Illumination? Enlightenment? Nirvana? Can't Say.
But, this journey certainly observed my spiritual formation.
I returned from this holiest of holy places, to find two types of people. Those who are in a kind of disbelief and a kind of shock they can’t hide; and the others, the devotees who stand in the temple with shaking knees and trembling hands, because they feel the presence of the powerful one! These are not my judgments, just experiences.
I found in this arrangement, a mechanical process of access to god, and
the way it was being orchestrated reminded me of what my dad and I observed
during our family trip to the Vaishno Devi temple. As much sanctity belief and
respect people had for the entity, we were appalled by the hypocrisy. The
shroud of the structure came out when the true bhagats and devotees had to wait
for 4-6 hours for their turn to come, whereas the affluent, walked pass the
line because they had the VIP and the chopper pass, and within 15 minutes of
waiting, they got an access to god! As
I connect my experiences I realize; may it be Vaishno Devi Shrine or Kashi
Shrine, there exists a strong belief in the place, the location claims to have
miracles happen and the un-impossible done, now whether that's just a belief people
nurse or there's really a pious aura to the place is again a matter of
perception and belief. It may not be scientifically proved.
As I reflect upon this incredible experience, images come across my eyes, images
Kashi, an edifying wonder! |
In this sudden exposure to a larger than life picture of religion, nothing I witnessed came and hit me in the face. It was just another learning, an involvement, an engagement which ultimately made me build on my views of ‘Dharma & Aastha’ (Religion and Spirituality). It was an entirely different aspect of life. Amidst whatever it was supposed to portray, I seized onto its energy, its life and its discipline. I sensed a well set systematic process, an organized chaos. Once again dear readers, I am not disputing God, religion or sanctity of the place. Neither the historical relevance, importance nor roots of its sacred temples and ghats. I call myself a curious traveler. Simply trying to analyze and synthesize the complete mechanism and infrastructure that has supposedly eroded the entire system