Sacred location
(tirtha) on the Arabian Sea coast in modern-day Pakistan's Baluchistan Province.
Hinglaj is one of the Shakti Pithas, a network of holy
places dedicated to the goddess Sati spread over the Indian subcontinent.
Each Shakti Pitha symbolizes the spot where a severed
goddess's body part fell to earth and was reborn as a different goddess; in
Hinglaj's instance, the body part was the crown of Sati's head.
Hinglaj is the Shakti Pitha that is the furthest west of all
the Shakti Pithas, and so reflects the ancient Hindu cultural area's farthest
bounds.
The presiding deity of Hinglaj is recognized by several
names, the most popular of which is Hinglaj Devi.
She is regarded as a strong goddess, partially because to
her perilous position on India's outskirts, but also because the crown of the
head (brahmarandhra) is seen as the highest and most powerful component of the
subtle body.
The subtle body is an alternative physiological system that
is said to exist on a distinct level of existence than the physical body, yet
with certain similarities to it.
It's represented by a series of six psychic centers
(chakras) that run nearly parallel to the spine.
The two divine principles, Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti
(power), are located above and below these centers, with the latter at the base
of the spine and the former at the top of the skull.
A visit to Hinglaj's shrine was deemed necessary for anybody
seeking for yoga perfection because of her relationship with subtle body
control.
By the 1800s, the region around her shrine had been totally
taken over by Muslims, putting it outside the Hindu cultural zone.
Traveling outside of this region puts one's Hindu identity
at jeopardy.
To avoid the dangers of traveling outside of this region, it
became customary for ascetics who had been there on pilgrimage to be branded
with her emblem upon their return to India, purifying them and remaking them as
Hindus.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan have made it
almost difficult for Hindu pilgrims to visit the site since their independence
in 1947.
More information may be found in George Weston Briggs'
Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis, published in 1973.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
