Entrance to Namdroling Monastery |
Bylakuppe near Kodagu in Karnataka is a little Tibet. In 1960, the government of Mysore (now
Karnataka) allotted about 3000 acres of land to the Tibetan refugees. Today nearly 70,000 people of Tibetan origin
live in that place which attracts a lot of tourists.
The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery is one of the attractions. Established in 1963 by Drubwang Padma Norbu
Rinpoche, the monastery educates hundreds of monks who graduate after a
ten-year course which includes a three-year period of spiritual retreat.
Inside the Golden Temple |
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan
Buddhism. It is founded on the first translations
of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into old Tibetan language carried out in
the 8th century CE. The
Tibetan alphabet and grammar were created just for this endeavour, according to
certain traditions.
One of the plaques inside the Golden Temple attached to the monastery
says that the original Guru Rinpoche was the second Buddha. The Guru was born “twelve years” after the
Buddha’s death, according to the plaque though, I think, it should be “twelve
centuries” since the Guru lived in the 8th century CE.
A view of the monastery and the temple |
While Lord Buddha’s statue which is 60 feet in height occupies the
central position in the Golden Temple, Guru Rinpoche’s statue on one side is 58
feet tall. The other statue which is
exactly as tall as Rinpoche’s is that of Buddha Amitayus, according to the
plaque. All three statues are made of
copper and plated with gold. Inside the
statues are many hidden secrets such as “scriptures, relics of great beings,
small clay mould stupas, and small statues which symbolise the body, speech and
mind of the Buddha.” The plaque goes on
to say that “Seeing these statues, venerating them, circumambulating and making
offering to them generates faith, peace, wisdom, loving kindness and compassion
in our minds and cleanses unwholesome thoughts and actions.”
Two little monks |
The prayers of the monks in the monastery may remind you of some tantric
recitations. There is something magical
about the very sound of the chanting which is accompanied by sounds of an enormous
gong and apparently a stringed instrument whose vibration penetrates into your
soul.
However, I couldn’t notice anything otherworldly on the faces of the
monks I came across. They looked
melancholic. The little monks, students
of monkhood, looked like anachronisms walking with uncertain footsteps. When a few of my students invited the little
monks for some snaps, they looked utterly confused. They posed for the snaps with hesitant
longing while throwing furtive glances around as if to make sure that they were
not being watched by senior monks. Are
they becoming monks because they have no other option? The question sprang in my sceptical mind
again and again.
Shopping Complex |
Outside the monastery is an enormous shopping complex run by
Tibetans. They sell a wide variety of
things like apparels, caps, woollen garments, bags, handicraft items, food items, and so
on. But none of the shopkeepers looked
eager to sell anything. They just tell you the prices with the stoic
indifference of the monks I saw in the monastery. You buy the goods or don’t, it seems to matter
little to them. But I was delighted to
watch one of those women who snatched a toy gun from her little son who was
playing in front of their shop. She held
it as far away from her as possible, averted her eyes, and pulled the
trigger. Nothing happened. The little boy taught her how to do it. He didn’t hold the gun far from him. He was not afraid of the paper crackers which
produced sounds slightly higher than the cracking of knuckles. But the mother held the gun far away again. But the crackers burst this time. And she laughed like a little child. That laugh remains in my heart as one of the
most pleasant sights I had in the little Tibet in Karnataka.
What made these people so indifferent?
I wondered. Is it their
religion? Is it the esotericism of that great
Guru’s teachings? Or is it the
exile?
Or is the indifference merely a mask put up before the thousands of
tourists who hang around the place marking a stark contrast to the place’s quintessential
spirit?
PS. I visited the place on 31
Oct 2016 along with a group of students of mine.
Some of the students and two teachers in front of the Golden Temple |
It may be their religion and exile. More than that, it could be their origin from the hilly and the hard terrain. This Little Tibet is worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteWorth a visit, yes. It's something quite different from what we are used to. Sikkim has such monasteries.
DeleteThis is a very colourful and beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteIndeed
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ReplyDeleteReadmore Todaynews18.com https://goo.gl/BgzxC9