LOKPAL

Much before the Sikhs discovered Hemkunt, it was known to the ancients as Lokpal, or 'Hemkund,' the snow-lake - Hem (snow), Kund (lake). They came to it as pilgrims to pray to gods, especially Lakshman, Lord Rama's younger brother; and for three annual festivals during the summer.

Legend is that Lakshman, mortally wounded by Meghananda, Ravana's son, was brought to Lokpal. Hanuman then flew-in the Dronagiri mountain which had the divine herb 'Sanjeevani Booti.' The 'Booti' was administered to Lakshman and he miraculously recovered fully. Devtas showered flowers in celebration and these fell on the Valley of Flowers and took root there.
In another legend Lakshman was a seven-headed Naag (snake), Ananta-Shesha, in his previous incarnation and meditated under the waters of Lokpal. Lord Vishnu, the protector, rested on Ananta-Shesha.

In yet another legend, Lokpal is the native place of Lord Shiva, the destroyer.
These legends were orally passed down the generations and acquired local color. But they have basis in the Puranas, and in Mahabharata and Ramayana epics.

Now Hemkund has but a small Lakshman temple on the lakeshore with an inarticulate Poojaari and few if any pilgrims.


I suppose that was Lakshman temple's destiny. You can dance around destiny but only for so long as fate permits.

                                               Pooja at the Lakshman Temple, Lokpal lake

                           Lokpal lake. Lakshman temple is in the background on the left corner

                                  Hanuman bringing Sanjivni Booti from Dronagiri Mountain

             Vishnu resting on Ananta-Shesha, seven-headed Naag (snake), incarnation of Lakshmana 

HEMKUNT

Nestled in the West Himalayas at a height of 15,197 feet is Hemkunt Sahib, one of the five famous Gurudwaras. It is the highest Gurudwara in the world.
Hemkunt Sahib is dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the tenth and the last Sikh Guru.
In Dasam Granth Guru Ji says that in his previous life he did intense meditation at Hemkunt Parbat Sapat Sring, the "lake of ice" and "mountain" adorned with "seven peaks" - the place where King Pandu, the forefather of the five Pandava brothers of Mahabharata, did yoga - until the Guru ji merged with God. But then God sent him to the world to teach the true religion to people and rid them of evil ways. He was thus born to his earthly parents who had served God well.
In late 19th century Sikhs began to search for 'Hemkunt.' In 1934, Sant Sohan Singh, a retired granthi of Indian army, found 'Lokpal,' a lake high in the Uttarakhand Himalayas that matched Guru Ji's description of 'Hemkunt.' He convinced Bhai VirSingh, the eminent Sikh intellectual and scholar, that Lokpal was Hemkunt. Bhai Vir Singh gave 2,100 rupees to build a Gurudwara on the shore of the lake. In 1937, a 10 X10 feet stone hut was built on the lakeshore and Guru granth Sahib was installed.
Building of a new Gurdwara began in 1968 and in 1994 Guru Granth Sahib was installed below a brass canopy in the upper story of the Gurudwara. The Gurudwara is in the shape of an inverted lotus - but many see the shape as that of a star - with openings on five sides to welcome people from all directions and all faiths.
Hemkunt Sahib opens only for four-and-half months, 25 May to 10 October, in a year. But more than 200,000 pilgrims come to it every year.
Hemkunt is the place to be for the devotee.
But "It is impossible to be here when you think there is somewhere else to be" - Guru Gobind Singh

VALLEY OF FLOWERS

Returning after climbing Mt Kamet (25,447 feet), Frank Smythe, the British climber, was lost. Then he stumbled on a valley laden with flowers.The scene was surreal. The year was 1931.

In 1937, Smythe came back to the Valley "flower-hunting." And he "came face to face with . . . the most beautiful [flora] I have ever seen . . . I had not seen this [flora] before, nor did I see it [ever] again." And he saw many other rare flowers that he had never seen before, and never saw after. In 1938 he published a book, 'Valley of Flowers,' about the valley and its flora. That book made VALLEY OF FLOWERS (VOF), little known till then, famous.

Although VOF is popularly linked with Frank Smythe, it was, since ancient times, the summer grazing ground for migratory pastoralists, and a haven for meditation for Yogis, like Yogi Yogesh Mota.
The British discovered VOF, or Pushpawati valley, in 1862 when Colonel Edmund Smythe of the Indian Army, an explorer, visited the valley.

The 87.50 sq km VOF is at an elevation of 10,098 to 12,000 feet in the West Himalyas in Uttarakhand, 520 km from Delhi. A 503 km drive from Delhi brings us to Govindghat, height, 5500 feet. From there a 14 Km trek brings us to Ghaghariya, height 10200 feet, which is the camp for VOF and Hemkunt treks. Ponies are available for this trek.

The part of the VOF we visit is 8 km long and 2 km wide. On the first day we go the nearer part of the VOF, 03 km (06 km return) trek from Ghaghriya. On the second day, we trek deeper into the VOF, 08 km (16 km return) from Ghaghriya. On the second day we see the grave of Miss Joan Margarate Legge, a botanist, who was deputed in 1939 by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to study the flora of VOF. When traversing a rocky slope to collect flowers, she slipped and fell and died. Her sister later visited the valley and erected a memorial on the spot where she was buried by the locals. The inscription on Legge's headstone:
"I will lift mine eyes unto the Hills
from whence cometh my help"

VOF is a National Park since 1982 and a World heritage Site since 2005. It is home to 521 alpine plants that exclusively grow in VOF. Several of these are medicinal plants. It is also home to rare and endangered fauna.

VOF is truly a slice of paradise on earth; the garden of the Gods.

                                                 Valley of Flowers - seen by an artist's eye       

                                                 Valley of Flowers - seen by camera's eye

                                                 Valley of Flowers - seen by camera's eye

                                           Valley of Flowers - a flora seen by camera's eye

ORGAN DONATION DAY, INDIA, 13 AUGUST

Be the reason someone lives - donate organs.

More than 500,000 Indians die every year from organ failure.  One person can save more than eight lives by donating his organs:  kidneys, livers, Bone marrow, hearts, lungs, cornea, pancreases and small bowels.

But supply of organs is, and will always be, short of the demand. Hence the organ black market. Therefore,  an organs market, howsoever deplorable, has been justified thus: the organ recipient gets life, the transplantation team gets money, but the donor gets nothing. Why shouldn't he also get some benefit?

"To the multitude facing death through organ failure, the organ transplantation technology has come as a true gif of life. But the technology has raised in its wake, as does every new technology, a number of questions to which there are no easy answers. Moreover the questions are not just medical, but medico-socio-legal.

. . . transplantation is not a legal problem; therefore laws are not its solution. Though laws are required to regulate it.

Who should get the scarce organs? First in the queue, or the one who will  benefit the maximum, or the one who can pay the most . . . Should non-compliant patients, or ones with failed transplantation be eligible for the scarce organs . . ."

--- Sadhana Kala's, The Indian law Institute (Deemed University) published paper: 'Socio-Medico, Legal Aspects of Organ Transplantation.'

(14.139.60.114:8080/jspui/bitstream/.../059_Socio-Medico,%20Legal%20Aspects.pdf)

HIROSHIMA

Today, 06 August, was perhaps the blackest day in human history: on this day 71 years ago, the US dropped an atomic bomb (Little Boy) on the city of Hiroshima, Japan; three days later, on 09 August, it dropped another atomic bomb (Fat man) on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. The two bombs killed at least 129,000 people; killed another 120,000 within the next two months; and ushered in the age of nuclear weapons and of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction).

There is no Remembrance Day for the three-hundred thousand killed and maimed by the atomic bombs; though Hiroshima holds a Peace Memorial Ceremony at the Memorial Cenotaph in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on every 06 August.

The 'West' dominated media has no time to remind us of this massacre of humanity. And human memory being fickle, we have forgotten the great tragedy.

So let's join today to pay homage to the thousands of innocent civilians killed on that black day.

Amen.

 Paper lanterns float in the Motoyasu River in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to mark the 65th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing.

For the first time, representatives from the U.S. joined others from more than 70 nations at the Dome.

                                                       Requiem for Hiroshima victims

                                                    Remembrance for Hiroshima victims

BREASTFEEDING (World Breastfeeding Week, 01 - 07 August)

Ads distort the truth. And so in the mid 20th century the ads promoted the myth that 'formula' feeds were better for the babies than mother's breast milk. Sustained research finally broke the myth and the truth re-emerged: mother's milk is the best for the baby.

Breast milk is easily digested, has a near-perfect mix of vitamins, protein and fat that help baby grow and gain the right amount of weight, has antibodies that fight off viruses and bacteria, and reduce baby's risk of having asthma or allergies. "Babies who are breastfed exclusively for the first six months, without any formula, have fewer infections, respiratory illnesses, and bouts of diarrhoea." And fewer visits to hospital and to doctor.

Research suggests that breastfed babies have higher IQ scores in later childhood,  have reduced risk of  SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and of diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers.

For the mother, breastfeeding burns extra calories and helps her lose pregnancy weight faster;  releases the hormone oxytocin which helps the uterus to return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth; and  lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and perhaps of osteoporosis.

Breastfeeding is also A key to Sustainable Development. That is the theme of the World Breastfeeding Week 2016. "Breastfeeding is not only the cornerstone of a child’s healthy development; it is also the foundation of a country’s development" - UNICEF and WBW message.

Among the several ways in which breastfeeding contributes to sustainable development, a few are: breastfeeding is natural and low-cost, is affordable, and therefore contributes to poverty reduction; it entails less energy when compared to formula production industries; it reduces the need for water, firewood and fossil fuels in the home; it is ecological compared to formula feeding which implies dairy farming that often puts pressure on ecology; it provides all the water a baby needs, even in hot weather, whereas  formula feeding requires access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation; it entails less waste compared to formula feeding: industrial formula production and distribution lead to waste that pollutes the seas and affects marine life.

So promote breastfeeding. It is good for the baby, for the mother and for sustainable development.

                                                            Breastfeeding in rural India