Washington - Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations on September 10, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator J. Brian Atwood made plain that there is no dispute that we must improve the tools we have to thwart international terrorists and mitigate the extensive damage caused by the financial collapse of nations.

But we should also understand that the tools I have mentioned deal largely with the negative symptoms of these two problems. That is not insignificant. It was after all the symptom that killed all those innocent people in Kenya and Tanzania. It was the symptom that has driven millions of middle class Indonesians and Koreans and Russians into extreme poverty. We do need to treat the symptoms.

Following is the text of Atwood's remarks:

The topic I have been asked to discuss is 'Foreign Aid into the Next Century.' That is encouraging to someone who has spent most of his tenure trying to prevent the end of foreign aid in this century. So I will interpret your topic as a positive prophecy.

This is a new season for the Council and it is most certainly a new season for American foreign policy. Global forces that were clearly perceptible but not sufficient to create political consensus are now as salient as any foreign policy issues can be. I refer to the dual threats of international terrorism and the global financial crisis. No one in politics today ran ignore issues that impact so directly on the American people.

It may be wishful thinking at a time when we have other serious distractions in Washington and elections coming up, but I would suggest that these threats to our interests are so grave that we have a better opportunity today to build a new national security consensus than at any time in the post-Cold War period. That consensus must be shaped, however, by defining the tools we need to combat the enemies we face: these are the perpetrators of international terrorism and the sometimes rational, often irrational impulses that drive the contagion that contributes to the loss of confidence in economies.

To combat terrorism, many traditional tools are still needed, but in modified forms. We need an intelligence community that is flexible enough to thwart terrorists that have mobility, ample resources and a range of horrifying new weapons. We need military forces who are as comfortable in nontraditional security-related roles as they are in combat. We need law enforcement agencies that can operate effectively beyond our borders with foreign counterparts. we need a diplomacy that pursues international cooperation aggressively, is quick to confront aberrant behavior and is effective in building international consensus.

I am not calling for something new here. I am rather suggesting that we need more support for what we are now trying mightily to do in all these areas. We know we can improve our capacity to deal with terrorism but we will need a strong bipartisan consensus to do it. To stabilize international financial markets, we clearly need a stronger consensus among the largest economies as to the role they can play, as Jim Hoagland suggested in his piece this morning. We need to find ways to influence those who speculate and play the international markets to differentiate among countries whose fundamentals are sound and those that are not.

IMF
We cannot throw out the International Monetary Fund at a time of its greatest need but we do need to acknowledge that we have pushed it beyond its capacity. We need to reexamine all the Bretton Woods instruments in light of the current challenge.

That challenge is globalization. No economy, including ours, can protect itself entirely against fluctuations in the global economy. That global economy - the same one we worry about today - holds tremendous promise for the future. But governments and international financial institutions have a hard time influencing private capital flows, banking decisions and the operation of capital markets.

One of the realities of the global economy is that the proportion of trade in the total GDP of the world's nations has risen from 9 percent 20 years ago to over 24 percent today. This statistic really captures the extent of our interdependence. Foreign trade and investment are huge factors today. What we have seen this past year is that when investors become fearful of what other investors might do, the danger increases that they will act in ways that can set off a chain reaction of capital withdrawal and currency speculation.

We cannot put genies back in bottles and somehow intervene to stop these reactions. But we can reduce the fears by providing more information about the soundness of financial systems. We can provide assistance to countries that have the political will and desire to fix capital markets and banking systems.

So there is no dispute that we must improve the tools we have to thwart international terrorists and mitigate the extensive damage caused by the financial collapse of nations. But we should also understand that the tools I have mentioned deal largely with the negative symptoms of these two problems. That is not insignificant. It was after all the symptom that killed all those innocent people in Kenya and Tanzania. It was the symptom that has driven millions of middle class Indonesians and Koreans and Russians into extreme poverty. We do need to treat the symptoms.

American interests
But let us face the facts, today we are overwhelmed with these problems. If we do not address the root causes, no future Administration is going to be able to preserve American interests in an increasingly volatile world. That is the role for foreign aid into the next century.

It is of course never easy to make a case for investments that will pay off on someone else's watch. If we increase our investments in development today, some future Republican or Democratic Administration will be less overwhelmed with problems. But it is time to get above politics. We did that successfully in the past to win the Cold War - while achieving many other side benefits of development. And that is the case we need to make today to achieve a new bipartisan consensus.

We in the so-called national security community have done ourselves no favors in the attitude we have taken toward foreign aid. Often we see it as of marginal importance, necessary as a reflection of our humanitarianism but largely irrelevant to the day-to-day challenge of conducting foreign policy. That attitude is beginning to change today because we are employing some hard-headed analysis of the threats we face. We are recognizing that development is an antidote to terrorism, international crime and financial chaos.

When we strengthen democratic institutions, create open and efficient economic systems, introduce the essential elements of law enforcement and judicial review, and assist governments, to service the educational and health needs of their people, we reduce the risks of terrorism and economic chaos.

Professionals
The Secretary of State reflected this approach when she discussed the terrorist threat in a recent Newsweek piece. '...the safety of our people depends on more than security professionals,' she wrote. 'It also depends on the success of our efforts to promote democracy, sound economic practices and respect for the rule of law. If we make headway with these efforts, terrorists will have a narrower base of material support, fewer places to hide and more difficulty in persuading the gullible and desperate to join their cause.'

This is the type of clear, prescriptive thinking that is changing attitudes among national security professionals. It can help shape the new political consensus we need. Attitudes are also beginning to change within the national security community because USAID has become more responsive to explicit foreign policy and international economic policy needs. I am not suggesting that we are yet as flexible as we should be - we still have too few discretionary resources, too many encumbering bureaucratic and legal constraints.

But we are a lot better than we were and we have developed a stronger institutional capacity to demonstrate the results of our investments, to anticipate and prevent internal conflict, to respond to post-conflict transitions, to strengthen democracies and to advise and support governments who want to create or strengthen their market mechanisms.

We know a lot more today about the forces that are disrupting the international system. We know more about the impact of globalization on marginal, underdeveloped economic systems. We know more about the tensions within societies that can lead to conflict. We know that a combination of unsustainable population growth, severe environmental damage, food insecurity, and weak governance, for example, can produce desperation and exacerbate ethnic tensions. We know that demagogues and terrorists can exploit the conditions of poverty.

Extreme poverty
The global financial crisis has thrown even more people into extreme poverty. The number of people living with less than a dollar a day is now approaching 1.6 billion (1,600 million). That is over 25 percent of the world's population, an unacceptable number not just from a moral point of view but from a practical point of view as well. These individuals, most of them ordinary peace-loving people in search of a better life for their children, constitute a significant potential threat. Why? Whatever their personal motivation, these people are a threat to stable governments when they move from their homes to fragile rural areas or crowded cities. They are a threat when they become desperate. They are a threat when they come under the influence of ideologues, religious fanatics or demagogues. They are an explicit threat when they actually engage in conflict or resort to terrorism. Then they move from the category of humanitarian problem to destabilizing force.

How do normal peace-loving people become desperate? They become desperate when they see their children dying of diseases that are easily cured by modem medicines accessible to people with resources. They become desperate when they can no longer plant traditional crops on depleted soils and cannot feed their families. They become desperate when they cannot overcome the squalor of overcrowded cities and when governments cannot provide for their human needs. They become desperate when they are not part of the formal economy, when they hold no title to the property or land they occupy and when they have no access to collateral that the better off utilize to improve their lives.

People who are excluded from the formal economy and who have no democratic voice have no stake in society. They inevitably become anti-social. In some newly democratic countries, this fosters support for demagogic, anti-establishment political leaders - political leaders willing to tear down institutions that serve only a small percentage of the people. In other countries, alienation can translate into active support for terrorism.

The expanding population of alienated, voiceless poor is creating serious international tension that is now threatening the new consensus in favor of democratic and market-based institutions. Last week's meeting of the Non- Aligned Movement in Durban, South Africa was a reflection of that tension. The recurring theme at this meeting of 113 nations was that the international system serves the rich, industrialized countries, and that the global economy is leaving the poorer nations behind.

Perhaps in Henry Kissinger's day perhaps we could afford to disregard the anti-West rhetoric of this group of poorer nations. There was a more prominent battle to be waged, against communism, a battle financed primarily by nations who had access to resources. But today, with serious worries about terrorism and the global financial crisis, we cannot afford to ignore the concerns of nations representing 2.86 billion (2,860 million) people, or 50 percent of the world's population. For it is the masses of poor people today who arguably constitute the greatest threat to global stability.

Rhetorical
The NAM communique, as you would expect, is excessively long - 130 pages - and excessively rhetorical. It contains prescriptions we strongly reject, but it does send a warning we cannot ignore. In essence, it represents a plea: it says give us a stake in the international system. Help as develop our societies. Give our people a voice. Help us benefit from the trading system you have devised for the global economy. Don't leave us behind.

The list of these 113 countries contains a handful that would fall into the rogue state category. These are countries whose purpose is not to strengthen the capacity of the international system to help the poor, but rather to destroy the system as we know it.

These countries have no desire to give a voice to their own people. They oppose the United States because we are the most prominent member of the international system. They oppose us because we promote democracy, because we support open markets. Our policy is to contain these governments; to minimize their influence; to prevent them from doing us damage; and to support those who would actively work to transform them into acceptable global citizens.

Yes, containment still has a role in the post-Cold War era. But the containment of rogue states alone is not a sufficient response to the threats we face. The vast majority of countries on the NAM list are struggling to make democracy and market economies work. They want to be full members of the international system but they know they could just as easily become failed states if their reform efforts do not succeed.

Listen to some of the grievances set forth in the NAM communique:

- 'The exports of (the developing countries) continue to be hampered by all forms of protectionism...'

- '...our development efforts remain impaired by inordinate burdens of external indebtedness and restricted and volatile short-term financial flaws...'

- [the result is] ...'an overall net transfer of resources to the developed countries...'

- '...An recent years, there has been a decline in resources made available for international development cooperation.

- '...the gap between the developed and developing countries, especially the LDCs, continued to widen (significantly aggravating) the problems deriving from poverty and social injustices...'

I think you get the drift. These are just some passages from a 130-page document. We could debate many of the points made in this communique, but what should concern us is the amount of dissonance reflected.

(Continued tomorrow)

Chapter II

About the author
E.C.T. Candappa was one of Sri Lanka's been feature writers in the mid-fifties till the seventies. He was an outstanding journalist at Lake House and distinguished himself as a reporter and feature writer. He is now domiciled in Australia but still very much interested in his country of origin. He visited Sri Lanka last year and interviewed many of the personalities featured in this book.

Continued from yesterday

Raj bought himself some hot pastries fresh from the frying pan: they were deep fried, not baked, in the large canteen, and a cup of tea, and stood at a window to admire the sunset over the lake. The scene glowed with serenity, triumphant over the squalor of the shanty huts. The ugly skyline of an unplanned city. The vague hint of rotting wood and the smoky railyard wafted across. Dammit, thought Raj, why do contrasts spoil things for me? He turned away, savoured a cigarette and settled in for what was usually a placid shift. In this time he read the bulk of a book, the international news magazines and put his feet up literally. The day ended with a couple of paragraphs for the fourth and fifth city edition.

The five watches of the night, out of eight, went by eventlessly. Then at a quarter past ten, he took a call from a trade union contact that the port workers were coming out at midnight. It was the union controlled by the Minister for Food and Agriculture.

Raj set to work at once to get the details. The deadline for the next edition was midnight. He alerted the night sub to stand by for a new lead.

‘How long?’

‘Can’t tell. Maybe a column. Perhaps more for the final.’

The night sub phoned the stone.

‘New lead for page one.’

He made the round of calls to get the details, got a statement from the minister, others from rival unions. He passed it on to the subs and looked at the clock. Twenty past eleven. He started the routine calls.

No fires, no derailments, no big accidents in the hospitals. He called Police Headquarters.

‘One case of homicide in Kochichikade, sir.’

Kochichikade was a bustling waterfront suburb as well-known for its religiosity as for its rowdyism. Life was very cheap there, and every man had a price.

A stick probably, Raj conjectured. Some man killed in a drunken brawl.

‘Where?’ he asked the police officer.

‘Communist Party office, sir.’

Raj sprang to attention.

‘How?’

‘Handbomb, sir.’

Ah, the plot was certainly thickening.

He woke Piyadasa, the sleeping photographer, phoned transport and asked for a car on the double. Within ten minutes, they were on their way.

That suburb never slept because at any time someone was going to work or getting back. Like in the Pettah the tea kiosks were open all day, all night. When Raj and the photographer got there, a deathly stillness prevailed. They had to turn round at a Catholic church, a popular shrine to St Anthony, to reach the Communist Party office, but there was a police cordon around it.

Piyadasa, a complete stranger to fear, walked ahead, identified himself. He then called Raj and they were allowed to pass. Raj walked a few hundred metres behind feeling uneasy. Before he could get to the party office, the photographer came back at a trot. Even under the pallor of fluorescent street lighting he looked ghostly pale.

‘Hey, Raj. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I can take a shot or two. You can talk to Pieter and get the story.’

Pieter Keuneman, the handsome, Communist MP for Colombo Central and brilliant Cambridge scholar was on the opposite side of the Food Minister who practised a home-grown variety of Marxism, while the Communist was a textbook Red of the Moscow brand. While Raj hesitated, Pieter had come up to them.

‘I just told Raj he need not come and see the mess,’ Piyadasa told him.

‘Come on,’ the MP urged him. ‘If you call yourself a reporter, you must see everything. Place is like the inside of a butcher’s shop. But never mind. All in a day’s work.’

The MP himself had been a reporter before he took to politics. They walked down, and there it was, as advertised by the MP. The small one-roomed office, with a wide open doorway - the entire length was covered by long wooden slats at night - was splattered with blood.

‘Those thick, red patches are flesh,’ the MP explained, clinically.

Raj felt his stomach turn.

He quickly looked away. Hastily he drew a cigarette from the pack in his shirt pocket and lit one. His hands were shaking.

‘Whose work do you think?’

‘Who can tell? Someone had lobbed it in from a passing car.’

‘Anything to do with the Port strike?’

‘Maybe, maybe not.’

‘Meant for you?’

‘No, no, no. I was not here when it happened. I came only after I was informed.’

‘Can I give a quote from you?’

‘Sure. I never speak off the record. If I want if off the record I don’t speak at all. Full stop. Oh, yes. Say that a man who was reading the newspapers in our office - not a member, not even known to us - was blown to pieces by a fairly powerful bomb thrown from a car. The explosion was more deadly because it occurred in a small room. We don’t suspect anyone. Police will conduct the usual enquiries.’

‘Aren’t you scared to be standing here, fully exposed?’

‘If you are scared you should not take to politics, or even journalism.’

When Raj got back to the office, there was a terse message for the night reporter: Kill the bomb story.

Raj stifled an oath and stalked into the subs room.

‘Who phoned about killing the bomb story?’

‘Managing Director,’ was the terse reply.

Raj felt hot and cold all over.

‘I see,’ he said.

So there was a hell of a lot more to it than just one homicide. The big wheels were turning.

Chapter 19

What was the point of this kind of subterfuge? Raj asked himself angrily as he read the other morning newspapers. Every one, excepting those of his group, had published accounts with photographs of the incident. There were the usual comments from the various political parties and trade unions, all disclaiming any responsibility, but the story had been covered.

No wonder his group had been called all kinds of names, none of them complimentary.

At every political rally the newspapers of his group were singled out and slammed for lying and for perverting the truth for the single purpose of supporting a single political party.

Raj had learnt his lesson a few weeks after he had joined the paper. As usual with rookies he was sent to do the hospital round - cover the inquests, the Police Post of the hospital, do the rounds of the accident wards, and keep in touch with the administration. Hospital officials, inured to decades of the system, treated rookies just a little bit better than dirt.

On Christmas Eve, in that memorable first year after he had joined, Raj was covering an inquest that seemed to go on forever. The coroner, a Tamil lawyer, corpulent of physique and lugubrious of manner, was holding the inquest. The heavy tweed suit and the strangling tie round the tight collar made him sweat in rivulets. It was too complicated. Dozens of people gave evidence.

A man had been knocked down and killed by a minister of the government - of the party which the Clarion supported. Raj worked till his fingers throbbed taking notes. At the end of the hearing, the coroner returned a verdict of accidental death but instructed the police to charge the minister’s chauffeur with criminally negligent driving.

As Raj left the inquest room the coroner said, ‘I can tell you now that your paper will not publish it.’

Raj was just 21 then and had his ideals intact.

‘Oh, yes. We are a free press. We’ll publish it all right.’

Well, they didn’t. And the other papers did.

Of such minor boot-licking, Raj said to himself bitterly, were they now seeking to be power-brokers, king-makers building this huge edifice of power brokering and king-making.

He went to the news editor’s desk. He did so deliberately because he had the answer to the question that would inevitably be asked.

‘Have you been to the Foreign Office yet?’

Raj grinned as he had the right answer.

‘Appointment is for today.’

Ishak did not look up. His oiled, well-groomed hair glistened in the brightly illuminated room. His gilt wrist watch and strap likewise glittered.

‘Then bugger off. I don’t want to see your face again until that’s done.’

Raj grinned because he knew Ishak meant well.

‘And by the way,’ he said, still writing and still with his head down, ‘try to see the old man again. There are moves to buckle your trip. Communal issue. And something else. You have any YCW connection?’

‘What sort of moves?’ Raj felt the hair bristling on the back of his neck again.

‘I don’t know. Just a hint I had. You follow it up. And try and keep one step ahead.’

‘Thanks.’

The peltoforum trees bordering the street two blocks away from the Foreign Ministry were aflame with golden blossom, the gold deepened by the dark green foliage along the brown serpentine branches. Interlacing the living colours were the crows, black with their lack of life, these carrion birds, with greed in their beaks and rottenness in their entrails, seeking life in decay, murdering melody, mating by jostling accident, scarring beauty, secreting blindness through venomous excrement.

The Foreign Ministry was housed in a long two storeyed white colonial type building, which also accommodated the Upper House, the Senate. Raj had an appointment with a young career diplomat with an affluent background who had received his training under the previous Rightist regime. He was evidently not the most suitable person to give the necessary briefing to a journalist handpicked by the Prime Minister to accompany him to the United Nations. Raj was prepared for that and had equipped himself with some information from the newspaper library to meet any prejudicial propaganda.

But Drahman, a member of another minority community, the Malays, was punctiliously proper. He was slightly built, extremely short-sighted and peered vaguely through thick-lensed glasses. An assistant secretary, Veeraswamy, a Tamil, who had no business to be there but was tolerated for his disarmingly candid, and quite undiplomatic views, provided a balance even visually. He was tall, quite dark with wavy grey hair and a slobbering mouth.

Drahman’s father had been in the first Senate and apart from making substantial contributions to party funds had made no other worthy contribution to debates. His son was educated in Cambridge and held an honours degree in law. Really he did not need to work but prestige was everything in the family. They had hopes of him serving as an ambassador in an Asian country.

Evidently the young man enjoyed the Prime Minister’s confidence.

‘What you have to remember is that along with the social revolution that took place with the accession to power by Mr Bandaranaike there also occurred a significant revolution in our foreign policy.’

Raj noted that the diplomat correctly called the Prime Minister by his full name, instead of Banda, as he was called, or even by his initials S†W†R†D, or familiarly as ‘the old man.’

‘Now there are many factors in the Prime Minister’s life and upbringing that must be borne in mind to understand our foreign policy which is totally the Prime Minister’s foreign policy.

There is not another minister or anyone within his circle who could advise him on such matters as Mr Bandaranaike had been a student of international affairs from the time he was at Oxford.

And since he took to politics he has been addressing his mind to the formulation of a foreign policy which would not only benefit Ceylon but even be of some advantage to the entire South Asian region.’

He paused, and Veeraswamy looked at Raj with a slight smile but said nothing.

Drahman continued, ‘First you will have to learn some of the background to the development of our foreign policy until this time.’

Raj was amused by the stilted speech and the lecture like approach. It seems that instantly Drahman divined his thoughts.

‘If all this sounds like a lecture to you, you will have to bear with me. It is a lecture.’

‘The authorised version,’ murmured Veeraswamy smoothly.

‘And that’s the other thing I want out of the way as well. You may wonder why this joker is here. Well, he is mainly here, and I might say only, here in the role of a heckler, to provide some kind of light relief in an otherwise heavy morning.’

Veeraswamy flashed a dark look at him, his smile paling.

(Continued tomorrow)

(C) E.C.T. Candappa

Lord Shiva in his varied manifestations has been worshipped from time immemorial. In the Rig Veda, which is one of the oldest religious texts, he is referred to as Rudra, while in the Upanishads he is known as Shiva the "auspicious one". His image as Pasupati and his form as the Lingam were found on terra cotta seals during excavations at Mohanja-daro and Harappa, the principal sites of the Indus Valley civilisation. Exquisite carvings on rock at Elephanta, Ellora, and Mahabalipuram attributed to the 7th century AD can be seen to this day.

The spread of Saivism beyond the shores of India is evidenced by the temples in Bali, Indonesia, the intricate carvings at Angkor Wat built by the Khmer kings of Cambodia, and the historic temples of Thiruketheeswaram, Konneswaram, a Munneswaram in Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, Mount Kailas, situated beside Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, is considered to be the principal abode of Lord Shiva and his Consort Parvati. In Kathmandu, Nepal, the ancient temple of Pasupatinath draws numerous pilgrims, specially during the festival of Shivaratri.

It was only between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD that the worship of Lord Shiva assumed its present form, and temples depicting his symbolic form of the Lingam were built all over India. From the icy wastes of Amarnath in Kashmir to the plains of Kannyakumari and Sri Lanka, Lord Shiva is worshipped by Saivites who consider him to be the ultimate reality.

About 92 miles from Srinagar, at a height of 13,000 feet above sea level, lies the holy cave of Amarnath. This cave is not manmade but open, rugged, and doorless. The annual pilgrimage to this holy cave takes place between May and July each year, during which time is seen a huge ice formation of a Lingam which disappears during the rest of the year. The fact that each year thousands of pilgrims undertake this very arduous climb on foot is indicative of their inherent faith in the Lord.

The radiance of Lord Shiva, his jyoti, is said to be locked in twelve Lingams situated in different parts of India. These together with the sites of the Panchabutha Lingams are considered to be the more important abodes of Lord Shiva.

The twelve jyotirlingams are 1) Vishvanath. 2) Ramanath. 3) Kedarnath. 4) Somnath. 5) Tryambakeshwar. 6) Nageshwar. 7) Ghushmeshwar. 8) Vaidyanath. 9) Bhimeshwar. 10) Omkareshwar. 11) Mahakaleshwar. 12) Mallikaarjuna.

Among these twelve sites the most renowned is the temple at Varanasi (Kasi) on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh. This ancient temple dedicated to Vishvanathar and his Consort Visalatchi which draws thousands of devotees daily is noted for its numerous Sivalingams.

According to mythology the Divine Consort in her manifestation as Annapurna, the Goddess of food, resides at Kasi where her image is worshipped by devotees. It was here at Varanasi, a city celebrated for learning and spirituality, that the saint Adi Sankara commenced his religious teaching. Nearby is the site where Hindus throughout the ages have immersed in the Ganges the ashes of their loved ones in the hope of their attaining immortality.

By tradition a pilgrimage to Kasi is not considered complete without one to the Ramanathar temple at Rameshwaram by the shores of the Indian Ocean in Tamil Nadu. According to mythology, Sri Rama on his return to India after slaying Ravana offered worship at this spot of expiate the sin of having slain a devotee of Lord Shiva. Intending to set up a Lingam, Sri Rama requested Hanuman to bring one from the Kasi Visvanathar temple.

Since Hanuman was delayed beyond the auspicious time, Sita herself prepared a Lingam in sand, and this was consecrated by Sri Rama.

When Hanuman returned bearing the Visvalingam, it was enshrined in another sanctum on the north side of the temple, and these two Lingams are worshipped by pilgrims to this day. At the main entrance of the temple stands a large gopuram with nine tiers, while the west gopuram is smaller but impressive. The northern and southern entrances are flanked by two unfinished gopurams.

The outstanding architectural feature of the temple is the outer prakara which has 4,000 beautifully carved pillars made of stone softer than granite (soapstone). These pillars stand on a platform about five feet above ground level and this corridor has been described by Ferguson as "the most eye catching sight of the temple.

Kedarnath in Uttar Pradesh which stands within view of the Himalayan peaks is another arduous pilgrimage undertaken by devotees. According to legend the Lingam was enshrined by the two sages Nara and Narayana. This temple is small and has a low entrance from which the fragrance of incense and holy ash permeate the air.

There is no motorable road to the temple, and the final stage of the journey is by a narrow footpath covered with ice. In November, as winter approaches, the holy icon of Lord Shiva is brought down to Ukhimath, and reinstalled in early May when the temple doors are once again open to pilgrims.

Those who dare the rigours of the climb to visit this shrine feel a sense of exhilaration and peace with nature amidst the pristine beauty of the snow capped peaks. It was here at Kedarnath that Adi Sankara, after a life of invaluable service rendered to Hinduism, found the bliss of union with God.

On the shores of Saurashtra in Gujarat stands the ancient shrine of Somnath which was one of the richest temples in India. Over the centuries this fane was destroyed and rebuilt nine times. According to mythology the Moon worshipped Lord Shiva at this shrine after being absolved from the curse of Daksha and was able to wax again.

Several of the jyotirlingams are enshrined in temples in the state of Maharashtra. The temple of Tryambakeshwar on the banks of the Godavari river is built in black stone and artistic sculptures adorn its entrance. In the sanctum sanctorum within a small depression which is filled with water is immersed a Swayambu Lingam. From a crack on the roof, water from the Godavari is constantly dripping into a pot above the Lingam, which is turn pours water in a drizzle on to the Lingam.

This unceasing Abishekam is a notable feature in this temple. The origin of this shrine is based on the legend of a pious sage Gautama who once killed a cow by accident. To expiate his sin he did penance and prayed to Lord Shiva to let the holy waters of the Ganges flow by his hermitage. Although Lord Shiva agreed, Ganga who was enmeshed in his locks refused to do so unless the Lord himself was by her side. To the satisfaction of the sage and Ganga, he took the shape of a three eyed Lingam Tryambakeshwar and the Ganges flowed by his side as Godavari.

The temple of Negeshwar is situated in the eastern part of the state. According to the legend Lord Shiva and the Nagas helped the merchants of the town to get rid of the demoness Daruka who was harassing them. Lord Shiva and his Consort Nageswari saw that peace was restored and maintained there. Near to the great monolithic temple of Kailash at Ellora stands the shrine of Lord Shiva as Ghushmeshwar named after a pious devotee Ghushma.

The temples of Vaidyanath is situated at Marathwada and takes its name from the legend that Dhanvantari, the divine doctor and founder of Ayurveda, is said to have merged with this Lingam. On the banks of the river Bhima stands the temple of Bhimeshwara.

The origin of this temple is based on the story that while the city was ruled by a just and pious king Sudakshina, it was attacked by Bheema, son of Kumbakarna. When he was about to destroy the Lingam, the Lord appeared and destroyed the demon, and saved both city and shrine.

The templs of Omkareshwar and Mahakaleshwar are both situated in Madhya Pradesh. The former stands on an island in the Naramada river, while the latter is in Ujjain where Lord Shiva appeared as Mahakala, the great destroyer.

The temple of Mallikaarjuna dates from the 2nd century AD, and stands on a plateau on top of the hill Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh. This temple is famous for its numerous bas-reliefs and stone carvings. According to legend a pious Princess Chandravati lived in the forest and was steeped in meditation. On of the cows she had taken with her did not yield any milk, and on investigation found that the cow showered all its milk on a black stone Lingam. The original temple was built around this Lingam and expanded over the centuries. Reference to this anciet shrine was made in the Mahabharata, and Adi Sankara sang in praise of the Lord while worshipping there.

All creation revolves round the five elements (Bhutas), and Lord Shiva as Bhuteshwara has been associated with five different sacred shrines in South India. They are 1) Ehambaranatha (earth). 2) Annamali (fire). 3) Jambukeshwara (water). 4) Kalahasti (wind). 5) Chidambaram (ether).

The temple city of Kancheepuram, the ancient intellctual and spiritual capital of the Pallavas, lies 65 km south west of Chennai. It is also the seat of the Kamakoti Petham, one of the five monasteries founded by Adi Sankara. The temple of Sri Ehambaranatha, famous for its sculptures, enshrines the Prithvilingam. This Lingam of earth (prithvi) is encased in silver, and according to legend was fashioned by th Divine Consort herself. In the temple premises is a Mango tree said to be over 3,500 years old, with the four Vedas represented by its branches.

The temple of Lord Annamalai at Tiruvannamalai enshrines the Lord in his form of fire. It is one of the largest fanes in South India and closely linked with several saints. Two myths are associated with this historic temple Ñ those of Lingodbhava and Ardhanathiswara.

In the first, Lord Shiva appeared as a column of light, and in order to find the two ends, Vishnu in the form of a boar delved into the earth, while Brahma as a swan soared into the skies. As they were unable to find either end Lord Shiva took the form of a Lingam. Sculptures of Lingodbhava with a swan at the apex and a boar at the base are found in all Shiva temples, quite often in a niche behind the main sanctum.

The second describes how Parvati playfully covered Lord Shiva's eyes with her hands, resulting in darkness and chaos on earth. To expiate her sin, the Divine Consort went to Kanchepuram where she made a Lingam of earth and sat in meditation. Lord Shiva then requested her to go to Tiruvannamalai and perform penance, and thereafter she would take her place on his left side. On completion of a severe penance she was merged with the Lord on his left.

This concept of the Lord as half male and half female has given rise to some exquisite bronzes of Ardhanathiswara.

The temple of Jambukeswara which enshrines the Appulingam (water) stands by the bank of the Caveri on the outskirts of Trichy. The original temple was a small brick structure with over 130 inscriptions which survived the additions and renovations made over the centuries. The Lingam in the main sanctum is below ground level and always surrounded by water.

The legnd associated with this temple states that two ganas of the Lord were born as an elephant and a spider as a result of a curse on them. The elephant began daily worship with flowers and offered a shower of water as Abishekam from its trunk. Hence this shrine came to be known as Tiruvanaikka (forest of elephants).

The spider too worshippd the Lingam and spun a canopy above to protect it. The elephant removed the canopy assuming it to be unclean. Both the elephant and the spider failed to realise that they had a common thought in the worship of the Lord and mistook each other's intentions.

The resulting tension caused the spider to enter the trunk of the elephant and wound it. Unable to bear the pain the elephant dashed its trunk on the ground which resultd in their demise. The Lord in recognition of their devotion granted them salvation.

At the foot of the Dakshina Kailasa hill in Andhra Pradesh beside the Swarnamuki river nestles the temple of Sri Kalahasti which enshrines the Vayulingam (wind). Songs from poets of the Sangam age (Nakkirar) refer to this temple which indicates the antiquity of the shrine. This fane is rich in tradition and history and has over 200 inscriptions ranging over the period 989-1565 AD. According to mythology a spider, a cobra and an elephant worshipped at the shrine and after much troubles received salvation.

A story from Tamil hagiography describes the association of a hunter named Thinna with the original temple. Being a devotee of Lord Shiva he offered in worship raw meat, and water which he would bring in his mouth. A Brahmin shocked at the desecration cleaned it up and offered worship with normal rituals.

The next day Thinna swept away the flowers and leaves and worshipped the Lord in his crude way. This went on for 4 days. On the 5th night the Lord appeared in a dream to the Brahmin and requested him to hide behind the Lingam and observe the love of a true devotee.

The next day when Thinna arrived blood began to flow from one eye of the Lingam. Unable to stem the flow of blood, Thinna removed one of his eyes with an arrow and offered it to the Lord. Although the bleeding in the affected eye stopped, blood began to flow from the other eye.

In desperate grief, placing his roughly shod foot on the Lingam, Thinna began to remove his other eye with an arrow. The Lord stopped him and said that henceforth he would be known as Kannappan and would always be near and dear to Him. A statue of this devotee is seen in the main temple near the Lingam. Kannappan is one of the earliest of the 63 Saiva saints, and Manikkavasagar refers to his act of devotion as "unparalleled love of God".

The temple of Lord Nataraja at Chidambaram, considered the "holy of holies" to Saivites in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka enshrines the Akaasa Lingam (ether), or the Lord without form. It is depicted by the space beside the main shrine covered with a string of gold vilva leaves and a curtain. The origin of this temple is lost in antiquity, but the Cholas, Pandyas, and the Vijayanagar dynasties made vast contributions and added extensions to the original fane.

This temple, about 243 km south of Chennai, is rich in piety, tradition, history, and art, and has been the centre of Tamil Saivite spiritual life for centuries. Nataraja, as Lord of Dance, depicts the Hindu philosophical notion that he is dancing on the remains of evil and ignorance, and his worshipper will be free of both. This concept gave rise to bronzes of unsurpassed beauty which is recognisd universally as an achievement of Hindu art.

The temple of Brihadeshwara in Thanjavur has been considered by many as "the grandest temple in India" even though it does not enshrine either a Jyotirlingam or a Panchabuthalingam. Built in the 11th century AD by Raja Raja 1, this temple is a magnificent monument to the power and ability of the Chola dynasty.

The predominant feature seen here is theVimanam which towers above the sanctum sanctorum to a height of about 216 feet, and has 13 beautifully sculpted tiers. The intricately carved cupola is of a single stone weighing 80 tons, while a remarkable feat of architecture is that this Vimanam never casts a shadow. Epigraphs on the temple walls trace its history and records gifts by various dynasties.
Seven doorways lead to the main sanctum which are guarded by seven sets of Dwara palakas, each 18 ft tall. The Sivalingam enshrined in the main sanctum is about 27 ft tall, while the monolithic Nandi facing the sanctum weighs 25 tons.

These abodes form an integral part of Hindu culture, and some of these have survived desecration by foreign invaders. The history of Saivism indicates that realisation of the Lord has been attained in various ways, from tribal homage to sophisticated philosophies. Lord Shiva who has been worshipped for over 5000 years is considered by Saivites as the Supreme Being, the vitality of life, the source of all things, and union with him is their ultimate aim.