The Golden Temple
My visit to the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir (The Golden Temple) of Lord Shiva in Varanasi, India in March of 2020 changed me forever.
Traveling with my dear friend Arti my trip to India felt divinely orchestrated and this experience was no different, it was also one of the most powerful spiritual experiences I have had in this lifetime.
With each step I took in the sacred land of India the path opened perfectly under my feet as if I was being shown the way.
On our arrival in Varanasi (Kashi) to the Sathya Sai Maa Moksha Dham Ashram were we were being hosted, we were met with flower garlands and the loving devotees of the Ashram which was located two blocks from the holy Ganges River and from the second biggest burning Ghat where bodies are cremated in a sacred fire along its banks.
People travel from all over India to Varanasi (Kashi) as a sacred pilgrimage. It’s known as the place of Shiva Lingams.
Through my yogic studies I have come to understand more fully that many of my teachings are based in the Shiva tradition and all the lore and teachings of yoga intertwined with the Hindu gods and goddesses.
The Shiva Lingam is one of the most worshipped representations of the Divine Feminine and the Devine Masculine in all of India.
Kashi is the home of approximately 33,000 lingams. One of them is a Jyotir Lingam, which is one of the twelve most powerful Shiva Lingams in all of India.
That lingam is housed at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir (the Golden Temple) or Lord Shiva Temple in Kashi.
Our visit to the temple was led by Paresh, the head of hospitality for the ashram.
We were running a bit behind schedule.
Traffic, having to put all of our belongings into a locker, having to show our passports, fill in forms, having to pay more than double of what the Indians pay to get to go inside the temple for the evening Arti Ceremony (ceremony of light) all contributed to our late arrival into the actual temple.
There were more people visiting that night than had been expected and Paresh couldn’t get us into the inner sanctum of the temple where the lingam is located and where the ceremony would be happening.
He argued for several minutes with the police guard showing him our special entrance tickets that included being able to watch the ceremony live, but to no avail.
We had arrived a couple of minutes too late. We were told to go and sit on the cement floor with a couple of hundred others and watch the ceremony on a live feed television screen.
We sat there with many sick people around us coughing, others who were talking and others silent.
The screen kept coming in and out as there was bad connection and though the view was a good one as the camera was filming from above the lingam and we watched as it was bathed by seven Priests and other specially trained assistants who were well-practiced in the worship of one of the 12 most sacred Jyotirlingas in India.
We felt disappointed we didn’t get inside to be physically present during the Ceremony.
I was considering leaving for a few moments because I felt disconnected from what was happening inside the heart of the temple but Paresh assured us he would do his best to get us in after the ceremony was over to touch the Lingham.
Then as they poured water, ghee, milk and more, adorned the lingam which sat in a pure golden kind of square with flowers and offered light in the form of several Arti lamps while powerfully chanting mantras that became louder and louder along with intense drumming that we could hear coming from the center of the temple, drowning out anything that could be heard from the television and I could feel the energy vibrating in my heart and body.
When it ended Praveen told us to get up and follow him quickly.
We were led to that same guard who previously had not let us past and he opened the gate just enough so we could slip inside.
There was a lot of commotion as he ushered us up to the opening of the doorway to the inner sanctum where the Siva Lingam was.
All of a sudden he motioned for me to go inside.
Once inside, I was surrounded by men all speaking rapidly in Hindi.
One man was right in front of the Lingham and reached down touching it with his both hands.
As I bent down to touch it with my right fingertips a window between worlds opened up.
A deep stillness and intense Shakti entered into my hand, up my arm and seemed to fill my every cell.
I was transported to another time, another place, another life or lifetimes.
Images and feelings passed through me.
For these few seconds time stopped and the vision of the lingam and its immediate surroundings and a powerful feeling entered into my eyes, my body, my mind and seemed to touch my soul.
Then I fell into a black hole of stillness and power.
The lingam felt hard smooth and soft all at the same time, and I experienced a divine stillness that felt like it was from another dimension.
I removed my fingers as I was being urged to move along.
I went back out the same doorway that I had entered and we left out through the same gate we had gone through.
I saw a long line of people at the opposite door waiting to get their few seconds with the holy lingam. I felt altered, different. I couldn’t explain it to myself or to my companions.
I did not want to touch my hand to anything so I could somehow keep this beyond this world connection with these sacred moments.
I felt a need to stay quiet and just be with what had happened.
We rode back through the busy streets in the three wheeled tuk-tuk and though there was a lot of commotion I was completely still inside of myself as it all passed me by.
When we got back to our room I asked Arti to take my photo trying to somehow capture what I felt. It was impossible, I looked like my normal self but something was transformed and changed inside.
I will treasure these moments forever and I say a prayer of gratitude for all who conspired to make it happen.
