Back from the Himalayas..Reverand Swami Kripamayananda returns from Mount Kailash

In the August of 2013  a much loved and popular monk ..who is the head of the Vedanta Society of Toronto Revered Swami Kripamayananda visited  Mount Kailash and the Lake Manosaravar in the Himalayas. This is one of the holiest pilgrimages for the followers  of many Faiths from the East to the West.. on Sunday night Swami returned to the centre in Toronto Canada .

On Monday a small group of devotees including I were able to meet him and get a tiny glimpse of his pilgrimage..

Wikipedia described Mount Kailash and Lake Monosaravar  as" a peak in the Kailas Range , which are part of the Transhimalaya in Tibet. This place is considered a sacred place in four religions: Bön, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The mountain lies near Lake Manasarowar and Lake Rakshastal in Tibet." Untill recently it was considered one of the most difficult terrains to cross and took several months and almost an year to visit and many never returned to tell the story..

In the huge hall upstairs at the Vedanta society of Toronto, there is a framed picture  of Mount Kailash, the Lake Manosaravar and another of Swami Vivekananda.

When reverend Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj showed us the pictures of Mt Kailash and the Lake Manosaravar  which he himself clicked on his IPhone just a few weeks ago..it was kind of uncanny. A reinforced feeling of " being able to reach whatever  heights you strive for"..

"When you look at the Mount Kailash from so close up..you feel that you can almost embrace it.." he told us..The Swami talked about the breath taking view from Nepal across the China border to Tibet and the beautifully simple and open hearted people..He showed us pictures of the Pony rides he and the 29 other pilgrims took over the hills and mountains and the still and clear waters of Lake Manosarowar the highest fresh water lake in the world. On August 6th the night of the new moon, the Swami and his group reached Mt Kailash. He had once explained how the new moon is the time when " Sadhakas" ( serious aspirants) practise their Sadhana ( penances ) .You feel God so `clearly' in the beauty of nature " he has said in many of his talks..and  in the pictures of  Manosarawar and Kailash  we see that the Divine Artist was on a `special mission' of endowing Lake Manosaravar and Kailash with unearthly beauty,....
 


Maya Sheshgiri and husband Dr Jitin our friends from Toronto were some of the lucky ones who were part of the group on this once in a life time experience. Maya spoke of  how her heart was filled with peace and happiness which could not be described . " Travelling in the company of those who like Shiva have renounced everything in the world is the greatest of all experiences " she recalled.."We learnt and experienced much just by being in the presence of a true Holy Man"..

Tired but happy our beloved Swami shared his spiritual experience more in his presence than by just words. He brought back the  peaceful and holy vibrations of the sacred Mountains in the Himalayas and of Belur in Kolkatta and also Kathmandu in Nepal which was the main stop over..

 The `Rudraksha Beeds' from Nepal and holy Water from Lake Manosarawaar  were mementos of his affection and sacred `Prasad'.to the believers.

Swami Kripamayananda spoke about his trip to Kailash in  a lecture delivered at the Vedanta society of Toronto in early November 2013. The videa recording of the talk in his own words can be viewed on the Vedanta society website.
 ( http://newsite.vedantatoronto.ca/media.shtml)

Last year  in the summer of 2012 Reverend Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Jordan and all the holy sites of Christianity in Europe and returned with the same joy and peace which he felt at Mt Kailash. We too felt the same when he spoke with true admiration and enthusiasm about the " Holy Land" and the greatness of  true followers of the Christ..and of Judaism.

Its difficult to explain this view to some of the fanatical `followers' of any faith whether it be Islam, or Hindusim or  of Christianity . Fanatics  spend their time and energy in deriding and hating people of other faiths.They are unable to just follow their own paths in peace and tranquility and respectfully experience everything beautiful there is to know.in each. but..."To each his own."

 
Religious Fanaticism which is another face of Racism is a huge  billion dollar industry. Under the guise of `spirituality' covert and not so covert messages of ' hate and distrust and " our way is right and everyone else is wrong" is planted into the minds and hearts of the unsuspecting..it has become the `Brain washing methodology" of mankind..
TV evangelism that spreads more divisiveness and fanaticism in every faith..whether it be Hinduism, Christianity, Islam or more..has become a huge industry by itself..

Many of these  so called  Religious `Leaders'..go to great lengths in their sermons to prove that  their path alone is right and everyone else's path is wrong and how the world is `out to get them' .So the only purpose of life for the faithful  is to fight the unfaithful..
There is no spiritual message of how to deal with their own lives and find the answers they seek. There is no talk about how man can communicate with God in meditation, and prayer , in the beauty of nature and in service to mankind.. .and sadly  many of their followers actually feel uplifted and `renewed' after listening to their `war cries' made in the name of their God..
My question is..why do we seek spirituality and what it is we are looking for..when we start our journey and search into the spiritual unknown.?

I remember more than 20 years ago when I was a young  student .. my beloved Father was diagnosed with terminal cancer..it was also the time I was facing the pangs and heart break of being a very young woman growing up...my world was falling to pieces all around me..

I ran to temples and Holy men and  then by and by a found the  path and spiritual practices that brought peace to my mind and soul and gave me the strength and inner faith to withstand everything...That path was the one of Vedanta which is a harmony and respect and love for all that is truly spiritual and great in religion..and so a Vedantist can be free wherever he goes..because he is not bound by any one `religion' ..but can see the same God in all..




Was I looking for rhetoric..? Was I looking for speeches and war cries against others ..No..I was searching for a healing balm for my broken soul...I found that in the search for a god that heals and loves and not in `fanaticism' and hate..which is preached by the bigots in every path..the spiritual methods of meditation and contemplation are the basis of this most ancient and peace giving religion ..that comes from the Vedas..( the oldest known scipiritual scriptures of the world) and has worked for me and for millions through the ages.It teaches each individual to communicate and meditate on their God in the deepest receses of their heart and soul alone...
...
But You  can see the Bigots dressed as priests in some of the temples, churches and mosques of Canada ..In some temples they justify the system of caste and rights of men over women..
You hear them in the pulpits of ` extremist churches' singing and shouting aloud  " our God is the best God.the ONLY God. He is better than  any other" ???  sorry guys.you lost me there .
As you say if he  is the ONLY God of everybody..( and your book is the only one )... where does the " ours  and yours and we and they " come in..? That is divisive politics to divide people of different faiths and keep the congregation from opening their minds and hearts..and flying out..in fact a lot of religions is more about politics than the personal journey of each soul towards the " Peace that surpasses all understanding"....
You hear it in the messages of hate coming from the blood soaked deserts of the Middle East." all non believers should be killed" "  
The same demonic message ..coming through different garbs in different religions..from men and women who have never ever really known or understood their true spiritual nature..." One wonders what gives any individual the right to take this high road of
" Holier than thou"?"Everyone else except us follows us  a false religion..Says who???
isn't hate and divisiveness the greatest show of atheism.
I am personally a very great fan of Joel Osteen the Christian Evangelist from Lakewood church USA. Ever since Brian introduced me to his books and talks..I am one of the millions who considers him a man with a positive message not only for Christians but for all who need some positive direction in their lives. Though I find the style and message of many of the Christian evangelists divisive  and political I think Vedantists would consider Joel Osteen as one of their own..so universal and wide is his message and reach.

 More than a hundred years ago an intensely spiritual man named Ramakrishna who loved his God with an intense passion lived his life in Dakshineswar India..

This humble man devoted his life to practicing the path of every faith and experienced the same light and intense peace which each path promises. He declared.."Joto Math..Totho Path" Every path when it is of of peace and divinity ..is true as the other".." They ( the Prophets )were all right and lead us to the same Truth"..and each one of you can experience it too..anyway you like.."
and like him  those who have actually reached that ocean of light and truth..all say that every path leading to that ocean is as true as the other.. some may be easier for you and the other easier for others..but we are all headed there ...

Vedanta and the path of Ramakrishna Paramahansa which Vedantist follow describes every incarnation from Krishna to Jesus , from Buddha to Mohammed as true and sacred and so a true Vedantist feels as much as joy and enthusiasm in a church as in a temple..in Jerusalem as much as in Manosaravar or Bodh Gaya. The Vedanta centre temples over N America celebrate Christmas with as much as reverence as they celebrate Janmashtami and the pictures of Jesus finds as much a place of respect as those of  Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and  Ma Sarada Devi on the alter.To readers of Dale Carnegie it would be something like " Im OK you too are OK " in the spiritual realm.And you can see these qualities in great men and women of every religion.


Today slowly but surely thousands in India , a few hundred in Canada and many more over the world live their life by the clear message of Vedanta." I will follow the path that works for me..but I totally respect and trust that the path you have chosen is true too". ( as long as it is one of peace and tolerance and not of hate and violancel).and yet those that live with this outlook are too few in number...
 

In an age where religious fanaticism and hate rule many aspects of life in the world..maybe the message and presence of these peace bringers like the gentle and peace giving Monks of Vedanta such as our own  Swami Kripamayananda who can experience the divine bliss in both Jerusalem and Mt Kailash in the same breath..need to heard above that of all else....

Posted by Lipi Mukherji.