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Fear and mystique-the two forces that had given them the eternal Siva in the
mountain peaks with the interplay of thick, dark clouds often hanging on to the mountains
and taking different shapes and hues gave way and they found Avolokiteswar, Trilochon
etc., as different manifestations of Lord Siva. The isolation of the Paharis here from the
Northern plains made them turn more and more to the Buddhist Lamas who were from Tibet
side. Asa result we find a wonderful and peaceful intermingling and co-existence of the
two faiths Hinduism and Buddhism.
In this part of the country it was usual for
the people to become Buddhist Lamas, take the Yellow robes and resort to the Buddhist
monasteries but after sometime they may come away and take to their civil life and start
worshipping Siva and Avolokiteswar as Hindu Gods. To the average man there is little
distinction between the two faiths. The same man worships the Buddha images and the other
lesser Buddhist deities and pay homage to the Buddhist Lamas with as much respect as they
cherish for the Hindu deities. The Lamas also have allowed, a large elbow-room.
They allow some form of Hindu worship in the,
Buddhist monasteries. They allow animal sacrifice to appease the Gods. Verily the two
faiths have coalesced and almost conglomerated but jointly they have not been able to
stamp out Animism and Superstitious beliefs. The Buddhists and the Hindus in this area
still believe in witches, witchcraft and exorcising the witches that take possession of
the humans. The peaceful co-existence of
Hinduism and Buddhism has hardly any parallel in the main-land of India.
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