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bhargavsai
05 January 2008, 02:04 AM
Why not people climb Kailas, can't we at least touch the snow of the great mountain. If I would have been there I would have at least touched the mountain. Ravana used to climb the mountain, why can't we?

atanu
06 January 2008, 12:34 AM
Why not people climb Kailas, can't we at least touch the snow of the great mountain. If I would have been there I would have at least touched the mountain. Ravana used to climb the mountain, why can't we?

Namaste bhargavsai,

I see that you are decades younger and you have put a difficult question.

I hope soon Sarabhanga or yajvan or Agnideva (who seems to be away for a long time) or SM or Saidevo will answer.

Not only Ravana but sages and siddhas are known to be sitting near the feet of Shiva in Kailasa. But my Guru says that Kailasa is within -- the source of your own Mansarovar -- the Manas, the consciousness.

Best Wishes. I know that when you enquire about Shiva, He himself provides all the answers, which come like bolt.

Om Namah Shivaya

saidevo
06 January 2008, 07:02 AM
Namaste bhargavsai.

Mount Kailash is a sacred mountain for both the Hindus and Buddhists, so for this reason no one is allowed to climb to the summit of the mountain.

Wikipedia says, "There have been no recorded attempts to climb Mount Kailash; it is considered off limits to climbers in deference to Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. It is the most significant peak in the world that has not seen any known climbing attempts. (Other notable peaks that have seen climbing attempts, but no ascents, and are now closed due to religious concerns, include Machhapuchhare and Gangkhar Puensum.)"

Here is another interesting news I found in a google search:

"International support for the Tibetan people and the sanctity of Mount Kailash has aided its preservation. In 2001, a team of Spanish mountaineers requested permission from China to climb the mountain. Following tremendous international protest, the team withdrew its permit request, and when India raised the issue with the Chinese government, Beijing asserted that it would not permit climbing activities at Kailash. In 2003, China initiated plans to build a highway around the mountain to increase access for tourists. It went as far as completing the survey work but ultimately abandoned the project in the face of a worldwide letter-writing campaign against it. Preservationists contend that designating Mount Kailash as a UNESCO World Heritage site would do much to protect this sacred place, but this can happen only if the Chinese government requests its nomination."

http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/MtKailash.html

Agnideva
06 January 2008, 10:32 AM
Namaste Bhargavsai,

You’ve already been given some excellent information by Atanu and Saidevo. Mount Kailash, the physical mountain in Tibet, is holy to four religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bonpo. Hindus and Buddhists circumambulate it clockwise, while Jains and the Bon circumambulate it counterclockwise. Since it is considered very holy one does set foot on it. Most recently, a Spanish expedition wanted to climb the mountain, but religious groups strongly opposed it.

According to ancient legends, Kailasa, also known as Mount Meru, is considered the center and support of the world (axis mundi), and everything is described in relation to that location. The sapta-dvipas (seven landmasses identified in Hindu literature) are generally described with relation to this Mount Meru. If you live in Asia, you would be in Jambu-dvipa (land of the rose-apple) south of Mount Meru; and if you live here in North America you are in Krauncha-dvipa (land of the heron) west of Mount Meru, etc. Some Hindu legends also place the first human beings appearing on earth at the base of Mount Kailash, and then spreading throughout the world from there.

Obviously, you know in Hinduism, we call Kailasa as “Shiva’s own abode”. Just as the physical mountain is considered the center of the known world, so Shiva is the center of the Self. Shiva is the Self (So’ham, Shivo’ham). Esoterically speaking, Kailasa (Mount Meru) is within yourself. The spinal column, along which the chakras are found, is called the Meru Danda. Ascent of Mount Meru means ascent of Kundalini, and the summit is nothing but the Sahasrara Chakra. So, one could say that all fully realized beings, all jivan-muktas, have truly ascended that Mount Meru within!

http://www.greatholidaysnepal.com/images/kailash-manasarovar.jpg
Mount Kailash and Lake Manas

Mount Kailash is Shiva, and Lake Manas (Lake of the Mind) is His Shakti, His very Consciousness, in which all reality is reflected.

Aum Namah Shivaya.

saidevo
06 January 2008, 10:54 AM
Namaste Agnideva,

Welcome back and thanks for the good information. Historically, I recollect that four people were blessed to reach Kailash, the abode of Shiva in physical form. Are there any more?

1. Adi Sankaracharya: he brought the 'lingams' from Shiva and established the Sankara MaThams.

2. Avvaiyar: this Tamil poet was catapulted to Kailash before the Chera King by Ganesha. Avvaiyar was a staunch devotee of both Ganesha and Muruga. When she Kailash, because of her age she could only sit stretching her legs towards Shiva. When Parvati objected to it, she only said that since the Ishan is found in all directions where she can stretch her legs to? To prove her words, she stretched her legs in another direction and Shiva was instantly transported there! When this happened repeatedly, Shiva gently chided Parvati and made her realize by this 'lIla' the depth of devotion of the poetess.

3. The Chera King Serraman Peruman Nayanar and the Shiva devotee Sundharamurthy Nayanar: they both were sent a divine white horse on which they rode to Kailash. They asked Avvaiyar to accompany them, hurriedly finishing her Ganesha puja and but the poetess refused. Ganesha promised to reach her earlier than the duo after she finished her puja; he did it in a grand manner by directly catapulting her to Kailash using his trunk!

yajvan
06 January 2008, 04:17 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Kailash_south_side.jpg/300px-Kailash_south_side.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kailash_south_side.jpg)

_________ॐनमःिशवाय


atanu writes,
my Guru says that Kailasa is within -- the source of your own Mansarovar -- the Manas, the consciousness
These are wise words...

pranams

sarabhanga
06 January 2008, 10:15 PM
Namaste,

kila indicates assent or emphasis as “indeed, verily, assuredly, namely, or so reported”, and kila indicates the communication of intelligence, with implications of an agreement or reason.

asa means “not he”, so that kilAsa is “namely, not he” ~ the unnamed rudra who can only be known as neti (na iti or “not thus”).

Asa is “the seat”, so that kilAsa is “verily the seat”. And Asa refers to “ashes or dust”, so that kilAsa is “indeed ashes”.

kailAsa is the abode of rudra-shiva and his friend vaishravaNa, who is vi-shravaNa.

And this is the same glorious throne “so reported” to solomon in the koran.

The bird said: “I have just seen things unknown to you. With truthful news I come to you from sheba (shivA), where I found a woman (satI) reigning over the people. She is possessed of every virtue (shiva) and has a splendid throne (kailAsa)”.

shravaNa is “making famous, reporting or resounding”, thus indicating “the ear” and “hearing or revelation”, and shravaNa refers to “the hypotenuse of a triangle, or the diagonal of tetragon”. And vaishravaNa has all of these qualities in great abundance.

kilAsa (“namely not he”) is the root of kailAsa, the throne of the unnamable rudra, who is aja ekapada and advaitam.

The immortal advaitam remains uninterrupted, and no mortal can disturb its perfection. So the eternal abode of kailAsa must remain untrodden, with no mortal presence allowed. :)

Rajalakshmi
07 January 2008, 03:56 AM
Not only Ravana but sages and siddhas are known to be sitting near the feet of Shiva in Kailasa. But my Guru says that Kailasa is within -- the source of your own Mansarovar -- the Manas, the consciousness.


Everything inside also exists outside because Atma has no inside or outside! It is just one's perception. Kailasa exists very much in the universe as much as it is the self. There is an abode of Shiva in the universe too...

Until the state of

yatra hi dvaitamiva bhavati
taditara itaraM jighrati
taditara itaraM pashyati...

is attained, everything is found only outside.

atanu
07 January 2008, 05:15 AM
----It is just one's perception. ---- There is an abode of Shiva in the universe too...

----

Namaste Rajalakshmi,

Nicely said and you are correct. Microcosm is macrocosm, yet ultimately this also is perception. Since as per Vedanta, when the light rises, Shiva alone is the existence. Moreover, who perceives whatever is perceived? To some there is an abode and a being in the abode. But ultimately, the abode and the being together is ONE WITHOUT A SECOND.
Om

bhargavsai
07 January 2008, 08:15 AM
Thank You all the Sirs and Madams. I am really honored to receive answers from such a people. You all have given most satisfying answers. I pray with all heart that Lord Shiva give you all happiness and Realization. Om Namaha Shivaya.