Lord Shiva, Diu and Dwarka
Lord Shiva, a unity of the feminine and masculine.The crescent moon in his hair symbolizes his control over not just the lunar cycle, but time. The lady on top is the water goddess Ganga. The drum symbolizes creation. The trident stands for different kinds of triplicities: Creation, Preservation and Destruction (the three major gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - or aspects of the universal consciousness a/k/a the divine); Past, Present and Future; Body, Mind and Spirit; and the three gunas (qualities that shape all matter and consciousness): sattva (purity), rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia). The trident is a cosmic tool of balance and transformation. I found him/her on a terrace overlooking the sea along the journey from my guest house to the Shiva temple. I actually enjoyed my visit to this quiet shrine more than I did the more renowned Shiva temple with the famed linga stones.
I came across these women on my four kilometer sojourn.
More modern girls.
A tuk tuk driver making his every day ride a happy one.
In a niche descending the stairs to the shrine, Gangeshwar Mahadev Temple is Lord Shiva’s trusty pal, the monkey man, Lord Hanuman, who mastered his monkey mind to remain ever-fixed on the divine. He is here because in Hindu belief Hanuman is considered the eleventh Rudra, a manifestation of partial incarnation (amsa avatara) of Lord Shiva himself. Shiva agreed to take the form as Hanuman to assist Rama (who was an incarnation of Vishnu and had an earthly mission to conquer the demon king Ravana. Rama needed someone with unwavering devotion and super human strength to help him rescue Sita, his partner from the demon king who had abducted her. Hanuman honors the divine bond: Shiva worshipping Vishnu as Rama through the form of Hanuman. Hanuman is also seen as the protector against natural forces as he is the son of the wind god and can balance the sea’s energy with his breath. Accordingly, he guards fishermen and travelers. Devotees pray to Hanuman for protection from evil, courage and strength, mental focus and discipline and freedom from fear and negativity. Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa, a forty verse hymn is believed to bring peace, courage and spiritual strength. freedom from fear and negativity. I pass people every day, some in shrines, some just sitting around, who are religiously chanting something they believe in deeply.
Linga means “sign” and the five linga stones here are a sign of Shiva’s divine formless presence. The cylindrical stone symbolizes the cosmic pillar of light, the eternal energy of Shiva, and the base, the yoni, represents the feminine creative force. From this union of feminine and masculine energies, all existence arises. This is Shiva, the infinite creative principle of the universe. And here at the Gangeshwar Mahadev Temple in Diu in Gujarat, the Arabian Sea washes over the linga proving that nature worships Shiva.
It’s just at the bottom of a little stairwell leading down to the sea, but it’s a popular pilgrimage site for those who especially worship Shiva. It’s the second of twelve Shiva temples, or Jyotirlingas where Shiva made his presence known as a pillar of light. The first one is fairly close. It’s the Somnath Temple in Veravel. It is also along the Arabian Sea and is a majestic structure. I’d like to be able to show you how cool the evening aarti was there, but alas, no cameras are allowed. And I really couldn’t capture the grandeur of the temple on my iPhone. So I encourage you to look it up if you’re interested.
Diu is a sweet, quiet small island off the coast of Guijarat, cleaner than most of the places I’d been in recent weeks and most of the people I met were of a kind and gentle nature. I loved the guest house where I stayed: the Dream Vision Guest House. The owners are intelligent and loving and run a very nice, safe, calm place. And the breakfast is excellent. I’m not sure why I didn’t take any pictures of it. I had a modest room. Comfy, but not picture worthy. But I chose an inexpensive one.I don’t know what other rooms are like. The moon above the balcony outside my window was picture-worthy, but who can capture the essence of the moon, especially a luminous full moon, in a photo? Not me on my iPhone. The blinds were kinda cool, but still, one can only take so many photos, right? The common area, dining area and the yard were sweet and the entire compound could be gated from the street. It was a private sanctuary. Just outside the gate was a Shiva temple that usually had a soundtrack or a couple worshippers keeping the love alive with a gentle chanting or soulful singing.
Diu was once a thriving Portuguese fishing village and is still in part a fishing village. This is the O Coquieiro restaurant where I had fresh caught sole in Portuguese gravy. It was as I had hoped: yummy.
The linga stone shrine was like a couple of other temples I’ve visited - a mass of shoving people, almost desperate to touch the stones and get some of the mojo anyway they could, whether by dropping flowers or dipping their hands in the water, touching the statues, bowing their foreheads to the ground, these are all normal practices. When I was there it was the usual shoving to get in front and this time there was a loud argument between some guy who seemed to exercise some sort of proprietorship over the shrine and the worshippers who weren’t about to comply with his demands. I have no idea what they were arguing about in Hindi or Gujarati, but truly, the experience felt anything but holy.
The next day I went to Somnath. I was making my way to Dwarka, and Veravel was the stop between my bus and train connections. My bus was canceled at the last minute, but I snagged a GSRTC (government) bus that was actually quite nice and gave me a little more time in the morning to get ready and less time in the afternoon to bake. I went through the temple, the first one on the Jyotorlingus pilgrimage circuit, a few times, witnessing different rituals: the changing of Shiva’s clothing and adornments and the wild aarti where people went nuts with the flames and incense. Again, it was a scene of shoving, at least in the women’s line. The pushers emanate this holier than thou vibe, this sort of Lord Shiva is MY god vibe and you may as well just expect it rather than let them bother you as it’s half of the women in there behaving this way.
Outside during the evening aarti, thirty musicians and vocalists dressed in lime green tunics and white pants sat cross-legged on a raised platform in front of us on mats and drummed, played cymbals, flutes and chanted tunes and it all together it sounded like something you’d hear in your head on a psychedelic drug trip. Once again, when I closed my eyes I experienced flashes of light in my third eye where someone had smeared bindi paste and an aum sign.
If you are in Diu, not only do I recommend staying at the Dream Vision guest house, but also to visit the Fudam Bird Sanctuary at low tide and take a guided boat tour. They’ll provide binoculars. I saw an emerald kingfisher and a lot of black-headed ibises and great egrets, among some other birds I’d never seen.
I caught the overnight train to Dwarka. I like falling asleep to the rhythm of the train wheels. I was able to check in early at The Grand Continental, which is a lovely hotel with an excellent restaurant. The Krishna Temple at Sunset Point Beach had a very moving aarti. Truly, the most passionate service I’ve been part of so far. It is seaside, small and not overly-crowded.
Conversely, I went to the sunrise service at the better known Dwarkadish Temple and didn’t make it through the long line to get in. I gave up my shoes, but didn’t feel good about giving up my cell phone (leave yours at your lodging) and the line was so long that I felt it would be another scene where I’d be pushed through either by the madding crowd or security guards like at the Somnath Temple, and well, that sort of scene just doesn’t feel holy enough to justify the risk of getting COVID or yet another foot fungus. Instead I went down to the sea to meet Krishna. He embodies divine love, joy and the playful essence of the cosmos. I knew he’d be game. His murti is in my hotel lobby as Jaggernath and I’ve developed a fondness for this interpretation. He feels like love incarnate, or uh, sort of incarnate.
I met a wonderful family down at Sunset Beach point at the Lord of Compassion murti. My photos of the family vanished. It’s a mystery, but the Lord of Compassion remained steadfast in my photo collection.
A sweet young woman who works at my hotel, Pratyasha was struck with the desire to make me as glamorous as your every day Indian woman and so she showed up at room with lipstick and eye liner and a box of shiny things and she bejeweled me. I do adore the dangling earrings, the tiered necklaces, the nose rings and the exquisite chains studded with gems which drape from earrings to the back of the head. This multitude of adornments, along with the many, many bangles, the toe rings and anklets with bells, while shiny and desirable are however, impractical for backpacking.
In turn, I showed her how to rock the Pocahontas look.
Thank you Pratyasha for showing me the inside skinny, the female routine here where women dress for the divine every day.
