Mount Kailash: A Riddle wrapped in a Mystery inside an Enigma

Mount Kailash evokes images of unconquered peaks, stark but pristine snows and towering heights. This Mountain in Tibet is a geological wonder. It has four sides that exactly face towards the four cardinal directions, has perennial snow on its upper reaches, has sides that are sheer smooth having almost chiseled quality and is in an area of the range whereby its beauty is not marred by any other comparable peak. It stands solitary in its own majesty with two lakes the Mansarovar and Rakshastal washing its foothills.

The mountain range also has the distinction of being the source of four key rivers, the Bramhaputra, Karnali which washes into the Ganges, Sutlej and Indus. These rivers have sustained more than a quarter of all humanity since millennia. The face of the mountain has a horizontal gash and the top of the pyramid is a giant perfectly formed pyramid.

But geology apart, the spiritual significance of the mountain is deeper still. Kailash is a key place of worship for four religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Bonn and Jainism. For the Hindus it is the abode of Shiva, the first Yogi and the destroyer of the universe who resides on the icy heights with Parvati the female form of pure energy or Shakti. For the Buddhists, the mountain is the abode for the Buddha Demchok who represents supreme bliss. Jains believe that the first Tirthankara attained moksha or salvation from the world near Mount Kailash while the Bonn religion believes that the entire mountain range and the lakes are the supreme center for all spiritual power in the universe.

The location of the mountain is supposed to be Axis Mundi, the center and the birthplace of the entire world. The mountain also has quite a few legends and perhaps forgotten knowledge and facts associated with it.
- Research has shown that the mountain has a chain of voids in its structure almost like a complex of caves; this cave complex finds mention in Tibetan ancient texts. They are supposed to be linked underground via continuous chambers and caves to other places of such mystical significance.
- The caves have a reverberation in Hindu texts whereby Amarnath, the holy site linked to Lord Shiva is fabled to have an underground tunnel to Mount Kailash.
- One of the enduring mysteries is the relativity of time and its effect on the body when in the presence of mount Kailash. Pilgrims report that just twelve hours on the foothills of Kailash give the effect of two weeks on the body. The nails and hair grow at astonishing speed pointing to a mysterious power in the mountain.
- Russian scientists have proposed that the top of the mountain is a manmade pyramid and not a natural formation. If true this will rewrite the history of human civilization, as this would then be the biggest pyramid on earth by a huge margin.
- The Mountain and its characteristic shape also has mention in Hindu Texts as the mountain that was used by gods and demons to churn the cosmic ocean to get both the nectar of life, the Amrit and the strongest of poisons the  Halahal.
- The mountain supposed to be the gateway of Shangri La or Sambhala. An ancient underground kingdom that was the originator of the human race in the world. It is supposed to be the abode of super human’s that have vast stores of knowledge and belong to a higher civilization.
- It is also believed that the Nazis were fascinated with Mount Kailash and Tibet. It is known that Nazi leaders such as Heinrich Himmler believed that Tibet might harbor the last of the original Aryan tribes, the legendary forefathers of what was considered the German race whose Aryan leaders were supposed to possess supernatural powers that the Nazis thought they could use to conquer the world. Ideas about an Aryan or master race began to appear in the popular media in the late nineteenth century.

Mount Kailash is surely a heady mix of mystery and legend. Its summit remains unconquered in recorded history and it is said that all who have attempted it have either not returned or have found themselves on the opposite side without a clue or recollection of how they landed there. The best answer to the question of whether the summit can be conquered came from one of the Garpons of Ngari, the Garpon replied, "Only a man entirely free of sin could climb Kailash. And he wouldn't have to actually scale the sheer walls of ice to do it – he'd just turn himself into a bird and fly to the summit."