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Spiritual India
Spirituality pervades the
land that is India. Each stone, river, stream and mountain has a thousand-year
old history behind it, and some part of that history has a tale to
tell.
 INDIA's GLORIOUS DIVERSITY extends to
religious life as well. Eighty-five percent of Indian's diversity. Boasting
a lively pantheon of deities that smile
from exquisitely sculpted temple gopura, the Hindu religion
absorbs beliefs and philosophies from all over, thus practices frequently
differ from place to
place. Nevertheless the basic tenets of Hinduism were laid
out in the Vedas, and describe the goal of uniting with Brahma, the creator,
via a life of
asceticism and meditation. Hindu belief includes the concept
of samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth, and release from samsara, or
moksha.
Muslims
are a significant ten percent of the population, and all over India, mosques
are almost as ubiquitous as temple. Islam worships one God, Allah, eschews
pork, and Muslim women are encouraged to veil themselves. Muslims are no longer
a large part of the population, but their impact throughout Indian history is
felt in its architecture and in several cities.
Other significant religious groups include the Jains and Buddhists,
once much more prominent than they are now, and shoes temple architecture has
left its mark on the Indian landscape, the Sikh community, Christians, and
Zoroastrians.
Places of spiritual importance abound in India. From
Badrinath, Kedarnath, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag in the north
to the numerous temples and places like Kanyakumari and Mammalapuram in
the South, there is no
dearth of spiritual places.
Badrinath - Set on the mountains at a
height of about 11,000 feet, according to mythology, it is here that Lord
Vishnu spent innumerable years in meditation. Lord Badrinath is worshipped here
and Badrinath finds favor with all Hindus, but it is all the more sacred for
the devotees of Vishnu.
Kedarnath - situated at a height of 3,581
metres, the Kedarnath shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Holy places include
the Kedarnath Temple, Shankarachary Samadhi and many others. Kedarnath is in
close proximity to other places that are both beautiful and holy like
Sonprayag, Gaurikund, Madmaheshwar and Tungnath.
 Uttarkashi -
Uttarkashi is known for its temples dedicated to Parshuram, Datatryea,
Annapurna, Kali, Bhairon and other gods and goddesses. It is situated at an
altitude of 1,550 meter at the banks of the Bhagirathi river.
Vaishno-devi - This cave temple situated at a height of 5,200 feet
above sea level in Jammu and Kashmir, is dedicated to the three goddesses, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
The cave has a very low height - just 1.5 m. Devotees have to bend double
for the first few yards and then wade through ankle deep chill water to see the
deity. Devotees have to undertake an arduous 13 km trek to reach the temple. A
staggering 15 to 20,000 people come to the temple everyday. It is believed that
the arm of the goddess Sati fell here. It is only temple in India where all the
three goddesses are worshipped in one place.
Other temples in the area are,
Charan Paduka Temple, Ban Ganga Temple, Ardh Kuwari and the Bhairon
Temple.
Kanya Kumari - located at the southern tip of India, it is
here that the 1000 year old Guganathaswamy Temple, the Kumari Amman temple
where Parvati as Devi Kanya, the Virgin Goddess is worshipped and the modern
monuments of faith, the Vivekanand Memorial and the Gandhi Memorial are
situated.
Mammalapuram - the city plays host to fourteen cave
temples, nine monolithic shrines, three stone temples and four relief
sculptured rock panels. Thiruvanamalai - according to tradition, it was the
town of Lord Shiva. Located at the foothills of the Arunachala hill, of the
numerous temples dedicated to Shiva, the most important is the Arunachal
Temple.
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