousness but are unclear whether it is an outcome of the permutations and combinations of physical particles or something independent to them.

Ancient Indian thoughts hv described the un-manifested Supreme with his manifestation through Power (शक्ति) in form of creation as visible world/s. It is imagined as a play out of ecstasy (KSD). The consciousness is taking different forms as solid, emaciated, dream states through reflection. The dream state is further classified as ignorance (जाग्रत-स्वप्न-सुषुप्ति) as reflected consciousness through which a yogi transcends crossing the voids and realises the true self, the master or creator of the creation. They hv also claimed space travel with subtle body and narrated multiverses they had visualised. As human eyes have limitations, Galileo initiated the efforts to see the world using telescope and now we see it using JWST.

Spirituality in India therefore is a search of the reality by the Indians worshiping different forms of Gods and Goddesses through idols and rituals but are aimed at either to pay respects to the fundamental forces of creation or realising thyself.

Once we free our minds from the imaginations of human forms of Krishna-Kali-Radha, Shiv-Shakti and interpret them as un-manifested and manifested power of creator/creation, we may feel amazed with the glory.

Our heart-mind is the field to create joy or sorrow ourselves. Whatever we see is the world is the reflection of our mind on the mirror of consciousness. It’s a choice of an individual to select the spectacles (thoughts) through which he/she sees and interprets the visible world.

It was a thought of Einstein that discovered relativity. Quantum mechanics has taken another leap. Let’s admire the thoughts/myths of the ancient sages and enjoy them by linking with modern science; but not at the cost of human dignity, equality, liberty and justice. 

Punamchand

21 October 2024

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Formless Form

Formless Form

Prajna is the light in the darkness. Void or Self, there is unity in formless non duality. Physicists are busy in study of the forces that put the existence in existence: gravity and quantum gravity of electromagnetic interaction, the strong and weak nuclear forces; the end result may be voidness. But the causality of existence is still a mystery. Who and why was it brought up? 

One who crosses (पारमिता) the borders of duality may attain the unity of non duality, the voidness or the self. 

Either say: 

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते । पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥

or 

शून्यमदः शून्यमिदं,शून्यात् शून्यमुदच्यते। शून्यस्य शून्यमादाय, शून्यमेवावशिष्यते।।

None can explain without experience. And to explain, one needs a mind, mind and form are interdependent, mind can’t express without form and without form mind can’t be expressed. 

The root cause is ignorance and it can’t go away without following Prajna Pramita either of Buddha or Shankara.

Punamchand 

24 September 2024

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आत्मा-अनात्मा (self - no self)

आत्मा-अनात्मा (self- no self) 

How could we teach the mystery of creation and bondage through an example other than us when we ourselves is a great example of the mystery? How to break the ignorance? How to cross the body-mind-ego identity and realise the truth? How to move from the reflective I to the real I? There are many questions with different-confusing answers. 

Mirror has been used as an example. Imagine that the image person in the mirror is the body-mind-ego identity of the real one who is out of the mirror. The real I of the mirror in this example has a form but the real I which we are trying to realise is formless and has form (विश्वोर्तीर्ण, विश्वरूप). Can the image person realises the real person? Will it be possible for him to reach out to the real by putting all his efforts?

Buddhism helps here. It teaches that we are anatma. It calls the Chetana as Vigyan which is a flow of energy like a flame of a lamp though looks constant but changing continuously with continuous replacement of the previous. Five skandh (रूप-पदार्थ, वेदना-संवेदना, संज्ञा-विषय, संस्कार-मानसिक गठन, विज्ञान-चेतना-जागरूकता) for them are parts of the physical world. Five skandha is another way of presenting physical, subtle and causal bodies. Buddhism believes in the theory of karma and rebirth but call it भव संसरण of संस्कार, the thread of desire carried forward on the vehicle of vigyan-consciousness. Our belief of journey of birth and rebirth is through the subtle (पूर्यष्टक) body. 

Our teaching of calling ourselves Atma many times becomes a road block in leaving our body-mind-ego identity of the self. Instead of unification of all creatures and the visible world as manifestation of one Atma (विश्वरूप), we end up in differentiating ourselves with I, you and they. Our likes and dislikes remain as they are. To identify ourselves Anatma (no self) is a quick solution of the problem of leaving body-mind-ego identity. If we carefully analyse, our body-mind-ego identity is not the Atma (self) but Anatma (no self). We have also place them in the compartment of ignorance, the bodies or koshas. As soon as we accept the image person as Anatma, the bondage of I limited to the image disappears. Our borders break and we enter into the vast ocean of emptiness. Remember the journey from सकल to अकल taught in KSD. If we don’t follow any taught model of self hypnosis, the pure I or no I, reveals its identity itself. How a compressed चित्त acts and how the expanded चिति express, the realised one only can experience. What is truth and what is the play, unless one goes through the experience of realisation, the ignorance can’t go. शनैः शनैः one has to continue on the path through a process of शील (सात्विक जीवन), समाधि (meditation to resolve संदेह) and प्रज्ञा (pure intellect - pure wisdom) to overcome ignorance. It’s a process of merger of a drop into the ocean. The drop is not lost but it realises its true state, the water, of which the drop and the ocean are made. Truth is not hidden, removal of the cover-मल is the process to uncover it. Shakti-universal consciousness- विज्ञान helps. 

To start with ‘no self’ (अनात्मा) may be another way to make the process faster. 

Punamchand 

20 September 2024

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