Lovely Lumbini..Nepal tidbit 3

The Maya Devi Temple from outside

      There is something about the Buddhist holy places that makes me instantly calm. The Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini was no exception. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, no less and the holiest of holy places for the Buddhists.

      From the India-Nepal border at Sunauli, Lumbini is a 2-3 hour drive. The Maya Devi temple is a good 2 kilometers further inside the sprawling Lumbini park-woods premises.

     According to legend, Queen Maya Devi was enroute to her parents’ place through the beautiful Lumbini Gardens when she went into labor. Standing beneath the Sal tree, clutching a branch, she is supposed to have delivered Siddhartha, who later became the Buddha.

     The exact place of birth is marked by a stone and the glass enclosure is about 2 feet beneath the ground level. A reddish-brown mural of Maya Devi adorns the wall above the birthplace. Japanese and Sri Lankan pilgrims stand in extreme veneration in a single queue waiting for their turn to see the birthplace. Only after clicking two photos, I see the board prohibiting photography. I am sorry to have violated it and hurt sentiments. But I can’t get myself to delete the two pictures. Sorry though.

Visitors peering down to have a look at the exact birth place of Buddha

The exact birthplace.Note the dilapidated Stupas in foreground

 

     As you can see, there is no Sal tree now but only the stone monument at the birth place. Around this place Stupas were built from the 3rd Century BC to 7th AD. Today only the remains of the dilapidated Stupas can be seen (in the foreground in the pictures)

    Outside the temple there are more Stupas and also one Ashoka Pillar. A congregation of Japanese pilgrims prays quietly while a group of children seated before a teacher sing Buddhists hymns so endearingly. Under a Bodhi tree, on the left, is a young Sri Lankan priest animatedly preaching to a rapt elderly audience of about 50 pilgrims.

Children singing hymns

The Ashoka pillar

Sri Lankan monk preaching

     Everything looks and feels peaceful and harmonious. Over a hundred worshippers of all nationalities sit before a Stupa before which burn several lamps. The dusk setting in simply enhances the peaceful experience of the moment.

Stupas outside the temple

Ancient Stupa

 

     Nearby is a pond, a Pushkarini and a group of Japanese tourists and monks sit by staring down at the water. Curious, I approach them and ask their friends who are sitting on the steps, “What are they doing?” not expecting the Japanese to understand me, let alone reply. I am pleasantly surprised when they break into English, though haltingly.

“This was where Maya Devi bathed before delivery…where baby Buddha had his first bath.”

‘’Oh?!”

“Looking at yourself in the pool, you can get to see all your previous lives….!” My heart began to race  because they sounded so earnest when they said that.

“Why don’t you go and see yourself? Know your past lives…” A nun suggested.

“Me?...Oh! no, no…I don’t think I am so…exalted…blessed,” 

“No…anyone can try…do. Concentrate...” they coaxed.

     I went to the brim and knelt by the pool. The pool was so clear and startlingly reflective. I managed to stare at myself for a minute and just as I was enjoying the experience, I was called…It was getting dark and we had a 6-7 hour drive to Pokhara.I got back very reluctantly.

Japanese tourists at the pond

     How many past lives of all those here…? The Japanese, the French, the Sri Lankans, the Nepalese, the Indians…how many of us had changed nationalities along lifetimes…how many had I met in previous lives…how many were real strangers….? It was nightfall suddenly.

     Lumbini lingered all the way and still does now…!

Lamps and candles at dusk...magically serene!!