My Trip to Bangalore

By Shakun Narain

Last weekend I had an interesting stay in Bangalore.

It was Shivratri, so I decided to visit Shivji. He majestically sat as an enormous Murti of BholaShankar in an open-aired Temple. It was beautiful and the 'darshan' was magnificently organised. One entered and was confronted by Shivji whose feet you barely reached up to, even if you happen to be 6 feet tall. There is no ceiling, hence you can witness the 'Ganga' flowing down from His tied up hair. As you follow the queue, you first enter a cave in which are reproduced the famous Shiva Lingams around India. The original  Lingams are 'swayambhu'. Do you know what that means? Well, it means that they are not man-made. The original venerated  Lingams are a product of the elements.

As you emerge from the cave, you find yourself at the Lord's feet. As I found my way there, and bowed at His feet, the bhajan strains I heard were:

'Kehne ki zaroorat nahin, aana hi bahut hai,
is dar pe tera sheesh, jhukaana hi bahut hai,
jo kuchh hai tere dil mein woh sab usko khabar hai,
bandey tere har haal pe Maalik ki nazar hai'
Aana hai to aa raah mein, kuch pher nahin hai,
Bhagwan ke ghar der hai, andher nahin hai'

Which means: 

All you need to do is to come to the Lord's feet,.
There is no need to make a petition as He knows what lies in your heart and what you may be going through.
He may take His time but pay heed, He will.

As I moved on teary eyed, a 'Havan' was going on. You could buy the 'aahuti' and 'ghee' (offerings) and pour it along with your prayers into the sacred fire. I was impressed at the arrangements, but not surprised, after all, it was all a Sindhi's doing. 

In Bangalore, I also got to see 'The School of Ancient Wisdom' It is dedicated to the Self-transformation of individuals through Higher Consciousness. It is so beautiful that you have to see it to believe it.  This project is the baby of a dedicated soul who would rather, that I not mention her name. However I find it difficult not to state that I believe that she sold her property in prime location to follow her dream. I shall  also not mention the name of my charming hostess in Bangalore. But I shall thank her through this column as well. May the Good Lord protect her and keep her forever under His care.