India's One of the Oldest Ritual Site- Amarkantak

When someone discussed about the rituals and the rituals and ritual site. He or She must be discussed about Amarkantak. Yes it is one of holy and as well oldest pilgrimage site in India. Amarkantak is where the Vindhaya and the Satpura ranges meet. It is a pilgrimage for Hindus as it is the source of the rivers Narmada and Sone. Another important river Johilla, too originates from Amarkantak. In Devanagari: अमरकंटक- The one with the voice of God.  It is also called "Teerthraj" (the king of pilgrimages), 

Amarkantak is situated in Madhya Pradesh in India. Amarkantak is located at 22.67°N 81.75°E. It has an average elevation of 1048 metres (3438 ft). Roads running through Rewa,Shahdol, Anuppur, Jabalpur, Katni and Pendra connect it. The nearest railway stations are Anuppur and Pendra Road (43 km) via keonchi and only 28 k.m. via Jwaleshwar. The nearest Airport is Dumna Jabalpur (Jabalpur Airport in the city of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (240 km). 

Many mythological stories relating to Lord Shiva and his daughter Narmada have been woven around this mystical town of Amarkantak. There are about 12 temples here devoted to Narmada maiyya. The Narmada temple is the most important one, which hasbeen built around the origin point of the river Narmada.

The Bhonsles of Nagpur built this temple. Maharaja Gulab Singh belonging to the Baghel dynasty of Rewa constructed the outer boundary wall of the temple complex. The Kalchuris constructed the Machendranath and the Patleshwar temple at Amarkantak. The Archaelogical Survey of India has declared this group of temples (Karna matha temples) a protected site. A few years ago,an idol was stolen from this protected site, which was recovered later; however, since then, the ASI has shifted the idol from this temple .The religious significance of this town has attracted people from various sects and religions and as a consequence, many ashrams of various sadhu-mahatamas have come up in Amarkantak over the years.

(Sree Jantra Madir)

The forests surrounding Amarkantak are home to various invaluable medicinal plants like brahmi, gulbakawali, safedmusli, kalimusli, tejraj, bhojraj, patalkumhna, kali haldi, devraj, hatahjodi, jatashankari, ashta gandha.

(Gulbakawli)

Lodging at Amarkantak

At Amarkantak there are many dharmsala or sevasram where you can easily stay with a minimum cost. There is Barfani Baba Sevasram just beside the Mata Narmada mandir, where per bed will cost you Rs. 100 per night only. There is also Kalyan Sevasram located near to the new bus stand. There is also Ganga-Rewa dharmsala.

(Kalyan Sevasram- Amarkantak)

(Barfani Ashram)

There is a beautiful resort of MP Tourism at a beautiful situation in Amarkantak. The Resort has both AC and non AC double bed or triple bed rooms. It has a multi cuisine dining hall. Quality of foods are good but totally Veg. Actually Amarkantak is a totally Veg area. In the resort one can also booked a tent too. There is also AC and Non AC tent. But the cost are little bit high.
The Air Cooled Family room will cost Rs. 750 per night and double bed AC room will cost Rs. 950 per night. They also can arranged 1 extra bed for Rs. 150 as per necessity.

More details and booking procedure are available at MP tourism site 
http://www.mptourism.com/accomm/fo.html#AMAR .

Friendship

When you are alone no one is stand there for you there will be a person who hold your hand boldlyand says that don’t fill alone I am here for you. That’s a friend, whom we need for life time. Friendship is the most valuable thing in our life and a true friend is like a star.

Defining a relationship is never easy, as there are so many facets to it. However we don't need a bunch of words to make us realize the deep meaning of friendship.

According to George Elliot "Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words."

True friendship is the one that remains with us in every moment and every sentiment.

School is where we first begin to socialize. It's the first ever moment of life that demands us to seek beyond ourselves. Making friends at school, for some kids is a daunting task, but none the less each child finds a friend.

The teenage years are the years where we begin to experiment. The rebel within us takes form and challenges everything that is learned so far. Many of us lose track of ourselves, we fight with the purple demons of hate and violence residing in us. At this juncture, the wisdom of friends is what comes to our rescue. True friendship is the one which provides the searchlight over the vast ocean of troubles and tribulations. The wise counsels of friends show us the way and the path to be taken. True friendship is the one that does not give up in this phase.

In a comparison of personal relationships, friendship is considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association can be thought of as spanning across the same continuum.

As we grow up we have found many friends around us. But some of them are time while and some of them are as we normally said just a friend. But few are there who are staying with us for life time. They are staying with us when we are trouble or when we are joy. They fill happy when we are happy and they fill sad when we are sad.

There are many types of friendship we have found in our life. Like:

Best friend (or close friend): a person(s) with whom someone shares extremely strong interpersonal ties with as a friend.

Acquaintance: a friend, but sharing of emotional ties isn't present.

Soul mate: the name given to someone who is considered the ultimate, true, and eternal half of the other's soul, in which the two are now and forever meant to be together.

Pen pal: people who have a relationship via postal correspondence. They may or may not have met each other in person and may share either love or friendship.

Internet friendship: a form of friendship or romance which takes place over the Internet (Normally by chatting, emailing or by posting scraps (in orkut) or messages.).

Comrade: means "ally", "friend", or "colleague" in a military or (usually) left-wing politicalconnotation.

Casual relationship or "Friends with benefits": the sexual or near-sexual and emotional relationship between two people who don't expect or demand to share a formal romantic relationship.

Cross-sex friendship is one that is defined by a person having a friend of the opposite sex: a male who has a female friend, or a female who has a male friend. Historically cross-sex friendships have been rare.

Open relationship: a relationship, usually between two people, that agree each partner is free to have sexual intercourse with others outside the relationship.

Roommate: a person who shares a room or apartment (flat) with another person and do not share a familial or romantic relationship.

Imaginary friend: a non-physical friend created or imagined by a child. It is most commonly regarded as harmless behaviour of a child though some parents thought that their child may be possessed by an evil sprit. The friend may or may not be human.

Spiritual friendship: the Buddhist ideal of kalyana-mitra, that is a relationship between friends with a common interest, though one person may have more knowledge and experience than the other. The relationship is the responsibility of both friends and both bring something to it.

The popular epic series 'Harry Potter', for me is more of emphasis on the friendship of Harry, Ron and Hermoine than the adventures. The series is an excellent show of their valor, determination and undying love for each other. The author, J K Rowling has created the magical fantasy for children. But the book has far more interesting lessons for adults too. They are the lessons that 'love over hate always wins the race'. This unconditional love for friends is a lesson we usually forget in the maddening race of life.

Friends are the family that we choose to make. It’s since the day that you come in to each other's life, is the day to begin to know each other and also the day you first speak which set you on the path of making the bond unforgettable. Friends are forever, but life is not, make most of them now, as there is much to gain than lot to lose!

Ref: Wikipedia.com.

Love

What is Love?

It is one of the most difficult questions for all. Centuries have passed by, relationships have bloomed and so has love. But no one can give the proper definition of love. Some say it's mysterious, magical, complex, difficult, imaginary, thought-provoking, inspirational, intuitional, joyous, immeasurable and undefinable. Perhaps.

To some Love is friendship set on fire for others Maybe love is like luck. Love is patient, love is kind. It has no envy, nor it boasts itself and it is never proud. It rejoices over the evil and is the truth seeker.

When we express love, we develop a strong emotional attachment. Actually in a response to, “What is Love?” it is erroneous to say “love is God.” God created love, not the reverse.

Love should be experienced and not just felt. The depth of love can not be measured. For example the relationship between a mother and a child. The mother loves the child unconditionally and it can not be measured at all.

Love is not a thing that we can create forcefully. Sometime when you see someone is looking beautiful gorgeous you have fill some attraction to that person, especially this is happen to teenagers in maximum cases. But in most of the cases this is just an infatuation. But for this we can’t blame them at all. It is quite natural. But when we able to find the goodness of that person besides his or her outlook and when all our concentration is become centered on him or her then that means you are now in love.

Love doesn’t think about any barriers. Love can’t see whether the person is rich or poor. It doesn’t have any age limit.

If we say about true love we can say love is best seen as devotion and action, not an emotion. Love is not exclusively based on how we feel. Certainly our emotions are involved, but they cannot be our only criteria for love. True devotion will always lead to action—true love. True love is not in taking but in giving, in scarifying.

Sometime we mixed sex and love together as a same thing. Sex is not love! Our culture has taught us that sex and love are one in the same. This is a lie. Especially premarital sex is not love; it only leads to pain and disappointment for those who are seeking that love. The Bible says that when two people are married, they become one flesh.

When you are honestly prepared to make a life-long commitment to that person—then you can say that you are truly “in love.”