Source : Google photo of the renovated complex of the Vishwanath temple in Kashi inaugurated by PM Modi yesterday
Synopsis : When something happens after centuries
of waiting and disappointment , it is rightly called historic because it
changes the course of history in a grand manner like what has just happened in
Kashi on December 13, 2021. Rarely a person comes to correct the historic
wrongs done in the name of religion but that is exactly what has happened with
the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor yesterday. It will
make Mr. Narendra Modi immortal.
https://youtu.be/INPMLfMhpGs
Source : U tube video of the inauguration of the temple in
Kashi
What happened yesterday December 13, 2021 in Kashi was
unprecedented in the history of Hindu India and the person who made his dream
project of Vishwanath temple complex renovation a reality was the Prime
Minister of India Narendra Modi. The whole ceremony of the inauguration of the
temple complex by Modi was telecast live around the world to show its
importance that very few non Hindus will ever understand.
Kashi also known as Benares or Varanashi is the most
ancient city that has been continuously lived in the world. Its written history
dates back some 5000 years so Kashi is indeed a very very old city that is
known as the abode of Shiva making it the holiest city to all Hindus in the
world.
Source : Google photo of Mughal king Aurangjeb who destroyed Hindu temples and forced Hindus to convert to Islam.
But Kashi Vishwanath temple was attacked and ruined by the cruel and fanatic Moslem ruler Aurangjeb who had the temple desecrated and demolished to build a mosque in its place in 1669. The temple priest had jumped into a well carrying the Shiva linga in order to save it from destruction. It is not known if he died in the well.
The Hindus watched the desecration silently with tears but
could not do anything to stop the heavily armed soldiers Aurangjeb had sent. He
is known as the person who did the most damage to Hinduism by destroying their
numerous places of worship and forcing the hapless Hindus to accept Islam with
sword on their neck. In Uttar Pradesh alone that has a population of over 200
million has the most number of Moslems in India who were forcibly converted to
accept Islam but they were all Hindus.
The looters and destroyers also came from Afghanistan for
the pillage in the 12th century and many times later because they knew India as
the Golden bird so came to loot, kill and desecrate famous Hindu temple of
Somnath in Gujarat and others. That temple was looted and destroyed 18 times
but now it has been rebuilt after the independence of India in 1947. The massive
temple of Ram is also being built in Ayodhya where the mosque built by Baber
after destroying the Ram temple there in 1527 was demolished by the Hindus in
1992.
Source : Google photo of Queen Ahilya Bai Holkar
Then in the year 1780 a valiant queen Ahilya Bai Holkar of
Indore who was a great devotee of Shiva renovated and rebuilt the temple as it
stands today. In 1835 a great king called Ranjit Singh donated 1 ton of gold to
cover the top of the temple that will blind you with its brilliance today as it
did centuries ago.
Source : Google photo of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Over the centuries following the desecration of the
Vishwanath temple, people started encroaching on the temple land and built
illegal houses that enclosed within their homes numerous very very ancient
temples so they were completely hidden to the public. These beautiful and
historic temples were discovered only when over 350 houses were demolished to
create the space where the new temple complex was to rise. People were stunned
to see these temples for the first time in centuries so the new corridor has now
freed them and rehabilitated all of them to restitute them to their original
form and glory.
One stolen image of Goddess Anna Purna was recently brought
back to India from Canada and reestablished in the complex corridor.
Due to the encroachment of the temple land by the illegal
settlers, it had made the access to the temple very narrow and difficult for
the pilgrims to reach the temple of Shiva to offer their prayers and pooja. The
access to the river from the temple was also very difficult because of all the
illegal structures that are now demolished to make a wide access corridor . Now
all pilgrims can bathe in the river and take the holy water of Ganga and walk
up the stairs to reach the temple directly passing through the massive
courtyard and through many ornate gates. All Hindus follow this ritual of first
bathing in Ganga and then carry the Holy water to the temple and offer it to
Shiva. Mr. Modi was not amiss in performing this ritual that the whole world
watched on TV.
All the workers who had built the massive corridor toiling
for over 2 years through the covid pandemic and the lock down but still working
24 hours a day every day without break had assembled in one side to wait for
their beloved Prime minister.
They could not imagine in their wildest dreams that he will
come, bless them all with flowers and show his humility by sitting with them on
the steps to talk to them and personally thank them for their effort and hard
work. The workers were overjoyed and the whole world watched it. The invited
guests watched in awe and learned a few lessons on how to be humble.
Old and people with disabilities are provided with
facilities like elevators and walking escalators to reach the temple easily
from the river. The huge space can now accommodate at any one time 100000
pilgrims easily.
The temple is surrounded by the gallery to show the
history, prayers and Mantras etc. inscribed on marble in black letters for
everyone to read. There are bookstores for religious books and reprints of
scriptures, visitor’s assistance center, food court, guest house and security
offices that keep an eye on the entire complex through CCTV cameras. There are
more than 20 such massive buildings in the complex, 4 main entry gates and the
stone paved stairs all the way to the edge of the river. Pilgrims can now
arrive in modern boats that run on CNG at the jetty and climb the massive
stairs to reach the temple complex.
In the courtyard they can rest, pray or meditate, do yoga
or simply sit on benches to soak in the majesty of the temple and bask in its
glory for the first time in the history of Kashi.
The entire road from Godhowlia crossing to the main gate of
the complex has been widened and paved with pink stones of Chunar. There are
stone benches for the visitors to rest on all along the way and the entire
street is well lit with light posts and the motor vehicles are blocked to enter
the street by the electrically operated bollards that can come up or sink into
the ground as the situation requires.
All the shops on both sides are painted in a uniform pink
color making it now a very pleasant street to walk on without traffic and motor
vehicles. The entire city of Kashi has been cleaned up, painted pink and with
street lights. The overhead offensive wires are gone and the whole city is
wired with fiber optic cables underground to connect to the Internet. Kashi is
well on its way to become the Smart city.
Even the narrow lanes and streets reaching the temple are
paved with new stones and both sides are painted with beautiful scenes of
ancient India and the pictures of famous religious sadhus and rishis. The new
drainage system, buried cables and clean stone paved narrow lanes are now all
done making the lanes easily passable.
Kashi Railway station, new modern airport building, ring
road around the city, numerous overpasses to ease the traffic and LED lighted
streets , the new highways linking Kashi to other cities are now helping Kashi
to become a modern city while preserving its ancient history and culture.
Near Kashi are the holy Buddhist shrines and stupas in
Sarnath where Buddha meditated thousands of years ago. The access road to
Sarnath and the entire complex is beautifully maintained to receive the
faithful who come from all over the world.
In this video the Prime Minister inspects various
development projects in Kashi personally starting at the temple complex. .
https://youtu.be/fblvi71ScD4
Source : U Tube video Of PM Modi visiting Kashi projects
that were recently completed .
Source : Google photo of the Chief Minister Yogi of Uttar Pradesh
The other person who helped in the fulfillment of all
projects in Kashi including the Vishwanath corridor is the Chief Minister Yogi
who is modernizing the whole state with new airports, new expressways, new
hospitals, schools and colleges, modern railway stations, bus terminals etc. to
get the State ready for the 21st century with the state of the art facilities.
He is tireless like Modi and has reduced crime rate very significantly in the
entire state.
I remember the time when I went to Kashi to visit the
Vishwanath temple and bathe in the river Ganga at the Dashaswamedh ghat . I had
to pass through very narrow lanes often obstructed by a nasty bull or a cow
that roamed freely and bothering everybody. The gutters overflowed but one could
smell the scent of flowers and joss sticks near the temple. The shops were
selling anything you wanted but mostly catered to the pilgrims and their needs
like flowers and joss sticks or sweets. I offered my pooja and came out because
no one was allowed to linger there due to the crowd pressing you on all sides.
I saw the playful dolphins that swam near the ghats and
wondered why no one protected them in my home town where there were plenty of
them always playing near the Fort. The Kashi dolphins are safe from poaching
because people are now more aware and protect them. May be they will multiply
and spread to other parts of the river.
I found a simple room and a wooden bed with a dirty
mattress on it because I could not afford a fancy hotel room so I was like most
pilgrims who come to Kashi from all over the country. I understand that this
has changed now. Many new guest houses have been built that are clean, modern
that offer you very good service, good food and place to stay at low cost.
Kashi food is excellent and cheap.
https://youtu.be/o9_RVjNwfBc
Source : U tube video of the modern Khirkiya ghat in
Banaras
Kashi is changing fast . Its residents are blessed with a
benevolent government that is pouring millions of dollars to develop it.
Khirkiya ghat, Lalita ghat, Manikarnika ghat and many others are being
developed to make them modern. Paved with pink stones of Chunar and LED light
illumination makes them attractive for the tourists now.
If you just visit the Vishwanath temple corridor, you will
know what I mean. The river water is clean and the dolphins still play there.
You will arrive in Kashi in a superfast modern train and wonder at the airport
like railway station and proceed to Godhowlia from where you may walk on the
newly paved wide and well-lit street that looks like a London street and arrive
at the temple.
There you will stand spell bound at the massive main gate
and wonder what it was like before. You will be better off not knowing.
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