Vaishno Devi Yatra March 2017 (Day 2, Part 2 )

                                                                                                                        

          

नामधेयानि कुर्वन्ति स्थानि च नरा भुवि I

दुर्गेति भद्रकालीति विजया वैष्णवीति च II

( श्रीमद् भागवतम् १०.२.११ ))

Lord Krishna blessed Mayadevi by saying : ‘In different places on the surface of the earth, people will give you different names such as Durga, Bhadrakali, Vijaya, and Vaishnavi..

Wednesday 01 March 2017

Day 2 dawned with a clear sky and all the members appeared excited as it was the day in the itinerary to visit the Holy Shrine and have darshan of Vaishno Devi Mata. We were ready by 6 am itself and the  hotel lounge was vibrating with the greetings ‘Hare Krishna’. We walked up to the Hotel gate to have the view of the Holy Hills in the  early morning.  Lights were seen on the hills as it was still dark. We folded our hands and prayed for a good darshan and  our wishes to get fulfilled..

The buffet breakfast was ready with hot doklas, tasty  parathas, fresh bread toasts and steaming espresso coffee/tea. After breakfast we reached the Helicopter Service Centre which is about 3 km from Ginger Hotel by autos and vans. We handed over our valid IDs for checking. Those who avail helicopter service will be issued with a priority pass to enable them to go through a special queue for darshan at the shrine. When the formalities got completed we received the priority pass along with the return ticket.(RS 2340).

Helicopter return Tickett

Two helicopter services namely (1) Himalayan and (2) Global are operating from Katra base. A part of our group had the booking in Himalayan and others in the Global service .Six passengers are allowed in the copter based on the total weight of  the passengers. We went through the security check and were seated in the copter by 8:45am. Thanks to  Vaishnavi Mata the sky was clear that day. Our maiden helicopter ride proved to be thrilling. We were in the air only for 8 minutes but it was a unique experience.  We had  aerial view of Katra town and the Himalayan Mountains. The vision was good as the copter was flying at a low height. We alighted at Sanjichhat helipad at an elevation of 6200 feet, 9.5 Km from the base.. The Bhawan is 3.5 Km from this point at a height of 5200 feet.  

      

                                    Helipad at Sanjichhat

We started walking towards the Shrine in groups. Luckily the whole trek was down hill. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the cool air as we were walking under covered roof. Further, the way leading to the Shrine was not crowded. We could walk in a brisk manner most of the time except to give way for the horses carrying the pilgrims to and fro.

                                                                                           

( View of Bhawan from Sanjichhat )  (on the way to Bhawan )                        

We covered the distance in 45 minutes and in another 15 minutes we were inside the Bhawan. The crowd was moving at a good pace and soon we found ourselves entering the Sanctum Sanctorum through the cave entrance. It was a beautiful and scintillating experience. We find no words to describe the devout sensation we felt in our hearts, as we crawled along the narrow path inside the cave, one  after the other and waded through the ice cold water oblivious of the projecting rocks on either side to have the Pindi Darshan of Vaishno Devi Mata

endearingly called Matarani  who fulfills the wishes of her devotees. Later when we came to know that the cave entrance was opened only the previous night after being closed for a couple of months, we felt extremely grateful for getting such a  rare opportunity without any expectation..

‘ JAI MATA DI’ , ‘Vaishno Devi Mata Ki Jai’ .The three Pindies constituting the Sanctum Sanctorum of the holy cave known as the Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi  represent Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali.  We were lucky to  stand in the sanctum sanctorum for a few minutes and to have a good darshan of the divine Mother.  Our joy knew no bounds as it was our long cherished wish to visit Vaishno Devi. We were fortunate to have the kind ‘Bulawa’ from Vaishno Devi Mata. “Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai, Mata Ne Bulaya Hai”.  These lines were ringing in our minds.

After offering our donation in the hundi we came out through another exit. We were given prasad packets which contained  a silver coin of  

Vaishno Devi Mata..

When we started returning at 10 am towards Sanjichhat, we were wondering how to reach the helipad before 10.50 am  to catch our return flight. We walked up to some distance when we realized that we had to take the other mode of transportation. Some of us took the ponies (Rs 300) and a few preferred  the palkis (Rs 1200).and reached the helipad just in time (10.50 am). After finishing the formalities we boarded the helicopter at Sanjichhat and had a smooth ride back to Katra helipad. Considering that helicopter tickets are very difficult to obtain and they operate only in favorable weather conditions and there are frequent cancellations, we were quite fortunate to have had a comfortable and safe helicopter ride..

It was 12 noon  when we returned to Ginger Hotel. As we were hungry we straight away went to the dining hall discussing about each one's experience. It was wonderful to learn all had nice darshan  of Vaishno Devi Mata. Later we came to know that some of our group members also had darshan at Sri Bhairo Nath Mandir which we missed as we were  anxious to return to the helipad on time..  

After a hot  lunch of rice , sambhar, sabji, roti, dal, salad, curds, pickle and some sweet dish at Ginger Hotel we had the whole afternoon to explore  some more important places in and around Katra. By 3 pm we booked cabs to visit places of interest closeby.

Our first destination was to the Sehad Baba waterfalls. It is located in Reasi on the way to Jammu  about 35 kms from Katra. The waterfalls is named after a saint by the same name.. The falls looks lofty as the water flows between two cliffs at a height of 400 feet from a top point.  The water  falls into Chenab river which was known as Chandrabhaga river in ancient India. The river which originates in the upper Himalayas flows through Jammu in J&K and finally reaches Punjab in Pakistan. We walked through the  path filled with large pebbles and crossed to the  waterfall side to stand in the cool waters. It was a pleasant experience and we felt a sense of togetherness in the open environment.

                     

                      Sense of Togetherness

                     

                       Sehad Baba Falls - a beautiful view       

                       (Pebble studded path to Waterfalls)      ( Sehad Baba Idol )

There is a small temple with the idol of Sehad Baba.. According to the priest inside the temple, milk used to  fall on the idol which was sold outside by people. Now it is only water that trickles down. We spent sometime enjoying the serene ambience surrounded by the tall mountains and at the same time literally cooling  our heels in the cold water. We stopped on the way to have hot tea in a local shop.

Our next place of visit was to the Nau Devi Temple. It lies on the way to Shiv Khori a famous cave temple. We had to climb down more than 80 steep steps which we realised later to be worth the effort.  In the middle of the steps clear water flows down like a waterfall. The water  is potable and tastes sweet.  We had to crawl through a narrow cave entrance about 5 to 6 feet long to go inside the temple.  A young priest was seated inside who showed us the nine pindies representing the different forms of Durga Mata ( a form of Vaishno Devi Mata), Lord Ganesha and the Pancha  Pandavas. We  stood with  bent heads  as the ceiling was very low, and felt happy to have visited such an ancient temple. Our return path was different.  There are shops selling auspicious items like kumkum, pictures of Vaishnavi Mata and other fancy items, Renovation  work is going on in the temple premises.  Water from a higher level (like a dam) flows into a water tank which is

used for bathing. The place is very calm with a  serene look..

                      ( Nav Durga Temple inside view )

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We  had some more time to visit Baba Jitto temple on the way back to the hotel.

The temple is located in the village Aghar Jitto 5 to 6 kms from Katra.. There is a huge marble statue of Baba with his daughter Bhua Kauri.  We were moved by the story of Baba Jitto narrated by the temple priest :-

Baba Jitto (JIt Mal) was  a farmer and an ardent devotee of Vaishno Mata. He used to visit  Maa  Vaishnavi every day carrying water from a long distance as there was water scarcity in his village. One day Ma appeared in front of him and offered him a wish. Instead of asking  any wealth for himself Jitto asked for water for his village. Ma gave him a stick which he stuck on the ground and seven water springs  came from different places and provided water for the entire village.

Since Jitto was not able to trek a long distance to visit Vaishno Mata, she appeared as a small baby one day when Baba was taking bath in the tank. He was worried as to how to bring up a tiny baby. Ma ordered him to carry the baby on his shoulder and at once the child  grew up as a  five year old girl. She was named Bhua Kauri. Jitto educated  her well. Later to escape from the bad treatment of his aunt Jojan, he left  his native place with his daughter and moved to a neighbouring village.. There he requested Mehta Bir Singh a rich land owner to provide a piece of land for tilling. He was allotted a barren land with a condition that one fourth of the yield to be given to the land owner..With his hard work Jit Mal was able to  get a luxuriant yield of wheat grains.. When Mehta Bir Singh came to know about this, he ordered his men to take three fourth of the yield and leave the rest to Jitto. Jit Mal protested  and begged them not to go against the terms of agreement; but  Mehta’s men carried away the grain in spite of Jitto’s protest. Jitto sat on the heap of wheat grains and stabbed himself cursing them to eat the grains mixed with his blood. After a while Bhua Kauri located her father’s body with the help of their dog Kalu. She lit a pyre for her father and jumped into the fire and gave her life too. Later a fierce storm raged  that area  and washed away all the grains. All those including the birds who had partaken the blood stained grains suffered from various afflictions, diseases, misfortunes and ultimately deaths. To seek pardon from the wrath of  the holy spirit of Jitto Baba they asked for his forgiveness by worshipping him as ‘Kul Devta’ .

 

  

                         Baba Jitto with Bhua Kauri  

                      

                                      

The whole episode took place almost five centuries back. They made it mandatory for the future generation to pay homage and honour Jitto Baba by organising  annual fair for 3 days in the month of October - November..

The Jhiri Mela is celebrated every year at Shama Chak village located at 22 k.m. from Jammu..The fair extends for a long period and is considered as the most important calendar event, ’Baba Jitto’s sacrifice in liberating the farming community receives immense adoration by the people of Jammu. Pilgrims from different parts of the country visit the village to pay homage and tribute to the holy shrine of Baba Jitto.  Cultural programs and exhibitions are organised during this occasion.  Many stalls stacked with agricultural products and handicrafts are displayed. Jitto Baba’s life story is enacted in the form of plays , songs  and discourses.  Pujas and prayers are conducted in the temple of Baba .  The main objective of the Jhiri Mela is to spread the message of honesty, courage, humility, truthfulness, culture and innocence among the people..The main attraction of the Jhiri mela is the Babe -da -Talab..It is believed that by taking bath in this lake one can get cured from several skin diseases..We paid homage to Jitto Baba and his daughter Bhua Kouri and thanked the priest for his detailed narration about a honest  farmer who sacrificed his life for the welfare of the innocent farmers as the doctrine goes ‘Yogakshemam Vahamyaham’..

By 7 pm we returned to the Hotel Ginger and shared our wonderful experiences with others, We later went for shopping - bought almonds , Akhrot (Walnuts), saffron etc;, from the store in the hotel..

We had dinner at the dining hall - hot rotis,dal,rice, salad, aloo sabzi, curds etc;,which was relished by  everyone.

The day proved to be a fruitful one as all of us had very good darshan of Shri Vaishno Mata. It is true that hope is the hidden ingredient in the prescription of any event.

We wished everyone ‘ Hare Krishna’ and went up to the terrace of the Hotel to have darshan of the Trikuta Parvata dotted with lights. We retired to bed with a sense of satisfaction and  fulfillment.

Natarajans.

( to be continued in part 3 - Day 3 )

Vaishno Devi Yatra - March 2017 ( Day 1 - Part 1 )

                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Vaishno Devi Yatra 2017 ( Day 1 -  Part 1 )

Vaishno Devi Yatra ranks as very important in a pilgrim’s life and we are fortunate to join when Bhaktivedanta Academy for Spiritual Education announced the programme starting from 28th February to 7th March 2017. This is our third association with the Academy after ‘Sri Lanka Ramayana Trail ‘( Sep 2015 ) and ‘ Dwaraka Dham Yatra ‘ ( (Feb 2016).  Sri Vaishnavi Mata Yatra is very important to us as it is our prayer for a long time to visit this holy place. Our Tripadvisor Sri Madhavananda Dasa had briefed us well before the commencement of the yatra.  We were 50 in number as pilgrims who made the Vaishno Devi Yatra - 45 from Bangalore, 2 from Chennai, 1 from Mumbai and 2 from Gujarat. We were booked in  Air India and INDIGO flights and thus all got a firm booking in advance..

Tuesday, 28th February, 2017-- Day 1

It was as early as 3 am  when we left home for the Bangalore Airport, 4:15 am being the reporting time. We greeted our group leader Mr. Madhavananda Das  and other  members‘  ‘Hare Krishna ‘ . We collected our breakfast packets and 2 boarding passes - one for sector Bangalore -  N. Delhi and another for N. Delhi - Jammu . Our checkin baggages were booked up to Jammu..

6:00 am : INDIGO 6E 132 left for N.Delhi and landed at 8.40 am. After getting new tags for hand luggage, went through the security check and  boarded INDIGO  6E 4062 to Jammu at 9:45 am  Landed at Jammu airport by 11:05 am.. The airport is very small guarded by military. The walls all around the airport  are painted in army  colour., We realised what a sensitive area this must be. We thanked and prayed for the security personnel  who are guarding  our borders alertly.. Jai Jawan!!!

( at Jammu Airport ))

We collected our baggage and waited for an hour and half for a few more to join us who arrived by other flights. In the meanwhile we  recited ‘ Lalitha Sahasranama Stotram ‘  together - an auspicious start for a  spiritual journey.. By 1:30 pm 30 of us  left in Innova cabs and proceeded to Katra  (55kms) where our stay for 3 days had been arranged..The roads were narrow, besides undergoing repairs after incessant and heavy rainfall in the region..    

The cab drivers were quite adept in driving through mountain terrains.. We crossed a few villages - passed through 4 tunnels when we sensed some thrill. The Himalayan Mountain formed a long stretch on the right side.

As we were nearing Katra we could sight  a part of the mountain with three peaks .. Our hearts were filled with veneration when we came to know that they formed the Trikuta  Parvata, one of the most sacred hills  in the whole Universe, where Vaishnavi Mata is residing. We chanted loudly  ‘Jai Mata Di ‘,  ‘Vaishno Mata Ki Jai’ in chorus. .

( A View of Trikuta Parvat )

We reached Ginger Hotel. The hotel has a nice view facing the Trikuta Parvata on one side. We could see the path going up the hill from the corridors. It was quite chill  at 2:30 pm.  We

had hot  rotis, mixed vegetable sabji, rice, dal, curds, salad and pickles for lunch. The service was most attentive.  

( Reception - Ginger Hotel, Katra )

After lunch we occupied our room on the ground floor which proved to be convenient. The rooms are quite spacious, tidy and air conditioned. We could get WiFi service. We had a nap for an hour and looked forward to meeting the other friends who had arrived in the subsequent flights..

7:00 pm --we assembled at the dining hall and  greeted one another ‘Hare Krishna’ and waited  for the first lecture by Sri Madhavananda Das, our guide..After a short prayer Sri M. Das talked about  the significance and the practicalities of visiting Vaishno Mata the next day.. The Vaishno Devi Mandir is located close to the town of Katra in the Reasi district of J & K state..It is one of the most sacred places  of worship in India, It is believed to be the second most visited shrine by pilgrims in India , the first being the Tirumala Balaji temple..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Legend:-- During the Daksha Yagna, Dakshayani (Sati ) the daughter of Daksha Prajapati and the consort of Lord Shiva immolated herself . Lord Shiva unable to bear his grief carried Sati’s body and wandered all over the world for a year and started his Pralaya Nritya.. To put an end to this Lord Vishnu cut Sati’s body into 108 parts with his  Sudarshana Chakra;, 52 body parts fell on earth and the rest fell on other planets.The ‘Varada Hasta’ or the blessing or boon giving hand of Goddess Sati fell on Planet Shukra ( Venus) in Trikuta Parvata..

According to the legend in the beginning of Treta Yuga  when Mother Goddess was engaged in waging fierce wars to destroy and kill the demons, the gods and demigods were harassed by a demon by name Mura.  He had obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that he would not be killed by any human being, demigod or Trinity or anyone born on Earth. When the demigods prayed to Lord Vishnu for help He assured them that the demon would be killed by Mahalakshmi . Goddess Lakshmi incarnated in spiritual form, and the three manifestations viz.. Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi, Maha Saraswati got united into one single power creating a bright Tejas. A beautiful girl Kumari emerged from this Tejas.The three Devis told her  to manifest on the earth and uphold Dharma. Under this background,  the girl took birth in the household of a pious brahmin Ratnakar Sagar in  the Southern part of India. She was called Trikuta as she was the combined form of three Shaktis..

Lord Vishnu asked  Lord Shiva to bring Trikuta mountain and place it in this place which would become Vaishno Devi’s future abode  and to keep the demon in ignorance about the birth of the miracle Goddess.  Later Lord Vishnu led the demon to this place where he was killed by Kumari. Kumari  grew up and learned all the scriptures. She made a firm resolve that she would accept only Lord Vishnu as her husband. Being always absorbed in divine Krishna consciousness, she  got the name Vaishnavi..

Vaishnavi later relinquished all household comforts and went deep into the forest for tapasya. When she heard Lord Rama had gone to forest for exile, she also began to wander in the forest in search of Si Rama. Lord Rama in his fourteen years of exile happened to visit Vaishnavi who recognised him as no ordinary being but the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. She lost no time in asking him to accept her as His consort. However Lord Rama dissuaded her as the time was inappropriate, Rama assured her that he would visit her again at the end of his exile and at that time if she recognised him, he would fulfill her wish. True to his words Rama visited her in the disguise of an old man after conquering Ravana in the battle.. Unfortunately she could not recognise him. Lord Rama consoled her that the  time would eventually come in Kaliyuga when he (Rama) would be in his incarnation as Kalki, and would accept her. Lord Rama also asked her to set up an ashram at the base of Trikuta range of Manik mountains in North India.  He also gave her a bow and arrow, a small army of monkeys and also a lion for her protection. Vaishnavi carried out his wish and began to meditate. It is due to Lord Rama’s blessings that Mata Vaishno Devi attained immortality and attracts lakhs of pilgrims to her holy shrine every year.

Legend Of Bhairon Nath:- Once Sridhar a devotee of Vaishno Devi organised a bhandara or a community feast for the entire village. He had invited Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath Ji who attended the bhandara along with his 300 disciples  including Bhairon Nath. The latter was attracted by the beauty of  Vaishno Devi  Mata who was assisting Sridhar. Bhairon Nath followed the Divine Mother who ran away into the mountains to continue her penance. On the way she halted at  Banganga. Charan Paduka and Adhkuwari and  finally reached the cave where she wanted to resume her penance. Bhairon Nath followed her everywhere. Finally Devi lost her patience and came out of the cave and beheaded him. Bhairon Nath’s body  lay down at her feet and his head flew on to the top of a hill (where a temple was built later for Bhairon Nath). Bhairon Nath realised that Vaishno Devi was not an ordinary immortal but a divine power and begged for her forgiveness. The  benevolent Mother  became  compassionate and granted a boon that whoever visited Her Shrine would also visit Bhairon ka Mandir as a package.

The Goddess then decided to shed her human form and take the form of a rock in order to continue her meditation.  Vaishnavi Mata took the form of  a five and half a feet tall rock with three pindies or heads on the top, each pindi representing the divine forms,  Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi and  Maha Kali. The cave where she transformed herself is the  Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and the three pindies form the sanctum sanctorum..

There are a few ancient temples on the way (walking path) from Katra to Bhawan the holy cave of Vaishno Devi which are :-

a) Banganga --the place where Vaishnavi Mata shot an arrow to get  holy water for  taking bath on her way to the holy cave when Bhairo Nath was chasing her.

b) Charan Paduka Temple -The Goddess rested here on her way to the Trikuta hills. Her footprints are found here.

c) Adhkuwari--This lies halfway to the shrine from the base.There is a temple called  ‘Garbha Joon’ in the ancient cave where Devi stayed for nine months when she was on the move escaping from Bhairon Nath. Hanumanji with his monkey troop was guarding the entrance to prevent Bhairon from entering the cave. After nine months Vaishno Devi opened the other end of the cave with the trident ( Trishul) and escaped to the holy cave..

Some thirty years before,  people used to walk  for seven days from Jammu to visit the shrine . But now the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has made a lot of facilities for the convenience of yatris like transport, water, sanitary facilities, food stalls and a host of promotional aspects including rest houses. We can make’ sankalpa’ but a firm belief prevails that the visit to the holy place can only occur with Divine Mother’s ‘krupa’.   

Mr. Madhavananda Das also briefed us about the practicalities of visiting the temple the next day . Travel by Helicopter had already been booked online  which would operate subject to good weather conditions.. He gave us instructions to carry our Govt.approved IDs,  travel light,  and always be in the group and make it a point to reach the helicopter booking office an hour earlier before schedule. He also outlined how to return to Ginger hotel after finishing darshan. We thanked him and had dinner by 8:30 pm, reviewing the guidelines for the next day’s program. Then retired to our rooms after an eventful  and long day when ‘nidra devi’ overpowered us..

Natarajans.

( to be continued in Part 2 ,  Day 2 )

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