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Since when Rishikesh becomes well known throughout India as a famous place of pilgrimage?Is it known so since Shankaracarya s lifetime?Since Christ s times?Since the lifetime of Chandragupta?When approximately did Rishikesh acquire in India the fame of a well known spiritual and religious centre?
Over the ages, saints have meditated at this peaceful spot with the soaring mountains looking down and the sacred Ganga flowing beside. One of the most prominent religious leaders in modern times, Adi Shankaracharya, traversed this land in the 9th century AD. The Shankaracharya s pilgrimage into the hills was later codified into the great pilgrim circuit, and gave a heightened sense of sacredness to this land of the gods. Ever since, Rishikesh has been the stepping stone and the first destination on a list of holy shrines and sites stretching across the lofty Himalayas. About 8-10 Km from Rishikesh is the Gufa cave of Vashistha. He is the author of the Yoga of Vashistha . Reading this work, which is available as the Concise Yoga of Vashistha seven times, it is said, leads to enlightenment. The cave in which he lived is close by an associated temple. Near that, is a smaller cave, referred to as his summer cave or the Jesus Cave. It was here that it is claimed Sri Isha lived for some time. Sri Isha Also spelt Sri Isa and Issa is the name that legend says was taken by Jesus when he lived and studied in India. These stories were also channelled in the Spiritualist/ Theosophical book The Aquarian Gospels of Jesus Christ by Levi H. Dowling. According to Dowling, Jesus spent a lot of time in India where he learned from the yogi masters. Claims about Jesus life in India were also made in 1894 by Nicolas Notovitch in the book called The Unknown Life of Christ and more recently in Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before and After the Crucifixion by Holger Kersten. In the last century, Swami Rama Tirtha and Swami Papa Ramdas of Kananghad lived in this same cave and at separate times, and had visions of Isha meditating with them. Neither of these holy men had any prior knowledge that this was the place where Jesus had once resided. As we sat in silence each of us contemplated the embers of the energies that permeate this extraordinary place of solitude. About this Holy city, Rishikesh, refer to :: http://www.indianetzone.com/5/rishikesh.htm
Rishikesh
