Today is Monday, the day for Lord Shiva, and since August is also Shiva month it was a very important day in temple. It is also the last Monday that is celebrated within this holy month. Our first stop Shankaracharya Math. This is a most important place as this is where the first Shankaracharya, Philosopher/Saint, lived in meditation as an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He is a revered figure and savior of Indian’s Sanatam Darsan.
We also visited a temple where the Sixth Incarnation of Vishnu as Narshima came to defeat a terrible Demon, Hirnyakashayap who was brutalizing the kingdom for worshiping anyone other then him. So at this very place it is said that Narshima defeated this demon. So it was here that I made my offerings to release that which is negative and destructive in my life that is leading me away from the path of Truth and Light. Afterwards we took a short drive further into the mountains to a natural sulfur spring and the hopes of seeing the famous Nanda Devi Peak(next year’s trekking site). It could have been semi-anti climactic but the drive as always was full of adventure. The short 10 km drive took us 40 minutes as we had to negotiate narrow passes and areas to heavy with mud from landslides that the car miraculously made it without begin stuck. There were workers busily trying to shovel (yes shovel) the 3 feet of mud that covered the road and huge boulders were being hacked with a pick axe … what could have taken 20 minutes in the US with heavy machinery will take days here with manual labor but as Rakesh pointed out this offers many work thats need and these machines as I put it would render many without work and so once again my Western impositions never serve anyone! Upon reaching the spring – there it was on the side of the road … very unassuming spewing out very hot water releasing steam hot and wide enough to give us all steam facials!
Hot Spring
But that was not the magic for me … the magical part was that upon parking the car to see this natural wonder a rainbow formed just a few feet away. Clear as can be I could see both the beginning and end of the rainbow and as followed one end from the mountainside the other end fell into the Dhauli Ganga originating in Tibet.
my rainbow!
This road ends in the mountain range separating Tibet and India, which is now China and why there is such a strong military presence due to the China’s constant attack and infiltration into the mountain range. China apparently is not happy enough to have massacred the Tibetans and taken their land as now they continue to push further into the Himalayan Mountain range. I could continue with all the rage and hate I have against China and their evil ways but I won’t mar this delightful blog. Rakesh told us that before the road and passage between India and Tibet was a very friendly border and one could easily just go back and forth but now all China wants to do is fight! No surprise there. The rainbow was breathtaking and a good omen of sunny days to come!
End of the rainbow
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