Literally. Nepal tragedy is heartwrenching. But when I see that those returning from Kailash Yatra have perished in bunches, I wonder if they were taken into His bosom by Lord Shiva. Nowadays that’s how my mind works. Normally I don’t like Isha/Jaggi Vasudev. But I am surprised he does not seem to share my view, given the Yogi he is. But then you can’t speak the heart’s truth when you hold responsibility in your hands. He who talks so much about death and afterlife seems to be shedding some tears. The end may have been brutal – but imagine not returning from Mount Kailash. What more can a Hindu hope for. Of course hundreds or perhaps thousands of other civilians from all walks of life have lost their lives. Nobody has exact statistics. I don’t mean to sound insensitive. I can understand how the bereaving families must feel right now. The pilgrims stood no chance. Probably they were at Tibet-Nepal border immigration checking back into Nepal after their Kailash yatra. Most Indian tourists have perished while on pilgrimage to Nepal. Now Jaggi Vasudev must know what it is to go against nature in a massive way. Why should a glacier suddenly split or break away. How much tourist traffic the Himalayan kingdom is handling. There are mountaineers heading to scale world’s highest peaks such as the Everest, the Anna Purna etc. Then there are millions of tourists from India on pilgrimage to Nepal. A good percentage of Indian pilgrims also head to Mount Kailash via Tibet border. In fact even from Tamil Nadu, hundreds have gone missing on their return journey from Kailash, the toughest trek on earth. But personally I think that’s a poetic way to go. Imagine having a darshan of the Kailash and then not returning home. Jaggi must know.
At the same time I saw this another spiritual group headed by Desa Mangairkarasi, who is of the Kripa Nanda Variar lineage, escaping the tragedy but stuck in the parikrama in Tibet/Nepal border. May the pilgrims from Tamil Nadu/India return safe.
Isha group seems to have perished totally. No news about them. Of these almost 100% the pilgrims are foreigners from the US and Australia and UK and dozen other countries who were on Kailash Yatra. Obviously they must be Isha followers and Shiva bhakths.
There is so much of unwanted activities going on in the Himalayan ranges. Himalayas may be the tallest mountain range in the world but they are the youngest geologically speaking. The Himalayas erupted out of a natural catastrophe like when two tectonic plates collided. Interestingly I have heard a Hindu philosopher speak of how there is no mention of Himalayas in the most ancient Hindu texts or puranas that must have been passed on from another plane of time, by whatsoever means. So you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand how seismically sensitive this zone must be. Already Nepal has seen devastating earthquakes. More vehicular traffic and pollution and construction activities and roads and footfalls mean, Himalayan glaciers melting real superfast in this global warming age. We have seen monsoon havocs in Kedarnath in India on the Himalayas exactly for the same reasons. This is why I am AGAINST THE CHAR DHAM PROJECT in India drilling the Himalayas. I don’t need to worship Shiva by drilling a hole into His Himalayan abode. Already millions are going on pilgrimage to Kedarnath, Amarnath, Gangotri, Gomukh etc., every year. The helicopter services have made every Hindu aspire to go to the Himalayas. The Char dham is now in every HIndu’s bucket list. But can you imagine what a damage millions of footfalls, helicopter services, construction activities etc., can do to the Himalayan glaciers. Even Ganga runs the risk of running dry at this rate. Now Jaggi Vasudev, can you understand why I hate you for taking over the Elephant territory at the foot of the Velaingiri Hills in Tamil Nadu for your Ashram. The Shiva I know or the Shiva I can comprehend may want the elephants roaming there not your mega Shiv Ratri hungamas. I can never understand this kind of piety sorry. I can never understand how you can save Hindu Dharma hurting environment and damaging nature. Those like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Shirdi Sai Baba, Ramana Maharishi, Paramahamsa Yogananda etc., etc.. did quiet but effective service to Hindu Dharma WITHOUT DAMAGING ANYTHING/ANYONE. Their yeomen service to Dharma stands out recognized even today and they have millions of followers around the world without having to seek attention. When I saw acres cleared for parking space etc., in Isha near Coimbatore, I thought about the loss of green cover. You cannot plant Teak trees everywhere and call it ‘Kaveri calling.’ That is damage control. Why do we have sthala vrkshas in our temples. Every Hindu temple in India has a Stala Vrksha – it means it houses a native tree (vrksha) right from THAT exact geographic spot. For example, in Kapaleeshwara temple in Mylapore, it is Punnai maram (laughing tree). It even sheds a glimpse into our native history. Once upon a time, Mylapore was a garden or forest of laughing trees (punnai maram). That is how our Hindu ancestors saved and preserved each and every single native fauna of ours. Today in India we are ecologically rich and diverse even after such a huge environmental degradation, because of our Hindu ancestors who thought of every little thing including digging up a tank in front of every single temple they constructed. These water tanks are the lungs of our villages and towns and cities, after centuries and centuries and also ground water charging points on monsoons. You cannot substitute the Stala vrksha native trees with Teak trees everywhere Jaggi. Shiva is first that elephant. Shiva is first that forest cover. Shiva is first that Velaingiri mountain itself. Shiva is the very ground where your visitors park their cars. Well, that is my understanding of Shiva.
This is why I decided not to go on Char dham yatra ever. I can worship Shiva from right where I am. If I cannot see Him in my heart first, how can I hope to see Him in Mount Kailash.
When Raja Raja Chola built the Brahadeshwara temple over 1000 years back in Thanjavur (Tanjore) Kaveri delta, we Indians could still afford the deforestation. Acres of forested lands were cleared by our kings to build the most ancient 2000 year plus old Hindu temples that still proudly stand today in south India. (In north of course they were razed by the islamic invaders). But all that was eons back. Indian population remained optimal in those times. Monsoons were bountiful. Nature was respected and nurtured. There was no environmental degradation to alarming degrees obviously. When did we begin to celebrate Diwali. Fireworks were part of celebrations when Ram returned to Ayodhya with Seetha from when we started celebrating Diwali. So was dynamite used in fireworks through centuries in India? Never. Something organic was being used in the manufacture of our fire crackers which had no hazardous chemical content in them. Modern man has given every ritual a horrible twist and made it worst and regrettable. Joyous spirited festivals have been reduced to crass commercial gala events.
Nepal is bracing for more landslides and floodings in near future. For the locals this must be nightmare. For foreigners trapped in the landlocked nation, it can be traumatic. Not to mention the state of mind of their loved ones back home worrying about their safety – if at all they have survived.
We used to think about Nepal pilgrimage often. But my civil engineer husband would say, Nepal was poor when it came to safety standards. It would be a blessing to die there in a flash – and that is what I think about the Isha pilgrims who perished wholly on their return from Kailash darshan. But if you are wounded and stuck in Nepal hospital, that can be real horrendous situation. It is because of his practical reasoning that many times we dropped our plans to pack our bags to Kathmandu. Pashupathi Nath temple is in my bucket list. In fact we never anticipated the Gulf war that saw us retire from Doha. Otherwise in June/July we were thinking of Nepal. But my husband refused to allow me to book in advance. Nepal and Sri Lanka – he is not confident about. India is quick on reflex even if we are a third world nation. Our communication network and rescue ops etc., can bring quick relief even is disaster strikes (god forbid). In general we remain in preparedness most of the times for any eventually. We are shockproof in India. This is the advantage of belonging with a strong big nation. We have to act on warfooting basis during crises like the Nepal floods and we have to have access to resources, rescue op personnel, medical teams, food catering etc., with everything going on at the same time. We personally evaluate all these things and always rate India as a safe country that way. We don’t feel that way about most countries we have toured. In case of any emergency, things can freeze in most countries with inaction/inadequacy in many departments. Nepal sadly we rate as one such a vulnerable nation. But it is their destiny, understandable, being a landlocked Himalayan nation, at the mercy of the icy glaciers and prone to earthquakes caused by tectonic shifts. Most Nepalese factor in these life risks – as I understood from knowing them from our 20 year residence in Qatar where they constitute semi skilled workforce. Good workers. In fact every year I used to receive prasad from Pashupathi Nath mandir in Nepal. This year someone got us even a Rudhraksh mala from Nepal.
Dear Tourists/Hindu pilgrims: STICK TO BEATEN TRACKS. Don’t open new avenues. Kailash is best left free. So must be Amarnath. Kedarnath and Badrinath must be accessible by minimum land transport and mostly by foot- and not by helicopter or char dham tunnel presently under construction. Even this tunnel caved in, ending in tragedy remember. Don’t disturb nature – and if you do, be prepared to pay a heavy price. Don’t regularize Kailash yatra, Amarnath yatra, Vaishnodevi Yatra. All these must be reserved for the really motivated and physically dexterous. Rest of us have to satisfy ourselves with Kashi, Hardwar, Hrishikesh, what to do.
YOU SAVE HIMALAYAS/KAILASH/KEDARNATH/AMARNATH/VAISHNO DEVI/GOMUKH/GANGOTRI ETC., ETC., BY NOT GOING THERE, GOT IT?
Finally Shiva gave His piece of mind to Jaggi Vasudev. But what a brutal lesson was that.
Meanwhile Arnab:
vijiravindran's 