Author: Jagmohan
Publication: Asian Age
Date: July 10, 2009
URL: http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/opinion/op-ed/to-feel-india's-connect-with-kashmir,-go-to-amarnath-.aspx
Few of the present generation of Indians know
that Swami Vivekananda, accompanied by a couple of his European disciples,
undertook a yatra to the Amarnath shrine from July 28 to August 8, 1898. Sister
Nivedita, an Anglo-Irish social worker and a disciple of Swami Vivekananda,
has left a brief but beautiful account of the journey which shows how significant
this yatra is from the point of view of culture and national integration.
About Swami Vivekananda's experience at the
holy cave, Sister Nivedita has recorded: "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, Swami Vivekananda himself recounted: "I
thought the ice-lingam was Shiva Himself. And there were no thievish Brahmins,
no trade, nothing wrong. It was all worship. I have never seen anything so
beautiful, so inspiring, and enjoyed any religious place so much".
In August 1986, when I was the governor of
Jammu and Kashmir, I travelled on foot, from Chandanwari to the cave, taking
the same route as was taken by Swami Vivekananda and his party. It was a journey
to remember. The route is certainly one of the most enchanting and enthralling
routes in the world. It transmits a feeling of being "upward and divine".
In a state of heightened sublimity and with
his faith fully surcharged and the awe and majesty of the sights around him,
the pilgrim 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".
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 Adi Shankara 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. Thy axe, thy bull, thy earring 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".
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.
The most captivating spot on the route is
the lake of Seshnag. This lake symbolises the cosmic ocean in which Lord Vishnu,
the preserver of this universe, moves, reclining on a seven-headed mythical
snake. After getting refreshed with a bath of ice-cold water of Seshnag, the
pilgrim takes a steep climb to the most difficult spot, Mahagunna (4,350 metres).
Thereafter, a short descent begins to Poshpathan which is covered in wild
flowers. From there, pilgrims move to Panchtarni, a confluence of five mythical
streams, and then to the cave. A strange sense of fulfilment seizes the pilgrims,
and all fatigue is forgotten. Even with temperatures touching zero, the pilgrims
are driven by their faith to take bath in the almost-freezing rivulet of Amravati.
This is what Sister Nivedita has written about
Swami Vivekananda's experience: "With a smile he knelt, first at one
end of the semi-circle, then at the other. The place was vast, large enough
to hold a cathedral, and the great ice-Shiva, in a niche of deepest shadow,
seemed as if throned on its own base. To him, the heavens had opened. He had
touched the feet of Shiva. He had to hold himself tight, he said afterwards,
lest he "should swoon away". But so great was his physical exhaustion,
that a doctor said afterwards that his heart ought to have stopped beating,
and had undergone a permanent enlargement instead. How strangely near fulfilment
had been those words of his Master: "When he realises who and what he
is, he will give up this body!" Afterwards he would often tell of the
overwhelming vision that had seemed to draw him almost into its vertex. He
always said that the grace of Amarnath had been granted to him there, not
to die till he himself should give consent. And to me he said: "You do
not now understand. But you have made the pilgrimage, and it will go on working.
Causes must bring their effects. You will understand better afterwards. The
effects will come".
The significance of the pilgrimage, however,
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 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 1 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 Subrmania 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 30 crore faces, but
her heart is one".
- Jagmohan is a former governor of J&K
and a former Union minister
