There are few temples which are as passionately revered by devotees as is Baba Dham of Deoghar. Baba Dham means place of Baba Shankar (Shiva) and Deoghar means abode of gods. The temple is so important because Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, popularly known as Baba Dham and Baidyanath Dham is one of the twelve sacred Jyotirlingas. Every year in the Shravan month, devotees (called kavarias) throng to this temple from all over the region to offer water (jal) to the sacred Shivalingam.
I visited Baba Dham at Deoghar for the first time this year. We were visiting Baba Dham before Shravan month and hence the crowd was slightly less. We reached the town of Jasidih by train, which is on the Howrah–Patna–Delhi line. Deoghar is about 6 Kms from this place. We took an auto-rickshaw to reach there. After much search, we were able to find a hotel with a vacancy. Even though it was not the Shravan month, hotels were all booked due to some Satsang. We went to the temple in the morning, on foot. And it was an experience to remember.
The temple town of Deoghar is a small one with clean air and a pleasant environment. It has the beauty of a small town and also the facilities of every need. In the middle of the town, all lanes converge to reach the temple of Baba Bholenath (one name of Lord Shiva). In the main temple, the sacred Shivalingam is situated. To read about the legends behind this Shivalingam and the temple, you can see the Wiki article on Vaidyanath Temple. The origin belongs to Treta Yuga. The temple is thronging with devotees most of the time and it is very difficult to do darshan or to worship the Lord. There we found many Pandas who were sitting round the temples, with their names and mobile numbers written on the walls. Father tells that each family has a particular Panda ji assigned to it. We got to know that one Shree Dhwajadhari Panda has been the one for our family. Later on we got to know that he was no more and another of his children was carrying out his work. These Pandas also visit our families in our villages and maintain a good relationship. This is the tradition for generations. Then one boy was assigned to us as a guide. There are so many temples for almost each and every god including Ganga ji (the river goddess). The main temple where sacred Shivalingam was situated was too crowded for us. I thought it was a miracle that we came out without being hurt or falling down. And as if to confirm the miracle, I had by chance kept a mobile phone in my pocket, which remained intact. While going through the melee, I doubted if I would wish to come back again. In the centre of the temple, the sacred Shivalingam was there, to which we offered water and prayers. Later on, we visited many of the other temples inside the premises.
Another aspect of the experience is that you would see Pandas and priests in each and every corner of the temple-cluster asking for money as offering. For a moment, it doesn’t look nice. But on a second thought, it was the temple which was giving them the employment and I think there was no other way for them to get compensation. The main temple had only one door and the crowd was always in over capacity. In those conditions if there are some guys to manage everything, it seems they deserved a few coins from the devotees. Good thing was that they received whatever you gave and won’t ask again even if you didn’t offer anything. Another interesting scene was when some of those guys were hitting the unruly crowd with thin (non-harming) sticks, to bring them in order. To a large extent, it reminded me of Shiva’s army. Lord Shankar is also called Bhootnath. To expect order and discipline from his army is a misplaced expectation, perhaps. Also, the whole chaos and crowd reminded me of our world where we have to find inner peace in the midst of the outer bedlam. We have to find inner order despite outer disorder. We have to search for inner stability from within outer mayhem. And there, in midst of chaotic crowd, when money seemed far too apparent, there lied the sacred Shivalangam. Unaware of the chaos, yet aware of everything; unshaken by mayhem, yet touched by each moving heart. That is how we can take it. To me, the temple with all its crowd and chaos stands for victory of spiritualism over disturbing materialism. Otherwise, the ocean of devotees won’t be coming in streams to this temple town year after year.
There are markets selling hosts of items like bangles, toys, pictures, and sweets. Peda is the most favourite prasad which is bought by the devotees. Mixed with chuda (beaten rice) and ilichai-dana (a kind of sugar), it forms the typical prasad which people take back home to distribute among relatives, friends and neighbours.
We returned back with a resolve to come back soon. The experience was one to remember forever. Jai Baba Vaidyanath! Jai Shiv Shankar!
- Rahul
Some Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaidyanath_Jyotirlinga,_Deogarh
http://www.babadham.org/
http://babadham.blogspot.com/
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