Archival Photographs of Kedarnatha and Gangotri from 1882

The following collection of photographs were taken between 1882 and 1883 and are in the archives of the Geological Survey of India. They provide a view of the ancient Kedarnath temple before it became a tourist attraction, when it was a lone, remote temple, only visited by a few sadhus.

A beautiful mythological story about Lord Shiva 

 One day Parvati got very angry with her husband, & marched up to his abode.... "Why are you giving so much pain to your devotees? They love you so much & you put them through such tough tests. I am a mother, I can't see their pain. They call you BABA, & you push them so much."

Disturbed in his meditation, Mahadev, opened his eyes and smiled at his wife. He sent her to a man on earth, "Go to this man & see how he works. You'll get your answer."... and the God of few words, resumes his meditation.

Parvati came to earth & looked up this man, a goldsmith. The man was busy heating some precious metals. He was sitting very close to the fire and had his hand almost inside the flames, heating gold and silver.
"Why are you burning this?", she asked.
"I am not burning it, I am just getting rid of all the impurities in it."
"Are you going to sit like this whole day, putting your hand in the fire?"

"Yes", he smiled, "Not only will I keep doing it, also I cannot take my eyes off it even for a mili-second. A little carelessness & I will lose something very precious to me. I will have to keep watching it.”
“But how will you know that it is purified?”... she wondered.
“When it starts glowing and shining from within, I will be able to see my face reflected in it.”

Parvati found her answer. She knew that day, that her husband who has three eyes, which are closed most of the times, never takes his eyes off his precious devotees, humanity. As long as he doesn't see the reflection of his qualities in them, he will continue to cleanse them, even if it hurts him too

 

 The spiritual journey

 The spiritual journey isn’t a transition from human to Divinity. it is the willingness to erase every imaginary line that distinguishes human from Divine, as if they’re two separate realities.

From a spiritual standpoint, love is an instinctive act of acknowledging something as being divine in origin, no matter how it appears to you. When such a depth of truth has dawned in your heart, everything will be recognized in this beautiful and breathtaking way. This includes an understanding, where in any moment you fail to see the divine origin of any being, it is the exact moment that life is reminding you to stop and remember what is divine about you. Beyond this understanding, the only way to answer the question, “what is love” is by taking the time to love what is.

While an invitation of this depth and magnitude may surely lead you to realize who you really are, as the source of all things, the secrets of the soul’s journey begins with one profoundly humbling realization. It could be nothing else, but the ongoing reminder that in a world of endless wants, your own acceptance and loving approval is all you ever need. As you proceed forward in this journey, you may come to see that when trying to find your way into an open heart, the instructions are always astoundingly simple: whatever arises, love that.......