Népal 2 : Kathmandu
Located at 1350 meters above sea level, Kathmandu was THE mythical city of the 1960s and 1970s. As a teenager, this city made me dream. It must be said that John Lennon, Cat Stevens, Janis Joplin and many others have stayed there. The era of hippies and drugs for an artificial Nirvana….
I dreamed of it as a teenager and, fifty years later, life gave me the opportunity to go there….
The Thamel district is the tourist district. The atmosphere and the shops are a reflection of its history: The first tourists in the 1920s for the mountains and the Himalayas then the 1960s with the hippie period. As a result, there is a swarm of sports shops – clothing and trekking shoes – and “baba-cool” clothes shops.
Kathmandu is also the religious capital of Nepal. And, even though Nepal is predominantly Buddhist, the Hindu influence is everywhere. Either way, Buddhism is a branch of Hinduism. It is considered a simplified and pacified version of Hinduism.
The city center…
A multitude of temples…
Durbar Square
A stone’s throw from the Thamel district, Durbar square is the former political and religious center of Nepal. It was badly damaged by the 2015 earthquake but restorations are in progress. Durbar Square includes the former royal palace and an amalgamation of numerous Buddhist temples.
The Royal Palace
More Hinduism than Buddhism…Ganesh is worshiped even under scaffolding
The tree surrounds the temple…
Swayambunath Buddhist Temple
On a hill west of Kathmandu… Nepal’s oldest Buddhist site towers over the city.
A 1500 year old stupa, a proliferation of monkeys and prayer wheels…
The base of the stupa and the prayer wheels. The prayers are written on parchments sealed in the cylinders. The custom is to walk around the stupa clockwise and rotate the prayer boxes.
View of Kathmandu. The foothills of the Himalayas…
Les boutiques de souvenirs
Pashupatinath
5 kms from the city center is the site of “Pashupatinath” (one of the innumerable names of Lord Shiva). There is another name for the site: “the valley of the shadow”. It is a place of pilgrimage with an imposing Hindu temple forbidden to non-Hindus and it is also the Nepalese “Benares”… Many cremations every day. The ashes are thrown into the river which is a tributary of the Ganges.
Downstream side of the bridge for the poor
Upstream side of the bridge for the rich
The bodies are washed on the steps and then wrapped in a white shroud. The body takes 2 to 3 hours to burn out. The fire is maintained by a person from the temple who, in addition to wood, adds a mixture of oil and fat to speed up the cremation.
Two videos:
As in Varkala in Kerala, gurus are available to predict the future, reassure and ask for help from the Gods.
With the monks of the temple…
Opposite 2 photos of remains from the tantric era of Hinduism. Tantrism has been interpreted in the West as unbridled sexuality. The West does what it wants…
Hinduism was not in this spirit. Sexuality was and still is a means of developing spirituality through sexual energy. This sexual energy which, for some, is similar to Ki.
Yoni and linguam… Sanskrit words that designate the female and male sexes.
The stones were used for milk offerings. The couples came to ask the Gods for abundant descendants….
