THE ambience around that great pipal tree where
Buddhism was born…the piety in the air…the people inhabiting the land… I had been longing to see them all. So finally, one winter morning last year, I took time off, shoved my travel-ware into a bag and set out on a journey to discover the present-day Uruvela, the ancient name of
Bodh Gaya. It was my own discovery…
I decided to undertake a train journey, for that’s perhaps the best way to see India, in all its hues. As the train rolled off the noisy
New Delhi railway station, I closed my eyes to focus on the saintly
Prince who had wandered far and wide in search of the supreme peace for six long years. But it was Bodh Gaya that spelt culmination of his holy mission.
As the night crept past and I gazed into its the darkness outside, I thought I saw the silhouette of a smiling Buddha…through the windows of the running train - now there…now not!
The next morning I alighted at
Gaya, the railway station nearest to the holy city, about 16 kms away. I was trying to juxtapose the bookish information I had received from various travel brochures, with the actual world before me.
Gaya town is much more than a mere stopover before Bodh Gaya. Situated on the banks of Falgu river, the famous
Vishnupad Temple witnesses the arrival of lakhs of Hindu pilgrims to pay obeisance to the deity for salvation of the souls of their near and dear ones and the forefathers during Pitripaksha, in October-November. A tourist complex, I am told, is to be built to serve pilgrims better.
From there, I took a cab for my destination-ultimate —- Bodh Gaya. Joseph, the cab driver, was one from the chirpy ilk and an unsolicited guide. “I have been ferrying travellers for about 18 years now…from all over the world,” he begins and continues. “The entire area has undergone a sea-change, especially because of the ever-surging number of foreign tourists from Buddhist countries,” he goes on and on.
Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Tibet, Bhutan and Japan have even established monasteries in the Mahabodhi compound’s vicinity. Now listening to Joseph…now hearing him…and now lost in my thoughts…
Suddenly, I felt my cab halt with a jerk. “There you are, Sir,” he said. And lo and behold! Right before me was the holy shrine, the
Mahabodhi Temple!
Hundreds of devotees — majority of them foreigners — were moving silently from one temple to another, almost in a state of trance. The entire surrounding was wrapped in an aura of spirituality, with trees providing a sylvan solitude. No wonder, it was in this mystic land that Prince Siddhartha was transformed into The Buddha.
I asked Joseph to drive me to one of the government-run hotels there. After dumping my luggage there, I was out on the streets — this time, sans Joseph. He would come next morning to pick me up.
Any time between November and March, a visitor to Bodh Gaya can observe a continual stream of Indian and international pilgrims pervading its roads, circumambulating the temples, performing prostrations and offering prayers in a multitude of languages.
As I sauntered along the road with numerous stupas dotting the landscape, I felt a gentle pat on my shoulders. She was a German traveller, Linda, looking for an Indian companion to explain to her what the various engravings talked about.
Linda kept taking photos of the timeless structures on the way as we entered the hallowed Mahabodhi Temple compound.
For some time, we sat in the shade of ‘the holy tree’ — the fifth descendant of the original tree to be planted at this site. It is still held in high esteem by Buddhists of all traditions and viewed as the actual Buddha by many of them. It is a reminder and an inspiration and a symbol of peace of Buddha’s enlightenment.
A scent-carrying breeze wafted towards us, touching our beings, reminding us of the days gone by…
Standing tall to the east of the tree is the Mahabodhi Temple. Apart from its religious value, what one can’t help noticing is its architectural splendour. With its 48-sq-ft plinth area, it rises in the form of a slender pyramid till its neck, giving it a cylindrical look. The total height of the temple is 170 feet and the four towers on its four corners rise gracefully.
Inside the temple is the sanctum sanctorum and on the altar is a colossal image of the Buddha in sitting posture, touching the earth with his right hand. The Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment in this very posture.
The statue is made of black stone, but it has been guilded by devotees. It all looked so fascinating and sublime.
We visited some
monasteries — the Tibetan Monastery, Thai Monastery, Myanmarese Monastery, Chinese Monastery, Bhutanese Monastery, Japanese Monastery, Sri Lankan Monastery…and more monasteries However, much remained to be seen, and even more to be experienced.
Both Linda and me had forgotten hunger and thirst, perhaps because the spirituality in the air was sufficient to fulfil material desires. It was well past mid-day and approaching evening, so we hastened to other sites with a wish to see them before we cease to be!
Dharma Chakra (the wheel of law) and Kaalachakra (the time-wheel) were moving, suggesting that life is only what keeps on the move. And in tune with the life, we also moved on.
So much to experience with so less time on hand. But again, life is only… As we took towards out respective dwelligs, the fading drum-beats sort of kept pushing us forward, and as if also asking, “When next, dear?”
