Kathmandu 1
The hustle and bustle of Kathmandu is an eratic energy that bursts with life! Kids saying "Hello!" with huge smiles as I "Namaste"* them back! Shop keepers sleeping with one eye open...cows wandering the streets...monks and persistent vendors! A cacaphony of sights, sounds, smells, all pleasurable to the senses! Once we plunked our belongings in our hotel room, we were whisked away to Durbar Square and then the Hanuman Dkoha temple complex (Swayambunath Temple). [*Namaste means, "I bow to the God within you", or "The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you" - a knowing that we are all made from the same One Divine Consciousness. Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.]
Walked past a building devoted to the "Living Goddess, Kumari". Two women stood outside, holding crisp postcards of images of the Kumari. One in particular caught my eye, and I was so excited that something I had researched was well within my grasp of actually seeing! It didn't take much to convince others in my group to want to try and see the Kumari, too, although our tour guides were less interested in this diversion and more interested in getting us back on the tour bus. We went inside the small courtyard, and could see the little window/balcony the Kumari might have appeared on. Alas, today was not to be our day to see her! These Kumari, or “living goddesses,” are pre-pubescent girls considered to be the earthly manifestations of divine female energy, incarnations of the goddess known as Taleju.
Two holy monkeys stand guard in front of a statue of Buddha at Swayambhunath Temple. They are holy because Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning, was raising the hill which the Swayambhu Stupa stands on. Manjushri was supposed to leave his hair short but he let it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys. "Itchy & Scratchy"!
Swayambunath Temple has a long stairway with 365 steps, leading directly to the main platform of the temple, The giant Swayambhunath Stupa, with Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on, and between them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. The nose is a symbol of Nirvana; the large pair of eyes (on each of the four sides of the main stupa) represent Wisdom and Compassion. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye. It is said that when Buddha preaches, cosmic rays emanate from the third eye which act as messages to heavenly beings, so that those interested can come down to earth to listen to the Buddha.