About Mount Kailash and religiou beliefs: Situated in the south-western part of Tibet bordering the Kumaon hills and Nepal, is Mount Kailash. It is supremely sacred mountain, cosmology connected with Mount Meru, the great mythological mountain that forms the axis of this world system. Being a central watershed of Asia, it has always been the most sacred mountains for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bons.
This region is steeped in religion and mythology and every year hundreds of pilgrims traverse some of the remotest and toughest regions of the Himalayas to pay their obeisance to the Lord. It is a land where Lord Shiva lives with his consort Parvati. According to ancient religious texts, the abode of creator Brahma is called Brahmaloka, the abode of Lord Vishnu is called Vaikunta abd the abode of Lord Shiva is called Kailash. Of the three, one can only go bodily and return in this life from Kailash having experienced divinity." accordng to Dr. Sethumadhava.
865 Kms from Delhi, stand Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar constituting one of the grandest of the Himalayan beauty spots. The perpetual snowclad peak of holy Kailas of hoary antiquity and celebrity, the spotless design of nature's art, of most bewitching and overpowering beauty, has a vibration of the supreme order from the spiritual point of view. It seems to stand as an immediate revelation of the Almighty in concrete form, which makes man bend his knees and lower his head in reverence. Its gorgeous silvery summit, resplendent with the luster of spiritual aura, pierces into a heavenly height of 6690 meters (22028 feet) above the level of the sea.
Mount Kailash, Where the Heaven meets the EarthKailash and its four faces:
With its four facades facing north, east, south, and west, Mount Kailash looks like an enormous diamond. The mountain is one of the tallest peaks in the Himalayas. Nearby is the source of the Indus, Sutlej, and Brahmaputra Rivers. The source of the Ganges is not far away. On its southern face, a vertical gash crosses horizontal layers, creating the image of a swastika. The word comes from svastika, Sanskrit for well-being and good fortune. Buddhists regard the mountain as a mandala -— the sacred circle from which the sacred rivers flow like the spokes of the eternal wheel.
Each of Mount Kailash's faces reflects different moods. The southern face reflects majesty or splendour; it is fully covered with snow. The western face is enveloped in an aura of compassion and benevolence. The northern face is stark, forbidding and daunting, while the eastern, only visible from a long way off, is mysterious and distant.
Kailash - Spiritual Cente for Jain and BuddhistTraditional Buddhist cosmology has often connected Kailash with Mount Meru, the great mythological mountain that forms the axis of our world system. As the center of this world system, Mount Meru is often visualized surrounded by the various continents and adorned with the sun and moon and then offered to the buddhas and bodhisattvas as a mandala. In addition to Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Bon practitioners all hold Mount Kailash to be sacred. Hindus most frequently see the mountain as the abode of Shiva and his divine entourage. A well-known Sanskrit lyrical poem from the fifth century, The Cloud Messenger by Kalidasa, pays tribute to the mountain and its surroundings through a message sent by an exiled denizen of Kailash to his wife via a passing cloud.
The Jains, whose own faith was founded at the time of the Buddha in India, regard Kailash as the place where the first Jain saint gained emancipation. Followers of the Bon tradition in Tibet worship the mountain as the spiritual center of the ancient country of Shangshung and as the place where their founder, Shenrab, descended to the earth from the sky. Because of these and other religious association, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Bon ascetics and pilgrims have been drawn to the mountain for thousands of years. Once they arrive they gaze upon it, circumambulate it and sometimes settle down to practice austerities and meditation. The 11th century Tibetan Buddhist saint Milarepa is said to have resided there for 11 years. Padmasambhava is also associated with the mountain, particularly the valley on the western side, where he stayed in a cave.
Kailash and Hinudu: Hindus view Kailas as the divine dwelling place of God Siva and Goddess Parvati. There, as the Supreme Yogi, naked and smeared with ashes, His matted hair coiled on top of His head, He sits on a tiger skin, steeped in the indescribable bliss of meditation. From His position of aloof splendor on the summit, His third eye blazing with supernatural power and awareness, the lord of the mountain calmly surveys the joys and sorrows, the triumphs and tragedies, the entire play of illusion that make up life in the world below. The power of His meditation destroys the world of illusions that bind people to the painful cycle of death and rebirth. When He rises to dance, He takes on the functions of Brahma and Vishnu and creates and preserves the universe itself.
The [Buddhist] mandala of Demchog on Kailas presents the universe as a circle of mountains, oceans and continents arrayed around a mythical mountain at the very center. This mountain, called Meru by Hindus and Sumeru by Buddhists, plays a pivotal role in Hinduism and Buddhism as the divine axis of the cosmos. According to Hindu mythology, Brahma, the supreme deity in the form of the creator, lives on its summit, surrounded by lesser deities. Meru and Kailas appear as separate mountains in early texts of Buddhist and Hindu mythology, but later tradition has tended to bring them together and identify them as one and the same. Today many Indians and Tibetans view Kailas as the place where the invisible form of Meru breaks through to appear in the physical plane of existence. A pilgrimage to the mountain, therefore, represents for them a journey to the very center of the universe — the cosmic point where everything begins and ends, the divine source of all that exists and has significance. In circling the peak and paying homage to a vision of Siva or Demchog on its shining summit, they make contact with something deep within themselves that links them to the supreme reality underlying and infusing the cosmos itself. For most Hindus and Buddhists of India and Tibet, the journey to Kailas is, in fact, the ultimate pilgrimage, both in terms of the sanctity of its goal and the difficulty of the way.
Some quotes from learned saints: "In Life, one gets what one deserves and not what one desires and He knows what one deserves - Swami Chinmayananda
Our ancients like Vyasa and great ones of recent times like Kalidasa have described this Kailas as the dear abode of Lord Mahadeva.
The Kailas peak full of dark black rocks with head adorned with glittering white snow stood like a leader amongst the long stretch of black mountains. "My body experienced horripilation and my mind immersed in the ocean of bliss was overcome with joy" - Sri Swami Tapovanam
I started walking slowly with my eyes pinned on to the lovely forehead of the Mount Kailsh. I started walking forward but my eyes, being rooted on the beautiful forehead of the Kailasa Montain, were incapable of looking here and there or even determining the path to be taken - Sri Swami Tapovanam
Srimad Shankaracharya in his Chandrashekara Astaka glorifies the abode of Ishwara - the Holy Mt. Kailash. Even "Yama" the life taker can not touch the devotees who worship Parashiva he claims. This is Kubera's living place also. After his brother Ravana takes control of Lanke and Pushpaka Vimana, Kubera with the blessings from Parameshwara establishes Alakapuri in Kailash and becomes Yaksharaja.
Those who the Veda svara's are referring to, those who are proficient in Vedas, His oneness with Nature, who is GREAT is Maheshwara. When you visit Mt. Kailash - the Abode of LORD Maheshwara you can experience this total truth. We have to become one with Nature to get close to LORD. Mt. Kailash is Shiva and Shiva is Mt. Kailash.
Aham Brahmasmi, Shivaha kevaloham - Chidananda Rupam | Shivoham | Shivoham | MOUNT KAILASH - the abode of Lord Maheswara
