The Amarnath Yatra is organised every year by the J &K Govt. during the month of sharavan ( July and August); the dates however , vary every year looking at the weather conditions and according to Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) in the month of Sharavan (Vikrama Samwat). Yatra to Amarnath Yatra Tour Packages for which one has to trek a height of about 14,500 ft is full of thrill and joy .The feeling of divine which is always beneath ones' heart , burst out and one realises ‘Moksha’ as one attends the Cave and perform the prayer before the Shivlinga . Surrounded by beautiful valleys, mountains , one will always feel His presence on the paradise of the earth, the memory of which hardly vanishes with time.A journey which will rediscover the nature and its love which is always inside but one has never felt. You can find more details in www.holidaymasti.com.
The next morning at 2am all were ready after bath etc and assembled at the departure ground. Even in that very early morning one very old devotee in our group was sincerely sitting in the ground and doing the puja of the Three eyed Lord with lotus flowers. It was an enjoyable sight. Got the holy ash prasadha at the completion of the Puja from him. Many buses that had assembled over there started with the army convoy at 4 am in the morning to bailgAnv (now distorted to Pahalgham), the base station for the Amarnath Yatra by Helicopter. The route was a very scenic one on the Himalayas. Almost all the days of our journey we went chanting shrI rudram and other hymns of the Lord.
When the bus was nearing bailganv in the evening there was a big crowd on the other bank of a stream with some holy fire. That was the shUlapANi's holy trident called in the local terms as chaarri mubhaarak which is brought from Amarnath Yatra From Srinagar to the Lord's cave every year and a previous one taken back. From this place onwards there were many langars (free food prasadha tents) where the people in service were calling out the devotees to have food and drinks. It was a marvelous service to the devotees of the Lord who is praised as ailabR^ida (Donor of food, water and nutrients). We reached bailgAnv at 6 pm.
The weather appeared a little bit cloudy. They said the next day trekking would start provided the weather is conducive. But anyway the hearts of the devotees started beating "amarnathji amarnathji". The next morning it was drizzling after a rain the previous night. So they had suspended the trek. At about 10 am came the announcement that the trek could start. We had bought some rain suits there which were quite helpful throughout the trek.
There were elaborate security arrangements in all the places over here. Amarnath Yatra Without Helicopter for the ease of trek we were advised by the yatra service people not to carry heavy bags and take just a small bag. Taxis/jeeps go till chandanwari, a place 16 kms from bailgANv. From here one has to either walk or ride over a horse or taken in a chair by four people till the holy cave. About one third of our group decided to trek. Praying the Lord of Universe's holy feet singing a thEvAram to make this Amarnath Pilgrimage fruitful started the trek. There was a feeling to keep singing thEvAram along the trek. But very soon the voice modulation became unmaintainable because of trekking and so resorted to chanting the holy five letters through the trek and when stopping here and there sang a few thEvAram hymns.
|
