In(Dhyana)

An old saddhu saying goes:
What to do, what to do? Go to Kathmandu.

All I knew before flying from Delhi to Kathmandu was that it is some kind of hippie haven, a Goa of the north, the space for the World Rainbow Gathering taking place this autumn, the birthplace of the Buddha. Oh, and the main piece of information, which is that it hosts a famous ancient Shiva temple, Pashupatinath Mandir.

Shiva temples will have as their main idol a lingam, the stone ellipsoid that represents the shape of the universe, the shape of the atom and the shape of the energetic sheath of the human. We famously have two channels running up and down the trunk of our bodies, from the Muladhara at our tailbone to the Ajna at the third eye between the eyebrows, and they are called Ida (the feminine, left) and Pingala (the masculine, right). In the middle of them rests invisibly the Shushumna, the channel which Jesus used to become a body of light. This Shushumna is in the form of a lingam. Thus, the triad is complete: the smallest thing is a lingam (atom), the largest thing is a lingam (universe) and the human, portal between the two, is a lingam. Aum Namah Shivaya. The lingam becomes both a metaphor, and a tool, for enlightenment.

In Shiva Bhagwan’s cosmology, the temple in Kedarnath is built around a lingam that represents the five lower chakras, i.e. Muladhara (base), Swadisthana (creative lower belly), Manipura (solar plexus), Anahata (heart) and Vishudi (throat pit). The last material chakra in the human lingam, the Ajna (third eye) is the lingam in the Pashupatinath temple. The very topmost chakra is called Sahasrara and it is located above the top of our heads, so for normal mortals who are not into hardcore spiritual fitness, it is mostly dormant. Jesus had a six-pack in his Sahasrara, no doubt.

The meta-achitectural style and set-up differ only slightly between Shiva temples, Vishnu temples, Krishna temples, Devi temples, and then there are many smaller gods that will also have their separate temples. Let’s take a Shiva temple. Ganesha is the Muladhara of the universe, the unborn child of Parvati and Shiva that is actually older than his parents. The elephant-god, he’s a lighthearted guru, an enlightened and playful Mahayogi. He will be the first in any temple, because he is the god of beginnings, luck, the foundation of all. Then, a Durga space will exist, maybe followed by something dedicated to Mahakaal (the black god of time), Bhairav or Kali, Shani (lord of karma), or a Navagraha arrangement (the nine planets). There will be a banyan tree, its thick truck surrounded by red string and bells. There will be a water source, in honor of Ganga jal, which is all water. There will Sri Hanuman, the monkey-god, the sweet mindless god of devotion. All these and more will be arranged circularly around the main mandir of the main deity presiding that particular temple. In this case the deity is Shiva, so the main centerpiece will be a yoni-lingam (the Creator, lingam, sitting in union with Its creation, yoni; yeah, it’s kinky). Ganesha and Murugan will be sitting together below, they are brothers (one unborn, one born), then there will be some ancient rishis (vedic seers) such as Dattatreya, Babaji, Patanjali or many, many others. In front of it all there will be a Nandi, the bull who is eternally waiting in enlightened devotion to Shiva. Eternal, blissful patience is one mode of enlightenment. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them – Hindu version.

I left for Pashupatinath many times. I ended up north, towards the ring road and the bus station, where I found Isha Bhairavi temple, the only Isha temple in Nepal, consegrated recently by Sadhguru babaji.

I ended up at the Swayambhu stupa, up the hill, and the other very large stupa all the way north-east, almost another city.

I did end up in another city once, by accepting a scooter ride that landed me in Lalitpur, bhaktapur for Krishna.

I ended up south, in Durbar square and further, past the embassies and departments for immigration, into Buddha Nagar.

Most foreign tourists, myself included, set up camp in Thamel, central area and old hippie stomping ground in Kathmandu, at the bottom of Swayambhu Buddhist stupa, aka The Monkey Temple. It is called so not because it is dedicated to Sri Hanuman Ji, as it has absolutely nothing to do with his Highness, but because that’s how the first hippies who arrived naked in Nepal in the ’60s named it, seeing as the trek up is heavily populated with actual monkeys, the city yellow ones and the big grey langoors.

From Thamel, the road goes almost straight to Pashupatinath, through small alleys flanked by old, ancient houses carved in wood. Eventually, one reaches the surrounding jungles.

Pashupatinath is a hill, a natural reservation, a jungle, a temple, a samshaan (cremation ghat) on the Bagirathi river, a slum, an airport and also the neighbor of Guyeshwari Devi temple, an icon in itself, a very old shaktipeeth (temple complex dedicated to the Divine Feminine, shakti).

From there, a few entries are open; you can come from the airport side and enter on the right, through the samshaan (cremation ghat), or climb the jungle path and enter from the left, following the river Bagmati down.

River, samshaan, central temple (Hindus only, I could not enter), some Satya Narayans, Vishnus and other solar iconography, and many stupas.

Buddhist stupas are everywhere in Nepal, unlike India, where there are none. Hindustan is a harsh and stupid slave-master. “Ignorantly blow out of proportions what we have, without actually understanding it, and disrespect and destroy everything else” – that’s the Hindustan mission statement and its approach to cultural relations. Since Adi Shankaracharya onwards – 8th century, Hindu reformer, anti-buddhist, also highly revered evolved yogi.

A couple of small, old stone bridges cross the tiny Bagmati river. Incomparable in size to Yamuna, or Ganga. From there, stone steps go up the hill, between babas, young junkies and stoners, ancient small crumbling temples, trees (it’s a jungle), monkeys. I walked them and found myself alone, in between trees, surrounded by monkeys. The monkey is an aggressive animal and it will attack children, groups of weak humans or solo walkers. They like shiny things, they will eat anything, they like opening bags and in general, I think they enjoy terrorising others, out of some animalistic ego. If I bite a human, I become alpha monkey. Thus, I fear and attach myself to a group of Indian teenagers and with them I reach the shaktipeeth, the temple for Guyeshwari Devi. Also a ‘Hindus only’ temples, but here I am lucky. The guard sees my shoelessness, the old rudraksh around my neck (a few years of wearing it and counting, like a good Hindu), the Tulsi, the tika and many other markers, so he gets confused or maybe frightened. What if I’m a real devotee and Goddess will punish him for denying me? So he let’s me go up the stairs, without the teenagers who go on to the jungle to smoke a joint. I enter, proper old tantric temple is sitting in front of me, with statues of skeletons dancing, goddesses with their tongues hanging out and drips of blood dripping from their teeth, a full power kirtan happening. I get to sit for some time, a few have spotted me but it’s all peaceful, until I get up from the shadows and attempt to enter the actual sacrosanctum, when three policemen and one policewoman stop me. They ask where am I from and the large woman is the only one who touches me, violently pushing me out. Non-Indian! I felt like a bad grain of rice. Jai Mata Di.

I went a few times. I smoked chillums in the temples behind the hills, I meditated with Ganesha one day, on the side of Bagmati, for I don’t know how many hours. I also spent long hours with KaalBhairav, in Durbar. I saw a side of Krishna that I’ve never felt before, stripped of all bhakti, tantric and abstractly metaphysical, an ancient version of Radha Krishna playing Prana on the Creation flute.

And of course, Lord Buddha. The best psychopath in Humanity’s hall of famous prophets, gods and religions. Buddha, the Mental. Literally, ‘boddhisattva’, one of enlightened intelligence. The master of the buddhi, i.e. the mercurial tendencies of our bodyminds. Jesus was here too, there are buddhist sutras that talk of a brilliant boddhisattva who came from the Middle East, was called Issa and looked like Jesus – and Asian culture is not prude about its gods, therefore there are many statues, drawings and descriptions of Issa. Story goes, in the lost years before he turned 30, Jesus Christ traveled the world and in Asia went through Puri, Kolkata, Dharamsala (where he met Buddhists) and Kashmir. Later, after ascent into the higher realms (remember, it’s not death if there’ no corpse; the Christ is an unsolved crime and disappearance), He is supposed to have taken up his old body once more and lived in Nepal, Tibet, Ladakh and finally died in Kashmir, in Srinagar, at the ripe age of 82. There’s a tomb near Dal Lake called Roza Bal. The tomb of Issa the sufi. Jesus was a Sufi. La Ilaha Il’allah.

Back to Nepal. What a mystical time-bubble at center of some of the highest and most untouched mountain peaks in the world. Also, must be one of the most open, multicultural and peaceful places on the planet. Both tourist and work visas for any length of time up to one year can be bought at the airport, for almost all nationalities, and can be renewed or modified through a user-friendly app. Sure, it’s a little costly, but the Nepali rupia is still one of the smallest currencies in the world, about half of the Indian rupia. Visit Nepal.

Om Mani Padme Hum

I lay my self at the feet of Consciousness, that I am.
(this sentence translated into asana would be the Ouroboros, the cosmic snake eating its own tail; mystical implosion)

Some thoughts on mighty Lord Buddha

We all know the story of Siddharta Gautama the prince who saw old age, sickness and death and realized that at least one is going to happen to him, also. Questions of death (it’s inevitable, what is time?), true identity (am I my body? my mind?) and attachment/detachment issues apparently led to tapasya (austerities) and much traveling, learning and experimenting, then full truth-consciousness kicked in and he found the the middle way. Negative attachments, which are austerities, are no ‘better’ than the apparently different ‘worse’ attachments, such as egotism and materialism, religions’ common enemies. Go to the middle and lift off.

Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu, he’s meant to uphold dharma, not break it down. Thus, he’s the ideal mind control freak, completely non-existent and thus, totally everything. He’s also the coolest minimalist brand ever created. He’s a whole sacred geometry catalogue, just by himself. The stupas are superb, the buddha eyes at the top, buddhist flags carrying the dharma teachings through the wind and the sun light, the geometrical chambers painted in fresh white, squares on top of triangles on top of spheres, visual descriptions of chakras and illustrations of the parallels between the self and the multiverse. You walk around them and turn the wheels of dharma that go round and round and round. Meditation in an amusement park. Brilliant inventor and psychologist, the Buddha. Which is why they are studying vipassana meditation to see how exactly does it manage to consistently change your brain, like pills or surgery but so much better. He was very mental, but his version of the Mind was the Citta mind, the stuff out of which all creation is created. The Mahamaya on which all creation rests. Mind over matter, completely. Matter is the last fart of the Citta Mind.

Buddha used to wear cloths sown together from rags taken from corpses in the samshaan. He spent much time meditating in cremation grounds. Now, urban ‘Buddhist monks’ wear saffron-coloured silk and they drive fancy scooters.

There are three refuges the Buddha said to take: The Buddha (truth), the Dhamma / Dharma (the keeper of truth) and the Sangham (the embodiments of truth). He also said to consider three things before speaking: whether it is true, kind and helpful. He gave a useful psychological shortcut: desire an leads to attachment leads to suffering. To eliminate suffering, eliminate its cause, desire. Let go and be happy.

May all beings in the multiverse, seen and unseen, find true happiness and liberate from their suffering.

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu

लोकः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु