PILGRIMAGE TO THE DIVINE ABODE OF LORD
SHIVA
Mt. Kailash, at 6714 m also known as Tise, Kailasa &
Kang Rinpoche(Jewel of the Snows), has since time immemorial
been celebrated in many Eastern cosmologies as Mt. Meru,
the axis mundi. And as the center of the physical &
metaphysical universe, Mt. Meru is sacred to the Buddhist,
Jains, the Hindus & the Bonpos. For the Hindus, the
mountain represents the seat of Lord Shiva; for the Buddhists,
a terrestrial projection of the cosmic mandala of Dhyani-Buddhas
& Boddhisatvas….The Wheel of Life; for the Bonpos,
Kailash was the sacred nine storey Swastika Mountain, upon
which the Bonpo founder Sherab alighted from heaven. Four
of the great rivers of the Indian subcontinent originates
from here: the Karnali, which feeds into the Ganges (south);
the Indus (north); the Sutlez (west) & the Brahmaputra
(Yarlung Tsangpo, east).
For the devout pilgrim a visit to Mt. Kailash & Lake
Manasorovar forms the ultimate realization of their spiritual
pursuit in life. The trip can rightly be termed `Once-in-a-lifetime
experience'.
The Year 2002 is the TIBETAN WATER-HORSE YEAR, a very sacred
year for pilgrimage to MT. KAILASH & LAKE MANASOROVAR,
coming every 12 year cycle. There will be pilgrims flocking
into Kailash from every corner of the world to pay homage
& undertake holy circumambulation of this holiest of
the mountains especially on the Baisakh full moon day, i.e,
May 26, 2002. Merits thus accumulated by undertaking pilgrimage
to Mt. Kailash during the year of the HORSE is believed
to be multiplied manifold.
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