Only a Hindu can really understand what a Kailash Mansarovar Yatra means. It is an ultimate destination for every pilgrim, avers Pt. Rajesh Maharaj from Trindad and Tobago who just returned from the Kailash Mansarover yatra said. Talking to Sangeeta Sharma on his brief stay in Delhi, Pt Rajesh said , ” Kailash Mansarover is divine, just divine, I have no words to explain the serenity of Kailash Parbat, the abode of Lord Siva himself, and tha Mansarover lake, truly amazing, ” Pt Rajesh said. Having a dip in the chilled water of the deep blue Mansarover lake was like….like you are out of this world. I was like awed! amazing amazing! Pt Rajesh said who along with his brother Rishi completed the yatra in 10 days. Now more and more Hindus across the world visit this beautiful, serene pilgrim place. I was much fortunate to be there and experience the first hand feel of this great place, he added.
Trinidad and Tobago situated in Caribbean Island, also known for producing great cricketers like Bran lara, Trinidad has a total population of 1.10 million out of which almost 50% are of Indian origin. British ruled Trinidad for many years. Indians were taken there as Indentured laborers to do the sugarcane plantation. As the time passed Colonial rule collapsed and our Indian brothers were given a choice of either take some land or a return passage to India. 90% of Indians chose to stay there and with great hard work have achieved new heights.
“When Indentured laborers were taken, a few brahmins also accompanied them, Pt Rajesh said. it was then that the Brahmins played the role of mentor, friend, advisor and companion to these persons. With the wealth of knowledge at hand the brahimins soon took over the job of calculating the wages and performed rituals for deaths as well as marriages. Trinidad was the first country in West which abolished Dowry system others like Guyana and Surinam followed our pattern, he adds.
We reached Delhi on May 4th, and left for Chaar Dhaam Yatra. That is Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri… It was a great experience to see, feel, smell the religious places which I have read in the sacred scriptures all along, Pt Rajesh said. After the Char Dham yatra we went to Ahodhya Varanasi Allahbad and …We had hired a car an Innova which took us from Delhi to Allahbad, Varanasi and other places. We visited Chitrakoot, Ahodhya and all other places connected with lord Rama.
Rajesh is a Purohit(a practicing pundit) in Trinidad and performs all sorts of activities like katha, yagna, janeu, poorv vidhi karm, daan etc. Pt Rajesh (40) is still a bachelor. Besides being a full time purohit, also has a job as Inspector in Public Health Department. He is the fifth generation Indian there. His father Paras Nath Maharaj retired as Inspector jails, mother is a home maker. His brother Rishi (30) is also working as assistant engineer in the local government. sister Shanti Maharj is a classical singer. also sings Bhojpuri songs.
After the Varanasi Yatra we came back to Delhi to start our journey to Mount Kailash but unfortunately Rishi fell ill, Rajesh recalls. We decided to cancel our trip to Kailash so we called the travel agent in Nepal. The Travel agent said if you will not go you will loose 600 usd. so we decided to go upto Nepal and at least utilize our air-tickets which would have gone waste. We left all our jackets, medicines and other stuff in Delhi and went to Nepal. After we reached Nepal, I fell ill, Rajesh said. Now the possibility of going to Kailsh got diminished as I gave up. The travel agent said, “boss you must go, I will give you jackets etc, don’t worry.” We borrowed jackets, bought all the woolen inner wears, medicines etc and got packed to go.
We left Nepal on May 30 in a Delux bus which had total 38 yatries(pilgrims) including us. All others except we two were from India places from Odhisa, Poona, Mumbai and Gujrat. Our fellow brothers took great care of us. We had a lovely time in the bus. Rishi and myself were singing bhajans like jai Bhole Bhandari and “rakhiyo laj mere sindoor ki Shiv Shankar ki Pyari Gaura Parvati ” much to the astonishment of other yatries as how these two young foreigners are so dedicated.
We realized Nepal has a similar food like ours in Trindad. This is because we were originally from Gorakhpur which is very close to Nepal even the playing of music say playing of Dholak in Nepal is similar to ours in Trinidad, Rishi who is a very good Dholak player and singer said.
Even the food is quite similar to ours, like the lemon pickle, the daal, rice etc wow were having the taste of home cooked food. After travelling the whole day, we reached the friendship bridge( Nepal tibet border) by 6 pm. got nice dinner-daal, rice etc. We stayed here for two days to acclimatize ourselves. We were made to climb small hill to check our stamina, and even bus went to a steep hill to see how we take the up hill drive and if one has altitude sickness or not.
Pt. Rajesh continued, “We had a great experience of the tranquil water of Mansarover. To see Kailash Parvat is like …witnessing Lord Shiva himself. We were chanting Om Namah Shivay, Om Namah Shivay and even after being sick and tiered we were feeling enlightened. The entire scene enriched the soul. Kailash Parvat, is worshiped by every culture and cast, be it a Buddhist, a Jain, or a Hindu. The tranquil Mansarovar Lake, brimming with Shiva’s blessings, is believed to wash away all your sins and energized your devotion with spirituality.
The beauty of Kailash Parvat can only be defined by the one who has witnessed the divinity of this pilgrimage its really amazing.
We are lucky we did the Char Dhaam Yatra, Pt now we heard that all except the Badrinath Temple has been destroyed by the torrential rains in that part of the country”.