The Mountain Logs Day 2B - Legends of Yamunotri

The Char Dham means “The Four Stations”. Why “The Four Stations” is because it is not just a reference to the four places in Geography. It is also a reference to the four stations of artha, kama, dharma and moksha. The four stations of a well lived life namely acquiring of prosperity or means, fulfillment of desires and passions, living a life of coherence with Nature, Nature out there and one’s own nature, and finally the station of transcendence where you get established in your own sense of being. 

On this pilgrimage, the four geographical stations of Gangotrti, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the pilgrimage seeks to get insight into the truth of these four stations of life through a combination of physical and mental effort, emotional aliveness, openness to the spirit and surrender to Nature. 

It’s quite beautiful, profound, intense and transforming. It’s unique as a pilgrimage, as an experience and breathtaking in its conception. 

In the following Episodes, Dr. Bharat Thakur takes you along this pilgrimage over 10 days, sharing the daily logs and some insightful blogs that will have you want to experience the Yatra for yourself. 

Transcript

Day 2  Blog: Legends of Yamunotri 

Yamunotri  is considered to be the most ancient of the four Dhams. The Yamunotri Dham is at a height of 3,235 meters; the waters of the Yamuna are very cold because they come from a glacier called ‘Champasar, at a height of around 4,200 meters, a few kilometers further up from the Dham close to the Tibetan border. 

We have a 6 kilometer walk to reach a temple dedicated to the goddess Yamuna. The temple has two hot springs, called “Surya Kund” and “Gauri Kund”. We will bathe in the hot waters on reaching there. The locals traditionally tied some rice and potatoes in a cloth and kept it in the hot water till it cooked and had it as prashad.

ANCIENT LORES - A MEANS TO CONNECT 

We will share some stories that have been handed down from ancient times. They are called ‘Katha’, in them there will be gods and goddesses. They can be seen as a potential we have, an energy that can be unlocked within. We might find that somewhere there is a resonance, in this way a legend connects with a part of our deep unconscious and as we walk along the mountains where the deities are supposed to reside. We connect in our own way and when we take a dip. It is something very personal, beyond words or explanation. That is why the legends are there, not to be analyzed in historical terms but to be drunk in, to just hear and connect.

THE ROOT OF FEAR

If you speak to any old people here who know the legends, who have had experiences,  they will say, taking a dip in the waters of Yamuna at Yamunotri gives us release from the root of all fears, the fear of death.

In life, there are some moments when some of us come face to face with the fear of death. It could be because of an accident or a near fatal disease. It could also be because of an intense psychological process. What is important here is to look at all fear as having the same root. In the Yoga Sutra, it is called ‘abhinivesha’, the fear of fears, the fear of death and as we begin to confront fear of this and fear of that, in our quest for happiness, a time will come when it will lead to confronting the very root, ‘abhinivesha’.

In the legends of Yamuna, you will see that this theme of fear and of all the emotions and situations around the fear of death is a constant theme.

A STORY OF OUR ORIGIN

One of the many stories of the origin of Yamuna is Sanjana, the wife of the sun god, ‘Surya’ was unable to bear his brightness and due to the restraint she showe, their first child, ‘Yama’ was born. The word ‘Yama’ means restraint. For example, in ashtanga Yoga, Yama are the five restraints. In the legends, Lord Yama is the Lord of Death. In his personality we see him reflecting a little anger his father Surya had felt when Sanjana reacted sharply to his brightness and he was also the first mortal to die. So with Yama, the Lord of death, we feel that mix of emotion and what Sanjana felt called ‘Bhibhatsa’, aversion. Looking away because that is what Sanjana did. She averted her gaze and looked away, its disgust, aversion.

The other side of Yama are the restraints that we need to begin on the inner journey; the first of the eight steps of Yoga that also is embedded in this legend.

FICKLE YAMUNA 

Coming to Yami, his sister, Sanjana tried to keep her eyes open the next time but the best she could manage was a flickering of her eyelids and so Yami was born with a certain fickleness that reflected the flickering of her mother’s attention. Yami is also called Yamuna and so the river is said to have a fickle nature. Surya was pleased at Sanjana’s effort which reflected on Yamuna and so Yamuna carries a certain energy of being pampered and she herself is full of affection which is the quality the poets picked up when they wrote of her as Lord Krishna’s lover, a dark beauty, fickle, affectionate.

Owing to that inability to look into the eyes of the Sun, the source, the dark element came into creation through Yama and Yamuna without Sanjana’s contribution, we would have had only light and no dark.

CREATION OF DAY AND NIGHT AND TIME CYCLES 

It is said that Yama was the first mortal to die and Yami had no knowledge of what death is. She had not seen anything but the day she had not experienced time and she was stuck in mourning her brother's loss. It was then that night was created so that she could experience time and she could heal and with it the time cycles began. Yama became the Lord of death and Yami as Yamuna became the goddess of life on earth. So they say that before we leave our mortal body, a dip in Yamuna, her blessings is good for the onward journey, from here Yamuna becomes the place we go first. To start the journey of the Char Dham Yatra, she will bless us in her own way.

The waters of Yamuna are supposed to be dark as compared to Ganga which are supposed to be white. There is another Legend about Shiva and his consort Sati.

Lord Shiva was considered unworthy by Sati’s father because he was seen as a penniless ascetic who had ugly creatures of the dark as companions and frequented the cremation ground. Unable to bear her father’s rejection and humiliation of her lover and Lord, Sati, the Yogini ended her life by setting herself ablaze by channeling her ‘jathara agni’, the powerful digestive fire that lays dormant in our navel area.

Shiva could not  bear to lose Sati. He went mad for a while, he is then said to have cooled his passions by immersing himself for a long period in the Yamuna her waters turned black with his sorrow of unfulfilled desire. Yamuna here is seen to be absorbing his grief, sucking out all the anger, darkness, destructiveness and depression that he felt at the loss of his beloved.

Hearing these legends is about resonances, letting them in and see what happens. It’s a time to stay immersed  to let those subtle internal sensations emerge.

Stay connected internally and how you will look at the mountains, the streams, the sounds you will hear, they will be a world of your own.

Lots of Love 

Bharat Thakur