Meaning and message of Amarnath Yatra

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Meaning and message of Amarnath Yatra

By Jagmohan

 

Pilgrimage is an important part of the Indian tradition. It is a

soul-stirring experience. It is a journey undertaken to meet "gods",

have face-to-face communion with them and experience a higher state

of spirituality. In the ancient period, the yatris invariably

encountered a charming environment. The air was exhilarating, the

forests thick and green, and the streams full of crystal clear

water. The spell that nature cast on yatri's mind brought in peace

and created within him a new rhythm, a new spirit.

 

Of all the pilgrimages, the pilgrimage to the holy cave of Amarnath,

a shrine of Lord Shiva, high up in the ranges of the Himalayas, is

considered as one of the most sacred and captivating practice. It is

an event that tends to awaken the divinity embedded in the deep

recesses of man's mind, and he feels a soft and serene impact of the

Great Spirit.

 

Recalling Swami Vivekananda's experience at the holy cave, Sister

Nivedita wrote: "Never had Swami felt such a spiritual exaltation.

So saturated had he become with the presence of the Great God that

for days after he could speak of nothing else. Shiva was all in all;

Shiva, the eternal one, the great monk, rapt in meditation, aloof

from the world." Later on, Swami Vivekananda himself recounted: "I

have never been to anything so beautiful, so inspiring."

 

Such is the impression that the Amarnath Yatra leaves on the minds

of most of the yatris. After travelling on foot or horse on one of

the most enchanting and enthralling routes in the world, which

itself transmits a feeling of being "upward, and divine", the yatri

sees the "Ice Lingam" in all its shining glory and greatness, and

experiences the impact of an invisible, yet all-pervading, an

incomprehensible, yet all-conveying, force of "what was, is and will

be".

 

In a state of heightened sublimity and with his faith fully

surcharged and the awe and majesty of the sights around him, the

yatri perceives, with his mind's eye, Lord Shiva, sitting calmly

underneath an imperishable canopy, provided by the "mount of

immortality", and conveying in hushed silence the message of

inseparability of the processes of creation and destruction;

of "every beginning having an end, and every end having a beginning."

 

"Amarnath" means Deathless God—Lord Shiva. He is the God of gods,

Mahadeva, about whom Bhishma says in the Mahabharata: "I am

incapable of enunciating the attributes of the wise Mahadeva, who is

ubiquitous but nowhere visible; who is the creator of Brahma,

Vishnu, and Indra and their lord as well; whom all the deities from

Brahma to the Pisachas worship; who transcends all natural

phenomenon as well as the absolute spirit whom the rishis who

practise discipline and have arrived at truth contemplate; who is

indestructible, supreme, the Brahma himself; who does not exist and

yet exists."

 

The holy cave is located in one of the "purest and firmest" peaks of

the Himalayas, which, in the Hindu tradition, is itself a symbol of

sublimity, serenity and strength. And there is a very close

relationship between these "silvery mountains" and Lord Shiva. This

relationship finds best expression in the words of Sankara, when

overwhelmed by the physical and spiritual beauty of the white peaks,

he reflected: "Oh Shiva, thy body is white, white is Thy smile, the

human skull in Thy hand is white. The axe, Thy bull, Thy earrings

all are white. The Ganga, flowing out in foams from your matted

locks, is white. The crescent moon on Thy brow is white. Oh all-

white Shiva, give us the boon of complete sinlessness in our lives."

 

Kalidas described the Himalayas as "the laughter of Shiva." Sri

Krishna also said in the Bhagavad Gita: "Of the mountains, I am the

Himalayas." When asked why India had so many gods and goddesses,

Swami Vivekananda replied: "Because we have the Himalayas."

 

The cave is accessible only during a short period of a year, usually

in the months of July and August. At that time, inside the cave, a

pure white Ice Lingam comes into being. Water trickles, somewhat

mysteriously, in slow rhythm, from the top of the cave and freezes

into ice. It first forms a solid base and then on it a lingam begins

to rise, almost imperceptibly, and acquires full form on Purnima. It

is believed that on that day Lord Shiva revealed the secrets of life

to his consort Parvati, the beautiful daughter of the Himalayas.

 

It is also believed that while Lord Shiva was speaking to Parvati, a

pair of pigeons appeared and overheard the talk. And this pair still

comes to the cave at the time of the Yatra as incarnation of Shiva

and Parvati. During the Governor's rule, in August-September, 1986,

I travelled on foot to the holy cave, with the officers concerned,

with a view to formulating proposals for effecting improvement on

the route and provide facilities on the same lines as I did in the

case of the Vaishno Devi Shrine. We all saw a pair of pigeons but no

other bird.

 

It is a mystery how the Ice Lingam is formed on the ice-base, how it

attains its full formation and maximum height on the Purnima day and

how a pair of pigeons appears on the scene. Even the most sceptic

mind is persuaded to believe that all these occurrences could not be

a mere coincidence.

 

The present Kashmir Valley, according to Nilamata Purana, was once a

huge lake, known as Satidesa. It was surrounded by high mountains.

To kill a demon, called Jalodhbava, who was "indestructible under

water", Rishi Kashyap, with the blessings of Brahma, Vishnu and

Shiva, made a cut in the mountains and drained off water. The land

that emerged began to be inhabited and came to be called Kashmir,

after Rishi Kashyap. At a few spots of rare beauty and seclusion,

saints and gods carved out their hermitages, for meditation. In the

course of time, these spots acquired special sanctity and made

Kashmir a great nursery of Hindu religion and culture. It cannot go

unnoticed that the Valley has been, and in some ways still is, the

land of gods, tirthas and rishis. Vincent A. Smith has rightly

observed: "The ancient India has nothing more worthy of its early

civilisation than the grand ruins of Kashmir."

 

The yatra, in its present religious form, commences with the

ceremony of "Chari Mubarak", at the Dashnami Temple, Akhara,

Srinagar. After the prayers, the yatri acquires a sort of walking

stick. It has both physical and religious significance; physically,

it helps the yatri in steadying himself on a snowy and slippery

path; and, spiritually, it reminds him of his resolves at the temple

if and when his faith begins to waver in the face of a long and

arduous journey.

 

After the ceremony, the yatris proceed in groups to Pahalgam, from

where a small road leads to Chandanwari, along thick and green

woodlands of breathtaking beauty, perched on pretty rocks and little

hills, with the playful stream of Lidder meandering and dancing in

between, showing its white-foam sparkle with the pride and purity of

a maiden descending directly from the lap of the perennial

Himalayas. From Chandanwari, there begins a steep ascent to Pishu

Ghati (3,171 metres), reminding the yatris that the path to

salvation involves super human struggle and stamina. A feeling of

having been lifted to a heavenly spot dawns upon the yatris when

they reach Seshnag (3,570 metres)—so striking is the beauty, the

setting and the colour of this great Lake.

 

Seshnag symbolizes the cosmic ocean in which Lord Vishnu, the

preserver of this universe, moves, reclining on a seven-headed

mythical snake. After getting refreshed with the bath of ice-cold

water of Seshnag, the yatri takes a steep climb to the most

difficult spot, Mahagunna (4,350 metres). Thereafter, a short

descent begins to Poshpathan littered with wild flowers. From there,

the yatris move to Panchatarni, a confluence of five mythical

streams, and then to the cave.

 

A strange sense of fulfilment seizes the yatris, and all fatigue is

forgotten. Even in the temperature touching zero degree Celsius, the

yatris are driven by their faith to take bath in the almost freezing

rivulet of Amravati.

 

Recently, a statutory board, on the lines of Mata Vaishno Devi

Shrine Board, has been set up under the chairmanship of the Governor

of the State. The Board has been making tremendous effort to improve

the traditional route as well as the seasonal route via Bal Tal. A

helicopter service has been put in position. The differences that

had arisen between the Board and the State Government have largely

been resolved. The High Court has also upheld the stand of the

board. This year, the yatra will commence on June 11 and continue up

to August 9. About 5 lakh yatris are expected to visit the Holy Cave

through both the routes.

 

The unique yatra satisfies the individual's urge to take his soul to

soaring heights, to experience spiritual passions of the highest

order and see Mahadeva in His greatest image and in His finest

abode. But the significance of the yatra does not end at the

personal level. It extends to the much larger issue of cultural

unity and vision of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from

Kathiawar to Kamrup. Its great and history importance as an

underlying integrating force needs to be recognised.

 

When some people talk of Kashmir's relationship with the rest of

India only in terms of Article I and Article 370 of the

Constitution, I am surprised at their ignorance. They do not know

that this relationship goes much deeper. It is a relationship that

has existed for thousands of years in the mind and soul of the

people, a relationship that India's intellect and emotions, its life

and literature, its philosophy and poetry, its common urges and

aspirations have given birth to. It is this relationship which

inspired Subramania Bharati to perceive Kashmir as a crown of Mother

India, and Kanyakumari as a lotus at her feet, and also made him

sing that "She has thirty crore faces, but her heart is one."

 

(The writer is a former Governor of J&K and former Union Minister of

Culture & Tourism.)