The painful saga of Bhojpur....

I have scribbled down some part of my memory from my way back …..just an attempt, hope it finds its expression!

Whenever I’m angry I feel like walking, long, very long walk on the streets with no purpose. I can walk from one place to another, one city to another, one state to another. Walking subdues anger. A long walk drains out the physical body and mind runs on minimal ego. The moment ego dissolves, there is no anger. Since if ego is not there, who will get angry ? If you observe closely, self-convincing mechanism is nothing but ego nourishment. For instance, if I have to convince myself (or defend myself) for some particular act, I will throw out reasons to justify my act which would replenish my ego. Unless, I let go ego, self-transformation will only remain theory. Good to be in books but tough to handle. Coming back to my point, walking - till your mind drops. The same principle applies when you go on a pilgrimage located at the top of the mountain. You need to walk till that point. This drains out all the thoughts from the mind and a person becomes receptive to the divine possibility. Possibly, this is also a reason that temples and shrines were built on the top of mountain ranges.

This very physical body is miraculous. I have heard that ‘physical body has a more deeper sense of memory than mind itself’. So, for instance, once we get-up from sleep in the morning, our body remembers how to walk, it doesn’t let us fall. It remembers the training. You might have heard that if you learn cycling, swimming or any such exercises, you don’t need to keep a memory of it. Body knows how to recreate it. Although, this may seem very obvious but body has a much more deeper sense of recognition. Consider the fact that I went to Himalayas, for once, my mind might forget but my body will never forget. It retains that memory. So, one should very consciously make a journey to such places. Very recently, I went to one such place that completely changed the way I look at life.

The place has a story associated with it. I would want to take you through with the legacy of that temple and then describe it more elaborately. While I narrate this story, I’m also recreating the story in itself and its characters. So, part of it is absolutely true with some garnished part which is not true (which I’ve added). So, what is true and what is not, I leave upto you. After all, life is all about finding the truth from the untruth. Isn’t it?

Once lived a King, his name was Bhoj. He was one of the wealthiest kings india has seen so far. He had all kinds of luxuries a man can think of. He had everything a human being can desire. He was so overwhelmed with his riches that now he felt like seeking the spiritual angle as well. He had gathered riches so now was his chance to gather spiritual blessings from god. So, he called upon a Yogi who was an enlightened being and asked for his opinion. In those days, Kings use to seek opinion from gurus and then the decision was taken based on those thoughts. The yogi was an established mystic with knowledge of all the five senses. He suggested the king to establish a shiva linga with all the seven chakras consecrated. This would mean that the linga will resonate the power of all seven chakras that a human body is capable of. The linga will in-turn be like a Yogi in itself without human form and mind. The idea struck the king and he ordered the entire force to start working upon the same. Yogi instructed that he would require 7 male and 7 female to complete the consecration. All 14 people along with the Yogi will form a triangle within the vortex of which tremendous energy can be generated. This energy is nothing but life energy in itself. It is the same energy that we get when we intake food or what we gather from sleep. Hence the process of consecration is called – praan pratishtha (putting life into a matter or space).

The process began. The idea was to build a temple where people can come, sit besides the linga and feel the power of 7 chakras. This would assist many in taking their first step towards spirituality. Lot of groundwork was needed to complete the process. Yogi had all the necessary knowledge that required to form the linga and to consecrate it with life energy. For every chakra, energy will be plugged into the linga and a lock mechanism will be applied. This lock will ensure that the linga will retain the energy for years to come. Though, destiny had its own way. While the consecration process was almost complete, another king who belonged to some different kingdom attacked that territory. During the attack, yogi lost his left leg and the process got stalled. The only way to complete the process would be to have the Yogi to dissolve himself and transfer his energy into the linga. Following which, his disciple would lock the energies and complete the process. The first step was taken. Yogi transferred all his energies into the linga but the disciple got so overwhelmed with the atmosphere and also with the fact that he lost his guru, he could not lock the chakra. This resulted in two things – one, the linga got cracked since it could not retain the energy and two the pain of yogi’s lost leg got transferred into the linga. Though the linga could only be 90% complete, it still resonates with tremendous power and speak volumes of the painful saga of that yogi’s unfinished dream.

The Linga at Bhojeshwar Temple

The place is Bhojpur, it’s in Madhya Pradesh. It is around 40 kms away from Bhopal city. The temple is located in a village and is at the top of a hill. One can even take a long walk to this temple from the city. I feel that  the idea to build the temple at the top of the hill would have been similar as stated earlier. So that, one can drop the mind and come empty. Fill the empty cup and return.

Betwa River

Nearby, flows betwa river which is the primary source of living of that village. A gush of mad winds blow in Bhojpur that encompasses the past and whispers the painful saga of its incompleteness. The tallest living linga throbs with such a powerful force that it nearly shakes every human being whosoever comes in contact with it. The temple is still incomplete. One can see that the pillars are broken and the carvings are damaged. Most probably they might have got damaged during the warfare. The operating charge of the temple is now taken over by Archeological society of India who is also promoting the temple. The temple opens at sunrise and closes by sunset. It is one of the tallest linga present in india. The architecture is beatific and attracts many visitors.

I was in such an awe since I have never seen such a magnanimous attempt of humanity. It was sheer brilliance that the linga stands tall and speaks of its painful saga. I realized that sitting there for a while was so overwhelming. One can go lost in deep trance since that place is so powerful and vibrant with energy. The silence of the village deepens the whole experience. It is so deep that it cuts one apart.

Damaged Relics

This unfulfilled dream was then finished by one of our contemporary yogi in the southern city of India, Coimbatore. It is known as Dhyanlinga temple. Dhyanlinga is 100% complete with all the 7 chakras intact and shines tall with thousands of meditators visiting the temple every day. I have been so fortunate to see both the lingas, sit beside them and share their legacies. Both the lingas only understand the language of silence which is devoid of any religion or caste. One can sit in the their presence and get dissolved as a soap bubble in air.

On my way back from bhojpur, I was thinking that someday I may lose my mind and lose all memories that I have gathered so far but my body will never forget the experience of coming in contact with such an engineering marvel. It will always take me back and invigorate me with the energy that shook the very fundamentals of my existence.