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kashi-sadguru
1. Why Was Kashi Created?
Sadhguru: The word “Kashi” literally means to be luminous, or more particularly, a tower of light. Mark Twain said that Kashi is older than legend. Nobody can ever decipher the date of this place. When Athens was not even thought of, Kashi was. When Rome did not even exist in people’s minds, Kashi was. When Egypt did not exist, Kashi was. It is that ancient, and it was built as an instrument in the form of a city, which brings a union between the “micro” and the “macro” – this little human being can have the phenomenal possibility of uniting with the cosmic reality and knowing the pleasure, ecstasy and beauty of becoming one with the cosmic nature.
There have been many such instruments in this country, but to create a city like this is a mad ambition – and they did it thousands of years ago. /1800 BC
There were 72,000 shrines, the same as the number of nadis in the human body. The whole process is like a manifestation of a “mega human body” to make contact with a larger cosmic body. It is because of this that a whole tradition came up that if you go to Kashi, that is it. You do not want to leave the place because when you get connected to the cosmic nature, why would you want to go anywhere else?
2. The Science of Kashi
Sadhguru: The most important thing in human life is to know the limitations of your body. You were born yesterday and will be buried tomorrow. You only have today to live. This is the nature of existence. And before death comes, life needs to blossom. So across the country, we set up every possible mechanism that we could use for this purpose. There are many mechanisms like this. Unfortunately, most of them are broken, including Kashi which is largely disturbed, but the energetic part of it is still pretty alive. This is because when we consecrate spaces of this nature, including Dhyanalinga, the physical structure is always only a scaffolding. the legend says that Kashi is on the top of Shiva’s trishul or trident, not on the ground.
What I see in my experience is that the real structure of Kashi is approximately 33 feet above the ground. If we had any sense, we should not have built anything beyond 33 feet in height. But we have, because sense has always been a very scarce material in the world. And, by geometrical calculations, the energy structure could be up to 7200 feet. This is why they called it a “Tower of Light,” because those who had eyes to see, saw that it is a very tall structure. And it did not stop there, it gave you access to what is beyond. The idea is to achieve something that a human being could achieve within himself or herself, through an organized mechanism that comes from the distilled essence of thousands of years of realization of many people. If you have to realize things by yourself, it is like reinventing the wheel and unnecessarily going through a whole lot of painful processes. But if you have to realize through others’ knowing, then you must have humility.
This arrangement was done so that a lot of people could be transported. People came and set up all kinds of methods and mechanisms. At one time, there were over 26,000 shrines – each one of them had a method of its own as to how a human being can attain. These 26,000 shrines developed satellites and many angles of the temple became small shrines of their own – so the number went up to 72,000 shrines when this mechanism called Kashi was in full glory. This did not happen overnight. No one knows in which period the basic structure happened. They say that even Sunira, who is dated something like 40,000 years ago, came here looking for something. By then, it was already a flourishing city.
In terms of antiquity, no one knows exactly how old it is. Shiva wanted to come here because the city was so beautiful. Before he came, it was already a phenomenal city. Just a few years ago, they discovered three layers of temples that were all closed down for a long period of time. This means that the city sunk over a period of time and it was repeatedly rebuilt, one on top of the other. There are three to five layers of the city, because the earth recycles itself over a period of time.
3. The Legend of Shiva Living at Kashi
Sadhguru: The legend of Kashi goes by the fundamental that Shiva himself lived here. This is his winter place. He lived as an ascetic in the upper regions of the Himalayas, but when he got married to a princess, compromises had to be made. And being a graceful man, he decided he would move to the plains, as Kashi was the most fabulously built city at the time.
. “If I have to become the king, Shiva has to leave, because with him around, me being a king is not going to work. People will gather around him.”
There is a beautiful story. Shiva left Kashi because of some political reasons. The gods were afraid that Kashi would lose its reverberence if it was not properly managed, so they asked Divodasa to become the king. But he set a condition, “If I have to become the king, Shiva has to leave, because with him around, me being a king is not going to work. People will gather around him.” So Shiva, along with Parvati, left to Mount Mandara, but he did not want to stay there. He wanted to come back to Kashi, so he first sent messengers. They went and they just loved the city so much, they did not go back.
Then Shiva sent 64 celestial women. He said, “Somehow corrupt the king. Once we find some fault in him, we can send him packing and I’ll come back.” They came and they entrenched themselves all over the society, wanting to corrupt it. But they loved the place so much they forgot the mission and settled down.
Then he sent Surya Deva. He also came – all the Aditya temples in Kashi are for him – he loved it so much that he did not go back. Surya Deva was so ashamed and scared that he could not fulfill Shiva’s mission because his love for the city was greater than his commitment to the mission, so he turned south, tilted to one side and settled down.
Then Shiva sent Brahma. Brahma himself came and loved it, and he did not go back. Then Shiva said, “I cannot trust any of these people,” and he sent two of his most trusted ganas. Both of them came – they could not forget Shiva, they are his people – but they loved the place so much and thought, “This is the only place Shiva should live, not Mount Mandara.” Then they became dwarapalakas of this city.
Shiva sent two more, Ganesha and another, who came and took charge of the city. They started preparing the city, guarding the city, and they said, “Anyway Shiva has to come, there is no point in going back.” Then Divodasa was tempted with mukti. He did not fall for any kind of corruption, but he was tempted with mukti and he took it. Then Shiva came back.
These are all stories to tell you how much people longed to be here, not because of pleasure, but because of the possibility that the city offered. The city was not just a dwelling place; it was a mechanism to go beyond all limitations. It was a mechanism for this tiny little organism to connect with the larger organism of the cosmos.
4. Why Is Kashi Called Varanasi?
Sadhguru: Varanasi, Banaras or Kashi – it has many names. This is the oldest city on the planet. However far human memory goes, they talk about a great city called Varanasi that was built between two rivers of Varuna and Asi. (Sadhguru)