Theos-Talk Archives (March 2004 Message tt00655)

It seems the more I travel around India, the greater mysteries it 
unfolds. The Elephanta caves are a case in point. This, as well as 
most caves with such sculptures, are traditionally attributed to 
followers of the Buddha. If you ever visit Elaphanta, what seems 
remarkable is the number of Hindu deities represented. It is not 
simply a representation, though, but what appears to be Esoteric 
explanations of Hinduism in the form of sculpture. 

In the south, there are five temples dedicated to the five elemental 
aspects of Lord SHiva. This is represented by earth, water, fire, 
air, and akasha which is exactly the same as the western attributes 
and not the Chinese. The most famous temple is the one representing 
akasha in Chithumbaram. There is the idol called the dancing 
Nataraja, but to the side resides the real deity of the temple, that 
is represented by "space." Yes, there is absolutely nothing there. 
And this "nothing" is worshipped as if there was "something." 

Last year I was up in the far North of the continent, and spent some 
five weeks in the isolated town of Badrinath. The idol is called 
Badri Vishalya and is said to represent Narayana(the movement in the 
waves) but there is also another tradition that says that it is 
actually Lord Shiva. I actually got to see the idol, and it looks 
South American, it's head is like a skull, it's eyes are filled with 
jewels, it's body miniscule, and the two feet are upward touching 
almost the shoulders in a kind of padmasana. I was struck on seeing 
it with the image of the skull and crossbones seen on pirate flags. 
There is a nearbye village of a very unique ethnic group calling 
themselves the Manas. They attribute a much older tradition to the 
idol, saying that it was actually the remains of a sage put to stone. 
They call it by a differenty name. So this one idol seems to 
represent three different gods to three different groups who make 
their way to worship it. 

At one time, it was impossible to visit Badrinath unless you were 
dedicated to traversing one of the most difficult paths on earth. 
Today, it is in the reach of almost anybody. This is why I think we 
are in a better position to understand the ancient mysteries than 
people of past centuries. Yet our minds are still stuck in their 
assumptions. Perhaps it's time to re-investigate with what we can 
learn today.

Koshek