Posted by Suresh Babu
I wrote my travel experience and thoughts in the enclosed report to you all. It was an experience I could not capture with words due to my limited vocabulary.
Any way, I had the same feeling of visiting Tirupati. You see all the people going to the temple. After a long wait you see the statue of lord Venkateswara. You have let down feeling and asking question is that it? and some times with unexplained feeling. You travel back and you feel like going back home and feel not satisfied and want to go back to Tirupati. A song of Ghantasala titled Yedukondala Swami Ekkadunnavayya captured this feeling. Could not find a similar song about Jerusalem. But I can see similarities with our pilgrimages. I wish now I can visit Mecca in my life time. Do not know whether they will allow a Hindu guy to go there..
I have uploaded all photos to the site or through youtube: see the link below
http://youtu.be/4jIQoX6lQxA
Jerusalem:*Is*it*a*place*to*visit*or*not?**
I landed at Tel Aviv airport with indifference to
the significance of the Jerusalem and its impact on
humanity. As I travelled with my hosts to
Jerusalem (see Fig. 1), 4000-year-old city, I found
myself drawn into the intricacies of the human
nature, religion, war, peace, family feuds and love
surrounding this city. The road to Jerusalem goes
through a highway that is right in between the two
halves of the Palestine west bank. It is kind of
hard to believe that this place is full of hatred, love
and hope. I guess this is not new; it goes back to
prehistoric days. For example, King David (yes
the one who killed the Goliath) is the founder of
the Israel, who was also a poet, warrior and a great
lover
My tour guide made two things clear. (i) Please do
not judge the city by facts, rather enjoy from the
heart. (ii) If at all world peace should come, it will
start in Jerusalem. Although, I am not religious
and do not take any sides in this conflict, I would
like to subscribe to this notion that there will be
peace on earth starting from here. Finally, I was
humbled to see how humanity progresses or
deteriorates across the interfaces between two or
more entities. My metallurgist colleagues, this is
like a local equilibrium between phases. In
Jerusalem every one is locked in place with their
search for the ultimate enlightenment that will
relive them of worldly misery.
Based on the following sections describing my
short but information-loaded trip, I conclude that
each one of us should visit the Jerusalem. I am
confident that you will immerse in the history of
this city, which is a symbol of tribulations and
challenges of human race. This city is indeed set
for a long journey with humanity into eternity.
Answer to the question: yes, definitely
Jerusalem*–*Is*it*City*of*War*or*Peace?**
Now let us explore on a cliff’s note version of the
origins of war and peace in this city. Note: I am
not a historian, these are the views expressed by
the guide and Wikipedia. I will stand corrected if
my interpretations are wrong.
As the humans moved from the cradle of life, i.e.,
Africa, northwards, the first settlement occurred in
!
Jerusalem became the
commerce center of this old world. With any
civilization, the proliferation of new ideas, science,
education, codes of living, taxation, government and
religion occurs. As the harmony sets in, Jerusalem
becomes the center of the old world. As expected,
being at the center of world also leads to conflicting
ideas, pursuit of real estates under the cloak of
fanaticism, which finally leads to wars between brothers
and cousins.
This city has gone through so many cycles of war,
destruction, and reconciliation, build up on the old,
harmony, and alignment to different religions. The city
has layers and layers of civilizations. The ruins show
physical evidence for the same and the people living
there show the emotional evidence for the same. The
old city, which is surrounded by walls, are sprinkled
with relics, as well as, people who are pursuing their
life as if there is no other place outside this city. It is
indeed a living museum. As I walked through the
remains of the old main road (see Fig. 5), I was
overwhelmed by many aspects of this city: aroma of the
spices from shops, people with hope and despair, busy
buying and selling, Israeli soldiers with machines guns
and tourists from different parts of the world.
However, an unknown pressure or feeling descended on
me. Irrespective of all these differences, there is a leap
of faith and confidence in each one of them that this
city is forever (see Fig. 6). I believe that this city is not
a symbol of war or peace, rather city of equilibrium.
There will be repeated and painful tug of war between
different entities, but the equilibrium will be maintained
for eternity. This is my hypothesis. Many may argue
that whether this city is indeed closed or open system. It
is an argument for the future.
Answer to the question: City of equilibrium for eternity
Jerusalem*–*Is*it*the*city*of*religious*
reverence*or*fanaticism?**
The first thing that you see is row of temples / churches
with different dome colors, each one representing the
Judaism, Christianity and Muslim religions. I walked
from the temple of Dvid, church of sepulture, Via
Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) and ended up in the
western wall with my hosts and guide. I think there is
so much to write here. I will highlight only three places.
The photo on the next page (see Fig. 7) shows a large
room. We entered this room from a back door and
therefore, I did not know the significance of it. The guide went on to explain how the architecture has all the influences of Judaism, Christianity and Muslim. Then he asked
me to guess the significance of the room; I did not have any
answer for this. Then he delivered his punch line “this is the room
of the last supper”. It was a solemn experience as I took in the
ambience of the room how it would have looked 2000 years back
with people not knowing what they are about to do in the centuries
to come while they shared a simple meal.
From there we moved to Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This is the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and later
resurrected.
To mark the visit, I followed the custom.
Take a bundle of 33 candles (depicting Jesus age), burn it on the
top and extinguish it quickly. Then you take it home as a
remembrance of Jesus and his blessing. All of us in the group
(Hindu, Jew and Christian), irrespective of our religion, we
performed this ritual. Then we walked around saw a stone with
red coloring, this is believed the stain from blood of Christ. I was
told that many priests from different sects (e.g. Armenians) live
inside the temple 24 hrs even when the door closes! Guess who has
the key to this church. A Muslim family (Nuseibeh family) has the
keys to the church for many generations and they open the church
at 5 AM and close at 12 AM. This clearly supports that it is indeed
city of equilibrium.
From there we walked to the western wall, symbolizing the
promised place for Jewish temple. This place reminded me of our
temples, where we leave our wishes in a chit paper. Above this
west wall we can see the beautiful golden dome, the temple of
mount, i.e., temple build on the rock where Abraham was about to
sacrifice his son, Isaac. This place is very holy for all three
religions, but only Muslims have unfettered access to this place. If
you need to visit, every day morning, you have 2 hours window to
visit. I did not do this, but the guide told us that most of the areas
are cordoned off.
Finally, after all the walking around the old city, as my hosts and I walked towards our car, we realized that Jerusalem may be one square mile area, but it is bigger than our world and indeed a symbol of humanity.
My recommendation is that; when you visit Jerusalem, please hire an official tour guide from the ministry of tourism. They are good; they can bring out the best in the city and people.
(I will put a slide show with good quality images in the web soon)
Answer to the question: It is city of religious reverence.
Any way, I had the same feeling of visiting Tirupati. You see all the people going to the temple. After a long wait you see the statue of lord Venkateswara. You have let down feeling and asking question is that it? and some times with unexplained feeling. You travel back and you feel like going back home and feel not satisfied and want to go back to Tirupati. A song of Ghantasala titled Yedukondala Swami Ekkadunnavayya captured this feeling. Could not find a similar song about Jerusalem. But I can see similarities with our pilgrimages. I wish now I can visit Mecca in my life time. Do not know whether they will allow a Hindu guy to go there..
I have uploaded all photos to the site or through youtube: see the link below
http://youtu.be/4jIQoX6lQxA
Jerusalem:*Is*it*a*place*to*visit*or*not?**
I landed at Tel Aviv airport with indifference to
the significance of the Jerusalem and its impact on
humanity. As I travelled with my hosts to
Jerusalem (see Fig. 1), 4000-year-old city, I found
myself drawn into the intricacies of the human
nature, religion, war, peace, family feuds and love
surrounding this city. The road to Jerusalem goes
through a highway that is right in between the two
halves of the Palestine west bank. It is kind of
hard to believe that this place is full of hatred, love
and hope. I guess this is not new; it goes back to
prehistoric days. For example, King David (yes
the one who killed the Goliath) is the founder of
the Israel, who was also a poet, warrior and a great
lover
My tour guide made two things clear. (i) Please do
not judge the city by facts, rather enjoy from the
heart. (ii) If at all world peace should come, it will
start in Jerusalem. Although, I am not religious
and do not take any sides in this conflict, I would
like to subscribe to this notion that there will be
peace on earth starting from here. Finally, I was
humbled to see how humanity progresses or
deteriorates across the interfaces between two or
more entities. My metallurgist colleagues, this is
like a local equilibrium between phases. In
Jerusalem every one is locked in place with their
search for the ultimate enlightenment that will
relive them of worldly misery.
Based on the following sections describing my
short but information-loaded trip, I conclude that
each one of us should visit the Jerusalem. I am
confident that you will immerse in the history of
this city, which is a symbol of tribulations and
challenges of human race. This city is indeed set
for a long journey with humanity into eternity.
Answer to the question: yes, definitely
Jerusalem*–*Is*it*City*of*War*or*Peace?**
Now let us explore on a cliff’s note version of the
origins of war and peace in this city. Note: I am
not a historian, these are the views expressed by
the guide and Wikipedia. I will stand corrected if
my interpretations are wrong.
As the humans moved from the cradle of life, i.e.,
Africa, northwards, the first settlement occurred in
!
Jerusalem became the
commerce center of this old world. With any
civilization, the proliferation of new ideas, science,
education, codes of living, taxation, government and
religion occurs. As the harmony sets in, Jerusalem
becomes the center of the old world. As expected,
being at the center of world also leads to conflicting
ideas, pursuit of real estates under the cloak of
fanaticism, which finally leads to wars between brothers
and cousins.
This city has gone through so many cycles of war,
destruction, and reconciliation, build up on the old,
harmony, and alignment to different religions. The city
has layers and layers of civilizations. The ruins show
physical evidence for the same and the people living
there show the emotional evidence for the same. The
old city, which is surrounded by walls, are sprinkled
with relics, as well as, people who are pursuing their
life as if there is no other place outside this city. It is
indeed a living museum. As I walked through the
remains of the old main road (see Fig. 5), I was
overwhelmed by many aspects of this city: aroma of the
spices from shops, people with hope and despair, busy
buying and selling, Israeli soldiers with machines guns
and tourists from different parts of the world.
However, an unknown pressure or feeling descended on
me. Irrespective of all these differences, there is a leap
of faith and confidence in each one of them that this
city is forever (see Fig. 6). I believe that this city is not
a symbol of war or peace, rather city of equilibrium.
There will be repeated and painful tug of war between
different entities, but the equilibrium will be maintained
for eternity. This is my hypothesis. Many may argue
that whether this city is indeed closed or open system. It
is an argument for the future.
Answer to the question: City of equilibrium for eternity
Jerusalem*–*Is*it*the*city*of*religious*
reverence*or*fanaticism?**
The first thing that you see is row of temples / churches
with different dome colors, each one representing the
Judaism, Christianity and Muslim religions. I walked
from the temple of Dvid, church of sepulture, Via
Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) and ended up in the
western wall with my hosts and guide. I think there is
so much to write here. I will highlight only three places.
The photo on the next page (see Fig. 7) shows a large
room. We entered this room from a back door and
therefore, I did not know the significance of it. The guide went on to explain how the architecture has all the influences of Judaism, Christianity and Muslim. Then he asked
me to guess the significance of the room; I did not have any
answer for this. Then he delivered his punch line “this is the room
of the last supper”. It was a solemn experience as I took in the
ambience of the room how it would have looked 2000 years back
with people not knowing what they are about to do in the centuries
to come while they shared a simple meal.
From there we moved to Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This is the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and later
resurrected.
To mark the visit, I followed the custom.
Take a bundle of 33 candles (depicting Jesus age), burn it on the
top and extinguish it quickly. Then you take it home as a
remembrance of Jesus and his blessing. All of us in the group
(Hindu, Jew and Christian), irrespective of our religion, we
performed this ritual. Then we walked around saw a stone with
red coloring, this is believed the stain from blood of Christ. I was
told that many priests from different sects (e.g. Armenians) live
inside the temple 24 hrs even when the door closes! Guess who has
the key to this church. A Muslim family (Nuseibeh family) has the
keys to the church for many generations and they open the church
at 5 AM and close at 12 AM. This clearly supports that it is indeed
city of equilibrium.
From there we walked to the western wall, symbolizing the
promised place for Jewish temple. This place reminded me of our
temples, where we leave our wishes in a chit paper. Above this
west wall we can see the beautiful golden dome, the temple of
mount, i.e., temple build on the rock where Abraham was about to
sacrifice his son, Isaac. This place is very holy for all three
religions, but only Muslims have unfettered access to this place. If
you need to visit, every day morning, you have 2 hours window to
visit. I did not do this, but the guide told us that most of the areas
are cordoned off.
Finally, after all the walking around the old city, as my hosts and I walked towards our car, we realized that Jerusalem may be one square mile area, but it is bigger than our world and indeed a symbol of humanity.
My recommendation is that; when you visit Jerusalem, please hire an official tour guide from the ministry of tourism. They are good; they can bring out the best in the city and people.
(I will put a slide show with good quality images in the web soon)
Answer to the question: It is city of religious reverence.