Mount Kailash is located in the western part of Tibet. It is believed that before dawning Hinduism, Jainism or Buddhism, Kailash was as the mythical Mt. Meru, the Axis Mundi, the center and birth place of the entire world.
According to Hinduism Mt.Kailash is the abode of Lord Shiva. Shiva is a character of apparent contradictions. he is also the divine master of Tantra, the esoteric science that regards sexual union as the most perfect path to spiritual enlightenment. According to legend, immortal Shiva lives atop Kailash where he spends his time practicing yogic austerities, making joyous love with his divine consort, Parvati.He has wisely integrated the extremes of human nature and thus transcended attachment to any particular, and limited, way of being. For a Hindu, to make the arduous pilgrimage to Kailash and have the darshan (divine view) of Shiva’s abode is to attain release from the clutches of ignorance and delusion.
Kailash is sacred to other religions as well. Mount kailash is called the mountain Astpada and place of Rishaba according to Jains.
Followers of Bon, Tibet’s pre-Buddhist, shamanistic religion, call the mountain Tise and believe that it is the seat of the Sky Goddess Sipaimen.
It is also believed that after buddha was magically visited Kailash in the 5th century BC, the religion of Buddhism only entered Tibet via Nepal.
Then in the 7th century AD. Tibetan Buddhists call Mount Kailash is as the mountain Kang Rimpoche, the ‘Precious One of Glacial Snow’, and regard it as the dwelling place of Demchog (also known as Chakrasamvara) and his consort, Dorje Phagmo. Three hills rising near Kang Rimpoche are believed to be the homes of the the Bodhisatvas Manjushri, Vajrapani, and Avalokiteshvara.
For pilgrims, Mount Kailash Tour is little difficulty and challenging journey. Walking around the mountain (clockwise for the Buddhists, counter-clockwise for Bon adherents) is known as a Kora, or Parikrama, and normally takes three days. In hopes of gaining extra merit or psychic powers however, some pilgrims will vary the tempo of their movement. A hardy few, practicing a secret breathing technique known as Lung-gom, will power themselves around the mountain in only one day. Others will take two to three weeks for the Kora by making full body prostrations the entire way.
It is believed that a pilgrim who completes 108 journeys around the mountain is assured enlightenment. Most pilgrims to Kailash will also take a short plunge in the nearby, highly sacred (and very cold) Lake Manosaravar. The word ‘manas’ means mind or consciousness; the name Manosaravar means Lake of Consciousness and Enlightenment. Adjacent to Manosaravar is Rakas Tal or Rakshas, the Lake of Demons. Pilgrimage to this great sacred mountain and these two magical lakes is a life changing experience and an opportunity to view some of the most magical scenery on the entire planet.
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