A Sacred visit to India

A sacred visit to India

India is the country with the second largest population in the world. Initially, being larger in land space, it has now become the present India. Being a country which gives priority to agriculture, nature, art, religious views, various languages spoken in different states and the nature friendliness in all ways is a great inspiration and change which is needed for an amazing experience. To make it more simple, it is a great "getaway".

Why exactly is this visit sacred? For us Buddhists, India is very important due to the facts  related with the history of Buddhism. India is also called as "Buddhabumi" by Buddhist and hundreds of Sri Lankans visit the Sacred places every year. So this year, thanks to my parents, I got the chance to visit those places, see them with my own eyes and worship them with a heart filled with happiness.

Leaving the Katunayaka Bandaranayaka International Airport late at night, we landed to Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi early morning after a 3 1/2 hours flight. The customs clearing area at the Indian Airport was amazing and really welcoming. 

Customs clearing area wall decoration

For those of you who aren't aware of what the above is, they are a series of hand positions (Hastha Mudhraa) of Lord Buddha.

It was around 5.30 a.m. when we came out of the airport. The Plan was to reach Agra from Delhi at the earliest possible. Below are two pictures captured on the way to Agra. Yamuna Expressway was the road used to reach to Agra. One fact about India is that traveling takes like forever. Undoubtedly, this is something expected as far as the land area of the country is concerned. 

Route from Delhi to Agra (Extracted from Google maps)

River view from Yamuna Expressway 

Road side view from the Yamuna Expressway 

FYI, these are a few things you should first know about India:

The Indian Flag:

A few days before India became independent on 15 August 1947, the specially constituted Constituent Assembly decided that the flag of India must be acceptable to all parties and communities. A modified version of the Swaraj flag was chosen; the tricolour remained the same saffron, white and green. However, the charkha was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra representing the eternal wheel of law. The philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, clarified the adopted flag and described its significance as follows:

“

Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change. (Extracted from Wikipedia)

”

The Geographical location of India: 

India is the country with the second largest population in the world. The present geographical area which covers the land that is entirely owned by India is much smaller than what it has been several years ago. Nevertheless, India is a country with people of different ethnic groups and religions. It is also a country where many different languages such as Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu and many more are used. 

Our route to India

The Currency:

The currency used in India is the Indian Rupee. Those who travel from Sri Lanka to India should remember that although both countries use the same currency, it is prohibited by law to take already exchanged Indian Rupees to India from Sri Lanka. It is therefore possible to exchange Sri Lankan Rupees into US Dollars and exchange them into Indian Rupees after you reach to India.

Notes of Indian Rupees 

The symbol of the currency 

The National Emblem:

Emblem of India

The National Emblem of India is derived from the time of the Emperor Ashoka. The emblem is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Lion Capital was erected in the third century BC by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation to the four quarters of the universe. The national emblem is thus symbolic of contemporary India’s reaffirmation of its ancient commitment to world peace and goodwill. The four lions (one hidden from view ) – symbolising power, courage and confidence- rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by four smaller animals—Guardians of the four directions: The Lion of the North, The Horse of the West, The Bull of the South and The Elephant of the East. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'. (Extracted from Wikipedia)

This is just the beginning and there's many more to come. I will be sharing many more facts about places I visited in India for 14 days and I hope you will enjoy reading.

Happy Blogging :) ...