This journey was a lengthy one but making things here to the point so that there are no yawns anywhere while reading :)
This was one of the most significant journey of my spiritual tours and we got planning things three months before the event and finally booked everything in advance to go to the Pardeshwar/Chakreshwari temple in Jallandhar and visit also the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Ravi invited me to join him with this plan and since i have never been north ever before i immediately agreed though it would have been a longer journey. Ravi did all the things for me and then i realized this was Babaji. Initially there was lot of commotion regarding the travel dates and accommodations, etc but i preferred to let go to Babaji and was be prepared to handle whatever he wanted to and am glad that the journey was all fantastic, not a single problem anywhere.. Heartfelt gratitude to Babaji and all the sadhaks whom i was with.
i caught a night train to Bangalore on 27th November 2010 and he was there to pick me up the next morning. After getting fresh, we went to a small ashram place that he looks after and spent some time there meditating. Post-lunch we took a taxi to the airport and me, Ravi and Manoj by evening 8 p.m. we were in Delhi. We halted the night there in a hotel in Karol Bagh and booked a taxi early morning at 6 a.m. Next morning, we caught the train to Kurushetra and reached there by 11 am. We straight took an auto to Sector 7 (5 kms from the venue) and settled down at a house that was rented by sadhaks. The house was good and we were happy to meet a few more people there... We then went and collected our passes from the venue.
Babaji came late evening and addressed the crowd and with some short messages left us for the day.
The weather was damn cold and we found it fun to hire our auto every morning who would come to pick us up by 6:15 so that we could reach the venue before 7 a.m. of the scheduled time of starting.
It was like a huge family staying together with lot of fun and frolic.
Mornings and nights were very cold. This is the condition of the thakurs and thakurayans in the morning :)
Babaji asked us to visit the Sthaneshwar temple, Bhadrakali temple and Vata Vruksha if we had time and these things happened. i do not remember the dates of these visits but here are some pictures of all the divine places were were able to visit.
The ShivaLinga at Sthaneshwar Temple, Kurukshetra
Anywhere we went, there were ShivYog sadhaks and that made the environment even brighter. Here everyone sang out loud many songs of Babaji and the priest was very happy and conveyed his happiness to Ravi of seeing all ShivYog sadhak's sankirtan.
Anywhere we went, there were ShivYog sadhaks and that made the environment even brighter. Here everyone sang out loud many songs of Babaji and the priest was very happy and conveyed his happiness to Ravi of seeing all ShivYog sadhak's sankirtan.
The mornings
Some tandoor rotis
JYOTISAR
Shalender one afternoon offered to take us in his car to Jyotisar during the lunch break and we set off. Jyotisar is one of the most revered places in Kurukshetra is Jyotisar, the place where Krishna is believed to have delivered the Bhagavadgita to Arjuna before the commencement of the Mahabharata war. It is here that He showed his Virat rupa (Universal form), the terrifying image of Himself as the Destroyer God.
JYOTISAR
Shalender one afternoon offered to take us in his car to Jyotisar during the lunch break and we set off. Jyotisar is one of the most revered places in Kurukshetra is Jyotisar, the place where Krishna is believed to have delivered the Bhagavadgita to Arjuna before the commencement of the Mahabharata war. It is here that He showed his Virat rupa (Universal form), the terrifying image of Himself as the Destroyer God.
Meditating here under the tree was a pleasant experience. There are other small temples around this tree and there is also a holy tank next to this site.
BRAMHASAROVAR
Bramhasarovar at night
SPHATIK LINGA TEMPLE
Babaji visited this temple one day and the same evening we went there to have darshan of this linga made of sphatik.
The temple
Sujatha aunty offering water on the another Linga near the Sphatik Linga
Gurucharanji was the one to take us here.
The Sphatik Linga. The entire temple radiates it's vibrations and it looks extremely beautiful. The Linga is enclosed and opened only for Abhishekam.
THE BHADRAKALI TEMPLE
The Bhadrakali Temple (one of the 51 places of worship of Shakti). The temple is dedicated to Bhadrakali a form of shakti. This is considered to be one of the fifty one Shakti pithas of India. It is believed that the right ankle of Sati fell here in the well. The consort of Savtri is called Sthanu. Hence, the city is called Sthanesvar (Thanesar) meaning abode of Shiva. It is believed that the mundan (hair removing) ceremony of Srikrishna and Balarama was also performed in this temple. Maa's form is soumya roop in this temple.
The Bhadrakali Temple (one of the 51 places of worship of Shakti). The temple is dedicated to Bhadrakali a form of shakti. This is considered to be one of the fifty one Shakti pithas of India. It is believed that the right ankle of Sati fell here in the well. The consort of Savtri is called Sthanu. Hence, the city is called Sthanesvar (Thanesar) meaning abode of Shiva. It is believed that the mundan (hair removing) ceremony of Srikrishna and Balarama was also performed in this temple. Maa's form is soumya roop in this temple.
The place is full of high vibrations and an excellent place to meditate. As i moved through all the places in the temple, enchanted in it's divine energies, there was a cute board just close to the Maa Bhadrakali idol - "Aapki manokaamnaye avashya poori hogi"
Going to places with such high vibrations reminds me of Babaji, who says do not run here and there for prasad and aarti but find a secluded place and meditate. Babaji emphasizes more on sending Sanjeevni to the diety or idol and receiving back the energies or simply absorbing the vibrations from such places. This is why i love visiting places of high and divine energies. Nothing much to do, just pass in through there or sit down and gather those wonderful energies with receptivity. Some thing makes me write this note over here, for it may help you next time you are in such divine places.
A FEW MORE TEMPLES IN KURUKSHETRA
CHAKRESHWARI TEMPLE & PARDESHWAR TEMPLE
(JALANDHAR)
We took a train from Kurukshetra to Jalandhar and reached after 4 hours. We had to skip our booked train since it was delayed by 6 hours. So, the we scattered into the compartments wherever place was available and we preferred the area near the doors spending time with chat, snacks, tea and time with the little one Sanvi who again happened to come on the same train with us.
We had not slept well for days because we after shivirs by the time we reached home it would be 9 or 10 p.m. and then slept close to midnight and next morning had to wake at 5 a.m. But even then something kept us pushing through all the journey and the distances traveled went unnoticed.
The little Sanvi kept us fully entertained. We were surprised to hear here sing the full verse of "Amma Amma taaye.." A small video clip of it is in the bottom of this article.
After reaching Jalandhar station, we put up all our luggage in the cloak room and took three autos to the temple. It took about 30 minutes to reach there.
The entrance of the temple
Navgrah Temple
The temple
Lord Hanuman
A small garden within the premises of the temple
The hall in which the Chakreshwari Temple is visible. One can sit and meditate here after the darshan.
Chakreshwari Temple (16 nitya of the mother)
A close-up of the photo above this pic.
The rear exit from the Chakreshwari Temple
Rear side of the temple
The rear entry (descent) into the Pardeshwar Temple
Descent into the Pardeshwar Temple
The hall in which the Pardeshwar Temple can be seen.
Pardeshwar Linga
The Pardeshwar Linga is exactly under the Chakreshwari Temple.
We sat for a while here as the priest did the Abhishekham. After darshan we meditated for a while in the hall outside the Linga.
SOME MORE PICTURES FROM WITHIN THE PREMISES
The stage in a huge hall that has lot of bedding arrangements to accommodate pilgrims.
The Bhandara seva
When requested they willingly shared their shy smiles with us.
The sevaks of the temple
The Pardeshshwar Linga Jal (holy water) was over and Guptaji refused to let us go without it even though we were getting late. So, we asked all others to go ahead to the railway station stating that we would join soon. Only me, Ravi, Manoj, Ravi and Nisha were left back. Soon, anxious calls came from the station and they were in dilemma whether to go ahead or not. There was no panic from this side though :) as we sat there waiting for the water and we took leave of Guptaji as soon as we got the water. We were hurrying to the station that took more than 30 minutes to reach because of traffic. Meanwhile, we got a furious call stating that the train was on the platform and all of them were still out including the luggages (27 baggages). we still had not reached the station. i said that we would miss this train and asked Ravi to tell only a one or two to stay back and rest go ahead. But the problem was noone knew whereabouts of where we were to stay in Amritsar. i was thinking it is impossible to catch this train when i heard Ravi saying cooly not to worry and that we would get this train. We reached the station and ran to the platform surprisingly to see the train still there. We started throwing in our luggages and when the last bit of it was inside, the train moved. i saw furious irritated faces all around :) but all that immediately vanished as we began singing loudly many of Babaji's songs while the passengers around enjoyed it. With high jolted energies noone bothered asking the delay details and that topic vanished into thin air :)
GOLDEN TEMPLE (AMRITSAR)
Ravi had arranged for accommodation at a place just behind the Golden temple and the Paaji there showered us all with so much of love and served us all snacks and eatables. The weary group all settled. Paaji gifted us with few CDs and "Japji Sahib" which i treasure.
After a quick freshening up, we left to the Golden Temple from the rear exit that was just in front of this hotel. i was dying to go to the Golden Temple all this while. The weather was very, very cold and i could feel the sole of my feet freezing on the marble and the water that washed people feet as one entered the temple. The view from far itself was breathtaking.
As I entered the main arena of the temple i just stood there for a while not wanting to move any further. i cannot express in words the high high energies this place holds... it's simply mind blowing! All the cold vanished and nothing else came to mind but to just be there.. just be there.. i could go into a standing meditation there if i could :)
We then moved further and exactly then the special palanquin (paalki) carrying the Guru Granth Sahib came and halted before us. i admired the way the sikhs did every here with utmost respect. As we walked the palki came right in front of us as seen in the photos below.
After this i was completely lost in the vicinity of the entire temple. This temple never sleeps and there is activity all the time in here. We were fortunate to listen to the kirtans and holy readings from the holy book. One strange thing i noticed is that the same marble that is freezing cold outside turns warm inside the entire temple. The energy here i repeat is enormous. i cant recollect which all places were sat inside the temple for there are three floors. Everywhere we went there is a wave of absolute purity and divinity. We heard the readings on the topmost part and this was the best part i enjoyed. No efforts, no thoughts, mind goes blank and you can sit there in samadhi. Never did i feel like getting up from there. It was so cozy and wonderful; the memories still take me to that state as i type this.
As we came out i took snaps and the photo showed lots of energy globules which are divine beings. When i showed it to one of us, it was discarded as light effects, so i deliberately clicked more photos here and all of them were flooded with these globules, which you can see in the below pics. More than the sight of it, one can understand only when one can experience the serenity here.
If you happen to go ever to north or Punjab area, do not miss visiting here. From here, we went to the langar (bhandara) were one is supposed to take their own plates and sit down. As the person serving rotis came i extended my right hand and he immediately pulled back the two rotis in his hand and asked to put forth both my hands. i put forth both hands and he dropped the rotis into my hand, just the way food may be offered to a beggar. So much of lessons for humility. All sit here together, beggar and the king alike and get a taste of humility along with the rotis, kadi, and sweet rice that is served here. Taking their own plates with them one also gets a wash of one's ego when one washes their own plates and the plates of others. A sardar reminded me that one could do any kind of seva here without any restrictions. i looked around and saw many washes dishes, serving tea, cleaning floors, etc.
The people and atmosphere around is very pious and holy. Focus here is on seva, humility and purity of the mind at all times. Being totally satisfied with my visit here i walked back with others filling in the extreme peace and serenity and that special joy of connecting with the wonderful Lord - Wahe Guru. It was 1:30 a.m. but everything looked so alive.
We had to go to sleep soon because we had to wake up again at 4 a.m. to catch the 5 a.m. train. There was not a bit of tiredness and we soon jumped into the cold beds. After a 2-1/2 hours sleep we were up and by 4:30 left the hotel; some stayed back. We took the train to New Delhi that reached around 1 p.m. By the time we reached the airport we were only three of us from the huge group that slowly disintegrated at different locations. The hungry three dug our teeth into some fast food at the airport KFC and soon were in the akash tatwa. Didn't want to miss capturing this too.
In 2 odd hours we were in Bangalore and in a cab.
My journey had not ended as i had a train to catch back home at 9 p.m. After getting freshened up at Ravi's placed, i took an auto and Ravi asked the auto guy to drop me at the railway station and the guy thought of giving me more than a ride to the station. Ravi had told me that the meter would hit Rs.65 to 70/- and as i was thinking that i should give him a 100 bucks irrespective of the meter, i saw him taking a wrong turn at the majestic circle and going opposite. i was almost dropping to sleep for now the weariness started to show up. As we reached close to the station i slowly told him that he could have taken the road down to station from majestic instead of going right. For few minutes he didn't speak anything as he was shocked. Seeing me not speak any further he started explaining lot of things, none of which i understood. When he stopped at the station the meter showed Rs.90/- and he was giving me the change, a cop came up and started to threaten him book him for wrong parking. The guy was almost shivering as the cop started yelling. As i walked away with my baggage i could hear the auto guy offering 50 bucks and the last word i heard was from the cop "100 bucks!' I thought to myself this is instant karma. As i dragged myself the train also dragged itself into the station. I knew nothing after that as I was fast asleep on my berth only to wake up at 8 next morning when i neared home. At home slept for 12 hours, which i have never done in my life ever.
Special thanks to all sadhaks and friends whom i was privileged to meet, travel, live with, and privileged to share with you. i must say this indeed is a global spiritual family as Guruma says...
Love you all :)
Love you all :)
Below are the small video clips of Sanvi's and our song and clips of the Golden Temple.
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