Dear,.........,
Namaskar. My last blog posted yesterday, detailed the journey to Panchtarni. It took us about four hours to reach Panchtarni. We found this padaav to be a big flat ground with a river flowing nearby. We pitched the tent and prepared the lunch. Meanwhile the crowd was swelling with arrival of more yatris. Most people on arrival would take a dip in the river. I also took a dip in the river. Some time after I had returned to my tent, and was preparing to take my meals, I heard some shouting and running of the yatris after a person. They caught the person and took him to a tent outside of which was written "Camp Police Station". I went to the police station with my tape recorder to record the incident. I found a person being interrogated by the police personal. I asked the police personnel to explain the incident. I was told that this person was a thief. He had been noticed taking away the purse from the clothing of a person who was at that time taking a dip in the river. From a distance he had observed the person searching his clothes placed at a dry spot. He raised an alarm. On hearing his alarm, the yatris nearby had apprehended the person. The purse was found in his possession. In my presence the police were repeatedly asking this person to disclose whether he was a gang member and who were his accomplices. The police was not only asking the questions but also using "other" methods to make him speak the truth. As long as I was there, the person did not mention anything about being part of any gang. He happened to have come from Delhi. Later in the evening I found him handcuffed and restrained in the police tent.
I took my meals and immediately took a nap in the tent. I had a good sleep but as soon as I got up, I remembered what I had dreamt. I had dreamt that it was in the afternoon and I was returning from the cave. I saw a relative called Shanta Jee walking up towards the cave in the opposite direction. (Shanta Jee was a resident of Srinagar and lived about a kilometer away from our house. What I knew about her was that she was a patient suffering from serious back problems. At times she would get so much pain that she would not be able to even move. I had once watched her getting an attack in a market place and she had to be carried home on a stretcher.) In the dream I asked her how she is here accompanied by her brother. She replied to me that she was there because this was the wish of the Baba Jee. I narrated this dream to the programme colleague. I told him it was impossible to happen knowing the condition of the person. To which he said that nothing is impossible if it is desired by the Baba Jee. (Bhagwaan Shiva would also be called Baba Jee).
I had visualized the cave to be a tunnel with the open face of the hill to be the entrance. I thought that there may be a fence and a door in front of the cave which would get opened when the sadhus carrying the holy mace would arrive the next day. Normally the administration would not allow anyone to move ahead of the mace. I wanted to record the moment the sadhus with the mace would reach the gate and enter the cave. So I approached the administration and requested to be allowed to move ahead of the yatra next day early in the morning. It was granted. Next day I got up at about 2 AM, collected all my essential equipment and started to move towards the cave about 6 Kms away. At that time the sadhus were all at the river bank taking a bath. I reached the check post. I was stopped by the guardians at the check post. I told them that I had been allowed by the administration and showed them my AIR identity. I was allowed to pass. Just then some sadhu suspected that the administration was allowing the common people to move ahead of the holy mace. He alerted the others at the river bank. They hurried and started moving towards the cave. I could hear them running. I wanted to be ahead of them and responded by running too. I reached the cave and they were almost at my heels. But they suddenly stopped following me. They went to the nearby stream (Amravati) to take a dip before entering the cave. I moved into the cave. There was no gate. It was utter darkness around me. I had a torch with me. I searched for the tunnel. I roamed around inside the cave a couple of times but did not find the tunnel. By that time the sadhus came. They started setting up for the puja. On the right side was the ice lingam which they decorated with flowers and kept the holy mace by its side. I found that water was dripping from the cave ceiling at a number of places. The droplets would change into ice at some places on the ground. Some of these ice formations on the ground were designated as Parvati, Ganesh Jee and Kartikeya Jee. They decorated all these formations with flowers. (I had unknowingly walked over all these formations when I was searching for the tunnel a few minutes earlier)
It is a commonly held belief that the ice lingam waxes and wanes depending upon the position of moon with respect to the earth. On full moon day, the lingam is at its full height and on dark moon night it is at its lowest height. So on all pooranmashi days (Twelve in a year) it is formed as high as seven to eight feet.
I recorded the pooja, aarti and the hustle and bustle in the cave. I remained there for more than six hours. I saw not only one pair of pigeons but a number of pigeons. (It is commonly believed that on one occasion Shiv Jee was recounting to Parvati jee about the secret of the immortality. At that time a pair of pigeons was also listening to Shiv Jee. From that day, the pair of pigeons have continued to be immortal) When I had been in the cave for about two hours or so, the rest of my team joined me with extra batteries that I had packed for them to carry to the cave. Then I moved around to observe the vicinity of the cave. I was astonished to see about a dozen Naga sadhus sitting by the side of the hill just outside the cave. Before that I had not seen these Naga Sadhus. I have no idea where from these sadhus came and when.
As I have mentioned in a para above, a stream called Amravati flows just about hundred metres away from and parallel to the cave opening. It is mentioned that anyone taking a dip in this stream gets absolved from all sin and gets moksha. I did not take a dip because I was feeling feverish on this day too. On the other side of the stream across the face of the cave, there is a steep hill probably called Sant Singh ki pahadi. (If anyone reader can confirm the name of the place, I would be grateful) In earlier times, sadhus would while coming from Panchtarni take a route that would take them to the top of this hill. Then they would jump to death in full view from the cave front to attain moksha. The administration later blocked the route.
I set for my return journey from the cave in the afternoon. A miracle happened. I was going down the slope. Shanta Jee accompanied by her brother was walking up the slope. We saw each other. I asked her the same question that I had asked in the dream the previous day. She gave the same reply as in the dream. We could not stop to converse more because the path was narrow and movement of yatris was getting impeded. Just when she passed by me, she shouted to me saying that I should not mention to her mother in law that I had seen her making the pilgrimage to the holy cave.
I will stop the narration here. I will have a break tomorrow and then after thast I would be again here with a blog.
BYE.
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