A Potpourri of Spiritualism, Religion and Faith
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| A Simple Life |
Chitrakoot is a small town located in the northern Vindhyas in the state of Madhya Pradesh. A small town bustling with pilgrims crisscrossing through the narrow roads into the various holy places that are scattered all across it. The new Chitrakoot shares it's holy land with the state of Uttar Pradesh as well. For a city dweller like me being in Chitrakoot felt like rewinding the clock about twenty years back, before the modern technology overwhelmed the human beings. I went to Chitrakoot on my father's behest but the next two days were a religious reunion of sorts.
If ever there was a competition for "Holy of Holies" in India, the small town of Chitrakoot would win it hands down (it is described as the teerth of all teerths, you can read the history behind this
here). "Teerth" is a Sanskrit word meaning a holy place next to a water body. And the holy river running through Chitrakoot is Mandakini; forming an array of "ghats" all across the town (
what is a ghat?). But what is so special about this small town with a population in the vicinity of just forty thousand?
This land was the home away from home for Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana for eleven and a half years during their fourteen years exile. So every place in this town was once the "karmabhumi" of the most revered of Hindu god and goddesses alike. He is considered as the avatar of truth, honesty, ethics and morality. He raised the bar of justice and righteousness to levels that still remain unvanquished thousands of years later. These exploits are documented in the holy text of
Shri Ramcharitmanas by Saint
Tulsidas. It is also the land of ancient Hindu temples (near Sharbhanga about thirty kilometers from Chitrakoot), Gupt Godavari, Shri Hanumana dhara and other sites. These sites evoke human emotions that are mix of natural wonder and faith.
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| Kamadgiri |
The trip started with the parikrama of the beautiful hill of Kamadgiri. It is small hill covered with forest and surrounded by a five kilometer path. It also marks as the spot where Bharat tried to convince Lord Rama to return to Ayodhyaya. One of the major temples of Shri Kamatanath lies on the parikrama path. Apart from being a place of religious importance it is a place where you can see various forms of devotion at display. Thousands of devotees, saints, sages and observers like me come to pay respect to a place of great reverence. On this path lies a small corner filled with a small steel container, a worn out blanket as a cushion and a small board saying "Don't disturb Saint Sumirandas ji while he is chanting God's name. If you desire to donate anything just drop in his steel box". If not for the continuous chanting of "Sita Rama" you would just ignore this sage. Frail dark coloured body with thick long matted dreadlocks he doesn't seem like a lot on the first sight.
But the continuous chanting drew my father's attention and we decided to film his chantings and maybe even try to speak to him. It was our lucky day as Sumiran Baba (as he is known among the locals) had decided to take rest for some time before resuming his chantings. My father began with a few questions about Baba's family backgrounds. As the conversation progressed Baba told about how an old lady came to him and said "Hey, why don't you do devotion?". This changed the life of Baba as he decided never to beg again. The spiritual philosophy is simple "Surrender yourself to God's will". He compared devotion to "hard work" which is laying foundation for your next birth until you escape the cycle of death-rebirth. The mantra is "do devotion, do devotion, do devotion".
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| Gupt Godavari |
You also come across people who traverse the holy path by rolling their bodies along the ground. You see people moving in small movements, about a body-length at a time, which takes them years to cover the five kilometers. Their whole life is like a never ending devotion that revolves around the hill where Lord Rama lived. Their faith in God is their religion. Their aim is to continue on this path until God decides to bestow his grace upon them. They believe the merciful God will one day grace them if they pester Him long enough :) Jokes apart, persistent sincerity seems to be the key.
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| Sharbhanga Ashram |
The last day was reserved for a trip to a small hamlet of Sharbhanga Ashrama about thirty kilometers from Chitrakoot. The drive took us through forests of Madhya Pradesh (although we later found out we could have taken a much shorter way but anyways it was exciting). Sharbhanga Ashrama is a place where countless sages have spent time meditating and finding their way to God-realization. It is the place where Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj spent much of His youth while he was walking on the path to God. It is also home to ancient temples which were destroyed by the Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb. The ruins remain a stark reminder of the rich cultural and religious heritage that once adorned this small hamlet. Just a side note, the language on the walls of the remains of the temple is still a mystery to the scholars.
The trip to Chitrakoot was a beautiful amalgamation of spiritualism, religion and faith. It helped me regain the touch with my religion which I had somehow managed to lose. As I was waiting for the train back to Kanpur I thought about a few things I was taking back with me. Of course this was an experience that was much more important than a teertha yatra. It was a lesson on the life of Lord Rama and peek of a world that opens in a small town but ends in the mysterious ways of God. Maybe God decided it was time for me to relearn some lessons which I have seemed to forgotten.
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