THE HIMALAYAS AND SPIRITUALITY

From the beginning Himalayan mountains have the long legacy of being associated with rich religious beliefs, cultural heritage and mythological moorings of several faiths including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Islam and other religions and spiritual groups. Its sheer vastness and unending view raise a separate feeling from behind everyone’s heart. The whole mountain range with serene and peaceful environment has attracted many personalities from all walks of life, many of them spiritual in nature and some who were not became devout later.

By and large, different religious groups have coexisted peacefully in the Himalayas despite the mountain region spreading across five countries including most populous India and China. There is certainly something in the atmosphere, which makes the spirit soar and quest for eternal truths. The indigenous people of the Himalayas have a distinct economic, political and religious identity. They display a remarkable similarity in ways of life, social customers, economic practices and religious beliefs. In the southern belt, the Hindu influence predominates while to the north the imprint of Tibet and its Buddhism is more markedly discernible. However, the most impressive feature of life here is its dynamic synthesis of the diverse influences to which it has been subject throughout history.

The Himalayas serve as a perfect backdrop for the contemplative and meditative practices. As far as the Hinduism is concerned, the Himalayas has long been identified and personified with Himavat and Himavati, the mythological mountain king (Parvat Raj) and mountain queen (Parvat Rani) and also as the scriptural parents of goddess Parvati whose name literally means a progeny of the Parvat (mountain). It is also the abode of Lord Shiva, life partner of devi Parvati. The Himalayas are also considered to be Himavant, the father of the goddess Ganga. Here, the river Ganges has also been embodied. Incidentally, Ganga devi as a river came down to earth through the dishevelled hair of Lord Shiva to save the earth. In fact, the very origin of Hinduism is one way related to Himalayas in the sense that the word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit root Sindhu believed to be the name of the Indus River which flows from the Himalayas.

With a dominant Hindu population, India shares a maximum of the Himalayas (55%) followed by Nepal (30%), Bhutan (10%.) and the rest 5% is mostly by Pakistan and some portion in China (Tibet). The whole Himalayan region is considered the realm of Shiva- the supreme ascetic, and ‘Pashupati’ - the protecting deity of pastoral herds. Ancient Hindus believed that the Himalayas were the abode of the gods, goddess and holy men. Here, the sages sat for millennia, pondering over the mysteries of the universe and its creator. Here, the ancient Hindus believed lies Gyanganj, a secret kingdom of enlightened and immortal beings, free from karmic burdens.

The region has always been an integral part of India geographically and culturally. Kashmir and Kumaon as well as Nepal and Assam find repeated mention in ancient Indian literature and inscriptions. It seems that this area came under the influence of Tibet only after the death of King Harsha in the 7th century AD. Scholars and monks negotiated perilous passes and frozen slopes to share the message of Indian religious teachings and culture.

An important religious place for Hindus is Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar where the river Ganges enters the plains and devotees assemble here in thousands to take holy dip in the river on special occasions especially during Kumbh Melas, Shiva Ratris. Close to the vicinity of Haridwar is Rishikesh which is best known as a peaceful, serene and a spiritual place for yoga, meditation and health therapy. The place is also famous for several ashrams and hermitages of rishis, saints, savants and sages of the past and present ages.

The holy cave of Amarnath in Kashmir region of the Himalayas where Lord Shiva is scripturally said to have taught the lessons of complete Yoga and Yoga Nidra to His life partner goddess Parvati, is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage for Hindus. It’s also very famous for natural ice formation in the shape of Shiva linga that stays for a few weeks every year. Thousands of pilgrims visit this cave during these few weeks to have the divine Darshan of Bhole Nath Shiva Baba and also to witness this natural ice formation miracle during the famous “Amarnath Yatra” each year. In the same Himalayan region of Jammu, the holy shrine of goddess Durga named as Vaishno Devi attracts millions of devotees from across several faiths, to pay obeisance to the Shiva Shakti. and to receive her divine blessings. Besides Amarnath, there are many other spiritual places in the Himalayas like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Jwala ji, Chintpurni, Gangotri, Yamunotri and many more.

As well-known the Himalayas emerged from the sea about fifty million years ago, according to geologists. Indian scriptures do not only reference the Himalayas of this world. They also reference regions of the Himalayas that extend into other Lokas or Divine realms. These otherworldly mountains may well have not been under the sea at the same time as those of our world.

This mythological anecdote provides two meaningful morals. First, mountain regions, especially Himalayas rich in flora, fauna, natural resources and bounties protect the surrounding biome from natural calamities, inhospitable climatic conditions and disasters. Secondly, to get such blessings and protection of the mountain range, it’s incumbent upon humans not to harm, damage, erode, pollute or vitiate the rock structure, ecosystem, natural harmony, ecological balance and environmental sanctity of the mountain regions. But it is even more painful the ravages wrought in the environment by hordes of self-seekers from outside.

In the Himalayan terrains where the ongoing war between physical nature (natural ecosystem) and modern developmental greed must stop to restore back the lost balance and harmony in nature-human relationships. Genuine love, respect and reverence for nature, its beauty, bounties, bliss, blessings and our constant efforts for nature’s balanced coexistence with human environment, must get priority and precedence over anything else.

In essence, we need to devise our plans, policies and program implementation for mountain terrains especially for the Himalayas, in such a way in order to promote and foster a need based eco-friendly culture over that of a greed based modern-age urban centric developmental matrix which has resulted in systematic rock degradation, mountain soil erosion, ecological denudation and environmental pollution in modern development driven areas of the Himalayas.

(The author is a Freelance Journalist based in Delhi. He is also the National Media Coordinator and National Spokesperson of the Brahma Kumaris Organization).

Source: Himalayan News Chronicle