Why Shirdi and Trimbakeshwar should be on your temple trip list
RAMA SREEKANT
It was a four-day weekend; typically, I would have loved to
lounge at home. But I agreed to be a part of a trip to Shirdi and
Trimbakeshwar, the former I have a hazy memory of and the latter, I have only
read about in Geography textbooks.
The four-hour drive was long and the sun was shimmering. We
finally arrived in Shirdi at 2.30 pm. As soon as our car enters the temple
town, I find everything around named after Sai Baba—Sai Academy, Sai Housing
Society, Sai Veg. Restaurant...Soon, we were at the Keys Hotel Temple Tree, a
three-month old three-star property. We were welcomed with the traditional
tikka and a huge glass of Virgin Lemon Mojito, which was oh-so-refreshing.
Located in proximity to the Sai Baba temple complex, the 87-room hotel is not
just a hotel, it is a resort, an affordable luxury. The hotel also offers a
wide range of business services, making it ideal for pilgrims and business
travellers alike. It is the only hotel in Shirdi which offers rooms specially
designed to the needs of the differently abled and single women.
We were clearly running an hour behind schedule, as per the
itinerary. But first things first—a traditional sumptuous Maharashtrian lunch
was awaiting us—sol kadhi, kothambir wadi, wangyachi kaap, koshimbir, matki chi
sukhi usal, baingan bharta, batatyacha bhaji, puri, bhakri, shrikhand and rabdi
with gulab jamun.
Soon, we set out for the reason we were in Shirdi, to visit
the Sai Baba Temple and other religious places associated with Baba. We were
accompanied by two guides- Omprakash Pandey and Prem.
Just like Tuesdays is associated with Lord Ganesh, Thursdays
is considered as the day of Sai Baba. Being a curious cat, I asked them, “Why
Thursday?” To which Prem replied, “Baba attained samadhi on Thursday”, and
Omprakash said, “It is believed that many years ago, some people saw Baba's form
in the temple, on a Thursday”. And I wonder, why do we twist history based on
facts that we don't know. I am not questioning the importance of Thursday, but
I have observed that facts related to temples are varying more often than not,
depending on the 'expert'.
The Lord and his Devotees
As is the case in most temples, here too, you cannot take
mobile phones, shoes and cameras inside the temple premises. Lockers are
available at the entrance of the temple complex to keep your valuable
belongings at a price. You can also keep your shoes in the shoe-racks, for a
small amount.
As we entered the temple complex, I felt a strange sense of
disconnect—disconnect from the noise, from the crowds, the hustle and bustle.
And this was unusual, because claustrophobia has been a long-standing friend.
Luckily, for us, the hotel staff had arranged special passes, which meant no
standing in serpentine queues. But special passes can be booked online or
bought inside the complex for a quick darshan.
While we walked through the special entrance lane, I watched
huge crowds waiting under the hot sun to get one glimpse of their Lord. They
were different from us, I thought to myself, not because they stood in the
regular line, but because a lot of them had walked to Shirdi from their
hometowns—be it Mumbai, Pune, Nashik. “Walking from Mumbai to Shirdi takes
about 10-15 days,” Omprakash informs me. To me, they were a font of
determination.
We were surrounded by chants of 'Sai Baba ki Jai'; devotees
from different castes, communities were here to offer their prayers and
respect. “You have come to the temple at the most auspicious time of the year,”
Omprakash tells me. “Baba's punyatithi falls on the day of Dussehra, so people
from all around the country visit the temple. Tomorrow, the crowd here will be
double,” he adds.
Inside the Temple Complex
Soon, I see before me a life-size white marble sculpture of
Baba, draped with a beautiful blue silk robe. Seated below a gold-plated crown,
his face is a picture of calm and peace, just as he was believed to be, back in
the days. Time is a luxury in most places of worship, I have been to. We got
about two minutes to look at Baba, thank him for all his grace and of course,
as is normal human tendency, ask him to grant other wishes on the list.
After the darshan, we visited the museum which houses Baba's
belongings—the bed on which he breathed his last, his white kurta, his jhola,
pictures of him with his devotees. We walked around the Neem tree, which is
believed to be Baba's meditation spot. “Legend goes that the leaves of this
tree offered shelter to Baba from the harsh sun, and the leaves now have a
sweet taste due to his blessings,” Prem tells us. Unfortunately, this story
can't be put to test as the tree is surrounded by a humongous iron mesh. The
leaves never fall outside it.
Our next stop was Shree Chawadi, where Baba used to sleep.
The Chawadi is divided into two parts—the left is for women and the right only
for men. We then walked to towards Dwarka Mai, a mosque where Baba lived and
cooked for everyone. It is considered very sacred among his devotees.
We then headed to Khandoba temple, which is a five-minute
drive from the main shrine. “When Baba placed his first step in this temple,
the residing priest called out to him, 'Aao Sai', and that's how he came to be
known as Sai Baba. No one knows his real name,” shares Omprakash. And on that
note, we head back to the hotel contemplating the recent uproar questioning Sai
Baba's caste. But last evening, one of the leading national Hindi news channels
carried a story on how the Shirdi Temple had collected Rs. 4 crore and 12 lakhs
in donation. Faith, I guess, is above religion.
Tea Talk
Back in the hotel, it's time for high-tea. Accompanied by
the hotel manager, Satyajit Kotwal, we sit out in the lawn and chat with him
about the hotel. “The hotel has four rooms designed specifically for single
women and so far, we've had two single women stay with us,” he tells me, adding
“there is a video call feature in these rooms. So the guest can view who's
waiting at the door. Also, we have our own processes—the single women rooms are
on the first floor, an attendant visits the floor every hour to check for any
notorious activity, I keep note of the guest's contact number and the number of
the vehicle she's travelling in.”
As we chat more, it's time for dinner. And we are told,
besides the buffet, a special Maharastrian dinner is being prepared for us. The
Keys Cafe is a multi-cuisine vegetarian restaurant. “Chef Sandeep knows how to
delight meat-eating guests with finger-licking vegetarian delicacies,” said one
of the group members (who is a hardcore non-vegetarian). After feasting on
lemon coriander soup, aloochi wadi, moong dal bhajiya, bharli wangi, sev bhaji,
beetroot rissoto with kurkuri bhindi and a bowl of caramelised banana toffy
with butterscotch ice-cream, it was time to call it a day!
Karma Cleaner
We woke up to a lovely Dussera morning—a 6 am walk on the
open-air lawn, watching the crimson sun rise over open green fields and praying
to the Lord to kill the evil within us and let only goodness prevail. Day 2 was
a trip to Trimbakeshwar temple. The route to Trimbakeshwar is dotted with
sugarcane fields and tiny villages, where life, to the naked eye, seems devoid
of urban-lifestyle concerns. The locals look fitter and stronger than any
gym-freak I know. 36 km from the city of Nashik, the town of Trimbak is known
to be the origin of the Godavari river. The temple lies at the foothills of
Brahmagiri mountain; it is revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord
Shiva. After a four-hour drive, when we arrived at the temple, it was beaming
with devotees who didn't care about the blazing sun. The walk up to the temple
from the car park area is about 10 minutes. Once we reached the main entrance,
we asked around for special darshan tickets as the regular queue would take
about 2 to 3 hours to get a sneak peak of the 'linga'. 200 bucks/person and we
were off for our darshan. It was quicker than I expected, considering it was
also Dussera.
The fascinating feature of the Jyotirlinga in this temple
constructed in black stones is: the linga has three faces symbolizing Lord
Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. We are told that the Jyotirlinga is covered
by a jewelled crown, which is placed over the golden mask of the three gods.
The crown, it is believed, dates back to the times of Pandavas, but it is
displayed to the devotees only on Mondays from 4pm to 5pm.
Devotees from far and wide visit this temple to perform
pujas for various reasons. A quick search on Google will give you the reasons:
The puja is performed for many reasons like to cure an illness, going through
bad times, killing a Cobra (Nag), childless couples, financial crisis or you
want to perform some religious puja to have a peaceful and happy life to you
and your family members.
“The temple is considered to be Karma Cleaner,” one of the
group members tells me. On that note, after gulping down a chilled glass of
fresh sugarcane juice, I secretly hope my visit to the temple does wash away
all my karma.
(Coutesy: DNA)
0 टिप्पणियाँ