Full Circle

October 2006

Hilton's Story

Chapter 21  The North of India

Most of the group boarded the same flight from Chennai to Delhi and then, with long goodbyes and promises to keep in touch, dispersed to various destinations. Kay and Hilton found their hotel, happy to be on their own and explore the city as they wished. The next week would be busy with a visit to the Taj Mahal and then to the temples in Khajuraho, from there to the Ganges River at Varnassi and Calcutta. Time did not permit visiting Nepal on this trip but Hilton knew they would return to India other sometime.

Kay complained that she had seen enough temples to last a lifetime but there were more of them in Delhi and they couldn’t avoid the Jama Masjid mosque and the Bahai Temple. Each was magnificent and very different from the Dravidian architecture of the south. Hilton found the Golden Arches, even in this most Hindu of cities, where devoured burghers and fries with gusto, a welcome change from the fish and chicken of the last few weeks.

Early the next morning they were on the train to Agra to a bustling tourist city on the banks of a winding tributary of the Ganges where the Taj Mahal mosque dominates a park beside the river. Kay found a sign explaining that  “in 1612, Mumtaz Mahal married Shah Jehan (then Prince Khurram), the fifth mughal emperor”. She read aloud to Hilton , “this marriage, the emperor's second, was a love-match, and Mumtaz became her husband's inseparable companion on all his journeys and military expeditions. She died in 1630 (only three years after his accession to the throne) in Burhanpur where she had accompanied him on a military campaign. Overcome by grief, Shah Jehan determined to perpetuate her memory for immortality by building his beloved wife the finest sepulchre ever - a monument of eternal love.”

 “It took twenty-two years, and the combined effort of over twenty thousand workmen and master craftsmen to complete the complex on the banks on the river Yamuna in Agra, the capital of Mughal monarchs.”

“Would you build a monument like this for me?” she asked as they looked of the glistening building across the reflective pool. “Just kidding”, she added, “I’m not going to leave you, ever.”

“You know, dear,” Hilton answered, “as beautiful as this building and the other Muslim architecture we have seen is, it lacks the primal energy of the buildings we saw in the south. I hope we will not be disappointed by what we see in the next few days.”

“Don’t worry, Hilton dear,” she said, “if I’m with you nothing will be disappointing.” He didn’t understand why she seemed quietly disappointed that he didn’t answer her question.

After a short flight from Delhi they were in Khajuraho, a small town about half way between Delhi and Calcutta. Hilton had read about the temples of Khajuraho that had been  in the forests, forgotten for centuries, suffering the ravages of the elements. Re-discovered, restored and cleaned, the temples of Khajuraho now show the glory of a long lost civilization. The Creators of Khajuraho claimed descent from the moon and the legend of the great dynasty and the temples is fascinating. It begins with Hemwati, the lovely young daughter of a Brahmin priest, who was seduced by the moon-god while bathing in a forest pool. A child named Chandravarman was born of this union and was brought up in the forests by his mother, where she had sought refuge from a disapproving society. He grew to become the founder of the Chandela dynasty. As king he had a dream-visit from his mother imploring him to build temples that would reveal human passions, and in doing so, show the emptiness of human desire. Were the Chandelas  followers of the Tantra, believing that gratification of earthly desires is a step towards attaining nirvana?

When they entered the temple complex they marveled at the unique creations, they were so different from what was seen in other temples of the period. Each temple building was built on a high masonry platform reaching upward, enhanced by vertical projections that create the effect of grace and lightness. The many chambers each with its own roof were grouped so that the highest is in the centre, the lowest over the portico; like the rising peaks of the Himalayas, abode of the gods.

The temples of Khajuraho are India's unique gift to the world, representing, as they do, a paean to life, to love, to joy; perfect in execution and sublime in expression. Life, in every form and mood, has been captured in stone, testifying not only to the craftsman's artistry but also to the extraordinary vision of the people who conceived and constructed the temples. The sensuous carving on the buildings depicts many forms of lovemaking and erotic fantasies. Carvings of angels appear as secondary female divinities of Indra’s Heaven. Hilton and Kay were in awe of the yab yums and emotional mithunas on the outer wall of the Kandarya Temple, where both sexes are depicted in rapture. 

Many carvings depict Gods in domestic scenes where ladies dress, look in a mirror, paint designs, play a musical instrument, carry lotus-flowers as offering to the Gods, the way daily life may have been lived--karma as preliminary of moksha. Kay recognized the meaning as the Tantric message of salvation through the union of the individual and universal soul, man and woman, Shiva and Shakti, linga and yoni, yoga and bhoga.

She asked, “What are yab yums and mithunas? The guide book doesn’t define them but they look like men and women.” Hilton didn’t comment reflecting on the concept of moksha as release from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth when the individual has eliminated all bad karma that accrues during many lifetimes.

“You know, Kay,” he said, “the ancient people must have found life so hard that they never wanted to come back again. They wanted to be extinguished in Nirvana. Wouldn’t you think we would want to come back again and again if we can live as we do now? I wonder if the concept of heaven in other religions is another way to have your cake and eat it.”

She looked at him strangely. "I’d bet that more than half the people on earth today wouldn’t want to come back and relive their lives,” she replied. “Whatever and however it happens you can be sure that I will come back with you, even if to haunt you, my love”.

A well-dressed Indian couple standing near by seem to overhear their conversation. The man spoke saying, “Excuse me but you appear to be interested in our religions and myths. Have you been in India long?”

Hilton explained that they had visited temples in the south and were interested in the old religions and their application to people today. The Indian introduced himself as Mr. Natara Saktu and his wife as Parmi. He said they lived in the town and often came to the temples ato enjoy beauty of the place. They had recently retired from business in Delhi and found a home here to live out their days in study and contemplation.

“You seem to be interested in the Tantric approach and the myths of Shiva and Shatki,” said Mr. Saktu. “We have extensive material about them. Perhaps you would like to see it and join us for supper at our home.”

He said they had a car and they could go now and be returned to the hotel later. Hilton found them to be very earnest and receiving a nod from Kay agreed that it would be a wonderful way to learn more about India.

Next chapter

 Home Page