“Om Agnimīḷe purohitam yajṇ̃asya devamṛtvijam, hotāram ratnadhātamam”
The very first mantra in Rig Veda is an invocation to Agni, the God of fireside. Considered the common dwelling intelligence, Agni is named upon by the seekers to imbibe inside themselves the essence of the deity and develop upwards just like the flame, in the hunt for the final word Fact.
Hearth is symbolic of religious transformation. And, my go to to Ateshgah, the Hearth Temple in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, reaffirmed for me how the essence of this sacred fireplace is ever burning inside every one among us, from the very first second we take our breath on this world.
One of many key vacationer points of interest in Baku immediately, the Ateshgah was constructed by Hindus and Zoroastrian travellers alongside the traditional Silk Route. The temple is positioned within the Surakhany space of Baku. Surakhany means “holes with burning fountains”, on account of the pure fuel discovered within the space.
The everlasting fireplace that used to burn naturally in the principle temple Within the seventeenth and 18th centuries, has lengthy been changed by a fuel pipeline. Together with this, the huge temple complicated has been meticulously restored as a museum.
On a chilly December morning, once I stood inside the principle temple, subsequent to the flames that have been burning brilliant and swaying within the wind, I felt I used to be in a sacred area. Enclosed inside excessive partitions, the principle temple takes middle stage within the huge courtyard. This central altar was in a cell earlier however was moved to the courtyard later.
The central courtyard is surrounded by many cells that was occupied by ascetics and monks in historical occasions however are actually a museum, showcasing the historical past and significance of the Hearth Temple down the ages.
Our tour information, Vusal, who was exceptionally educated about native historical past, knowledgeable us that many of the cells had been restored by the Hindus and some by the Zoroastrians.
I seen that most of the inscriptions, from the principle gate to these exhibited together with necessary artifacts, have been in Sanskrit. Some research indicated that Ganesha and Shiva have been the principle deities talked about within the inscriptions.
The statues of Shiva as Nataraja and Ganesha occupying distinguished locations among the many displays, additional indicated that they have been the principle deities worshipped within the fireplace temple.
As per data accessible within the museum, most of the Hindu ascetics who lived in Ateshgah would follow extraordinarily stringent types of devotion and self-denial. Travellers in these occasions wrote many attention-grabbing accounts about what they noticed and skilled there. The temple was in all probability sustained by the retailers who halted at this place on their journeys alongside the previous Silk Route.
Apparently, although Ateshgah is not thought-about a “dwelling temple” because the rituals of worship have lengthy been stopped, the deity, Agni, continues to be alive in his sanctum sanctorum. With a dwelling deity, for me, the temple was as sacrosanct as it might have been for the individuals who got here right here just a few hundred years in the past.
Necessary data:
Easy methods to attain: Ateshgah is a brief 30-minute drive from the principle metropolis middle in Baku. For reaching Baku, Indigo has direct flights from New Delhi.
Lodging: My suggestion is the Badamdar Resort & Residences in Baku.
(Sudipta is an power healer and mystical storyteller. Her assortment of quick tales ‘Invoking Our Inside Goddess’,’ Mystical Tales Of Sacred Earth’, ‘The Blue God’s Love’, and ‘Enchanted Waters: The Magical Circulate Of Life’ can be found worldwide on Amazon Kindle.)
