OF INDIAN EXPERIENCES - HOLY & UNHOLY......

Dear All,

I’M BACK.

After a stressed, hectic and yet exhilarating fortnight I’m back again in Abu Dhabi and straight back to work.

As many of you know I was in New Delhi for my sister’s engagement (pics & news of that will be another post later).

Just before that we managed to squeeze in a trip to Rishikesh.

(BTW almost all pics in this post {except the Akshardham ones where cameras and mibiles are not allowed} were taken with my mobile so do excuse the quality)


There is a resort there called Himalayan Hideaways and as the name suggests it is hidden away in the middle of the pristine and un-spoilt forest and right besides the Ganga. It has won many awards and quite deservedly so.

If any of you ever do make this trip then make sure you go all the way to Rishikesh as opposed to the more bigger, dirty & commercialized Hari-dwar (Rishikesh is about 40 min drive after Hari-dwar).

In the evenings besides the ghats there are numerous aartis performed and the main one is right beside the main ghat and its quite an experience I must say.
A ghat full of devotees and young novice priests singing, with the holy Ganga gently lapping at the base of the ghat and a magnificent statue of Shiva (built on the river, facing the ghat) looking on benevolently, one cant help but feel the presence of divinity.

Just one note here though.

Are we HINDUS too tolerant?

We welcome people of all faiths to join in our prayers and rituals and yet seem unable to know where to draw the line.

At Rishikesh and at the very same ghat there was a woman (of European origin i think) who was dressed in some Rajneesh inspired robe and quite obviously under the influence of something more potent than just “panch-amrit”. When the singing began she began to twist and writhe along to the bhajans like it were some trance party in Goa (see video below).

I can't imagine that happening in any mosque or church anywhere in the world.
I dont advise a similar jihadi hardline approach but is there a limit to our tolerance?

Think about it....

Meanwhile, while in Delhi I also managed to visit the Akshardham temple.

I had been scheduled to visit this many times in the past but always at the last moment something would come up and I would have to change plans so this time when it finally materialized I took it as a divine sign.
Waqt se pehle and Taqdeer se zyada et al.....

Anyway the temple is an architectural marvel in every sense of the word.

Built on 100 acres of prime real estate besides the Yamuna it is also allegedly the biggest Hindu Temple in the world.

The pink sandstone and marble structure is mammoth and apparently used almost as much marble as the Taj Mahal and the carvings in the main temple can give any monument a run for its money.

Also situated in the complex is a musical fountain. An intriguing combination of a large stone step-well and a Vedic yagna kund with a colorful musical fountain that echoes Vedic sentiments and prayers it is unique in that it is synchronized to vedic chants rather than music.

However in the midst of all that grandeur what I found missing was a sense of spirituality. A sense of Holiness (for want of a better word).
It was big and grand and spectacularly clean and yet it did not touch the heart.

And then as if to drive home this point, during the Musical Fountain a section was cordoned off with special chairs put up for guests of the management.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan spent all his life preaching about the equality of all people and in the very temple complex built to honour him and spread his teachings, his disciples were betraying his core philosophy.

Ironically the next day the Times of India had a full page ad for the new upscale Emporio Mall in Delhi.

And what do you know.....

Apart from housing luxury giants like Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Cartier etc it also alleges to have used more marble in its making than the Taj Mahal.

What better proof than this that size isn’t everything…..

Till next time..

Ciao


Vish