“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” — Danny Kaye
Travelling – the one thing that excites me most in my life! I get totally insane with my pursuit to travel places, meet people and of course get myself clicked in a camera 😛
From my earlier post – Adding memories to life – you would have already figured out how much I enjoy travelling. Travelling to me is to get refreshed, to explore my inner self, to experience the beauty of nature and to get lost in it by being just “ME”..
And now after a short (and unpleasant and boring 😦 ) medical break, I am back – back in action 😉 – on my jaunts! Just like “The Batman” Rises 😛 And yes, my jaunts are different this time! They are not beaches or hill-stations or recreation places, they are – spiritual ! 🙂
Our hearts are closely connected with spirituality. How much ever technologically advanced we become in our life, there still are a lot of whys hows and whats, some questions unanswered, some doubts uncleared, something missing that our “modern lifestyle” doesn’t fulfil. That’s when we seek spirituality; we seek a connection to that supreme power!!
My travel this time is going to be places of divine power, places that are worshipped by thousands and millions, places that are believed to fulfil wishes 🙂 Ofcourse, all my in lovely country – INDIA 🙂
Well, fortunately, I have got a simple, happy and satisfied life – no complains and no regrets at all.. My purpose of this trip is to “add cherries on the top” of my life thank god for putting lovely people in my life circle.. The second purpose is to seek strength to face all situations with a smiling face 🙂 even when life turns blue.. I don’t wish a cake walk in life – I am visiting them with a faith to get my bit of peace of mind.
I don’t expect God fulfilling all my wishes, for the simple reason that, my wishlist is much longer than the queue of millions of devotees in these temples 😛 I can’t put god in so much pressure you see.. 😉
Uhh, I am still in the middle of a hectic work week and my heart is already “day-dreaming” about the mini-vacations planned for the next couple of weekends! How do I tell it to have patience, they are still few days away 😉
So here is the plan for next 5 weekends:
This weekend: Satyanarayan Pooja at home
Every journey begins with a step and my first step begins in my own home with a small Satyanarayan pooja. This month is believed to be holy and auspicious as per Hinduism and it’s a practise I follow to offer this prayer every year at home.
Next weekend: The Tirumala Hills – Tirupati
Tirupati – the home of Lord Venkateshwara. Since childhood I have heard a lot of stories about this place. It’s believed that Lord Venkateshwara took a loan from Kuber for her marriage which he has to pay till end of Kal Yuga and that’s how he is the only diety with hands spread. Isn’t it interesting ! Well, as of today, this temple is richest in India. Its situated inmidst of 7 hills that takes around 4 hours to climb. This one is gonna be adventurous for sure 🙂
The third weekend: Mahalakshmi – Kolhapur
I have been to Mahalakshmi temple earlier and believe me, its beautiful with ancient architecture mapping its presence from more than 500 years old. Lakshmi is Goddess of Wealth and power and is visited to seek prosperity. Its believed that after visiting Tirupati, you should visit Kolhapur otherwise your Tirupati trip is not considered complete. This is because of the belief that Goddess Lakshmi is Lord Ventakeshwara’s wife and Goddess Padmavati’s avatar.
The fourth weekend: Trimbakeshwar – Nasik
Well, I don’t know much about this place apart from the information available on Wikipedia, L I just know it’s a well known temple of Lord Shiva and a place where Lord Rama and Sita stayed for a while out of their 14 years “vanavasa”. You will have to wait till my next blog for more details 😛 I am visting this with my parents for a pooja – my special effort for their good health. 🙂
And the last one: Mantrayalam – Andra Pradesh
I first visited this place after my marriage with my in-laws. My father-in-law is a follower of Raghvendra Swami who took Samadhi here in Mantrayalam about 400 years ago. The one thing I like the most here are the evening prayers – the holy sound of drums, the holy songs sung by people, the chanting of mantras. It just creates a divine environment around us – and ofcourse within us. 🙂
Well, looks hectic but I am so very excited about them! Monsoon, rains, beauty of nature and the holy places – best combination ever.. 🙂
Happy Jaunting to me.. 🙂 🙂
A Silent Self Wave.. 