The Return
Drifts
of memory surface
then
fade, taunting me
the
Potala Palace is beckoning
centuries
ago my home
calling
me back
with
the echo of conches.
The
subterranean passages, dark
hold
secrets the invaders will never know,
arcane
inscriptions by senior lamas
coded
in the universal language of light
passages
to higher dimensions
transcending
the material.
Younghusband’s
British superiority,
his
guns and arrogance useless
the
invader’s fear and ignorance mocked
Lamas
come and go still.
New
invaders
driven
by ideologies of insecurity
armed
with yellow-steel machines,
drones,
infrared eyes and satellites
all
useless against the secret of invisibility.
And
still the lamas come and go.
The
fragrance of sandalwood
lingers
far beneath the golden turrets,
I must
return to complete the Yantra
deep in
the mountain rock vault
the
place of my Little Death Ceremony.
High on
the roof of the world
arcane
secrets wait patiently,
The Dalai
Lama clearing the way
as the
focus of white light
emerging
from the universal matrix
will
manifest through the interlacing Yantra.
The
sacred symbol will pulse
channelling
the healing energy
like
radio waves around the earth
peace
and unity will soon return
resonating
and clearing the turmoil of centuries.
Yantra -- Sandra Joran
Francis Younghusband was born in Murree (in what is now Pakistan). His uncle Robert Shaw was a noted explorer of central Asia, and his brother and father were both British major-generals. However, he spent most of his young life in England. After decades of travel in Asia as a military officer, in 1903 captain Younghusband led an expedition into Ganden Phodrang (modern Tibet) to establish diplomatic relations and settle a border dispute between that country and Sikkim; the British had already conquered Sikkim and Burma, making Ganden Phodrang, established by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642, the only Himalayan state not under British influence. About 100 mi (160 km) within Tibet, at Guru, his troops, armed with modern rifles and machine guns, were confronted by 700 monks armed with hoes, swords, and flintlocks, and after massacring them Younghusband advanced to Lhasa. The 13th Dalai Lama fled to China, but at least 5,000 Tibetans had been killed; Younghusband lost 5 men. The resultant Treaty of Lhasa allowed the British to trade in Yadong, Gyantse, and Gartok, and Tibet had to pay an indemnity of 7,500,000 rupees, to be paid over a period of 75 years, and the British would occupy the Chumbi Valley until the indemnity was paid. In addition, Tibet was forbidden to have any relations with other countries, making it in effect a British protectorate. However, Tibet was under Chinese administrative rule, and the UK subsequently reduced the indemnity by 2/3 and agreed not to annex Tibetan territory or to interfere in the administration of Tibet while China promised not to permit any other foreign state to interfere with its territory or internal administration, thus blocking Russian threats to the region.
ReplyDeleteThe 5th Dalai Lama began constructing the pho brang Potala in 1645, named after the mythical Mt. Potala ("Brilliance") south of India, the residence of the bodhisattva Chenrezik (Avalokiteśvara, the "lord who gazes down at the world," the embodiment of the compassion of all Buddhas); the various high lamas are regarded as emanations of Chenrézik (meaning "one who always looks upon all beings with the eye of compassion"). According to the "Karaṇḍavyuha Sutra," the sun and moon were born from his eyes, Shiva from his brow, Brahma from his shoulders, Narayana from his heart, Sarasvati from his teeth, the winds from his mouth, the earth from his feet, and the sky from his stomach. It took 3 years to construct the exterior and 45 to complete the interior. The palace served as the seat of government since 1649.
ReplyDeleteA yantra ("machine, contraption") is a mystical diagram used for the worship of deities in temples or at home, as an aid in meditation, or as a source of occult powers. It is usually associated with a particular deity, which is represented by a central point (bindu) from which all creation emanates. The deity's retinue is often represented in the geometric parts around the center. Most yantras include triangles; if they point downward they represent the feminine aspect of God (Shakti), if upward, they represent the masculine aspect (such as Shiva), and the intertwining of the triangles represent the union of the female and male aspects. The outer square represents the earth and the four cardinal directions. Each color denotes an idea and an inner state of consciousness, or certain aspects of the goddess, and the bindi is sometimes depicted as a linga.
The Little Death (or, in French "la petite mort") is a brief loss or weakening of consciousness, especially the death-like post-orgasmic sensation. Roland Barthes described it as the chief objective of experiencing great literature, art, or music, a staircase without ending.