Himachal Pradesh, the Abode of Mother!

We have been lucky that my career spanning nearly three decades has taken us to many places. India being India, like no other, we have had the opportunity to live (not just visit) in places where snow is through the year; where sands blow into you face carried as they are by winds from the deserts; where rain drops stand as strings of water connecting the Earth to the sky and it appears as through 'Indra' the Lord of Clouds had opened all the taps in the clouds at the same time and forgot to turn them off; and where the forenoon Sun is so fierce that we swipe the bonnet of our car clean and fry eggs on the hood!

And when it comes to temples and spirituality, I wonder if there is any other land in this world as full of mystique as India is. The Adi Shankaracharya, one of the foremost Guru-Philosophers of India who is regarded as an avatar or aspect of Lord Shiva himself, established what we call as Shanmatha or the six forms of worship. Amongst the Ganapadya, Sourya, Koumara, Shiva, Vaishnava and Saktha forms established by Shri Adi Shankara, worship of Shakthi (Saktha) is considered the most pious as this entire creation and cycles of life are said to have originated from the Mother. As in our life, Mother signifies everything and those who worship her as per Saktha traditions are required to follow certain rites that are extremely important. Interestingly, one will notice that in every other form of worship in Hindu belief, there are restrictions as to who can perform the rites and who cannot. There are also restrictions on gender. Women and men have specific rites that are permitted to their gender only. Sakthi worship goes beyond these restrictions. There is no gender based restrictions in Her worship. There is also no restriction as to who can or cannot perform these rites. As a matter of fact, the first wow that a Saktha (worshipper of Sakthi) takes is to NOT differentiate between one human and other based on their color, creed, caste, or belief. The second wow, the saktha takes is to treat everyone as equal in their soul. The third aspect is that the pooja is to be performed strictly as per one's ability and no remorse is to be allowed based on the scale of pooja performed by one or the other. The saktha is also NEVER to make fun or criticize the other peoples faith or mode of worship or their gods. The Mother manifests in everything and every thing is manifested through her. At its finest form, saktha worship demands that ordinary actions of our daily life - eating, walking, sleeping, etc- be dedicated to her so much so that every motion of life and breath becomes her. 'Aatmarpan' is the word.

We keep talking about equality and equitability in our physical life. We also hold Hinduism as full of superstitions and out-of-reality-practices. Those who have such notions must spend some time studying the basic concepts behind Hindu beliefs. We will realize that it actually is not a religion that prescribes and proscribes. It is a dharma that shows you the way and allows you to make choices.

Kangra Devi Brajeshwari Temple

Jwalamukhi Temple

Chamunda Devi Temple

In yet another of our trips across the country, this time we were fortunate to visit four of the Sakthi sthals. These are Jwalaji, Chamunda, Brajeshwari and Chintpurni.

The simple folk, pleasant ambiance, bhakthi that we could reach out and touch and the hospitality of Himachal Tourism Hotel staff made our journey all the more memorable. In fact, we found Himachal Tourism online bookings extremely comfortable and easy. One of the high lights of the trip was a helpful policeman who even walked us to the taxi stand and got us a taxi at reasonable fare!

With five of the Sakthi sthals in Himachal, the region is an important state on the pilgrimage track and our experience of traveling through Himachal convinces us that it is worth the trip.