Kailash Mansarovar story

Truly blessed is one who gets a call from within to visit the place where philosophers, holy sages and even Gods got submerged in a blissful trance. A visit to the most sacred “Theerta Sthaan” – The Kailash Manasarovar is truly a divine experience for all devotees.  The place itself radiates spiritual energy and if your mind is at peace the entire experience will be enthralling and blissful. Only the ordained can embark on a holy and spiritual yatra to Kailash Manasarovar. 

This place is significantly important for four religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon. There are many interesting facts and stories associated with this divine place which will throw light on why one is blessed to take up the Kailash Manasarovar yatra.

Facts about the Kailash Manasarovar 

Mount Kailash also known as Gang Rinpoche by the Tibetans is a peak in the Kailas Range or Gangdise mountains which is a part of the Transhimalaya in Tibet. This sacred and holy place is revered by the Buddhists, Hindus and Jains.   Kailash in Sanskrit means ‘crystal’. The Tibetan name signifies 'Treasure or Saint of Snow Mountain'. 

Significance of Kailash Manasarovar

The Kailash Manasarovar has a great religious significance in the four religions- Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Bon.

Hinduism

The Hindus believe that Lord Shiva resides with his wife Parvati in this legendary mountain. He sits in a perpetual state of meditation. In Hinduism, the Kailash Mountain is also synonymous with his power symbol ‘Om’. The Vishnu Purana, states that the four faces of the mountain are made up of crystal, gold, lapis lazuli/sapphire and ruby. The Kalpa Viruksha tree (the celestial tree) is also believed to adorn the slope. 

The mountain is linked with the history of the Ramayana. In order to revive the dead and injured soldiers of Prince Rama who were fighting the Rakshasa army of Ravana in Lanka, the mighty monkey ally of Rama, Hanuman was sent to fetch the ‘Sanjeevani’ medicinal herb which restores life from Mt. Kailas. Unable to recognize the plant, Lord Hanuman picked up the mountain and brought to Lanka. Once the herbs were collected, it is said that Hanuman intending to restore it to its original place, tossed the mountain back in the direction of the Himalayan range. But, as it was tossed from a great distance, it landed lopsidedly and some of the snow dropped into Tibet and it is now called Tise (Mt. Kailas). 

Jainism

The Jains refer to the mountain as Meru Parvat or Sumeru. It is here that the first Jain Tirthankara or leader, Rishabhadeva attained ‘Nirvana/Moksha’ meaning liberation or enlightenment.

Buddhism

According to Buddhism, Mount Kailash is the abode of the enlightened soul ‘Buddha’ who represents supreme bliss. For Buddhists it is the place of Chakrasamvara or Demchog. They also believe it to be the navel of the universe. 

Bon

In Bon religion which is similar to Buddhism it is considered to be the home of the Sky goddess ‘Sipaimen’. It is believed that this is a mystical region and the Swastika Mountain is the seat of all spiritual power. 

It is also believed that Guru Nanak meditated here. 

The mountain lies near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal and is the Kailash-Manasarovar region is the source of the Holy Rivers like Indus, Tsangpo/Brahmaputra, Karnali and Sutletj.

Manasarovar

The Manasarovar Lake is considered to be the source of all creations. Manas means ‘mind of Lord Brahma’ and according to the Hindu mythology, Brahma the Swayambu created this lake for meditation. In Sanskrit the lake is called "Manasa sarovaram", which is a combination of the words ‘Manasa’ i.e. mind and ‘sarovaram’ meaning lake. It is also supposed to be the summer abode of the sacred Hamsa goose which represents beauty and wisdom. Situated at a height of 4560m the lake is amongst the highest fresh water body in the world. It is also believed that between 3 to 5 am which is referred to as ‘Brahmamuhurtha’, the Gods come to bathe every morning in this lake. The lake is believed to contain the essence of all the Vedas. It is also the place of holy ceremonial bath wherein oblations are offered to the ancestors.  

Buddhists believed that Queen Maya was given a bath by the Gods in this lake before she gave birth to Lord Buddha.

Raghukul holidays has been taking many yatris on a pilgrimage to this divine place which is a once in a life time rewarding and blissful experience. One is sure to achieve inner-peace and good fortune by the holy ritual of ‘Parikrama’ or circumambulating Mount Kailash on foot and prostrating full-length. The Holy Scriptures state that one who takes a holy dip in the Manasarovar and carries single set of parikrama around the mountain is said to wash away sins of a lifetime and 108 such parikramas will help in achieving Nirvana or Moksha i.e., salvation(no rebirth). 

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Rakshas Tal - The Lake of the Demon !!!

Rakshas Tal

The yearning to be at their master’s feet makes people do unimaginable things. It did that to the might Dravidian Demon King Lankapati Ravana.

It all started when the headstrong, Egoistic Ravana’s mother fell ill and wanted to be near the lord of Mt Kailasa. Not wanting to disturb his ailing mother, the demon king tried to uproot the mountain with the Lord and his consort and take them away to his kingdom in Lanka. From available materials including stone depictions, it becomes obvious that Devi Parvati was scared and clung to the Lord. Shiva, the calm one, as always, kept calm but was not quiet. He pushed Mt Kailash into the ground with his toe and managed to trap the demon king there. 

Realization dawned in Ravana after eons of lying under the mountain that he had met his match if not his Lord. Thus enlightened, he sought the Lord’s blessings through sever penance for which he formed this beautiful though enigmatic waterbody people call “Rakshas Taal”. On the banks of this lake this Managyani (yes, the ten head signify this and not that he was a deformity!) did everything possible to please the god including cutting one of his heads every day till the Lord finally relented!

How could the Lord not relent in the face of such relentless penance! Not only did the Lord give his disciple “darshan”, he also gave him a part of him, his lingum to place in the latter’s kingdom to signify the Lord’s presence.

That was as far as folk-lore goes. Reality too is just as colorful. Covering an expanse of 70 square kilometers at an altitude of 4,752 metres (15,591 ft), Lake Rakshastal or La Nga Co lies to the west of Lake Manasarovar and Mt. Kailash. In dimension, it is slightly smaller than its more know neighnour.

The difference though does not end at size. In stark contrast to the lively Manasarovar which is a fresh water lake, Rakshas Taal’s water is brackish. Marine life or life otherwise, is thus not comparable to Manasarovar. Rakshas Tal then has an eerie, silent beauty to it with a beautiful and majectic deep blue hue. 

Once part of the adjoining Manasarovar lake which may have been an inland sea, plate tectonics played the role in separating it with only small channel called Ganga Chhu connecting them. This happened when the earth mass of Gondwanaland rammed into the Eurasian Plate to the norh millions of years back.

Some interesting facts about this lake. Firstly, despite the water being brakish, it is the source of one of the most important rivers in India, Satluj. Secondly, Manasarovar despite its pre-eminent position does not receive any water directly from Mt Kailash, Rakshas Tal does. There is an interesting myth behind the 2nd phenomenon. Apparently, Mt Kailash is the abode of not only of Lord Shiva or Mahadev but also of Kuber, the God of Wealth and prosperity, who not many know, is the half-brother of non other than Lankeshwara, King Ravana. Well, even to the Gods, blood certainly is being thicker than devotion!

Given that most people visit Manasarovar out of piety and devotion, not many find this sister lake with a colorful story interesting enough. But that may be changing as the profile of people visiting this part of the world is also changing.

From Pune if you intend doing the Kailash Manasarovar yatra 2014, there are more than one option though it is advisable to use seasoned travel assistance like Raghukul Holidays to take you to not only for the Kailash Parikrama but also take you to lesser know though no less significant places en route. After all, experience does help!

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Please feel free to post your comments below.

About Author :- Amit Kulkarni is the founder of Raghukul Holidays.

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What is it that pulls people to the Kailash Parikrama?

Kailash Parikrama

To the religious amongst the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bons, the place calls you. The Almight commands and you HAVE to go! Period. To the rest, it the sheer sense of adventure which brings them to Kailash Mansarovar. Doing the Kailash Parikrama tests one’s endurance to its limits as also the sense of devotion!

 

Those of you who intend to make this journey, there are varied tour operators in India as also Pune. Try doing a reliability test on these before committing yourself. This is no walk-in-the-park activity and needs a humongous amount of preparation what with the entire area of Kaliash Manasarovar and Kailesh Parikrama being in a disputed territory and that too in a country sharing not exactly very friendly relations with India. Raghukul Holidays of Pune is one such reliable tour operator with requisite experience. 

Location of Mount Kailash is also very interesting. Mt Kailash stands at 6638 meters above sea level in a plateau region of Tibet Autonomous Region coming under China. Its location on the map shows its proximity with India being about 200 kilometers by foot. The Kailash Parikrama itself is another 55-60 kms. In itself, Mt Kailash is quite a quirk of nature. It stands tallest on a high, windy, dry and desolate plateau which is devoid of any kind of vegetation. No trees for miles together. On the plateau, you get to see two things, rugged mountains….and Mt Kailash standing majestically in the backdrop. It does have a weird pyramid-like shape with all kinds of theories about its origins. 

The circumambulation of this mountain known in India as “Kailash Parikrama” takes 55-60 kilometers and has to be done only on foot. Means like vehicles, ponies, yak etc do not figure- at least as far as the parikrama goes. It takes approximately 3 days of walking/ trekking to make one round of Mt Kailash. Starting from a height of approx 15,000 ft (4,600 m) past the Tarboche (flagpole) to cross the Drölma pass at 18,200 ft (5,500 m), and encamping for two nights en route. First, near the meadow of Dirapuk gompa, some 2 to 3 km (1.2 to 1.9 mi) before the pass and second, after crossing the pass and going downhill as far as possible.

One thing everyone should know clearly is that doing this parikrama is very, very touch and challenging. One is pitted against nature’s worst in terms of extreme climate, thin air and treacherous terrain. You can reach the base of the mountain by mechanized means such as jeeps but to be able to go around it is another story. There are no roads and one has to trek through high mountain passes situated at a great height making breathing an excruciatingly difficult exercise. But then, to gain the presence of the almighty, you have to give up something which may be your precious time, efforts and resources. 

Go right ahead. Plan, execute and be blessed because it happens only once in a lifetime that you get to visit the almighty- ALIVE! 

Sources :-

1) Wikipedia

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Please feel free to post your comments below.

About Author :- Amit Kulkarni is the founder of Raghukul Holidays.

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Where is Kailash Mansarovar situated ???

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

The Kailash-Mansarovar area is part of in the south-western tip of the Tibetean Plateau. In a way, it is on the leeway side of the himalayas on the other side. If one were to put a straight line from New Delhi to Kailash Manasarovar, it would be just 550 kms! But then, only crows and eagles would be able to tread this path. For us humans, given the tough terrain, heights and frosty political climate, the distance is much more- approx 900 kms. These days, though there are organizations which take guided tours for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra taking good care of the participants.

 

The kailash parikrama or circumambulation of the Kailas Parvat is about 54 kms.

Mt Kailash, revered amongst Hindus as the abode of Rudra, the angry though benevolent and his consort Devi Parvati, overlooks the Mansarovar at a distance of 32 kms with the Rakshas Tal to its south. 

Mount Kailash is a peak in the Kailash Range, part of the Trans-himalaya in Tibet.

With its four facades facing north, east, south, and west, Mount Kailash looks like an enormous diamond. Seventy-five percent as high as Mount Everest, the mountain is one of the tallest peaks in the Himalayas. On its southern face, a vertical gash crosses horizontal layers, creating the image of a swastika. The word comes from svastika, Sanskrit for well-being and good fortune. Buddhists regard the mountain as a mandala -— the sacred circle from which the sacred rivers flow like the spokes of the eternal wheel. At sunset the whole of the Kailash range on the north becomes a fiery region all of a sudden, throwing an observer into a trance, and by the time he returns to consciousness he sees only the Silvery Peak in front.

 

Manasa-sarovara is probably the holiest, most enchanting amongst lakes, water bodies and pilgrimages. For its size, it is majestically calm and dignified with hues of bluish green emerald color. It is set between two mighty and equally majestic mountains, the Kailash to the north and the Gurla Mandhata to the south. To its west is its sister lake Rakshas-Tal with some hills to the east. Manasarovar is located at an impossible height of approx 46000 meters (14950 feet). above sea level. Its vast expanse covers an area close to 90 kms in circumference and an are close to 320 sq kms with a crazy depth of approx 90 meters! Ie approx 300 feet!! Winters turns this whole water body into a solid block of ice. Come spring and it melts to reveal clear blue waters. It has the distinction of being the highest fresh water lake in the world. By the side of it, there are caves and areas where one can set camp. 

         During the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, weather overall is unpredictable most of the year round. One moment you have scorching Sun, the next moment it begins to hail and snow and shortly after having a nap and coming out of your camp, you will see a clear blue sky and bright Sun above and a bed of pearl-like hail and white snow on the ground.

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 Summers (May to August) are very pleasant with moderate climate, with average around 15°C.

·          Monsoons (September to November) are accompanied with little rain falls and also             temperature drops down to 10°C.

·         Winters (December to April) are chilly days with average minimum touching near 5°C. Minimum can touch sub zero levels to -15°C. Snow falls often during winters.

In winter all mountains and river lakes are frozen and covered with snow, so the time of yatra is from May to September. Indian pilgrims visit from June to September in 16 batches. (30-40 in every batch). In Pune, there are but a few seasoned operators Raghukul Holidays which take regular batches for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Selected people go through medical tests and other formalities before they do yatra in their batches.

Sources :-

1) Wikipedia

2) Adishakti

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Please feel free to post your comments below.

About Author :- Amit Kulkarni is the founder of Raghukul Holidays.

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Mount Kailash - Rudra's Abode

Mount Kailash

An Arabic saying goes - Muhammad (the Prophet) does not go to the mountain. The mountain goes to Muhammad. 

In a weirdly similar way, one does not go to Mt Kailash. It calls you. Standing at a majestic 6,638 meters above sea level on the western-most fringe of the Tibetean plateau, this is one mountain with no comparison in the entire Himalayan range starting from the steamy forests of Burma in the east to the dry, freezing heights of the Karakoram Ranges in Central Asia. It is almost as though a great force (not certainly human!) thought of building a near-perfect pyramid on top of a plateau! This fact has been validated by Russian Geologists who opine that given its dimensions, someone has actually made a pyramid-shaped mountain! Beat it!! And that too with sides perfectly aligned to the four corners of the earth! Wow! And to top it all, it is also called “Svayambhu” ie that which has developed on its own! Food for thoughts? 

At first sight what seems most conspicuous is that this mountain stands not in the usual setting of snow and ice all around but on a rugged, dry moon-like surfaced plateau making its presence even more formidable. On a clear full moon night, the sight of a single peak in white against a backdrop of darkness makes it look ethereal. A perfect setting then for the abode of “Rudra” the Angry though Benevolent One! It evokes near-similar sentiments in parts amongst the Buddhists, Jains and local communities here.

People who visit Mt Kailash can broadly be segregated into die-hard ie pilgrims or rock-hard ie the adventure seekers. If reports are to be believed, the Chinese Government intends to add another category shortly. The softies ie couch potatoes! They intend to open this hitherto secluded sector to tourists and exploit it to the extent possible. Imagine the plight of die-hard pilgrims mingling with camera totting, cola-sipping, pot-bellied tourists! For the pilgrim, grim indeed. Hope the project takes a loooong time to fructify. Let the sanctity of the place remain. To only a few, the idea permeates that it is not only the place but the journey that makes it what it is. From time immemorial, people have been visiting this sacred, awe-inspiring place and gone back with insights branded into their subconscious.   

Most pilgrims come with long-standing issues which seems unsolvable by earthly means. At this juncture, the gods are expected step in. It is said that the presiding deity “Shankara” or “Shiva” converses with his pilgrims by means of insights and visions which end-up remaining in one’s conscience for all times to come. The lessons learnt over the course of the arduous journey and the sights here seem to bring new insights for most pilgrims with relation to life and its challenges. 

Most pilgrims tend to circumambulate (called kora) around the base of the mountain which is a distance of 32 miles. Mind it, this is no walk-to-the-mall stuff with a mountain pass en-route going upto 18000 feet!! Local Tibetians are said to be able to complete this in under a day but for most outsiders given the prevailing weather conditions, it takes upto 2-3 days.

Well, after reading this if you feel breathless, try going to the park next door and building some stamina. Who know, the sights of Mt Kailash just might take your breath away!

Sources :-

1) Wikipedia

2) Yowangdu

3)  VedicEmpire

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Please feel free to post your comments below.

About Author :- Amit Kulkarni is the founder of Raghukul Holidays.

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Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrimage – For The Truly Devoted Souls

This pilgrimage is considered one of the greatest pilgrimages in Hindu religion. Every year thousands of devoted souls visit the Kaislash Mountain to visit the Shrine of Lord Siva. Manasarovar is a Sanskrit word made up of two separate words – Sanas and Sarovar, Manas means mind and Sarovar means Lake. This Lake was firstly created before earth according to the Hindu religion. Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage is one of the most sacred yatra and this is a life time experience.

Situated in the Tibetan plateau, there are rough terrains and dusty roads that lead to the Kailsh parvat or the Kailash Mountain. The road leading to the top is not an easy road to take, booking the Raghukul Holidays package was the most right thing we did. They have good facilitator that had taken care of everything required in this journey.

From helping us in visa and passport processing to the booking of the air tickets everything was taken care by this travel group. They also helped us with the accommodation and food. They guided and trained how to prepare oneself for the journey up the Kailash Mountain. They also guided us to several sightseeing spots; it seemed as if nature has multiple layers of beauty hidden in these mountains.

Not only with the journey up the mountain, there is much more fun in this pilgrimage. With the purification of mind and soul, there are facilities for fun activities like trekking, bungee jumping, river rafting and much more. Raghukul Holiday packages include all these fun options and not to forget they are under the supervision of highly trained professionals who take care of all safety measures.

Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage is really a blissful experience and it energizes our body, purifies the mind and gives eternal solace to the souls.

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