Nepal - Land of Heaven: My first Impression, Swayambhunath Temple

Journey began: My first impression as Nepal Welcomes & Visit to Swayambhunath Temple

I know not until a month before I was working on the itinerary for Nepal, as to why it was decided that I am traveling to Nepal!?! Then comes the revelation which hit me flat on my face, I was in tears and felt truly blessed having discovered the greatness of this place before I could visit. Let me unravel it to you as I proceed. 

It was a very beautiful beginning of the winter morning seated in my flight restless and my heart beating fast as I took off to the “landlocked” country . As I exited the flight and made my way out to the immigration I was feeling very proud of holding an Indian Passport, when I got to learn that I need not stand in the long queue which was for Westerners and could go straight in a separate queue just as the locals…

And just before that as I walked into corridor of the Airport the first welcome board which reads: “Welcome to Nepal, everything in Nepal takes time, so stay cool and relax”  they truly mean this and so have patience!!! 

As I made my way out, saw my driver waiting with the placard to take us to the hotel and get started on the very crazy & packed itinerary drawn out for the next few days during the week. We landed in the back-packers hotel having no freaking idea that my room was booked at the 6^th floor and there are no lift in the hotel. With a great disappointment and expressing to the hotel management of not mentioning it on their website which is kinda deceiving. Nevertheless the hotel folks understanding my concerns then gave me a room in the 1^st floor. Feeling happy and relieved I was looking forward to the experience which was awaiting with its arms opened out to me

I got ready to leave with the guide who had been appointed to take me around for the next few days that I was in Nepal and give me an indepth understanding about the “Real Nepal” which is what I had been looking for!! He starts off with an expectation setting given the perception to him about my being a 'Tough' client to deal with;-p. For me I wanted to compact and compress the entire Nepal in those few days…

The sun had already started setting, and we started off to the first destination which is, A golden spire crowning a conical wooded hill, Swayambhunath Stupa is the most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu valley. Its lofty white dome and glittering golden spire are visible for many miles and from all sides of the valley. Historical records found on a stone inscription give evidence that the stupa was already an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination by the 5th century AD. Its origins however, date to a much earlier time, long before the arrival of Buddhism into the valley.

A collection of legends about the site, the 15th century Swayambhu Purana, tells of a miraculous lotus, planted by a past Buddha, which blossomed from the lake that once covered Kathmandu valley. The lotus mysteriously radiated a brilliant light, and the name of the place came to be Swayambhu, meaning 'Self-Created or Self-Existent'. Saints, sages and divinities traveled to the lake to venerate this miraculous light for its power in granting enlightenment.

Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are holy because Manjushree, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning was raising the hill which the Swayambhunath Temple stands on. He was supposed to leave his hair short but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys.

During this time, the Bodhisatva Manjushri was meditating at the sacred mountain of Wu Tai Shan and had a vision of the dazzling Swayambhu light. Manjushri traveled there to worship the lotus. Deeply impressed by the power of the radiant light, Manjushri felt that if the water were drained out of the lake Swayambhu would become more easily accessible to human pilgrims. With a great sword Manjushri cut a gorge in the mountains surrounding the lake. The water, draining away, left the valley of present day Kathmandu. The lotus was then transformed into a hill and the light became the Swayabhunath Stupa.

 On each of the four sides of the main stupa there are a pair of big eyes. These eyes are symbolic of God's all-seeing perspective. There is no nose between the eyes but rather a representation of the number one in the Nepali alphabet, signifying that the single way to enlightenment is through the Buddhist path. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye, signifying the wisdom of looking within which is reaching Enlightenment while two eyes denote Compassion and Wisdom. No ears are shown because it is said the Buddha is not interested in hearing prayers in praise of him. The painted eyes of the Buddha on the Stupa gaze upon all of Kathmandu Valley from atop the high hill, the view which is breath-taking. While each of the sites has a legendary history concerning its placement, visual prominence is very dramatic.

After my long day of travel, various surprises to deal, with respect to the hotel/travel organizers I felt completely rejuvenated after visiting the Stupa in the full moonlight. And ready for a very early aggressive next day schedule which was the Mountain Flight and off to the Land of the God of Nothingness! Yes, you got it right – Lumbini which is the birth place of LordGautama Buddha.. is Coming-up So Stay TUNED!!!!