Guest guest Posted September 9, 2005 Report Share Posted September 9, 2005 Note: forwarded message attached.Con cariño: Marilupe Dear Sir, You can include it in the files if you wish With Best Regards, Parasuraman Please visit my Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/parasu41 India Matrimony: Find your partner online.Go to http://.shaadi.com LORD SHIVA IN NATURE NATURAL (KAILASH, AMARNATH, MT. SHIVLING) PEAKS Famous "Kailas Peak' near Manasrovar in Tibet. "Chhota Kailas", also in Tibet. Another "Kailas Peak" in Gangotri region. "Kinner Kailas" in Kinnaur Valley, Himachal Pradesh. "Neelknath Peak" near Badrinath. "Shivling Peak" near Gaumukh-source of Ganga. "Shrikant Mahadev" peak in Himachal Pradesh. "Kedar Dome and Peak" in Gangotri glacier region. "Dhaulagiri Peak" in Nepal. "Mani Mahesh Peak" beyond Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. "Ganesh Himal Peak" in Nepal. "Nandi Hills" near Bangalore. LAKES AND KUNDS "Parvati Kund" near Kailas Parvat, Tibet. "Parvati Kund" near Mani Mahesh. "Gauri Kund" near Kedarnath. "Kedar Tal" in Garhwal. RIVERS/STREAMS "Parvati River" in Kulu Valley. "Kedar Ganga" in Gangotri town. "Madhyamaheshwar Ganga" in Garhwal. "Rudra Paryag" in Garhwal. CAVES "Patal Bhuvesneshwar Cave" in Kumaon. "Jata Shankar Cave" in Pachmari, Madhya Pradesh. "Mahadev Cave" in Pachmarhi. NATURAL SHIVLINGAS "Ice Shivling" in Amaranth, Kashmir. "Swayambhu Shivling" in Kedarnath temple. A vertically tall more than 100 feet high natural rock near Kinner Kailas called Shivling locally. Shivling in Swayambhu temple in Nepal. AMARNATH YATRA There is famous Rig Vedic Verse that says "Ekam Sat " that is "There is one Being, the sages call him by many names." The God (Parameswara) has three deities who carry on the world. This is known as Holy Trinity. Brahma- the creator, Vishnu - the perpetuator of life and Shiva (Mahesh) -the purifier and perpetuator of good and destroyer of evil. Rig Veda refers Shiva as Rudra as in its following verse. "We Worship Tryambaka (Rudra) , Who spread Fragrance and Increases Nourishment , May He release me, like the cucumber from its stem, From Mortal Life, But not From Immorality. "(Rig Veda Mandal VII Sukta 59 and Mantra 12) The Yajur Veda describes Shiva as ascetic warrior whose robe is of Deer Skin and he carries Trishul. According to the verse Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram the life is described as having three facets Truth Sathyam), Good (Sivam) and the Beautiful (Sundaram). According to the older scriptures, He has three places of his residence. One is Kailash Parvat another is Lohit Giri under which Brahamputra flows and third is Muzwan Parvat. The Amaranth Cave has special significance. The Legend about the importance of Amaranth Cave is as follows: - This is The Cave, which was chosen by Bhole Shankar for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe to Maa Parvati ji. The story goes like this. Centuries ago Maa Parvati asked Shiva to let her know why and when he started wearing the beads of heads (Mund Mala). Bhole Shankar replied whenever you are born I add one more head in my beads. Maa Parvati said, " My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this." Bhole Shankar replied that it is due to Amar Katha." Maa Parvati insisted that she might be told that secret. For long Shiva continued postponing. Finally on consistent demand from Maa Parvati he made up his mind to tell the immortal secret. He started for lonely place where no living being could listen it. He choose Amarnath Cave. In preparation to that he left his Nandi (The Bull which he used to ride) at Pahalgam (Bail gaon). At Chandanwari he released Moon from his hairs (Jataon). At the banks of Lake Sheshnag he released the snakes. He decided to leave his son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Hill). At Panchtarni, Shivji left the Five Elements behind (Earth, Water, Air , Fire and Sky) which make living being. He is the Lord of these elements. It is believed that as a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world, Shiva and Maa Parvati had Tandav Dance. After leaving behind all these, Bhole Shankar enters the Holy Amarnath Cave along with Parvati Maa. Lord Shiva takes his Samadhi on the Deer Skin and concentrate. To ensure that no living being is able to hear the Immortal Tale, He created Rudra named Kalagni and ordered him to spread fire to eliminate every living thing in and around the Holy Cave. After this he started narrating the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati. But as a matter of chance one egg, which was lying beneath the Deerskin, remained protected. It is believed to be non-living and more over it was protected by Shiva -Parvati Asan (Bed). The pair of pigeons, which were born out of this egg, became immortal having listened the secret of immortality (Amar Katha). Many pilgrims report seeing the pair of pigeons when they trek the arduous route to pay their obeisance before the Ice-Lingam (the phallic symbol of Shiva). The trek to Amarnath, in the month of sharavan (July–August) has the devout flock to this incredible shrine, where the image of Shiva, in the form of a Lingam, is formed naturally of an Ice Stalagmite, which waxes and wanes with the Moon's cycle. By its side are fascinating, two more Ice Lingams, that of Maa Parvati and of their son, Ganesha. KAILASH PARVAT Mt. Kailas has the unique distinction of being the most venerated yet least visited of the world's major holy places. Soaring above 22,000 feet, the mountain is the supremely sacred site of four religions and billions of people Pilgrims to Kailas, after the difficult journey getting there, are then confronted with the equally arduous task of circumambulating the sacred peak. This walking around the mountain (clockwise for the Buddhists, counter-clockwise for Bon adherents) is known as a Kora, or Parikrama, and normally takes three days. In hopes of gaining extra merit or psychic powers however, some pilgrims will vary the tempo of their movement. A hardy few, practicing a secret breathing technique known as Lung-gom, will power themselves around the mountain in only one day (the author’s method). Others will take two to three weeks for the Kora by making full body prostrations the entire way. It is believed that a pilgrim who completes 108 journeys around the mountain is assured enlightenment. Most pilgrims to Kailas will also take a short plunge in the nearby, highly sacred (and very cold) Lake Manosaravar. The word 'manas' means mind or consciousness; the name Manosaravar means Lake of Consciousness and Enlightenment. Adjacent to Manosaravar is Rakas Tal or Rakshasas, the Lake of Demons. Pilgrimage to this great sacred mountain and these two magical lakes is a life changing experience and an opportunity to view some of the most magical scenery on the entire planet. Kailas abode of Lord Shiva. The Jains call the mountain Astapada and believe it to be the place where Rishaba, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras attained liberation. MOUNT SHIVLING - PASHUPATINATH .. LEGENDS: Chronicles indicate the temple's existence prior to 400 A.D, but a shrine may have stood here nearly 1000 years before that. Siva Maha Deva as Vishvanath Baba was overwhelmed by the adulation of his devotees in Kasi, Banares. Fleeing from Banares, Maha Deva transformed himself into a gazelle and lived in peace on the Mrigasthali hill. Vishnu, Brahma and the other gods, unable to tolerate Mahadev's absence from Banares, came to fetch him back. They caught the gazelle by the horn, but in so doing the horn broke. Thereupon Siva declared himself Pasupathi, Lord of Beasts, and Vishnu erected the broken horn as the original Pasupathi lingam and all the gods worshipped it. The broken horn was worshipped as a Linga and overtime was buried and lost. Further, as the legend goes, a cow used to come here mysteriously every day and offer her milk to this holy but hidden Linga of Lord Shiva. When the Gwala (owner) saw that the cow had stopped giving milk since the last few days he started keeping eye on her; and finally came across the place where the cow used to offer her milk. With a natural curiosity to know the importance of the place, where his cow used to make offering of her milk, the gwala dug the place and found the Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva. After this number of gwalas gathered to worship this Linga according to religious conformity, starting the tradition of worshipping this Linga. . Legend has it that the lingam at Pashupatinath is made of 'Paras', the Philosopher's Stone which is supposed to turn baser metals into gold by its contact. This whole allusion is symbolic and those who give it a literal meaning misunderstand the real significance of the legend. Throughout the Gnostic literature of the world the symbolism of alchemy has constantly been used to portray the transmutation of our mundane earth-bound consciousness into the Divine Consciousness. This is in fact the true alchemy, and in this context it is obvious that whoever truly understands the significance of the Shiva Lingam at Pashupatinath will certainly succeed in transforming his material consciousness into the true gold of spiritual reality. PANCHAMUKHI: The temple of Lord Pashupatinath stands in the middle of an open courtyard. It is a square shaped pagoda temple built on single platform measuring 23.6 meters from the ground. There are gold gilt doors on all the four sides of the temple. Inside the temple there is a narrow walk engulfing the sanctum from where one can have closer view of Shivalinga. The entrance gate is an impressive structure flanked by beautifully painted images of Ganesha and a Devatha and surmounted by an image of Shiva standing with his trident amidst the snows of the Himalayas. From the doorway an enormous gold-plated metal Nandi Bull blocks the view of the main temple. Entering the compound one finds oneself in a large courtyard dominated by the huge temple of Pashupatinath, which stands in its center and inside which resides the all-powerful Panchmukhi (five-faced) lingam of Pashupatinath. The lingam is made of black stone, about four feet high, with a face carved on each of its sides. Below each face is a pair of hands raised in benediction, and a constant shower of water descends upon the lingam from a copper vessel suspended about a foot above it. The four faces symbolize the infinite Reality in its manifest form, surveying the whole created cosmos in every direction. The face facing east is known as Tatpurusha and the one facing south as Aghora. Similarly, the faces looking west and north are known by the name Sadhyojata and Vamadeva respectively. The upper portion of this Linga is known as Ishan. These faces are also defined as the symbol of four dharmas (the most famous places of pilgrimage for Hindus) and four Vedas (sacred books of Hindus). On top of the lingam is a 'Shree Chakra', symbolizing the fifth face, the unmanifested Brahman itself. Thus the Darshan portrays the Lord both in His manifest and unmanifest forms, because in the Hindu view He pervades the whole cosmos but is not limited by it. He is the universe and also that which is beyond, Purusha and Prakriti, Being and Becoming. It is an interesting fact that the Pujaris of the Pashupatinath temple are not Nepali but come from South India. On special occasions like Ekadasi, Sankranti, Mahashivratri, Teej Akshaya, Rakshabandhan, Grahana (eclipse), Poornima (Full moon day) people congregate here in far greater number ARUNACHALA [Tiruvanamalai in Tamil Nad] MOUNT AGUNG - BALI Mount Agung, Bali abode of Mt. Agung is the abode of Batara Gunung Agung (Mahadewa) ADAM’s PEAK, SRILANKA For Hindus, the name of the mountain is Sivan Adi Padham, because it was the world-creative dance of the god Shiva that left the giant footprint (5 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 6 inches). Source: www.jyotirlinga.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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