Curaçao, and Malaysia. In 2002, there were 1,500
members in the United States alone. Swami Rama
died on November 13, 1996, without naming a
successor. The institute carries on his work.
Further reading: Swami Rama, Freedom from the Bond-
age of Karma, 2d ed. (New York: Himalayan Institute
Press; n.d.); ———, Living with the Himalayan Masters
(New York: Himalayan Institute Press, 1978); ———,
Path of Fire and Light, Vol. 1, Advanced Practices of Yoga
(New York: Himalayan Institute Press, 1986); ———,
Sacred Journey: Living Purposefully and Dying Grace-
fully (Detroit: Lotus Press, n.d.); ———, Samadhi: The
Highest State of Wisdom, Vol. 1, Yoga the Sacred Science
(Detroit: Lotus Press., n.d.).
Himalayan Mountains
Himalaya (the abode of the snows) is a vast moun-
tain range spreading across six countries: India,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Tibet (ruled
by China). Geographically it separates the Indian
subcontinent from the Tibetan plateau. Fourteen
of the highest peaks in the world are found in the
Himalayas. The sources of several of the rivers
of India are found here. Both the Indus River of
Pakistan and the GANGES of India begin in these
snow-covered mountains.
The Himalaya is an important mythological
site for Indian tradition. Lord SHIVA and his wife,
PARVATI, are said to live on the peak KAILASA, an
important pilgrimage site in Tibet just across the
border from Nepal. The Himalayas are personified
as HIMAVAT, the father of SAT I, Shiva’s first wife.
The Himalayan lake Mansorovar is said to be the
source of the Ganges. HANUMAN the monkey god
was said to have gone to the Himalaya to get the
mountain of herbs that saved LAKSHMANA’s life in
the RAMAYANA story.
Further reading: Cornelia Dimmit and J.A. B. van
Buitenen, eds. and trans., Classical Hindu Mythology:
A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1978); J. A. Dowson, A Classical Dic-
tionary of Hindu Mythology (Portland, Ore.: Trubner,
2003); Swami Sundaranand, Himalaya through the Lens
of a Sadhu (Gangotri: Tapovan Kuti Prakashan, 2001).Himavat
Literally “possessed of snow,” Himavat is the
personification of the Himalayas found in Indian
literature and mythology. His wife is Mena.
Many stories are told of Himavat, his wife,
and their family. One story holds that the couple
had three daughters, Ragini, Kutila, and KALI,
and one son, Sunabha. The first daughter, Ragini,
was reddish colored and dressed in red. The sec-
ond daughter, Kutila, was fair and wore garlands
and clothes of white. The last daughter was the
dark Kali.
Six years after each girl’s birth they all began to
practice austerities. Successful in her austerities,
Kutila was taken to heaven by certain divinities to
meet BRAHMA, as there was a need for someone to
bear a son to SHIVA to save the universe from tor-
ment by the demons. Brahma told the divinities
that this fair girl could not bear such a son, but
in her temerity she insisted to Brahma that she
could. This incurred his anger and he cursed her
to become the river in his land (later to be taken
to earth in the form of Ganga or the GANGES).
The second, ruddy, daughter, Ragini, did aus-
terities and was also cursed by Brahma when she
too became angry at him. Because of her ruddy
complexion, she was turned into the twilight.
Finally, it was time for the dark one, Kali, to
go to heaven because of her austerity. At this point
Mena, in anguish at the prospect of losing yet
another daughter, shouted out, “u! ma!” (Sanskrit
for Oh, no!). UMA is another name for PARVATI,
and at this point her name was officially changed.
She, of course, was successful in becoming Shiva’s
wife.
There are many stories of Himavat’s encoun-
ters with his divine son-in-law, Shiva. Usually, they
show him and his wife to be uncomfortable with
the antisocial ascetic with whom their daughterK 184 Himalayan Mountains