Dev Sanskriti of Himachal
Many people outside Himachal have impression that Himachal is only known for its snowy peaks,high mountains and natural beauty. Besides its natural beauty , Himachal has its own rich culture and Heritage.
Himachal is known as Dev Bhoomi — The Land of Gods. This Himalayan state is said to be protected and sheltered by the power of numerous local Deities. This Himalayan region has a history of age-old religious beliefs ,socio-cultural habits ,Art and Architectural form and styles,spiritual philosophies and practices. Hinduism have many paths to find the ultimate truth. In this Himalayan region people have the age old tradition of worshiping Devis and Devatas. Deities in Hinduism are divinities which are forms of the one Supreme Being . The various Deities are attributes,cosmic processes and energies of the one ultimate reality. They manifest as either feminine (‘devis’) or masculine(‘devas’). Every region in Himachal believes in a distinct deity. People here have personal Deity in their own village for spiritual focus which is called Ishta Devata. Puja is a common ritual of worship in which a devotee invites the Devi or Devata to be his or her honored guest out of utmost love and devotion.
Rajiv Malhotra in his book “Being Different” writes — Devatas are Shakti personified both as external cosmic divinities and as internal divinities within us. The inner Devatas are the divine virtues we are to discover ,as well as the different processes and stages on the mystical path. The Vedas and later yogic and tantric texts call the cognitive centres “Devatas” or “Devas”. They describe them as energies and even as persons. The Atharva Veda calls the human body the “city of Devas” and says the body consists of eight cognitve centres. Some Devas are close to the autonomous biological processes of the body whereas others are creative centres.The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad refers to 3,306 Devatas under thirty-three major deities, organized in three groups of eleven. All Devas embody the same light of consciousness and therefore one can reach the ultimate layers of consciousness through any Deva.
Most people believe in a direct private communication with their Deities . The mode of communication with the divine is done through Gurs. Gurs are the religious people who acts as mediators between the community and Devas and have existed since the birth of civilization. Every area have their own Deities and every Deity has a Gur who gets into divine possession trance. They do this for solving various problems. If you have a problem which may be something as simple as drought, Heavy Rains, in the area, it is shared with them.
Filmmaker Anu Malhotra explored the spiritual and religious world of Shamans(Gurs), which 70 per cent of our country is still ignorant of, through her 100-minute-long documentary, Shamans of the Himalayas. She translated her work into four one- hour-long episodes for Discovery Channel.
People invite Deities to various functions , fairs, even marriages , various ceremonies to take their blessings. Deities travel through long distances in the Palkis (Raths)to attend various fairs and ceremonies. Any new work done in the home, new business , new job , buying new car everything is done with the blessings of Devatas. Every time new crop is harvested ,it is presented first to Devi or Devatas in the form of gift or present. Deities play important role in the religious festivals and fairs .These Deities not only visit the homes of their people but also undertake long journeys to faraway places to meet their friends and relatives. They move with their people in Palkis with musicians known as Bajantris. Below video is the beautiful glimpse of Dev Sanskriti -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEuXsFt-HVo
People here have firm beliefs in their Deities. They treat them as a part of their families and perform regular pujas to them . Most of the people have temples in their homes where they worship their Deities .Also visiting temple of Deity is a frequent thing for people. For any query regarding anything people will first consult their Devatas . People believe Devis and Devatas protect them from all natural calamities and other problems. People believe these divine powers are different Avataars of Hindu Gods and Rishis who have been living in this Himalayan region from ages. I feel that the Himalayan region have some form of spiritual energies in the forms of these super natural powers. Many Rishis,Yogis in the past have done their tapasya and Sadhana for thousands of years in this region .The continuous flow of cosmic energies can be still felt here.
Kullu Dussehra , Mandi Shivratri ,Faag Mela of Rampur Bushahr and other many local fairs are brilliant expressions of this wonderful culture. More than two hundred and fifty Deities converge at Kullu Dussehra for a week long festivity and to pay homage to Lord Raghunath, the presiding Deity of erstwhile Kullu state.No function or fair is complete without the presence of local Deities. Deities dance in these fairs and people perform “Nati” (Traditional Dance) around Deities. Deities arrival in the particular area for function is considered as the good fortune for the area. Deities bind the people together with common rituals , functions and beliefs . It is mandatory for one adult male member from each family to be available for the affairs of the deity whenever required. Himachalis living outside Himachal come to attend the important religious ceremonies of Deities.
This Dev Sanskriti of Himachal bind the people together in certain ways. People have managed to keep alive old age traditions and core values in today’s time as well. Young generations also follows the same traditions with the same devotion as their ancestors have done in the past. This tradition of Dev Sanskriti in Himachal have another level of spiritual experience for seeking the ultimate truth and reality.
Rajiv Malhotra in his book “Being Different” writes — In Hinduism , different Devatas represent different psychological states , energies and intelligences of the same reality. Therefore ,one can not replace one Devata with another arbitrarily. By worshiping as particular Devata, one is invoking that particular aspect of the divine. Therefore, we may worship all the Devatas we wish to and experience the light and power of each using this experience as a step forward transcending all of them in order to realize the impersonal Brahman.
“Truth is one, but the wise men know it as many; God is one, but we can approach Him in many ways.” ― The Rig Veda
