Sacred
Sites of Nepal 2:
Bodhnath
and the Bagmati Ghats
near Kathmandu
Nepal
is officially a Hindu nation -- the only Hindu kingdom in the
world,
in fact. But the Hinduism there lives in an easy and fluid
harmony
with the Buddhism, whose sacred sites are actually more
famous
worldwide. Arguably the most sacred Buddhist site in Nepal
is
Bodhnath (or Buddhanath), the picturesque stupa that is the
largest
in the country and one of the five largest in the entire world.
Not
far away from it is perhaps the most sacred Hindu site in Nepal,
the
Bagmati Ghats and Pashupatinath, a temple complex that is
regarded
as one of the four most important Shiva shrines in
all
of Asia.
Bodhnath
The main entrance
to Bodhnath sits on a busy city street. The top of the
stupa can
be seen above it. To my right as I photograph the gate
is a chappa,
a young novice monk in the Tibetan tradition.
As one approaches
the stupa, its dome looms larger and
larger.
It is very similar to that at Swayambhunath (see
Nepal
Page 1) -- all-seeing Buddha eyes, prayer flags,
crowning gold
umbrella, and all -- but is much larger.
Our guide,
Sanjib, leads Randy and me through the entrance
to the stupa
itself, and up to a higher level on the stupa where
we can circumambulate
(clockwise, always clockwise).
At this upper level, some women light some incense at a small shrine.
Adjacent to
the great stupa are much smaller ones, all bearing
the eyes of
the Buddha and the Nepalese number ek ("one"),
which represents
the spiritual unity of all beings and things.
The wide walkway
surrounding the great stupa is a beehive
of activity,
especially for the beginning of the off-tourist season.
In fact, we
seem to be the only tourists there this morning.
Pilgrims,
however, have typically flocked here from all over
Nepal, as
well as from nearby Tibet, Ladakh, and Bhutan.
Bodhnath was
always an important center for trade between
Nepal and
Tibet, and the Buddhism here has long reflected that
connection
in its style. Since the Chinese annexation of Tibet
and the escape
of the Dalai Lama into exile in the 1950s, howeer,
Bodhnath has
become a major Tibetan Buddhist spiritual center
-- perhaps
the most important outside Tibet itself.
Not surprisingly,
then, one sees a lot of prayer wheels at Bodhnath.
One large
one can be seen just inside the entrance to one
of the monasteries
that face the great stupa.
But most are
much smaller and are set into the walls surrounding the
great stupa
or flank the entrances to its inner sanctum.
These are spun
(clockwise, always clockwise) by people, mostly
laypersons,
circumambulating at this lower level, many of whom
carry and
spin hand-held prayer wheels of their own.
The devout carry prayer wheels, while the tourist (wife Randy) totes a camera.
There
are a number of monks here, of course,
all dressed
in the distinctive Tibetan style.
Some carry prayer
wheels and circumambulate.
Others prefer to sit and pray.
One faces the
great stupa in silent devotion.
Others just
mill about the many shops and other buildings
that surround
the great stupa.
Pashupatinath & the Bagmati Ghats
Not
far from Bodhnath is the Pashupatinath temple complex and its
adjacent ghats
on the sacred Bagmati River. The focal point seems to
be the shivalinga
on
the ghat itself. Here we see devotees making
offerings
to this phallic symbol of Lord Shiva.
The Bagmati
ghats
are a major cremation site, roughly equivalent
for Nepalis
to those on the sacred Ganges at Varanasi for Indians.
Here
a post-cremation ritual is being conducted by a priest
and family
members of the deceased.
While we are
there, a body is brought by a family to one of the
ghats for
cremation. Our guide says that it is permissible to
take photos,
but not to point.
Suddenly he
recognizes one of the family members,
the brother
of the deceased woman, as a driver for
his own tour
company. He excuses himself to go and
pay his respects.
(That is he in the light blue shirt just
left of center.)
This holy place,
light many in Nepal, has many alleged sadhus
(holy men),
apparently waiting to pose and even mug for tourist
cameras and,
of course, tips. These are obviously charlatans,
since true
sadhus
would have no interest in material gain,
much less
of making a show of their physical aspects.
Besides, these
men evidence none of the extreme
physical rigors
that mark (quite literally) the true sadhu.
The last two
examples of this sad (!) phenomenon were
haunting the
streets of the nearby historic city of Patan
(which is
not to be confused with the Indian city of Patna).
Our guide
claimed that the brightly adorned one on the
right is the
most photographed "sadhu" in Nepal. Like
his yellow-clad
counterpart above, he was quite a showman.
Namaste!