Amarnathji Yatra

The toughest Yatra of them all – the Amarnath Yatra – the Hindu Annual Pilgrimage of Lord ‘Shiva Linga’ is here, beckoning all the strong-willed on a spiritual journey all the way up to13,000 feet altitude to the 130-foot high Amarnath Cave where the ice Shiva Linga naturally forms every year. The Amarnath Cave is set amidst snowy Kashmiri mountains where the air loses its oxygen count at -5⁰ Celsius. 

 Amarnath Yatra is open for 37 days in the year 2012 between June 25th and August 2nd . Online registrations and over the counter are open. On-spot registrations are also available.

Visiting the Amarnath Cave is practically an adventure in itself as it entails strenuous trekking - trails through challenging rocky, verdant and snowy mountainous terrain and camping in the mountain wilderness. Involving 50 kilometres of near-vertical mountain-climb and spanning 4 days (one way) is this mother-of-all-Yatras for Hindus all over the world.

The base camps for this Yatra are Chandanwari and Baltal. A view of Baltal base camp, 15 kms north of Sonamarg. It is one of the starting points for Hindu pilgrims who undertake the annual trek to Amarnath cave shrine. 

Both these places are approached via Jammu. The routes being:

1.  Jammu > Pahalgam (315 kms from Jammu to Pahalgam) > Chandanwari > Pissu Top > Sheshnag > Panchtarni > Amarnath Cave – 50 kms from Chandanwari to the Holy Cave.

2.  Jammu > Udhampur > Patnitop > Kud > Ramban > Banihal > Qazigund > Anantnag > Srinagar > Baltal (414 kms from Jammu to Baltal) > Amarnath Cave – 14 kms from Baltal to the Holy Cave.

Pilgrims can also opt for Helicopter rides to complete this Yatra in a shorter span, which start at Pahalgam and at Baltal. Ponies are another alternative for people who can’t walk or fly in Helicopters., About 34,000 people from all over India and the world visited Amarnath Yatra in 2011 is the highest ever!

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Department along with the Bhole Bhandari Charitable Trust are geared up for more visitors in 2012. Registration Counters have been increased from 149 to 274 counter and additional tent-accommodation facilities are being freely offered by Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Department, Bhole Bhandari Charitable Trust and many other non-Government Charitable Organizations. Helicopter fare from Pahalgam and Baltal to Amarnath Cave has been slashed by 40% in order to make it more convenient for aged pilgrims who are daring this Yatra. Security has been revved up along the route to make it naturally safe for the pilgrims.

The one thing that is reiterated as mandatory by the Shrine Board is a fitness test and a medical certificate issued by Registered Medical Practitioner for the pilgrim, without this, the pilgrim is not allowed on the Yatra as 107 pilgrims lost their lives due to Cardiac arrest on Amarnath Yatra in 2011 and the Shrine Board is concerned for the safety of the pilgrims.

Besides the Darshan of the Shiva Linga in Amarnath Cave, the amazing aspect of this Yatra is the route to the Holy Amarnath Cave which is awesome and overwhelming and gives a sample of the glorious Kashmir terrain. And reciting what my colleague recently taught me - Bol Har Har Mahadev!

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Guru Nanak Jayanti 2012

Sikhism was born in the city of Nankana Sahib (formerly Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī) located in Punjab, Pakistan. Sikhism was found in 15^th century; Guru Nanak was the founder of the Sikh religion and the first guru of Sikhism. Nanak ji was born on Apr 15, 1469. He was fascinated by Religion and God. He peculiarly meditated alone in which he did not took part in religious rituals. His teachings mainly based on mysteries of life. Sikh religion is the 5^th largest religion in the world with the population of about 30 millions, out of which 75% of sikhs lives in the state of Punjab, India.

This year Guru Nanank Jayanti celebrates on 28 Nov. Sikhs celebrates his birth anniversary with great pride, honor and religious fervor. On this day a huge procession will be held. Procession – known as Prabhat pheris, starts early in the morning at gurudwaras and make it way around the neighborhood, chanting and singing hymns.

Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs is read for 48 hours. The holy book contains compositions by the first five Gurus of Sikh religion. People from all religions throng to Gurudwara on this day, Prayers and Kirtans at gurudwaras are followed by community meals. Nishan Sahibs (the sikh flag) carried by Five armed guards, representing the Panj Pyaras leading the procession. As the procession continues, the followers sing shabads (religious hymns) while the local bands play religious music.

Guru Nanak teachings are mostly based on dangers of Egotism, Meditation and Divine order. It is said that the journey of Guru Nanak was mostly on foot, about 28000 km in all directions along with his companions. It is believed that he is the second most travelled person in the world on foot.

Hop Around India's November NewsLetter

"The name of the month 'November' is supposed to be derived from 'Novem' which is a Latin term for 'Nine'.  In ancient roman November was the ninth month after march. as part of the seasonal calender November is the time of the 'snow moon' according to the pagan beliefs and the period is described as the 'Moon of the falling leaves' by 'Black Elk'."

“Kolayat Fair: Nov 17th to 26th”

Kolayat Fair is also known as the Kapil Muni fair. This is the main fair of Bikaner in the state of Rajasthan. It is celebrated on Kartik Purnimaa. Thousands of tourists visits this fair and take a dip in this holy lake and float clay lanterns in the lake. There is a huge show of cattle, horses etc at this place as well. Competitions for best breed of animlas is conducted, this show attracts the best breed of animals from across the country. It's quite a spectacle as buffaloes, camels, horses, cattle etc in thousands are assembled here for trade -. It is believed that one day stay at Kolayat is equivalent to spending 10 years at any other holy place. Sewag Brahmins perform the daily rituals in the temple.

Pushkar Camel Fair: 18th to 24th

Pushkar Camel fair is celebrated in Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan. It is a five day festival held on the day of Karthik Purnima in the month of November. Pushkar Camel fair is one of its types in the world, where nearly 50,000 camels are on display to participate in the competitions held exclusively for camels, which are brought from across the country. On this day all Camels are dressed up, paraded, raced, and traded. This Camel exhibition attracts many tourists from all parts of the nation. A huge celebration is held, with an array of musicians, magicians, dancers, acrobats, snake charmers and camel rides to entertain the tourists.

Guru Nanak Jayanthi: Nov 28th

Guru Nanak Jayanthi is celebrated by Sikhs on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Ji. The festival is celebrated all over India with great honor, respect and enthusiasm. Guru Nanak was the first Sikh Guru and founder of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev was not only admired by the followers of Sikhism, but also by the Punjabi Hindus in Amritsar and Sahajdhari Sindhis residing across the Indian subcontinent for his noble words and deeds.

Muharram: Nov 25th

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic Calendar. Some Muslims fast during day time in the 9th - 10th or 10th - 11th days of the month and they also attend special prayers and meetings in mosques. Some Muslims in Kerala paint their bodies with tiger markings, wear masks, and parade through streets playing, dancing and mimicking a tiger - which is called “Pulikali”. This year Muharram will be celebrated on 25th of November 2012. Muharram is one of the most important festivals in Hyderabad. Ashura is the last day of the festival. On this day they perform Surah Ikhlas (Prayer) 1000 times.

Diwali: November 13th

“This year Diwali the ‘Festival of Lights” falls in the month of November. It is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm all over India. Diwali is celebrated with the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to indicate the victory of good over evil. The illuminated house is a sign of welcoming the Goddess Lakshmi. In the North India, Diwali is related with the returning of Lord Rama, Lakshmana & Seetha to Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile and victory over Ravana. He was welcomed to Ayodhya Kingdom with thousands of Deepa’s (lights) illuminated throughout the kingdom.

Tourist Destinations of this month

Goa
Coorg
Mussoorie
Shimla
Manali

A Pleasant break in a long walk....

We were on our way to do the Circumambulation of Tiruvannamalai and visiting the Lord Arunachaleshwara in Tamil Nadu.  Six of us started off by mid day of 6 Jan 2012, on this 17km walk; it was a hot and sunny day.  We kept crossing many foreigners on our way and one of them a school teacher named Voila from Canada was also walking along with us.  She told us that after reading the teachings of Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi which impressed her deeply, she came down to India to spend a couple of months here. We were pleasantly surprised to note that she is checked into a small home stay at Tiruvannamalai and does walk up and down to the Ramanasramam daily. After walking for 3 hrs we reached Ramanasramam and walked in with lot of expectations. 

First we stopped by the big hoarding detailing the Ashram site map. After checking out all the places to visit we went on to Bhagavan Samadhi Shrine.  It is a huge and peaceful hall where a Shiva Linga is placed on the Samadhi of Bhagavan and a close to real life idol is also there.  Black and white life size pictures of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi adorn the walls of this hall.  Every picture leaves you spell bound as the eyes are so full of life and seem to look through your soul. 

We sat in that hall along with few others and meditated for a while.  It was interesting to note that surroundings make a huge impact on the state of mind, as I found it was easy to focus and meditate positively here than usual.Our next stop was of Mathrubhuteshwara temple which has the remains of Bhagavan’s mother.  This was inaugurated by Ramana Maharshi himself. We found a group of people singing some very pleasant and melodious Tamil songs in the hall of this shrine.  We all found them so interesting and sat for a long time listening to that rhythmic and captivating music despite not understanding the language, it is so true that music has no language barriers to enjoy.

We went ahead and looked around the dining hall, meeting area, well and the residential quarters of the Asram.  Everything is excellently maintained and we found many residents cleaning, sweeping and mopping these places as part of their routine. Then we visited the soul of the Asram, Sri Raman Maharshi’s personal chamber where he used to live and the articles that he used were also kept on display.  The area was kept intact and gave a feeling as if He is still there and spreading some positive energy around. From here we went towards the Cow sheds or Gosalas.  All the animals here are named and reared with love and affection.  The helpers and the residents of the Ashram take good care of these cows and showed us around the place. We fed the cows with the fruits we carried after taking permission to do so, took few pictures and were surprised to see the way each cow responds when called by name.  We were told that even Bhagavan had a favorite cow named Lakshmi that always stayed outside His quarters and grazed around close by.

There is a Veda Pathasala (Vedic School) where the mid day classes were going on.  We waited outside and listened to the clear, rhythmic way of pronouncing the Sanskrit Shlokas. There were many Peacocks around this part of the Asram and we were lucky to see a Peacock dancing in very close quarters, it was so magical that we forgot to capture it on roll.

On our way back we visited the Book stall which stocks Books on Ramana Maharshi, Books written detailing his teachings and many other publications on Hindu religion, Vedic transcripts and many more.  All the above books are available in different languages as well including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and English. Cotton hand bags with long strap were on sale here with the logos of the Asram.  They are so useful to carry along that I bought many to gift my friends and family.  I also bought the Diaries that carried Pictures and quotes of Ramana Maharishi.

With that we walked out of the Ashram and were back on to the Parikrama of the Arunachalam Hill.  My experiences of this walk deserve another blog altogether hence I will detail them later.