Varanasi - Well of Sheshna and Sarnath, Home of the Buddha
This entry was posted on 3/12/2008 12:43 AM and is filed under India.
One of our favorite experiences was finding the Well of
Patanjali in Sheshna. Three years ago when Mark and a group of devotees last visited Varanasi, they were taken to another well and told that it was Patanjali's. Mark knew it wasn't THE ONE because he couldn't sense the Nagas there.
This trip we tried again to find it. Finding the Well of Sheshna is a very well kept secret in Varanasi and
one of our dear Polish friends, Yogananda, did extensive research as to
where we could find it. One of our drivers called him on his cell phone and
Yogananda guided him and the rest of us to this very incredible spot. They have even
built a gym on top of it to further disguise it, but having discovered
it, there was no doubt that this was the real place where Patanjali
wrote the Yoga Sutras at the very bottom of the well.
Imagine a gym built right on top of the well. Look down the steps and what do you see?...
Here's what the well looked like...
Some of us enjoyed going down to the water's edge or walking the stairs...
Paige looks both like a goddess in person and in her reflection in the pool of water...
Lauren, Mark B. and Stephanie reflectively by the water's edge...
While others of us preferred to sit on the steps at the top in meditation, or soaking the whole experience in...
The architecture of the well reminded us of the famous MC Escher drawing...
It
is said that 30 feet down at the bottom, is a door that leads to
another world, the world of the Naga, the reptile-like semi-divine
beings who live below the earth. "The
book "VENOMOUS REPTILES" states that "Sheshna's well", an alleged
opening into the underground reptilian realm of "Patala", may be seen
today in Benares, (Varnasi) India, and according to Minton, it's
author: "It has forty steps leading down into a circular depression to
a stone door covered with cobras. This is said to lead to PATALA, the
reptile netherworld". Every three years, they empty the water
and have a very incredible celebration. Next emptying is June, 2009.
If you'd like to read more about the Naga, here are a couple
interesting links: Nagas-wikipedia and Khandro-Tibetan Buddhism.
That same day we drove on to Sarnath, the deer park where Gautama Buddha is said to have given his first discourse called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
Here is the magnificent and huge stupa, which houses a relic of the Buddha (for more on stupas and the Buddha's relics, see our earlier blog entry from Singapore
These larger than life statues honor the Buddha and his first five devotees...
Charles on the steps of the Buddha Temple...
This completes our India Blog. Thanks for coming along with us on this spectacular trip.
3/19/2008 8:11 AM
ruth wrote:
I am amazed at the artistry of this presentation and the trip. It is a gift to be able to experience it through you and technology. In addition, the information you gave last night in answer to my question, about what you were doing on the inside (like the billows breath and repeating God's words) as often as possible, is the part of the trip that I am most interested in. I identified with the word 'over stimulation' in one of the shots of a crowded city street, while riding in a rickshaw, and trying to keep track of luggage. The beauty of doing that juggling act and maintaining some grace is the most beautiful shot .... that can not be photographed ... but does come through in the photographs. The practice is deepened out of necessity, into a flow of grace, in the middle of fast moving, overstimulating, chaos ... or not (ouch). Reply to this
5/31/2008 11:35 AM
Alitta wrote:
Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jay! I am just so grateful. It is so lovely to be able to walk this path illumined by the Guru's Grace with devotees such as the Pods. Thank you for sharing your trip and taking us all with you! Awakened is the world. Thank you for the creation of Podsweb, as it is a valuable and accessible resource. Alitta Rose Reply to this
5/17/2008 7:39 AM
Francois Szoka wrote:
Hello I intend to go to Benares in the next month, and to visit the well of Sheshna is one of my plan. You say it is hard to find, under a gym; could you be more specific, please?
Another question related to it is : do you know who built it and when, and why?
Thank you Please write to my personal mail : fszoka@hotmail.com Reply to this
7/14/2008 2:23 AM
Calazans wrote:
Dear friends, I enjoyed to read about your trip and to see the "weel". I presume it is located on the other side of the Ganga. All, the best,
