Pilgrimage: Mathura & Vrindavan

God,
I am here in search of joy
I am here in search of ecstasy!
I am here to love
I am here to be loved!

I kept humming my own poem on the train journey from Delhi to Mathura. I was excited and happy that with such inadequate planning and short time I am able to make this visit. My excitement grew even further when I got in touch with a guide (one of the 4500 panda’s of Yamuna river) who promised me that between one evening and morning he can manage to take me to the places I wanted to visit.

Krishna Janmabhoomi

Krishna Janmabhoomi (the birth-place of Krishna), is a temple built on the birthplace of Krishna. The renovated current temple is at the site of the prison. The site is partly occupied by the mosque built by Aurangzeb. The temple gives comprehensive outlook of lord Krishna’s life. Each and every corner, walls and pillars of temple have been used to depict various facets of spiritual treasure of Krishna’s life. The paintings, the scriptures and the statues showcasing lord Krishna’s life companions and stories are

1. To my advantage, the temple was not crowded. I had enough time to move around and within the temple. I squatted and meditated for sometime in the presence of God. I could hear the distant voices of Radha-Krishna Bhajan’s.
   
   
   
   

Saint Lilananda Thakur : Paglababa Temple

At Mathura and Vrindavan there are temples every 300-400 meters. On my way from Mathura to Vrindavan , one of the temple named ‘Pagal Baba mandir and sansthan’ caught my attention. Well designed nine story structure, spacious and commodious, use of immaculate white marbles, looks extremely beautiful. I could not resist myself but to get down from rick and go inside the temple.

The temple was established by the Vaishnava Saint Lilananda Thakur, commonly known as Pagla Baba. Pagla Baba hailed from the erstwhile East Bengal (now Bangladesh), and was a mystic of the Bhakti order. Pagla Baba laid the greatest emphasis on Nama Sankirtan (singing the name of the Lord). He established four prominent maths or ashramas in India, including in Jasidih, Ranch (both in the state of Jharkhand), Shantipur (West Bengal) and Vrindavan (UP).

Anandmai Maa Ashram

Nirmala Sundari, popularly known as Anandamayi Maa, was born in Kheora (Tripura) in 1896, in a Bengali family. Though she was married to Ramani Mohan Chakravarti (Bholanath), they maintained a life of celibates, focusing on spiritual pursuits instead. She experienced various spontaneous yogic kriyas. It was her husband who first recognized her extraordinary spiritual status, and he encouraged her to interact with spiritual seekers. She was recognized as an eternal realized soul by many saints, including Sri Balananda Brahmachari of Deoghar. She was held in high esteem by millions of people from all over the globe, including Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, and knowledgeable saints like Gopinath Kaviraj. She left her body in the year 1982.

Sri Ranganatha (Lord Vishnu) Temple:

This south Indian Dravidian style constructed temple is dedicated to Sri Ranganatha (Lord Vishnu), as is the famous temple in Sri Rangam. The style of worship in this temple is the system established by Ramanujacarya and the worship is done by South Indian brahmins. This is amongst the biggest temples in Vrindavan. The temple is quite spacious and located on large area covered with thick walls across the entire area of the temple. When you see the temple from outside, you get a feel that of its kind of palace. You feel the difference and resemblance to south India temples the moment you enter through the gate.

I liked the large water tank build for the devotees and priests at the backyard of temple. On the left hand side, the lane between the temple wall and covering wall is symmetrical and running across a distance of 100 yards or more. Interesting part is, when you walk across this passage, you get a feel of self hypnotizing or feel of getting trapped into some kind of matrix (you need to see to believe this)

Banke Bihari Temple

This is the most popular temple in Vrindavan. Banke means “bent in three places” and bihari means “supreme enjoyer.” The idol of the lord is enigmatic. The curtain before the Deities is not left open like at other temples. Every few minutes the curtain is pulled shut and then opened again. The brilliant and piercing eyes of Banke Bihari will make you unconscious if seen for too long a stretch. It is said that Banke Bihari does not like the sound of bells or conch; therefore they are not sounded in this temple.

I tried my level best to get full view of lord’s idol; however I got stuck and locked in his eyes. The eyes were illuminating, sharp and penetrating. I lived that moment of life and I am sure I would have loved to be in that situation for a long period of time. Alas the curtains have been put in place, kind of physical barrier between you and God. I realized I don’t have to spend anytime into the temple, I am anyway carrying the god in my heart.

Mansi Ganga Sarovar

At the beginning of Govardhan Parvat there is a large tank known as the "Mansi Ganga", which is belived to have been brought into existence by the operation of the diving will. At the Mansi-Ganga kund, Parikrama of Govardhan parvat starts. Parikrama starts with Lord Harideva darshan from Radha-kunda village, where the Vrindavan road meets the parikrama path. After parikrama of approximately 35-40 kms covering important shrines such as Radha Kunda, Syama Kunda, Dan Ghati, Mukharavinda, Rinamochana Kunda, Kusuma Sarovara and Punchari it ends at Mansi Ganga Kund only.

Govardhan Parvat – a famous place for Hindu pilgrimage

Goverdhan is located on a narrow sandstone hill known as "Giriraj". This is the place where Lord Krishna held aloft "Giriraj Parvat" to protect the people of Braj from the wrath of Lord Indra.
The important shrine here is "Daanghati Temple". After having stopped the Indra yajna, lord Krishna advised the inhabitants of Vrindavana to worship Govardhana Hill which they did. When the Annakuta ceremony of offering food to Govardhana was complete and the Vrajavasis had offered Arati, Krishna led all of them on Parikrama around Govardhana Hill. From that time onwards, the sacred Parikrama.of Govardhana Hill has continued and even today it is still being performed by devotees of Lord Krishna.

People from all over India visit Vraja in order to perform Govardhana Parikrama. I had to move on without doing the parikrama due to paucity of time. I managed to climb some part of Govardhan Parvat bare footed and click some nice pictures as a memory.

Yamraj-Yamuna Temple: Only Sister Brother Temple in India

Yamraj, the Lord of death and river Yamuna, Known to be siblings as per Hindu mythology. It is believed that worshipping the river Yamuna will please the Lord of death who, in return, will bless the life partners of the worshippers.

Bhai Dooj : There are a number of legends associated with the festival of Bhai Dooj. One of the legends has it that Yamraj, visited his sister Yamuna on the day of Bhai Duj. She adorned his forehead with the auspicious tilak As part of the blessings, Yamraj gave her a special gift on that day Yamraj announced that anyone who he receives tilak from his sister would never be thrown into hell. From that day onwards, Bhaiya Dooj is celebrated and is also known by the name of "Yama Dwitiya".

Yamuna River Pooja/Aarti: Evening at 7:30 pm

The pilgrimage Mathura and Vrindavan is incomplete without attending this evening Aarti of Yamuna River. Devotees from all over the city gather on the bank of Yamuna river and performs this Pooja. Unfortunately it was dusky and drizzling that evening and I could not get clear pictures of this Pooja. What I liked the most is the last part in which pandit stands on the lotus shape structure specially build to perform the pooja. Pandit stands on this structure rotating a nine story lamp thali illuminating with light. A well build man, pulls a rope tied to two large size bells dangled at the top of gate. The man pulls the rope in succession making a loud toll of the bell.

Well,
There is no end and there is no beginning. It’s a path and our own journey in search of ‘something which is difficult to understand and explain’ for a common man like me.

God,

I see him in all, and all in him!

I am lost in him, He is lost in me!!

- Devendra