Travelogue: The Sadhu Community At an ashram in Rishikesh, nearby to Swami Ramkripaluji’s ashram, a special puja for Lord Ram was performed. This puja is called Ram Abishek or Rama Archana. Archana is a special, personal, puja done by temple priests in which the name, birth star and family lineage of devotees are recited to […]

Travelogue: The Cave Temple of Tapkeshwar Nearby to Rishikesh, in Dehradun, there is an ancient Shiva cave temple known as Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple. This temple is in a cave and, to get to the location, one has to transcend down several stair steps, to which you enter into what looks to be a village of […]

Shree Maa, Swamiji, and Swami Ramkripaluji took the group to very special temple for Lord Shiva called the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple (also commonly referred to as Neelkantha, Nilkanth and Nilakanth) located just outside of Rishikesh. Shree Maa explained that this temple is the location where Lord Shiva went to cool his throat after He had […]

Travelogue: Shree Maa’s Puja to Mother Ganga In India, the river Ganges is not considered to be just a river, but rather a living Goddess. Her waters play such an important role in the lives of everyone. From watering crops to providing drinking water, She takes care of Her children. After the sun rose in […]

Travelogue:The Temple of Daksha’s Yajna Where Sati Left Her Body Shree Maa and Swamiji took the group to a very special temple, the Daksha Prajapati Temple, in the town of Kankhal, adjacent to Haridwar. This temple is also referred to as the Daksha Mahadev Temple and the Shri Daksheshwar Temple. This temple, which sits right […]

Travelogue: Rishikesh and the Ganga We traveled from New Delhi to Swami Ramkripaluji’s Ashram in Rishikesh. It is a beautiful ashram overlooking the Ganga. The waters of the Ganga shine with beauty in the midday sun. It was hard to resist jumping in, so not long after arrival we went to take a bath in […]

Travelogue: Raghunath (Ram) Mandir of Rishi Kund at Triveni Ghat After our morning Sadhana, we walked with Swamiji along the banks of the Ganga. We came to an area called Triveni Ghat, which is the center of the older part of Rishikesh. There were many beautiful sculptures erected depicting Ganga Maa and other divinities. After […]

Travelogue: Kali Temple and the Kali Sahasranam On the night of Purnima, the full moon, we went to visit a Kali Temple in New Delhi and chanted the Kali Sahasaranam. The temple area was quite large, and the priests recognized Shree Maa and Swamiji and greeted them with respect. As we settled in, Swamiji easily […]

Travelogue: Shree Adya Katyayani Mandir in New Delhi In New Delhi, we visited the Shree Adya Katyayani Shaktipeeth Mandir in Chattarpur. Shree Maa and Swamiji love this temple and are known to frequent it on their trips to Delhi. The temple was built in the 1970s, and covers close to 70 acres. It is a […]

Travelogue: Guru Maa’s Ashram The group received darshan of four saints today all at the same time, as Shree Maa, Swamiji, and Swami Ramkripaluji took us to the ashram of the well-known Anandamurti Guru Maa. To witness the gathering of these four saints was a special treat for all of us and I was eagerly […]

We began the day by performing Swamiji’s Hatha Yoga Sequence and reciting the Chandi Path as the morning sun rose in the sky over the mountains. Today is the 8th day, Ashtami, in the lunar calendar and Swamiji suggested we recite the Gayatri Sahasranam. The Gayatri Sahasranam is especially auspicious to recite on the 8th […]

Travelogue: Sundar Kanda at Tryambakeshwar Swamiji and the group made a second visit to Tryambakeshwar, the Jyotir Lingam situated just outside of the city of Nashik. This is one of the twelve Jyotir Lingams where Shiva bestowed his eternal light. Related: Learn More about the Jyotir Lingams As customary for this temple, there was a […]

Together with Shree Maa and Swamiji we all made a trip to the Sri Nilambika temple (Blue Mother) situated on top the Neel Mountain, which overlooks the city of Tryambakeshwar. There, the Divine Mother is also worshiped in the form of Annapurna, She who Nourishes with Food and Grains. Swamiji related that he had visited […]