Buddha Parikrama

My first brush with Buddha happened when I was just twelve years old, through a lesson in our Hindi textbook. I was not happy with the way he left his wife and newborn son and went to seek answers to his seemingly inane questions. Thus began my quest about Buddha. It has been more than three decades now and my fascination about this great philosopher has turned into deep respect. Some years ago, I met a few people who were also equally intensely charged about Buddha – one of them was a Korean. We decided to travel the Buddha circuit, see and feel all the places visited by Buddha – from Lumbini, where he was born to Kushinagar, where he passed away – though not in the same order.

The long journey began from Delhi by train to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. After visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple, we went to the ghats of the river Ganga.   Buddha came crossing the Ganga to the ghats of Kashi, as it was known then, from Bodh Gaya, after attaining enlightenment, looking for his five companions who had abandoned him earlier. Early morning with the rising sun if you cross the river and go to the other side, from where you get a panoramic view of the ghats … it is not difficult to imagine Buddha walking alone on those sands…

From Varanasi we took a jeep to the nearby city of Sarnath. Rishipattana, the Deer Park, in Sarnath, was where Buddha found his ex-companions. Chaukhandi Stupa marks the spot where he first met them. It is a derelict monument, but once you manage to climb up to the top, you are able to see the Dhamekh Stupa at a diatance. A magnificent monument the sheer size of which makes you feel very small literally and figuratively, Dhamekh Stupa was built by Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha preached Dharmachakraparivartana for the first time to his five followers and started the sangha.

In the came complex, Dharmarajika Stupa, now in ruins, marks the site where Buddha gave his first sermon. Remains of a massive Ashokan pillar mark the exact location. And Mulgandhakuti Vihara is the place where Buddha meditated during the monsoons. It enshrines the relics found in Taxila. Suddenly the realisation hit us that we have entered the world of Buddha. The peace, the monks… there was a certain sanctity in the whole environment.

Our next halt was at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. Known as Uruvela earlier, it is situated on the banks of river Phalgu (ancient Niranjana). On the banks of the river, under the Bodhi tree, for 49 days Buddha sat facing the east, till he attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya jolted us back to the present, with its beggars accosting the tourists, pavements spilling over with vendors selling rosaries, incense, Buddha images et al. The roadside dhabas selling chai-pakoras were no different from any tourist spot.

A little away from the main city, in the Pragbodhi caves, on the Brahmayoni hill, Buddha practiced severe austerities for 6 years. After which Sujata, the daughter of the village chief of Senani, offered him a bowl of kheer. Sujata’s village, her house, are not a part of the regular tourist circuit, so not very many people get to see them. We were lucky to have a Professor of Buddhist studies as a guide taking us to these beautiful spots where as we listened to him telling us the story of Sujata, we could actually feel the presence of Buddha. After all it was here that he became Buddha!

The famous Mahabodhi temple in the city of Bodh Gaya has seven spots within its precincts, including the Bodhi tree, which are sacred because Buddha spent a week each here, soon after his enlightenment. The Bodhi tree here is said to have been planted from a sapling from the original tree – under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The entire temple complex seems like a small monastery, with monks all over, praying, chanting, meditating… the vibrations make you sit, and if not pray, just watch the others praying – and suddenly you realise that you have begun praying too.

Overcoming the temptation of revisiting the Mahabodhi temple, after having being there twice already in a day, we set out for Rajgir. The roads, or lack of them, reminded us constantly that we were in Bihar. Indiscriminate stopping of vehicles on the roads by lathi-weilding villagers got scary at times. But then we had two hard-core Biharis with us who were adept in handling such unpleasant situations. Known as Rajgriha back then, Rajgir was the capital of Bimbisara. After renouncing his royal heritage, Siddhartha came to this city first seeking salvation. Bimbisara offered half of his kingdom to him if he stayed back. Siddhartha declined promising to return after getting enlightened. He did that.

Rajgir the city was not as commercial as Bodh Gaya and neither as dirty, but again there was a pervading sense of unease in the evening and night. We had a security guard with us throughout our brief stay. In the rock cut caves of the Griddhakuta hill, in Rajgir, Buddha spent many rainy seasons meditating. Here he preached the Lotus Sutra and the Wisdom Sutra. Here Devadutta tried to kill him by hurling a boulder at him; and also by sending a mad elephant to him. Close by is Jivakamravana vihara, a mango grove presented to the Buddha by Jivaka, the royal physician. Only ruins remain indicating the existence of a monastery once. The only pace in Rajgir where one gets transported back to Buddha is Venuvana vihara, a bamboo grove, where Buddha used to bathe in the Karanda tank. After Buddha attained mahaparinirvana, the first Buddhist council was held in Rajgir to codify his teachings.

Our next halt was Nalanda, the most renowned university of ancient India. Buddha came here often and stayed at Setthi Pavarika’s mango grove. Sariputra, one of Buddha’s very close disciples, attained nirvana here. To call the ruins of Nalanda impressive would be grossly understating the fact. They told us that besides what can be seen today, there is a lot more still unexcavated at Nalanda. Standing atop the ruins of one of the hostels in the Nalanda campus, hearing that in its heydays a hundred subjects were taught here to students from all over the world was a proud moment indeed. Our Korean friend was busy clicking photographs. But it was not possible to capture the magnitude of the fact that once hundreds of students were living and studying here, in a well-planned, well-designed university campus. We felt blessed in being a part of such glorious heritage.

Situated on the banks of Ganga, Patna, once known as Pataliputra, was our next destination. Ajatashatru built a fort here, which the Buddha saw in his last days and prophesied that the city would always be threatened by fire, flood and feud. The ruins of the city are seen in Kumrahar. The remains are housed in the Patna museum. Unfortunately nobody seemed to have the time or inclination towards Buddha even in the museum. Politics is all that one gets in the city, again with the warning not to venture out alone in the night.

With much relief, we headed towards Vaishali. The vast stretches of fields overflowing with vegetables all through the drive took away the discomfort of broken roads to a great extent. Because of being a part of the Ganga basin, Bihar happens to be a very fertile state. Buddha taught Ratna Sutra in Vaishali and women were ordained in the sangha for the first time here, starting from Buddha’s foster-mother Gautami. At Kutagarshala vihara, Buddha gave his last discourse, and declared the imminent mahaparinirvana. Ashoka has built a Stupa to mark the spot. Vaishali is also known for Amrapali, the famous courtesan, who invited Buddha to her house. Amvara, the neighbouring village, is the site of her mango grove dwelling. She gifted it to the sangha and joined the order herslf. This was the best part of the trip for me as I felt a strong sense of déjà vu… so much so that I guided the guide through the thicket along a mud track right upto the point where Amrapali lived. A well is there where her house must have been once. Needless to say that the guide was suitably impressed, as this spot is not a part of the regular tourist circuit, so very few people know of it. Buddha’s favourite disciple, Ananda attained nirvana on the outskirts of Vaishali. A hundred years after Buddha’s passing away, the second Buddhist council was also held in Vaishali.

We left Bihar at Vaishali and entered Uttar Pradesh in Kushinagar. Kushinara, as it was known then, was the place selected by Buddha for his mahaparinirvana. After his last sermon at Vaishali, he came here. On the way he stopped at Pava, where Chunda, a metalsmith, gave him his last meal. On a bed, prepared by Ananda, under two Sal trees, Buddha attained mahaparinirvana. The Mahaparinirvana temple enshrines a statue in that posture. On the seventh day after the mahaparinirvana, Mahakashyap lighted the funeral pyre at Mukutabandha vihara. Remains of the stupa can be seen. In fact more than the Mahaparinirvana temple, it is here at this stupa that one gets a sense of peace and a strong desire to meditate.

Kushinagar is close to the Indo-Nepal border and we crossed it to reach Lumbini in Nepal. There is a custom check at the border, so it is advised not to carry much luggage with you. We stepped across the border straight into a sardarji’s dhaba to have a breakfast of choley-bhature! Lumbini is the sacred site of Buddha’s birth. A temple complex houses the tank where Mahamaya had her bath before delivery. The Sal tree and the sacred stone slab are present at the exact location. Ashoka erected a pillar, Rummendei pillar, to mark the place. Hardly any tourists are seen here. The locals come to the tree and seek its blessings and when their wishes are granted they come back to tie a flag on it. None of them seemed Buddhists.

Back to Uttar Pradesh, this time to Kapilavastu. Buddha spent the first three decades of his life here. Ruins of the palace can still be seen. We spent some time roaming about the ruins, imagining the grandeur that young Siddhartha must have left behind… so powerful must have been his urge to find the truth…

Our last stop was at Sravasti, near Kushinagar. It was the annual monsoon retreat of Buddha for 25 years. Jetavana vihara built by Sudatta, contains the ruins of Anandakuti and Gandhakuti, where Buddha stayed and expounded the major part of the Tripitakas. The vast lawns of the vihara and the ruins transpose you yet again to Buddha. A few monks scattered here and there complete the picture. It was in Sravasti that Buddha performed the miracle of levitating on a thousand petalled lotus, causing fire and water to leap out of his body and multiplying in the air, in response to a challenge from six non-believers.

We were back to Kushinagar to catch a train for Delhi; tired physically yet refreshed mentally.

Sweet Smelling Solutions

We were living in England and I was suffering from a chronic backache compounded by chronic fatigue and going through a kind of vicious cycle – one problem leading to the other and vice versa. Being married to an allopath had its advantages of receiving full medical attention, but I guess my problems were very stubborn and would just not get resolved. So I took a break and flew to London for a weekend to visit my aunt. Without wasting any time she pushed me to go in for aromatherapy sessions.

So my first meeting with an aromatherapist took place in a lilac-coloured room in southwest London. Christine Westwood had practised aromatherapy for three years, having trained under Robert Tisserand. She was also on the council of the International Federation of Aromatherapists, the governing body of aromatherapists in UK setting standards for various training schools.

Her treatment began with a questionnaire on my physical condition and diet and then followed a refreshing massage. The sessions began with a thorough back massage using geranium and bergamot oils, an uplifting combination – good for anxiety (and oily skin). Concentrating on my back she pinpointed a very knotty area where stress had apparently been building up for some time – areas where the muscles had absorbed stress turned very tender during the massage. Face down on the massage table; she put me through what can only be described as a physically refreshing and mentally uplifting experience.

Although Marguerite Maury and her husband, a homeopath, developed the modern practice of aromatherapy in Europe, after World War II, its origins lie in the annals of most ancient cultures and traditions. Combinations of resins, oils and fragrant plants were used in various forms for ceremonial, medicinal, or pleasurable reasons in most ancient civilizations. Aromatherapy (as it is today) was actually stumbled upon at the beginning of this century when a French chemist named Rene-Maurice Gattefosse plunged his scalded hand into some lavender oil that lay nearby and found that the pain of the burn was eased. Because he experienced almost instantaneous pain relief followed by rapid healing of the burn, he carried out research on wounded soldiers during World War I. Gattefosse’s research revealed that essential oils could penetrate the skin and via extracellular fluids reach the blood and lymph, which then transports them to the internal organs. In fact the modern term ‘Aromatherapy’ was coined in 1928 by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse. Decades later, another French medical doctor Jean Valnet, inspired by Gattefosse’s research, published his own work in 1964, The Practice of Aromatherapy. In 1977, Robert Tisserand released his book The Art of Aromatherapy and was successful in capturing American interest in this ancient healing art. Through Valnet’s, Tisserand’s, and other scientists’ work of the current era, the healing science of Aromatherapy began to be more widely known in the West.

However, Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine, has been practiced for more than 3000 years and incorporates aromatic massage as one of its main lifestyle aspects. It is used to strengthen and rejuvenate the body, as well as therapeutically to detoxify it. Aromatic massage helps balance the body and mind, by increasing circulation to bring more nutrition to the cells and helping to remove metabolic wastes and toxins built up in the system. Essential oils used in the ayurvedic massage depend on the person’s type (prakriti) and the ailment s/he is suffering from.

Aromatherapy is more of a complementary than alternative therapy. It detoxifies the body, increases blood circulation, and boosts the immune system and the lymphatic system. The release of stress allows the body’s own healing process to begin. These essential oils can be massaged into the skin, added to bath water or vapourised in an oil burner, to produce a wide range of therapeutic effects in complaints ranging from all kinds of aches and pains and skin disorders (like eczema) to poor circulation, digestive problems, rheumatism, sinusitis, insomnia and depression.

Essential oils are the odoriferous substance in the roots, leaves, flowers, bark and resin of plants. Some plants contain several types of essential oils. The orange tree, for example, has one kind of oil in the flowers, another in the leaves and a different one in the fruits. Some oils are clear, others lightly coloured ranging from pink to brown, green to yellow. The main constituents of oils are alcohol, aldehydes, acids, esters and acetone. Any essential oil that is not pure and has been treated in any way should be avoided, as its action will be different from that of the pure oil. In addition, there would be an increased chance of allergic reactions to such oils. All essential oils are easily damaged by light and should be kept in dark bottles. It takes about one tonne of rose petals to make one kilo of essence, which makes the essential oils used in aromatherapy extremely precious and invariably expensive.

Most oils fall into three categories: Top ones, which are the fastest acting and most stimulating and uplifting to mind and body (basil and eucalyptus), middle ones, which are moderately volatile and affect the functions of the body such as digestion and menstruation (geranium and juniper), and the base ones, which are slower to evaporate and the most sedating and relaxing (myrrh and sandalwood).

When inhaled, essential oils affect our bodies in several ways. The essential oil component molecules enter the nasal passages where they stimulate the olfactory nerve. This sends messages directly into the limbic system. The limbic system, located in the brain, is the seat of memory, learning and emotion. The inhalation of the essential oils triggers changes within the limbic system which in turn can stimulate physiological responses within the body via the nervous, endocrine or immune systems. I remember my grandmother putting muslin pieces dipped in sandalwood oil under my pillow before my exams, to relieve me from nervousness.

Local application of diluted oils on various points is also effective. It provides relaxation (muscular) as well as a physiological action through the nervous system. In addition, when applied topically, essential oils can exhibit anti-microbial, antiseptic, anti-fungal, or anti-inflammatory properties.

In a therapy session, the aromatherapist will first have a chat to find out about your state of mind, current dietary and exercise habits and any physical problems. Treatment may take the form of inhalation, where a few drops of oil are put in a bowl of boiling water and the healing vapours are inhaled. But generally, the treatment is in the form of massage. The oil is diluted and massaged into the problem area. Once having decided on the blend of essential oils the therapist will massage areas of your body, mostly in regions of the head, including the face, back and feet. The massage has to be performed on bare skin. Tiny quantities of the oils are mixed with a pure vegetable oil, which is then massaged into the skin. Due to the highly penetrative nature of the skin, the oils reach the small blood capillaries in the dermis layer of the skin and begin their action. The parts of the body untouched are covered with thick towels. A course of treatment may require between 10 to 50 sessions.

Different oils are used for different physical and emotional problems and the aromatherapist usually employs a blend of two to three oils to suit the individual’s specific problem. A few of the popular aromatherapy oils are: Peppermint for digestive disorders; Rosemary for muscular pains and as a mental stimulant; Sandalwood for depression, anxiety and nervous tension; and Lavender for headaches, insomnia, burns, aches and pains.

Somehow as I am growing older, and studying more and more about the various alternative therapies, I tend to remember my grandmother – she had a therapy for every ailment! It seems I will spend the rest of my life trying to understand the science behind her prescriptions…

Social Anxiety

As a professional dancer, Seema has performed before audiences of hundreds or even thousands and never felt self-conscious. But this same woman gets tongue-tied and shy when it comes to doing something simple like making a telephone call - that she hovers around the phone for hours trying to work up her nerve to dial. “I am convinced that the other person may ask me something I don’t know,” she explains.

Seema suffers from ‘social anxiety’. It is an extreme form of shyness or self-consciousness, which is often irrational. Social anxiety can be broadly divided into four basic categories. Performance anxiety is one which a person faces while appearing on stage or speaking in public. Status anxiety arises out of shying away from authority figures, celebrities or people who are especially well dressed or attractive. Attention anxiety refers to a situation where a person feels that he or she is getting too much or too little attention in a particular situation. Crowd anxiety makes a person nervous about ceremonies like weddings, funerals, formal parties or simply being amidst a certain group of people.

There is evidence from studies that shyness may be genetic to some extent. So psychologists have consequently begun to think in terms of two categories of social anxiety. The ‘disposition’ or genetic variety, which shows up very early in life, appears equally in boys and girls. It is likely to manifest itself physiologically (racing heartbeats, sweating, upset stomach, blushing), and can also be kept under control with deep-breathing exercises. The ‘cognitive’ variety, which appears at adolescence, is more common among girls, and usually manifests itself in thoughts, for example “they must be thinking I’m stupid”.

It is believed that parents can help by not labelling their children as ‘shy’ (and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy). Parents should encourage their children to take interest in performing arts, as it helps to nip the cognitive social anxiety in the bud - the more drama, dance and movement they do, the less self-conscious they feel.

The psychiatry department of the University of Pennsylvania has pioneered the ‘homework’ approach for the socially anxious. The idea is to get the person to pay attention to the actual situation that they are in, not to their cognitive distortion of that situation. Clients are given assignments to tackle potentially upsetting situations, such as striking up a conversation with an attractive person in a bar. The therapist may even accompany the client to the bar – and then provide the client with a reality check, forcing him or her to evaluate whether the person at the bar has really said something to indicate a lack of interest in the client, or whether the rejection is all in the client’s head.

Similarly, a person with anxiety about public speaking might be videotaped and then asked to watch it. In many cases, the person is in fact more poised than she or he imagines, and even where they are not, it is important to get them to realise that one does not have to be totally charismatic and in control of every situation.

Idyllic Ibiza

Unbelievable! That’s how our friends reacted when we told them what we felt about Ibiza. They maintained that Ibiza is a place for the young, for those who love clubbing, dance, music and the works… not for us! I totally disagree.

Ibiza has two sides to it – one, the laid-back daytime one, and the other, partying nightlife one – both endless.

Ibiza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea, reachable by regular flights and ferries. I had read somewhere that you don’t get to see many Indians in Ibiza, but that turned out to be a fallacy as well. In our flight from Barcelona, there were two ‘honeymoon’ couples and a large Gujarati family, all set to enjoy their holidays, just like us.

We hired a car from Ibiza airport and drove down to the city, to the apartment that we had booked for three days on Figueretas Beach. There are plenty of apartment blocks on hire and add to the charm of the place – walking through the beach to buy the essentials, rustling up a quick hot meal to eat in the balcony overlooking the sea, the sound of the waves lulling you to sleep in the night… need I go on!

The beaches

The first day we just explored the nearby area – strolling on the endless stretch of Figueretas Beach bordered by a palm fringed promenade, listening to the birds and the surf through the setting sun. The promenade comes alive with eateries and handicraft stalls in the evening. The weather was clear and we could have a great view of the old walled town of Dalt Villa from the beach.

On feeling tired, we just walked into a beachside eatery to have dinner. Though the place is known for its seafood, my husband being a vegetarian, we opted for sautéed Mediterranean vegetables. The Sangria was great – I had no reason to complain! (Sangria is a Spanish drink made with wine, cut fruits and a dash of brandy.)

Have car, will drive! That’s what my husband felt and we started off on a long exploratory drive the next day. The weather was pleasant with occasional drizzle and cool wind. The drive through the rural landscape of hills, bays and cliffs, and lush green fields dotted with quaint whitewashed houses, was nowhere close to the impression one carries about Ibiza! We started with Las Salinas in the south and drove on to Cala Boix in the east. The beaches were empty because of the weather, but we enjoyed walking on the brown sands listening to the roaring waves. Incidentally, the brownish colour of sand here is because of the Pine needles covering its cliffs. We had a lovely freshly baked Pizza accompanied by Patatas Bravas in the beachside cafe of Benirras beach in the north.

The heritage

Having gotten rid of the driving bug from our system, we decided to explore the main Ibiza town the next day on foot.

Although better known as Spain’s hippest party destination, Ibiza is also known for its UNESCO World Heritage Dalt Villa, a fortified town that rises to a dizzying height on the sun bleached cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Cutting across the main town, we climbed up the steep cobbled street, crossed the drawbridge and entered through a huge gate into the fascinating old world charm of Ibiza’s ancient capital. We needed plenty of puff to climb, but it was well worth the hike. There were plenty of places on the way to stop and refuel ourselves! Amidst the winding alleys, Dalt Villa (means High Town) has remnants of medieval walls, traces of Moorish and Carthaginian fortifications, impregnable monolithic ramparts topped by a whitewashed cathedral. Gothic buildings overhanging the cobbled stone courtyards, lively cafes and shops with the local craftspeople exhibiting their wares, added to the charm. The spectacular view from the high terraces was a bonus! We ended our day with a hearty meal of Paella and Escalivada.

Trudging back to our apartment, we were tired but happy. The next morning, while driving back to the airport, we planned our next trip to Ibiza…this time with our friends!

When to go:

Ibiza’s clubbing season runs from early June to early October. October to April is the best time for a quiet holiday.

A Long Drive... To Manali

Whenever we need a break from our hectic work schedules in Delhi, we look towards the nearby mountains - any place that would be drivable by car and would be free from city sounds.

This time we headed towards the Kullu Manali region in Himachal Pradesh. We started off at 5 o’clock in the morning, with our cars loaded with, apart from our luggage, lots of food and water. Our first halt (for breakfast) was after Chandigarh, at a wayside restaurant (there are quite a few with clean toilets on the way – look out for Verka milk booths for good milk and milk products). Leaving Ropar and Bilaspur behind, we took the lunch break at Mandi, a quaint town located at the junction of Kullu and Kangra valleys. They say that there are around 80 temples in this town!

  

The best part of the drive is through the Kullu valley itself, with the Beas river flowing alongside, through the lush green mountains with occasional snow peaks peeping from behind the distant ranges.

We reached Manali at 5pm after the 12-hour drive. The journey was tiring, no doubt, but on reaching our cottage, the breath-taking view of the snow-clad mountains made us forget the aches and pains of the long drive. The waiting cups of steaming hot tea also helped!

  

Exploring Manali

The next day we went down to explore the town. A walk down the Mall road was very refreshing and appetizing as the range of cuisine being offered was amazing, from Italian, Israeli, Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan to German and the veritable Continental. This was besides the regular Punjabi, Gujarati, Mughlai, South Indian and the chaat pakori for people like me.

   

For the shoppers, there were Tibetan goods, local hand knitted woolens, Buddhist items, Kashmiri embroidered clothing, Kullu shawls, caps and a lot of chunky jewellery and knick knacks found in every hill station and in Delhi’s Jan Path as well.

Beyond the Mall is the Hadimba Temple, a four storeyed pagoda like structure built in 1553, dedicated to Hadimba, the demon wife of Bhima (one of the Pandava brothers). The legend here says that Bhima married Hadimba here after killing her cannibal brother Hadimb. Hadimba is considered to be an incarnation of goddess Kali, and the image worshipped in this temple is a huge footprint of hers.

  

About 3 km north of the Mall is the old Manali. It is said that after the great pralaya (flood) Manu first stepped on the land at this place. Manali is also Manu-alaya or Manu’s home. There is a temple dedicated to Manu here, perhaps the only one in India.

 

Getting Adventurous

Our children booked the next day for adventurous activities. There were options of rafting on the Beas and paragliding. The children chose the latter. About 15 km north of Manali is the Solang Valley, where we went for paragliding. The children enjoyed the exhilarating experience and I was happy chatting with the Gujarati tourists.

 

We could not leave Manali without visiting Rohtang. Because of the heavy snow in that region the road to Rohtang Pass was damaged, so we could only go till Marrhi. There were snow slopes and we had to wear fur coats, boots and gloves (which one could rent). We could ski or just slide down the slopes on sleds. The enterprising village folk had set up Tea stalls serving hot tea and bread pakoras. Total fun!

 

The next day we packed up and left Manali, heading for Rewalsar. On the way, we took a break for lunch at the picturesque little village of Nagger, 13 km south of Manali. It has a Nagger castle, built 500 years ago, now converted into a hotel. What enticed me here was the Roerich Gallery, about 1 ½ km from the castle, exhibiting paintings by Nicholas and his son Svetoslav Roerich. The ground floor of the cottage is the gallery and the first floor, the living quarters of the Roerichs. Peeping through the glass windows, observing their belongings, one could sense the strong bond they felt for this place. Their glowing landscapes and mountainscapes tell the rest!

The journey to Rewalsar was tough, as the roads kept on winding and climbing at the same time. The glimpses of snow-clad ranges were a help though, in breaking the monotony of the drive.

Perfect Ending

The Revalsar Lake is located well into the hills, so much so, that we could glimpse it only when we actually reached it. It was well worth the spinning drive! After quickly checking into the H.P tourism hotel, we freshened up and promptly came out to explore the place. The township surrounds the lake, which we decided to circumambulate.

Rewalsar is considered holy by the Buddhists because Padmasambhava started his journey to Tibet from here. He is credited for introducing Buddhism to Tibet. A beautiful monastery is dedicated to him here.

This place is holy to Hindus, because it is said that Lomas Rishi did tapasya here to please Lord Shiva, who in turn gave him seven lakes in this region including Rewalsar. These lakes are said to be formed by the waters of Ganga and Yamuna. Next to the monastery are three temples dedicated to Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and Lomas Rishi.

Carry on walking and one comes across a large gurudwara dedicated to the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh who is said to have spent a lot of time at this lake.

  

No wonder the place had such immensely soothing vibrations… a place where you do not require to meditate consciously, meditation happens!

After spending the night, we headed towards Delhi the next morning, promising to come back again. Such trips not only act as de-stressors, but somehow act as humbling experiences as well.