The 2016 Summer Yatra is coming to an end. Swamiji and Swami Adaityananda are at the Delhi Airport ready to board a plane headed for the United States, and by the time of this reading, will have landed in San Francisco.
Their two and a half months of travel through the Himalayas was in service to us all. It gave us a better understanding of the sadhu life in the Himalayas. It opened our eyes to a whole new world — a world in which the only thing to do is express our love for God. It even shared practical information on how we can elevate our own sadhana.
Today, I re-read all of the Travelogues, knowing that I had to offer something back in return. This tribute does not even come close to the inspiration they created on this trip, but it does offer a summary of their sadhana and practices, the beauty of their satsanghs, their spiritual insights, and their many accomplishments. I hope this brings to you a useful reminder of a practice you had chosen to implement, or an insight you wished to integrate.
So much has happened since the beginning of the journey that one wonders, “What was the purpose? What are we trying to accomplish? What is the ultimate goal?”
Swamiji responds:
Only then will we be qualified to call ourselves Purusha – full, complete, and perfect Consciousness, as it inhabits a human body.” ~Swamiji”
And, the reader may wonder, “How did they do? Did they accomplish their goals?”
Well, … you will have to read to the end to find Swamiji’s final summation of the 2016 Summer Yatra.
Enjoy!
They chanted the Chandi Path to Katyayani Devi, the Ever Pure One, and were very well received by the pujaris and the people present in the temple.
The temple pujari honored Swamiji by asking him to do arati to the Goddess, and then offered Swamiji flowers and prasad from the deity, and invited him for Chai in the office.
In addition, a devotee eagerly came up to Swamiji to express her gratitude for the chanting.
Nature tested the Swamis early in the trip as a big unexpected storm arrived in Kankhal (near Haridwar) while they chanted under a large Banyan Tree.
Nothing could stop them from continuing.
Even as the sky became pitch black, the wind whirled, lightning flashed, and rain drenched their music stands, iPads and broadcasting equipment — they kept their sankalpa.
Haridwar was the first official outdoor broadcast, and was a big step toward creating Swamiji’s vision of a global satsangh.
When they went to pay for their stay, the Head of the Ashram said, “How can we charge sadhus?”
Further, after learning about Swamiji’s intense sadhana in his younger years, they requested for Swamiji to stay longer saying, “Why does He need to go? Why doesn’t He stay here and perform sadhana here?”
They experienced a loving satsangh with the sadhus at the Harihara Ashram.
During the visit, they fulfilled one of Swamiji’s goals which was to show the sadhus the benefits of the iPad and other technologies.
Swamiji did even better — he had those sadhus chanting from the iPad and they even flipped the pages themselves!
It is Swamiji’s dream to support the sadhus in India and on this trip he was able to do that. He offered them each prasad and dakshina, and even offered dakshina to support their Ashram as well.
Even more important though, it made Swamiji’s mission more transparent. He explained that this yatra is the foundation on which he will build a broader long-term plan to expand our outreach to the sadhus in the Himalayas.
Ideally, Swamiji’s goal is to identify potential synergies with the sadhus, where together they can mutually support each other. Together, there may be opportunities to make a more significant impact.
During the stay in Uttarkashi, Swamiji continued to broadcast, which was a big success as devotees worldwide joined in the sadhana. He also tested and launched the Devi Mandir Radio Station.
After performing sadhana at two of the temples in Uttarkashi, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and the Kedarnath Mandir, Swamiji met the old sadhus in residence.
They conversed for only a short period of time but, by the time they departed, it was as if they had been friends for lifetimes!
Swamiji constantly exemplifies the teaching “Being spiritual means giving more than you take.” He has given a perfect example of sadhana, dedication, love, humility, and inspiration everywhere they visited.
After a three mile hike uphill to Yamunotri, they had an opportunity to meet and observe the rhythm of the famous sadhu Nepali Baba, the Akara at the Hanuman Mandir.
Watching Nepali Baba, they were shown another example of a sadhu’s ideal way of life:
- focus on God: sadhana, praying, reading scriptures, satsangh
- live in a structured and disciplined way
- give more than you take
They also performed worship in the Yamunotri Temple, the origin of the Yamuna River.
They returned to Gangotri and this time stayed near to the Gangotri Temple where they had more contact with the temple priests.
They performed sadhana on the bank of the Ganga, increasing their asana gradually from five hours to over ten hours!
The temple priests were so amazed with the intensity and sincerity of the sadhana that one of the priest gave the highest respect to Swamiji when he said,
Please, please, continue with what you are doing.”
Their sadhana continued, but unfortunately the radio station was not possible in this area so the sadhana broadcasting came to a close in Gangotri.
Not once did the people disturb the Swami’s sadhana, and several postured with pranam as they walked by.
Some even offered dakshina out of respect for the sadhana being performed, and not because they made a judgment on if they were wealthy or not, or whether they were in need. They needed to make their offering in support because that was their dharma!
The scene unfolded something even more surprising, which was the unfailing support from the local communities who generously offered the pilgrims free food, water, rest areas, and of course, their time.
Each activity enhances the other, and together they keep you focused on God the whole day! The sadhana grows in length, intensity and meaning.
The “ideal of satsangh” goes beyond just a gathering that we have once in a while. True satsangh is a continually inspired relationship between souls who are headed toward the same goals.
The satsangh occurs when you have ensured that you have alignment with everyone included.
Once we decide that moving closer to God is the goal, we recognize there are four steps to its achievement:
- Asana Siddhi- Perfecting Sitting Posture
- Spashtha Ucharan – Clear pronunciation with Pranayam
- Understand the Meaning of the Scripture
- Act in Accordance
Swami Adaityananda achieved Asana Siddhi in Gangotri during this trip. This is an amazing accomplishment in a very auspicious place.
If we just jump into a long sadhana we haven’t built up to, we aren’t likely to succeed, and even if we do, we may not be able to maintain it into the future.
The body and mind both need time to adjust and get into the rhythm of longer sadhana.
Hatha Yoga too finds a place in our sadhana, as a tool for enabling us to sit for longer periods of time with less pain or discomfort.
If we can sit in one asana, without having to get up, our mind cannot act on random desires and is forced (hatha) to pay attention to the sadhana.
This afforded an amazing cross section of the inspiration and philosophy of Sanatana Dharma (eternal ideal of perfection).
When engaged in long sadhana we have only one thing to overcome, and that is our own selves!
The Bhagavad Gita states, “He who has conquered the atmana (the Reflector of the mind), has the peace of the Supreme Soul.”
And so, the remarkable summer yatra concludes, but not without the recognition and appreciation of a common theme that runs through the thread of each and every post.
That theme, at least for me, was one of “inspiration toward transformation.” In every story posted I always found a little something that inspired me to think differently, to alter my sadhana, to add something more to my practice, and to further restructure my life activities to make room for more sadhana. What else can there be left to do?
And just when I thought the divine inspiration couldn’t get any better, Swamiji sends a heart-felt composition that he wrote prior to his departure from India.
And then I remembered how and why I fell in love with Uttarkashi so many years ago. It is the middle of July, the monsoon has come exactly on time, the weather is cool, Ganga is flowing past our door, and the atmosphere is still and silent. There are no distractions. Nature is supporting us in all that we wish to do.
We rise and meditate, bathe and chant scriptures, share our satsangh, and then return to translate some more. The translations have so many different characteristics: we translate the words, translate the meanings, translate the attitudes and cultural symbols, but mostly we strive to translate the values of the way of life into our own lives. How do we translate the meaning of Love into pure devotion?
In Love we enter into Bhava Samadhi – there are three: a Lover, the object of my love, and the feeling of love. As I become more devoted, there are only two: the Lover (me) and my Beloved (You). And when that Love gets so intense that words fail, my devotion is so succinct that there is nothing else, all that remains is the best me I could ever aspire to become – You!
Is there any greater expression of my reverence for You than to become You? That is what we can call Surrender. In Sanskrit the term is Atma Samarpana: I offer my soul to You in perfect equilibrium.
And then I remembered how and why I fell in love with Uttarkashi. There are no distractions. Nature is supporting us in all we wish to do. And what I wish to do is to tell You unequivocally how much I am privileged to offer my soul to You in perfect equilibrium.
I thank you for the privilege. I thank you for the opportunity. I thank you for this life, which allowed me to feel the fullness of this understanding!
I am so privileged to have had such a life, which allowed me to Love You in this way! Of all the attainments in my life on every level, I regard this as the greatest achievement: Can you imagine the sense of accomplishment I feel to be able to Love You fully, completely, perfectly, as I strive to do, with all the intensity which I am incapable to quantify?
All I can offer is my greatest appreciation for all my partners, supporters, friends, and well-wishers, who aided me in this journey to achieve what I thought was worthy of my efforts. I bow to you all and bless you all. You are truly in the line of succession, and you should all achieve the fulfillment of your definitions of perfection, as I have strived to find my own.
And that is why I fell in love with Uttarkashi.
Though the story of this yatra concludes, the resulting spiritual bhavana emanating from the Guru’s heart will live forever.
In answer to the question posed initially on the goals and achievements of this yatra, without a doubt our beloved Guru has attained the greatest of all achievements — the completion of perfection. For this I am eternally grateful.