Guest guest Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Dear All First of all, wish every one of you a very very wonderful and fullfilling year ahead. Last week I had been on a trip to Kasi. It turned out to be a terrific trip for me. That city has a strange spiritual atmosphere unlike any other place I have been to. Just in case someone is planning on a trip to Kasi any time in the future, do not miss out of the following places/temples apart from the regular temples. The following are lesser know but really powerful places of worship which I came across during my trip last week: 1) Chausat Yogini temple in the Chausat ghat. The temple has one idol for the 64 Yoginis and an idol of Ma Kali. 2) Temple of Lord Shiva as Kedareshwar in Kedar Ghat. An amazing temple. 3) Sankata Temple near Schindhia Ghat. 4) Bindu Madhav temple 5) The temple of Gopal where Anandamayi Ma used to worship. 6) Kinnaram Baba's Ashram. There is a dhuni in the ashram which was lit by Kinnaram Baba himself from a funeral pyre and has been burning continuously since then. The deity in Agni Rudra. Regularly wood from the mahasamshan is inserted in the dhuni. Ordinary people are not allowed to give any ahutis in that fire but one can sit close to it and meditate. I felt that ashram to be one of the most powerful places I had ever been to. Just thought of sharing the names of these places I came across during my visit this time. -Regards Rajarshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Dear Rajarshi,I was planning to take my parents to Kashi near Makarsankranti, i.e.,January 15.Your post has proven to be very helpful to us.May I request any extra bits of your impressions on the Ghats or other Ashrams which a Devi upasaka( my father-74 Years) would not vibe well with !May Bhagwan Vishwanatha bless us all !Humble regards,Amit --- On Sat, 1/3/09, rajarshi14 <rajarshi14 wrote:rajarshi14 <rajarshi14 A trip to Kasi Date: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 8:09 PMDear AllFirst of all, wish every one of you a very very wonderful and fullfilling year ahead. Last week I had been on a trip to Kasi. It turned out to be a terrific trip for me. That city has a strange spiritual atmosphere unlike any other place I have been to. Just in case someone is planning on a trip to Kasi any time in the future, do not miss out of the following places/temples apart from the regular temples. The following are lesser know but really powerful places of worship which I came across during my trip last week:1) Chausat Yogini temple in the Chausat ghat. The temple has one idol for the 64 Yoginis and an idol of Ma Kali. 2) Temple of Lord Shiva as Kedareshwar in Kedar Ghat. An amazing temple. 3) Sankata Temple near Schindhia Ghat. 4) Bindu Madhav temple 5) The temple of Gopal where Anandamayi Ma used to worship. 6) Kinnaram Baba's Ashram. There is a dhuni in the ashram which was lit by Kinnaram Baba himself from a funeral pyre and has been burning continuously since then. The deity in Agni Rudra. Regularly wood from the mahasamshan is inserted in the dhuni. Ordinary people are not allowed to give any ahutis in that fire but one can sit close to it and meditate. I felt that ashram to be one of the most powerful places I had ever been to. Just thought of sharing the names of these places I came across during my visit this time. -Regards Rajarshi---|| Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih || Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Dear Amitji Well the ghats are no doubt a marvel. Each one of them. There are in total 84 ghats, of which Dashashwamedha is the most famous and most populated. Dont miss the arati of Ma Ganga every evening. I felt Kasi to be a generally safe city if can ignore the pandas and random purohits. Just keep walking on the ghats, its a marvellous experience. Every ghat is unique and exciting. You will find lots of foreigners too living in Kasi. One of the best ghats I found was the next to manikarnik ghat. I dont recall the name right now, but if you walk from Dashashmedh towards Manikarnik ghat, there is a ghat which is a little isolated. There are some structes made of cement which jut out inside the the Ganges from the ghat. Duribng evening, after 6. its generally less populated area. So you can actually go and sit on the banks of this ghat and do your japa/meditation. Its wonderful. No disturbance at all. I used to do that everday. The name of the dasashmedh ghat is so because Brahma himself had done ten ashwamedha yagjas on this ghat to invite Lord Shiva in Kasi. That is why the name is Das-ashwamedha which has become Dashasamedha. In the kasikhanda, it is described that Lord Shiva took Ma Parvati along with him and showed to her what is called teh Abhimuktashetra. In the Jaballa Upanished this Abhimuktashetra (Kasi - the area between Varuna and Ganga) has been described as the area between the two eyebrows of a man. Here Lord Shiva established himself as Abhimukteshwara, that is Vishwanath, and recided in Kasi. Immediate hudreds of Pashupata Siddhas came into the area in astral bodies and rejoiced in the glody of Shiva as the Supreme Lord of pure light. While bathing in the ghats, I would suggest be a little careful because some places are very slippery. What you can do is take a boat to teh otehr bank and then take a dip in the water. The boatman can charge you anytring between Rs100 to Rs250 (depending on your bargaining skills). Then among the temples I would stronly suggest goign to Sankataji Temple. On fridays, the temple gets over crowded, there is a well in the temple called chandra kupa. Then the famous Durga Kund temple. Inside the temple, apart from teh main deity Ma Chandi, there are also three other deities on the sides of the temple complex. Saraswati, Mahalakshmi and Ma Kali. This is one of the MOST unique Ma Kali partimas I have ever seen. She stands in a defiant tone with her head pointed upwards and her tougue jutting out towards the sky. When I looked at Her, the first thought that came to my mind was to ask for forgiveness. All I could say was Ma kshama karo. Do sit infront of her and pray/meditate/do japa. Then you can hire a car and visit Vindhyachal where there is a famous temple of Ma Vindabashini. This is one of the Shakti Pithas. Its about a couple of hours journery from Kasi in the neighbouring district called Mirzapur. Actually there is so much to write about Kasi, I can go on and on. Just have an open mind from teh time you land in Kasi. Take every experience, good or bad as a gift from the Almighty/Istha Devata and you will surely cherish every bit of your stay there. -Regards Rajarshi The upsurge (of consciousness) is Bhairava - Shiva Sutra--- On Mon, 5/1/09, Amit Trivedi <sonat64 wrote: Amit Trivedi <sonat64Re: A trip to Kasi Date: Monday, 5 January, 2009, 9:25 AM Dear Rajarshi,I was planning to take my parents to Kashi near Makarsankranti, i.e.,January 15.Your post has proven to be very helpful to us.May I request any extra bits of your impressions on the Ghats or other Ashrams which a Devi upasaka( my father-74 Years) would not vibe well with !May Bhagwan Vishwanatha bless us all !Humble regards,Amit --- On Sat, 1/3/09, rajarshi14 <rajarshi14 (AT) (DOT) co.in> wrote: rajarshi14 <rajarshi14 (AT) (DOT) co.in> A trip to KasiSaturday, January 3, 2009, 8:09 PMDear AllFirst of all, wish every one of you a very very wonderful and fullfilling year ahead. Last week I had been on a trip to Kasi. It turned out to be a terrific trip for me. That city has a strange spiritual atmosphere unlike any other place I have been to. Just in case someone is planning on a trip to Kasi any time in the future, do not miss out of the following places/temples apart from the regular temples. The following are lesser know but really powerful places of worship which I came across during my trip last week:1) Chausat Yogini temple in the Chausat ghat. The temple has one idol for the 64 Yoginis and an idol of Ma Kali. 2) Temple of Lord Shiva as Kedareshwar in Kedar Ghat. An amazing temple. 3) Sankata Temple near Schindhia Ghat. 4) Bindu Madhav temple 5) The temple of Gopal where Anandamayi Ma used to worship. 6) Kinnaram Baba's Ashram. There is a dhuni in the ashram which was lit by Kinnaram Baba himself from a funeral pyre and has been burning continuously since then. The deity in Agni Rudra. Regularly wood from the mahasamshan is inserted in the dhuni. Ordinary people are not allowed to give any ahutis in that fire but one can sit close to it and meditate. I felt that ashram to be one of the most powerful places I had ever been to. Just thought of sharing the names of these places I came across during my visit this time. -Regards Rajarshi------------ --------- --------- ------|| Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih || Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 Dear Rajarshiji,I am really thankful for a lucid and detailed reply on my query.I value your inputs,particularly on Shrines at Durga Kund and Maa Vindhyavasini. I do agree to the idea that let any experience happen and make me view it with saatvik bhava.May we all be blessed to pray with all our might !!! Thanking you again for the time and thoughts shared,amit--- On Mon, 1/5/09, rajarshi nandy <rajarshi14 wrote:rajarshi nandy <rajarshi14Re: A trip to Kasi Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 5:29 AM Dear Amitji Well the ghats are no doubt a marvel. Each one of them. There are in total 84 ghats, of which Dashashwamedha is the most famous and most populated. Dont miss the arati of Ma Ganga every evening. I felt Kasi to be a generally safe city if can ignore the pandas and random purohits. Just keep walking on the ghats, its a marvellous experience. Every ghat is unique and exciting. You will find lots of foreigners too living in Kasi. One of the best ghats I found was the next to manikarnik ghat. I dont recall the name right now, but if you walk from Dashashmedh towards Manikarnik ghat, there is a ghat which is a little isolated. There are some structes made of cement which jut out inside the the Ganges from the ghat. Duribng evening, after 6. its generally less populated area. So you can actually go and sit on the banks of this ghat and do your japa/meditation. Its wonderful. No disturbance at all. I used to do that everday. The name of the dasashmedh ghat is so because Brahma himself had done ten ashwamedha yagjas on this ghat to invite Lord Shiva in Kasi. That is why the name is Das-ashwamedha which has become Dashasamedha. In the kasikhanda, it is described that Lord Shiva took Ma Parvati along with him and showed to her what is called teh Abhimuktashetra. In the Jaballa Upanished this Abhimuktashetra (Kasi - the area between Varuna and Ganga) has been described as the area between the two eyebrows of a man. Here Lord Shiva established himself as Abhimukteshwara, that is Vishwanath, and recided in Kasi. Immediate hudreds of Pashupata Siddhas came into the area in astral bodies and rejoiced in the glody of Shiva as the Supreme Lord of pure light. While bathing in the ghats, I would suggest be a little careful because some places are very slippery. What you can do is take a boat to teh otehr bank and then take a dip in the water. The boatman can charge you anytring between Rs100 to Rs250 (depending on your bargaining skills). Then among the temples I would stronly suggest goign to Sankataji Temple. On fridays, the temple gets over crowded, there is a well in the temple called chandra kupa. Then the famous Durga Kund temple. Inside the temple, apart from teh main deity Ma Chandi, there are also three other deities on the sides of the temple complex. Saraswati, Mahalakshmi and Ma Kali. This is one of the MOST unique Ma Kali partimas I have ever seen. She stands in a defiant tone with her head pointed upwards and her tougue jutting out towards the sky. When I looked at Her, the first thought that came to my mind was to ask for forgiveness. All I could say was Ma kshama karo. Do sit infront of her and pray/meditate/do japa. Then you can hire a car and visit Vindhyachal where there is a famous temple of Ma Vindabashini. This is one of the Shakti Pithas. Its about a couple of hours journery from Kasi in the neighbouring district called Mirzapur. Actually there is so much to write about Kasi, I can go on and on. Just have an open mind from teh time you land in Kasi. Take every experience, good or bad as a gift from the Almighty/Istha Devata and you will surely cherish every bit of your stay there. -Regards Rajarshi The upsurge (of consciousness) is Bhairava - Shiva Sutra--- On Mon, 5/1/09, Amit Trivedi <sonat64 wrote: Amit Trivedi <sonat64Re: A trip to Kasi Date: Monday, 5 January, 2009, 9:25 AM Dear Rajarshi,I was planning to take my parents to Kashi near Makarsankranti, i.e.,January 15.Your post has proven to be very helpful to us.May I request any extra bits of your impressions on the Ghats or other Ashrams which a Devi upasaka( my father-74 Years) would not vibe well with !May Bhagwan Vishwanatha bless us all !Humble regards,Amit --- On Sat, 1/3/09, rajarshi14 <rajarshi14 (AT) (DOT) co.in> wrote: rajarshi14 <rajarshi14 (AT) (DOT) co.in> A trip to KasiSaturday, January 3, 2009, 8:09 PMDear AllFirst of all, wish every one of you a very very wonderful and fullfilling year ahead. Last week I had been on a trip to Kasi. It turned out to be a terrific trip for me. That city has a strange spiritual atmosphere unlike any other place I have been to. Just in case someone is planning on a trip to Kasi any time in the future, do not miss out of the following places/temples apart from the regular temples. The following are lesser know but really powerful places of worship which I came across during my trip last week:1) Chausat Yogini temple in the Chausat ghat. The temple has one idol for the 64 Yoginis and an idol of Ma Kali. 2) Temple of Lord Shiva as Kedareshwar in Kedar Ghat. An amazing temple. 3) Sankata Temple near Schindhia Ghat. 4) Bindu Madhav temple 5) The temple of Gopal where Anandamayi Ma used to worship. 6) Kinnaram Baba's Ashram. There is a dhuni in the ashram which was lit by Kinnaram Baba himself from a funeral pyre and has been burning continuously since then. The deity in Agni Rudra. Regularly wood from the mahasamshan is inserted in the dhuni. Ordinary people are not allowed to give any ahutis in that fire but one can sit close to it and meditate. I felt that ashram to be one of the most powerful places I had ever been to. Just thought of sharing the names of these places I came across during my visit this time. -Regards Rajarshi------------ --------- --------- ------|| Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih || Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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