The Goddess of Nainital

The Goddess of Nainital

A distinguishing feature of Hinduism is the existence of Numerous Gods and Goddesses. This is so even though Hindus believe firmly that there is only one God in the universe Who pervades everything and that there is nothing else besides him. To a person not familiar with Hinduism this monotheism appears contradictory to the polytheistic practices of Hindus. However, to a devout Hindu there is no contradiction. In Hindu philosophy it is believed that the infinite eternal Supreme may act through any finite being in the universe in order to carry out the functions of the universe or to communicate with a devotee. A devotee may regard the Infinite in a particular finite form possessing defined attributes and a chosen name in order to establish a tangible relationship with the Infinite and formless God of the Universe. The Bhagavat Gita (Or Gita in short), one of the most highly regarded scriptures of Hinduism explains this in verses 3-5 of chapter 12 as follows“ Those who controlling all their senses and even minded towards all, devoted to doing good to all creatures constantly adore the Supreme, even as present in their very selves, the unthinkable, all pervading, eternal unmanifest and immutable Supreme spirit they come to me. However the path of those who have their mind attached to the formless unmanifest is rugged for identification with the formless is attained with difficulty by a consciousness centered in a body possessing form and attributes. “When a Hindu chooses his or her favorite form of the Divine Infinite, it may be one that is characterized by particular benefits that the chosen God can grant to a disciple. Thus the Goddess Laxmi is regarded as a Goddess that can shower wealth on a devotee if pleased. 

The Bhagvat Gita does not regard highly a devotee that approaches the Divine Spirit with the aim of securing particular worldly benefits. This is explained in verses 21 to 23 of the Gita as follows:“Whatever Celestial form a devotee seeks to worship with faith the Eternal being stabilizes the faith of that devotee in that very form. If he worships and desires an enjoyment from this deity, he obtains that enjoyment if it pleases the Eternal Being. However the enjoyment gained by such persons of limited intelligence is perishable. The worshippers of Gods attain the Gods, whereas the worshippers of the eternal supreme spirit attain the eternal supreme spirit.”Thus it appears that although Hinduism as expounded in the Gita supports the practice of approaching the Eternal Supreme being through various Deities possessing various forms, it does not regard this practice as the best if it is associated with achieving some worldly gain. Elsewhere the Gita has explained that the best devotee is one who approaches the Divine out of wisdom and love only and not for the attainment of any gain or alleviating any suffering. The Divine can see that on His own and grant a devotee unasked anything that is necessary for his or her welfare.There is full freedom in Hindu practice to choose any particular God or Goddess for worship. It could be a single God or it could also be many since all represent different aspects of the same Infinite Supreme Being. The eternal Supreme Being is neither male nor female but the Gods who are a part of the physical universe are either male or female and a Hindu may choose either a male or female representation of God as per his or her inclination. The various forms and attributes of the innumerable Gods and Goddesses have been handed down through the ages. The origin of some is not known whereas some have been due to the visions of saintly seers. In this respect new forms of Gods and Goddesses can and do constantly emerge. When a God and Goddess is a historical personality there is likely to be a great deal of history and mythology associated with that God or Goddess. Some Deities such as Shankar, Krishna, Rama and Hanuman and the Goddess Durga are widely worshipped whereas there also exist deities that are worshipped in a single village consisting of a few hundred people only. In many cases a single God or Goddess may possess many different forms and names particularly if the God or Goddess is an elevated one close to the Infinite. Thus the God Vishnu possesses many names and avatars and so does the Goddess Durga. Some forms of the Goddess are gentle and others fearful. The Goddess takes on a fearful form when conquering great evil forces of the world. The Sanskrit text Durga Saptashati by the sage Markandya describes many of the forms and names of the Goddess.The scriptures describes the eternal Supreme being who may be related to the Divine name Om or Shiva existed as neither male nor female at the beginning of creation. He then produced the female principle in order to propagate the physical universe through the union of males and females. The female entity was produced from the very being of the male creator much in the same way as eve was produced from a rib of Adam in Semitic mythology. It is interesting to note that modern scientific studies have established that the males of all species carries both the male and female, x and y, chromosome whereas the female carries the female y chromosome only.The original female divinity, the Goddess Durga has the position of a female consort of Lord Shiva. Both Siva and Durga have appeared in various forms and continue to do so in order to create the physical universe. They may also act through other beings including humans who worship these divinities and surrender their free will to them. When such worship and surrender is total, the human acquires supernatural powers and may be regarded as a physical representation of the chosen deity. Thus it is held by some that Shankar was a sage who meditated for several years on mount Kailash of the Himalayas to the extent that he lost his own individual consciousness to Lord Siva. He is therefore known as Shiv Shankar and his is the form in which many Hindu’s worship the infinite formless creator. As Shiv Shanker the primal Goddess Durga too took a human form and became his consort.

In the Nainital District of the Himalayas the form the eternal Goddess is worshipped in is as Naina Devi of Nainital or as Nanda Devi in the higher reaches of the district. She is known by other names and forms as well such as Kasar Devi or as Nando Devi. Nanda Devi is believed to have reincarnated several times in the district over the ages in various communities that came to live in the district and often had the same or similar name even in her human reincarnation. The origin of Goddess worship in Nainital district dates back to around the beginning of this millennium. The first mention of Naina Devi in human history is as the Goddess Nana in ancient Sumeria. A diplomatic treaty signed 1895,  by the Shah of Persia, accorded to France the exclusive right to carry out archeological excavations in Persia. Morgan was appointed Delegate-General of Antiquities in Persia, with a mission to carry on the research at Susiana. Morgan and colleagues commenced work there in 1897 The remains discovered by them consist of immense numbers of inscribed bricks covered with cuneiform writing and of works of art. As to the inscriptions in the Elamite language. Several were brought to the Louvre in Paris. Dr. Scheil has deciphered these: -

About B.C. 2280 the king of Susa, Kudur-Nakhunta, affected the conquest of Mesopotamia and decorated his capital with the spoils of the towns of Chaldae. Among these was the statue of the goddess Nana, which he caused to be transported from Uruk to Susa. During the twelfth century B.C. The kings of Nineveh became the most powerful rulers of this part of the world. They were the dominating power in Chaldæ and constituted themselves protectors of the country against the incursions of the Susians. Under Sargon, king of Assyria [B.C. 722-705] and his successors there began a mighty struggle, which ended with the ruin of Susa by Assurbanipal in B.C. 647. The king of Nineveh, relating his conquests in the land of Elam, records that sixteen centuries earlier Kudur-Nakhunta, king of Susa, had invaded Mesopotamia, and carried away the statues of the Chaldæn gods, more especially the image of the great goddess Nana, which thus remained prisoner until he, Assurbanipal, went to her rescue. (Assyrian Discoveries: An Account of Explorations and Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh, during 1873 and 1874 (Paperback) by George Smith, Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, ISBN 1402155719) 

By the beginning of the present millennium the worship of Goddess Nana appears to have spread through a very large part of the old world including Hungary, Armenia, Persia, Central Asia and South Asia. In India the worship of Goddess Nana appears to have been introduced first by the Kassites deported from Persia by the Assyrians and later perpetuated by the Kushanas. A rock inscription seven kilometers from Almora in Nainital District estimated to date to second century B.C. pays homage to the Goddess of the Kassites – Kasar Devi or Nana. The Kushanas recognized Nana as the Goddess with the lion and as the consort of Lord Shiva as depicted on their coinage. The Kushana empire (First to third century) stretched from central Asia to northwestern India covering the Himalayan regions as well as much area to the south and north of the city of Ujjain including present day Uttaranchal. The Kushanas were of central Asian mongoloid origin and it is probably partly because of this reason that the northwestern tribes of Himalayas display partial Mongol features. The reverse of Kushan coins is a space reserved for gods and goddesses, often symbols of dynastic power and authority. On the reverse of coins there is an image of a lion along with the Mesopotamian goddess Nana. The image of the lion is drawn from the reverse of the coins of the Greek kings. It is certain that it represents a lion in this case because in the Kushan period Nana is often represented with a lion. There are no earlier examples of Nana on central Asian coins but after Sapadbizes she appears on coins of several Kushan rulers. Though most coins use the simpler spelling Nana, some of Kanishka’s coins use the legend Nanaia. The spelling Naina has been introduced over the past two centuries when the district of Naninital came under British rule. On the coins of Huvishka and Kanishka II/III the Goddess appears seated on a lion. The early Guptas (Chandragupta) continued the use of this image on their coins. Huvishka stuck coins with Greek, Hindu, Zoroastrian and Bactrian deities. Some of his rare coin issue shows Goddesses Uma and Durga with her vehicle Lion. The representation of Nana with Shiva on some of Huvishka's coins is significant. It shows that the Kushana Hindu priests recognized Nana as the primal Goddess and consort of Shiva. Later Kushana rulers (VasudevaI, KanishkaII, Vashishka) used either Shiva or Lakshmi in their coinage.A kasssite tribe the Katyuris appear to have ruled the Himalyan region of Kumaon since ancient times both during the Kushan and Gupta period as well as later. Villages of Taleshwar, Tillari and Deora about two hundred kilometers from Nainital have archeological remains and inscriptions of Katyuri Kings. The Goddess Naina is believed by some to have reincarnated as a princess of the Chand dynasty of the region. She was worshipped as an avatar of Goddess Durga or Naina. A buffalo killed her on her way to her in-laws soon after her worship began as a goddess to neutralize the Karma of a previous birth when the Goddess had killed a demon who had taken the form of a buffalo. The highest peak of the region is regarded as her abode and named after her.The Naina Devi temple site in Nainital is recognized by some as the spot where both eyes of the Devi fell during her avatar as Sati. However The Nainital region is not the only region recognized for this. Another spot more famous for that is in Himachal Pradesh north of Anandpur Sahib where a huge temple of Naina Devi exists. In 1880 when Nainital District was under British rule a huge landslide took place destroying the ancient temple. Amarnath Shah reconstructed the temple in 1883. The most famous temple of the Goddess with the name Nanda is in Almora.The Goddess of Nainital has been the patron Goddess of some of the greatest civilizations seen ay mankind for over four thousand years. It is not surprising then that the District of Nainital where She presently reigns supreme. The present Uttarakhand Government must do its best to preserve the glory of this district as such and the author of this article is prepared to assist that effort in any humble way that he can. This article is a small contribution in that direction.

Who was Babaji or Baba Haidakhan?

The Himalayan Hill Ranges are dotted with lakes, rivers,  springs bearing pure sweet water, wild flowers, butterflies, pine, oak and numerous other trees. Here the air is fresh, crisp and full of life giving oxygen. Certainly if a region has to be chosen as the abode of Gods on our planet, it would have to be the hills, valleys and caves of the Himalayas.

The Himalayas are also home to numerous Monasteries and Ashrams (Hindu Monasteries). Local inhabitants call the region Dev Bhumi or the abode of Gods. This region to the north of India has been marked by the appearance of saints and divine personalities since times immemorial. Many saints have been born in this region including the Great Buddha. Others born elsewhere have spent numerous years meditating in the Himalayan ranges. A youthful saint of about twenty years, who later became famous as Baba Haidakhan appeared in 1970 in the Kumaon foothills of the Indian Himalayas in the district of Nainital. Baba or Babaji is a general term used for saintly personalities in India. Often Baba’s do not disclose their place of birth or origin and are simply known by the name of the place they appear in. Thus Baba Haidakhan was called Baba Haidakhan because he first appeared near the village of Haidakhan and later built a well-known Ashram at the site. When a Baba stays in more than one place, the same Baba is called by different names by different people. The city of Jaipur where this author presently lives is said to have been constructed due to the inspiration given a few centuries ago by a saintly Baba to the King of Jaipur State (Jai Singh). The Baba was called Tadkeshwar Baba because he was found meditating under Tad trees (a variety of Palm). The same Baba probably lived at other places at different times (including the Himalayas) and would have been known by other names at such other places.

There is a practical reason for Baba’s not discussing their human origins that this author discovered for himself during an experimental stint as a Baba earlier this year. Becoming a saintly personality requires a human to keep his mind focused on a divine center (image or word) through meditation and away from ones own ego, name and desires. Talking of one’s origin draws the focus away from this meditative state back into the gross human state. Therefore, asking such saintly persons of their origin is not appropriate. It may distract them. It produces a meaningless answer. Baba Haidakhan was no exception. He gave different replies to different people. The fact that he was a saintly being is of no doubt since thousands witnessed his miraculous powers. Even if we are to assess him from a purely human perspective it is a miracle that a youth of twenty, with no money or resources, apparently little or no worldly education can inspire such a worldwide following as Babaji did during his brief lifetime. Babaji supervised the construction of huge ashrams and temples stretching over hundreds of acres in remote inaccessible Himalayan locations. This author lived briefly at the Haidakhan ashram this summer and noted that the quality of construction though simple meets the best of engineering standards. Thus from a purely human perspective as well the achievements of Babaji were miraculous. His other miraculous powers as described by his devotes can be found in various books and publications about him. There is no doubt in this author’s mind as well as those of others who have known Babaji that he was indeed a saintly personality of the highest order.

Controversy however remains as to his origin and the type of divine personality that he was.Some claim that Babaji was the immortal Babaji as described in the book - autobiography of a yogi. Others claim that he was a reincarnation of another Baba who lived in Nainital District and died in 1922. Many claim him to be an avatar of Lord Siva – the Hindu interpretation of the divine force that supervised creation and will also supervise its dissolution.

There are some who regard him as a reincarnation of the ancient sage Shankar or Bhole Baba (the master of simplicity) who in ancient times meditated at mount Kailash and as a devout worshiper of the Formless Almighty was regarded by others as an Avatar of Siva. His is the form chosen by disciples of Siva when they wish to visualize the formless creator in human form and they call this representation Shiva-Shankar. Other worshipers of Siva visualize Shiva as the lord of dance Shiva-Natraja , ever engaged in the dance of strings to create the universe and keep it alive, or as the Shiva-Linga, (for the lord is in all things and the lord may be viewed as anything that inspires) the male force for the creation of life, at the point of evolution when sexual distinction becomes necessary for the propagation of life. The chanting Mantra of sage Shankar was 'Om Namah Shivay' the same mantra that Babaji advocated to disciples. One of the powers sage Shankar had was his command over ghosts i.e disembodied spirits (Jesus too had this power according to the Holy Bible). Because of it he was also called the Lord of the Ghosts - Bhuth Nath. Some say that Babaji too had this mystical power.  (Note: This para in blue was added as update on March 28, 2013)

  
Some regard him as merely human because he died in their presence on the 14th of February 1984 and on occasions displayed human childlike tendencies. Babaji himself gave different answers to different people at different times saying yes to all of the above answers on one occasion or another. All of the answers can be true if one understands spirituality from the point of view of saints as explained next.

All souls are from God and dwell in God. An individual soul is a part of the universal soul but functions as separate because of individual desires, experiences, ego and for fulfillment of karma (retribution) born out of individual free will granted by the Lord. An individual soul takes birth numerous times in numerous life forms including animal or human ones until karma and desires are exhausted. The soul then looses its individual identity and merges in the Infinite from whence it arose. Beings such as humans, that are capable of reason and logical thinking, can hasten this process through practices such as meditation, chanting etc.  A human can affect the state partially for brief or long periods of time.  When submergence and destruction of the individual karma, desires and ego is complete, the soul is said to achieve union with the infinite and is not reborn again. Buddha is said to have achieved this final liberation. If a human is able to suppress his or her individual desires, ego and thoughts through meditation temporarily while still alive, one may ask who is it that is acting in that body. Who is using the same human hands, eyes, legs, mouth etc if personal ego has been banished? Here the concept of surrender comes in. Through one’s individual free will one may submit ones body to divine forces for their use. Thus at different times different divine souls may use (or occupy in a manner of speaking) the same body. In this case a saintly person will give different answers at different times – all true. At times when not in divine meditation, the same person may become distinctly human displaying human weaknesses. It is the opinion of this author that most saintly personalities are in precisely this state. Thus Babaji too was many different personalities while he lived, and all his answers were absolutely truthful even though contradictory in purely human terms. 

Hindu philosophy and mythology is ancient, even confusing and complicated, full of parallel and contradictory accounts. Babaji himself spoke very little but some of his western followers scanning ancient mythology and philosophy have tried to give highly complex and unnecessary accounts of Babaji. Such accounts have appeared in publications on Babaji, while the brief message of Babaji was completely as simple as he himself was. Babaji did however say that of all those who come to him few would understand him. When some disciples try and categorize him as avatars or maha-avatar few actually even understand what the concept of avatar is. Often there is an erroneous assumption that the Almighty who is infinite and formless can become a finite human. Essentially, all consciousness of everyone is a part of universal consciousness. A person who harmonises with universal consciousness briefly and partially may be said to be charged with the holy spirit during that period. Sages, mystics and evolved personalities who understand this and function in harmony with the universal consciousness for a large part of their lives are avatars of a facet of the infinite universal consciousness - a facet through which they approach the divine. Others who continue to harmonize repeatedly over several births are maha-avatars that means great avatar. These latter can easily recall their previous births and reincarnations. In that sense maha-avatars do not die even when their physical bodies dies as it must. In Buddhism these latter souls are at times called Bodhisattvas. When one tries to assume that a transient human body that changes every second will live forever, they are perhaps expressing their love for something material whereas the body is meaningless to a saint, merely a temporary vehicle, like a car one uses to get around and discards for another one when it wears out. Why love the car and not the driver instead?

The virtue of truth was one upheld highly by Babaji along with those of love and simplicity. Perhaps the best answer that Babaji gave about himself is the following: -

“I am no one and nothing, this body has no meaning, being a transient and temporary vehicle for the soul.  It  is here to serve humanity.”

Babaji was also the mirror or vehicle in which other divine personalities including the Goddess Naina Devi/ Naini Mata, Nainital Baba and Lord Shiva as imaged by Hindus reflected from time to time. Babaji worshipped Naini mata with the name Haidakhandeshwari (meaning the goddess of Haidakhan) because it was she who mothered him at Haidakhan.

Note the word transient in Babaji's reply indicating a certain death of the physical body. It is ridiculous to think that there is a physical body in the universe that does not die. It has never happened. The physical part of the universe itself does not escape repeated and cyclic death as per Hindu philosophy, albeit after a very very long time.

Update on Babaji added on January 30, 2013

Babaji

Because Babaji was famous as the young Babaji of Nainital many of his disciples presumed that he would live forever without aging or dying. While this can be true for the spirit of saints it can never be so for the physical body that they occupy from time to time. It has been so with all saints including the most revered ones like Jesus and Buddha. Their bodies aged with time and the body died. But their spirit lives on as indeed it does for ordinary mortals too, only they do not know it.

In my other blog on life and spirituality, it is described that those who believe in reincarnation are not afraid of death and when their present duties for example taking care of children, family and aged parents is over they are not afraid of death and look forward to new lives in younger bodies that are more agile and energetic. This is especially true of saintly personalities who have the ability to recall previous lives. They stay no longer than their mission in their present bodies requires and as regards the young Babaji of Nainital this was especially true. It has been so with many other saints like Swami Vivekananda and Jesus too. Some like Gandhi and Buddha undertook much lengthier mission and stayed on until their bodies aged.

It is said that saintly Babas have the power to take on the bad karma of their disciples and they do that from time to time out of compassion and to assist their disciples. However in doing so their spiritual state and subsequently their physical state get compromised because they may do this faster than the bad karma can be dissolved in the universe. This reflected on Babaji and a sign was his putting on weight.

Amongst the unusual powers of Babaji was one in which he could make himself appear at more than one location simultaneously. What is not known to disciples that witnessed this power is that Babaji only created an illusion of that in the mind of disciples while his actual physical body remained at one place. Nevertheless it served the purpose because the illusory body could communicate with the disciple. Another power of Babaji was that  through meditation he could also make his body immune to heat or cold and at times meditated in the nude in cold winter on the banks of the Gautama Ganga River that flows by the Haidakhan ashram. Readers who are intrigued by this concept of eastern yogis wearing nothing more than the sky as their garment even in winter may wish to read the novel – Nude besides the Lake, available from Amazon that explores the concept in a light hearted and enjoyable manner. The word in the title is ‘besides’ and not beside in case you search for it on Amazon. You would find reviews of that work at Amazon. Add your own review if you wish. The book also explains much else of the philosophy of Baba Haidakhan as known only to a few who are spiritually related to him. The kindle version of it is inexpensive and can be downloaded in minutes.

Thus one night of February 1984, at an age of a little over 33, Babaji decided that it was time to move on and that night he let down his guard as he meditated on a cold February night in the nude. His physical body acquired pneumonia and he did nothing with his powers to banish that sickness. Soon after he left the world.

Adhering to the principles of Love, Truth and Simplicity; shunning idleness and the love of God were the main tenets of Babaji's philosophy. Babaji did not insist on any one particular view of God, Disciples were free to choose their own, He himself, as a Hindu though viewed God in his formless aspect (as during Havan) and also in humanised view both as a male (Shiv-Shankar) or female (Mother Goddess; see a post on that herehttp://nainitalgoddess.blogspot.in/2012/11/sunanda-goddess.html)  

PS: To read about my first personal encounter with Babaji in adult life - read the post - Encounter with a Himalayan Mystic in this blog - You will find a link in the side column.

While the author has described what others think who Baba Haidakhan was, he has so far refrained form declaring what he personally thinks about it. The reason is that even he is not fully certain as to Babaji’s real identity. Perhaps no human, even an evolved yogi cannot be, perhaps it does not matter, perhaps it is enough to recognize him just as one of those special saintly personalities charged with goodness that come to live on earth from time to time, or perhaps one can reveal what one’s own reasoned guess and experience in the matter is, for one can never be sure in such matters and certainly there can be no hard scientific evidence to back it  for such spiritual matters are beyond the realm of the physical sciences. My own estimate, based on my personal encounter and experience of Baba Haidakhan is that he is one of the many reincarnations of an ancient holy spirit who has taken birth repeatedly and lived mainly in the Himalayas around the present districts of Nainital and Almora of Uttarakhand. I cannot say for sure if one of his reincarnations was the same Babaji as described in the book ‘An autobiography of a yogi’ for I do not know much about this last but I do think that he is a reincarnation of some ancient sage, who appears from time to time as an instrument of the Divine in human form, who has now also become a part of Himalayan mythology, probably with some facts and some imaginary tales woven around him as happens with history lost in the midst of time and popular imagination.

For more on babaji check  this other post too:

 - http://nainitalgoddess.blogspot.in/2010/09/kriya-yoga-as-taught-by-baba-haidakhan.html 

Update June 19, 2013: Babaji like others before him including Jesus did say that evil is so widespread in the world that the Lord would destroy it soon saving only a few pure souls. The world is still around. How are we to interpret these messages then? One explanation is that the infinite lord is infinitely compassionate too and postpones time and again this scheduled task out of his infinite compassion, but for how long?