In the Land of Krishna

The holy town of Brindavan has been immortalized in the autobiography of a yogi through the story of the two penniless boys. Yogananda and his friend place all their faith in God and embark on their travels to this holy town without any money in hand. Their faith carries them through not just providing them with their necessities but rather many folds more.

For the thousands of widows and the elderly who live as destitute in this town today, this principle of placing one's faith in God is more than a precept but rather the story of their everyday life. For ages, widows have been abandoned to spend their time chanting to Krishna and begging for alms in Vrindavan. With the increasing population density, modernization and shifts in culture, their plight has become rather pitiful.

I will assume that the readers of this blog have some familiarity with Ananda's work in Brindavan through Paramhansa Yogananda charitable trust which started in 2015 through a generous devotee benefactor. I will skip some of the introductions here in the interest of time and share more of my personal experience visiting this holy town and spending time with the trust’s staff and the widow mothers.

Vrindavan is the land of Krishna - or rather Radha, to be precise - Krishna's eternal beloved, who he is in constant pursuit of. One cannot take ten steps in Vrindavan without hearing the name of Krishna chanted. Everyone greets you lovingly with "Radhey Radhey" and refers to each other as Radha - aren't we all in essence, the Lord's lovers seeking union with him?

The time I had with the widows filled my heart in a way that is hard to describe in words - and yet I will try.

There are many aspects to Ananda's work in Vrindavan. There are care homes where the widow mothers are housed. There are perhaps 70 or 80 mothers who live in 4 care different care homes. There are over 3000 others who the trust cares for. Most of them live independently in different parts of the town. They are provided with all their basic needs, including food and ration, daily supply of milk and vegetables, in addition to medical care.

Distributing milk and vegetables

Chanting with the mothers

Caring medically for aging mothers is it's own stream of work, and for that, we have partnered with a local charitable hospital. The trust has an ambulance and every morning transports many mothers back and forth from the hospital, providing essential medical care. The trust also has employed resident staff who work out of the hospital caring for the mothers when they come there.

Those are just the organizational details. What one experiences upon meeting the angelic staff and saintly widow mothers is the incredible amount of love everyone has to share. The most important of all things that we provide to the mothers is love and care - it cannot be captured in numbers or words.

Sharing chocolates with one of the mothers

The joy of sharing love

One after another as I greeted, sat next to, and hugged the widow mothers, my heart was overwhelmed. Aging is challenging and yet they all exuded life. Many of them are living the happiest days of their lives. When they express joy, it is the kind that is hard won. Each mother has a story that surpassed a movie script in drama and tragedy. Their supreme solace is Krishna's name constantly on their lips.

With Rama, one of the angels that serves the widows

The staff that works for the trust, especially the core group that works out of the office consists of an inspiring group of women, whose lives and stories are almost no different from the widows in their hardships. Many of them deeply devoted to Yogananda and are Kriyabans now. It is by no means an exaggeration when I say that being in their presence was like meeting living saints who share and serve with their heart and soul. They share such tender motherly love with the widows that is so moving to watch. The widows are all like their children and refer to the staff as their mothers!

Feeding hungry monkeys

Another aspect of Seva that the trust started during the pandemic is caring for the stray animals in Vrindavan - Monkeys, dogs, cows, etc. that were starving due to lack of tourists. They go on feeding round every afternoon and it was delightful experience accompanying them on one of these rounds. Although tourists are back, these rounds have become the lifeline for many animals now, and so the trust continues them. The monkeys that are infamous for being rowdy approached us with such respect :)

Although my time in Vrindavan was limited two days, it left a deep impact and I am sure will draw many of us back to the town again. I could write pages more on the work that is happening there or the stories of the widows mothers and staff, but nothing would equal visiting this place once, holding the hand of one the widow mothers and chanting Krishna’s name with them.

Financial support to the work is also greatly appreciated. Donations can be made through Ananda India (once you do, please write a note to Jayeeta - jayeeta.chakraborty@gmail.com mentioning that it is a designated donation for the trust, so that it reaches the right destination).

If you would like to visit Vrindavan and need guidance or help, please feel free to reach out to me. And also if you feel the call to connect with the work there, learn more, find ways to plug in from here, I am happy to chat more. You will be surprised how heart opening and deeply fulfilling this experience can be!

Jai Ma Ganga!

Rishikesh is an ancient town considered a gateway to the Himalayas. Once a sacred idyll on the banks of the Ganges, where men sought an inward life, this small town has held, for hundreds of years, the promise of peace and respite for the dwellers of the plains.

From Badrinath, we traveled 7 hours to reach the small town of Rudraprayag – home to another sacred confluence of two rivers that form the Ganges. We stayed by the river banks in a comfortable resort before leaving early the following day to drive towards Rishikesh.

We made a brief stop at the river confluence. It had been raining heavily in the high mountains leading to heavy muddy torrents flowing full force. We stood right at the confluence and washed ourselves briefly. As we got up the stairs, we were the only visitors in a small but ancient temple, and it was time for the aarti.

Alakananda and Mandakini - two major sources of the Ganges, uniting at Rudraprayag

Along with the monkeys in residence and the villagers, we were the only tourists that witnessed the beautiful aarti to Shiva and Durga on these blessed banks, where sages have meditated for thousands of years. The sound of the bells blended with loud splash of water on both sides of the temple from the two rivers. The quiet morning transported us to a sacred place – within and without. We spent most of the rest of the day on the road to Rishikesh.

Although what is called Rishikesh today is more of a shell for what it once was, the place still reflects the quintessential essence of the Indian subcontinent and its spirituality. No longer a quiet hamlet in the Himalayas, the place is overrun by tourists with every possible interest. The tiny roads remain choked with traffic and smoke for most of the day.

The devout Indian villagers, curious city dwellers, savvy shoppers, adventure travelers, pilgrims from foreign lands, yogis, sadhus - everyone comes together in this small hill town and joyfully greets Ganga – the one mother to all.

Evening ganga aarti at Rishikesh

Pilgrim offering floating lamps to carry prayers

We spent a couple of days in Rishikesh, enjoying the sights and scenes and celebrating mother Ganga each evening with the traditional aarti.

On the third day, we moved an hour north of Rishikesh to a quite retreat called Anand lok. It is reached via an hour-long drive to a sacred meditation cave called Vasishta gufa, and from there, crossing over the Ganges on a footbridge and walking up the mountains for another 15 mins. Our hosts sent us horses to greet and take our bags to the room.

Our plans at this point shifted a bit, and we were fortunate to get to spend two full days here at Anand lok – anything less than that would not have done justice considering how spectacular this place is in every way possible. The place offers everything Rishikesh once promised – peace, quiet, constant sight and sound of the holy Ganges, and sacred forested land to meditate and go inwards.

Anand lok is a resort founded by a Swiss guru a couple of decades ago. His name was Swami Shin Shiva Svayambhu Maharaj. He passed away unexpectedly a few months ago (in 2022), leaving this grand work in the hands of his close disciples. Most of his disciples are from Europe and just one devoted family from India, who manage this retreat.

The retreat is one of a kind - A beautiful food forest with fruit trees all around, rustic yet very comfortable rooms where all basic needs are met (no air conditioning, but lots of windows and fans), all milk and milk products supplied by the resident cows on the land, loving kitchen staff that served us whatever we asked for, and the serene setting right above mother Ganga.

The sacred meditation cave Vasishta gufa is only a 20 min walk from the retreat, and the Ganges had sprawling beaches that offered warm invitation at all times.

Here is Shin (as he is referred to by his students) describing the work in his own words:

A view from our room at Ananda lok

“The great vision of a green land where culture is unfolded together with nature led to the beautiful area of Garhwal in Uttarakhand. On a mountain top, about 22 km from Rishikesh following the Ganga upwards, together with his Indian friend he discovered a sandy, mostly unoccupied land at a river knee on the other side of the Ganga, from which he felt out of his inner vision directly that parts of his pioneer ideas will realize themselves here.

Maybe it would even be possible to build a city without noise and pollution where the people can be offered, in a market place formed in the shape of a sun, the best fruits and ayurvedic spices of purest agricultural cultivation as well as finest products from the Garhwal culture.”

Shiva temple under construction at Ananda lok, seen from Sirasu village

Also on this property is under construction a magnificent temple for Shiva like none ever built. Shin himself created the sketches and design for this temple through superconscious inspiration and then spearheaded the project. Great progress has been made and it looks likely that the temple will be dedicated and opened for public on the day of Shivaratri in 2024.

We visited the massive 20 feet shiva lingam inside the temple and saw the many unique features of this beautiful space. And through them, we also got a glimpse into who Shin was – a truly inspired and inspiring Yogi channeling high consciousness to uplift the land and its people in this part of the Himalayas.

One after another, in every conversation I had, no one failed to mention to me how in losing Shin they had lost a very dear friend. It was deeply moving watching all the locals and villagers act with such a high sense of integrity and devotion, all moved by the work of one man.

On the second day, I also had the opportunity to visit the nearby village of Sirasu and the home of one of the property caretakers, to enjoy late afternoon chai (made from herbs from his garden and milk from his buffalos) outside his hut in one of the most beautiful and humble settings there may exist – and yet more fulfilling than any experience I have had.

Ganges, near Vasishta gufa, right below Anand lok

The next morning we made our way back to Delhi after a brief stop at Anandamoyi Ma’s samadhi mandir in Haridwar.

Moving closer to Babaji (Joshimath, Badrinath & Mana)

The living history in a country like India is constantly shaped by human intervention. If one were to look at ancient temple complexes closely, it would be self-evident that history has been shaped over hundreds, or sometimes thousands of years by the rulers and those in power. And then, there is the sheer might of natural forces which play their part in transmuting every creation of man.

All this was apparent in our travels to the shrines at Joshimath and Badrinath. After our magical time in the solitude of the Dronagiri mountain with Babaji and Lahiri Mahasaya, we entered the chaotic world of mainstream tourism on our way to more popular pilgrimage spots. A long drive from Babaji’s cave brought us to Karnaprayag by late afternoon, when the sun was ruthlessly scorching over the sandy beaches by the Ganges.

Karnaprayag is a sacred river confluence – one of five such confluences between Rishikesh and Badrinath that define the origins of the Ganges. These five prayags (confluences) are holy pilgrimage sites that pilgrims would stop at on their way to the shrines at Badrinath and Kedarnath, and take a dip as part of ritual purification.

View from our hotel rooms in Joshimath

By evening, at the end of a tiring eight-hour drive we reached our hotel in Joshimath, and were impressed by the view of the entire village and the high mountains from our rooms. Joshimath is the gateway to Badrinath, the winter abode of the Lord of Badrinath, when the temple gets covered in snow. It is a small hill town imbued with the sacred vibrations of Adi Shankara (or the first Shankaracharya)

The shrine here was consecrated by Shankara – the entire complex is sanctified by his presence and penance. Shankara became a renunciate at the age of seven and visited Badrinath at the age of eleven! It was part of his “conquest” to establish Vedic religion all over India and to keep other faiths out of the country. He reclaimed the Badrinath temple from Buddhists and retrieved the ancient idol from under the river where it was thrown and consecrated it as the shrine we know today.

With the head priest of the Badrinath temple

Being so remote in those days, he wanted to ensure that the Vedic rituals were followed in the temple through posterity. Hence, he appointed brahmins from the same community as himself from Kerala and established a system through which their descendants would continue to hold the seat of the head priest at Badrinath with the title “Rawal.”

Almost as a miracle, a couple of weeks before we left for India, I was introduced by a friend to a priest at the Badrinath temple. Rakesh, the priest, became a dear friend even before I landed in India and played an instrumental role in making our visit spectacular in every way. It was through him that we got to meet Rawalji (the head priest from Kerala) and receive sacred blessed items directly from him – a divine blessing we did not anticipate.

The highlight of our time in Badrinath was a special early morning service called the Maha Abhishek (or the great ablution) of the Lord. It is a sacred ceremonial washing of the idol of Badrinath and decoration that lasts for over 3 hours. We woke up at 3:30am that morning to shower and prepare ourselves for the experience. When the temple door opened, we were in for a surprise!

We had not imagined how crowded it could possibly get inside the sanctum. This has been one of the busiest times that the temple has ever seen, following the lull of the pandemic. It took us over an hour to find a space and squeeze to be able to finally have direct vision of the sacred idol.

This idol that was rescued and reinstalled by Shankara bears a remarkable resemblance to the image of Babaji that Yogananda presents in the Autobiography of a yogi – a Yogi with a loin cloth, seated in the lotus pose, palms interlocked below the waist and matted hair flowing down his shoulders. It gives new meaning to Yogananda’s statement that Babaji, to this day, lives with his deathless body in the hills above Badrinath.

I was in sheer awe of beholding this ancient image of Babaji preserved and worshipped for thousands of years, whose power and presence has been reigning in this high Himalayan shrine, known to be a sacred place since the Satya yuga.

Milk, and honey, and Ganges water, and sandalwood paste were all used to wash the idol as the priest narrated story after story about Badrinath. The experience was powerful and beyond words. It was as if we had stepped out of this tiny little context of our lives and entered the timeless realm of Narayana, the great Lord of Badri, who has been meditating at this spot since time immemorial, watching over and guiding this planet.

With Rakesh, our priest friend, and the silk garments we purchased for Badrinathji

We were brought back to the mundane realm in our conversations with Rakesh (our priest friend) later that afternoon as he was describing the heart-wrenching plight of his own life and his struggles trying to survive a family by being a priest. The situation there is very precarious with a new development project that is expected to flatten all the shops and structures around the Badrinath temple, threatening the livelihood of Rakesh and many others there, already struggling due to the pandemic and rising prices.

The project is expected to completely reshape the entire town of Badrinath, making it very modern and accessible. My initial response was deep sadness at the loss of the traditional and rustic charm of this beautiful mountain shrine. As I paused, I couldn’t help but think of how many cycles of time the Lord of Badri has witnessed, and is silently affecting this entire planet with the ethereal vibrations of his presence. All that happens in this world is through his will! We bid goodbye to Rakesh with the promise to support him when things get harder.

The town of Badrinath, the temple and the Alaknanda river

The next day before leaving Badrinath, we also visited the tiny village of Mana, 3 km from the temple. This hamlet is the last Indian outpost before Tibet begins and is a sacred spot blessed by great saints. Here is where the great Sage Vyasa compiled the vedas, and authored many great scriptures of the Hindu religion, including the Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam.

Legend says that Vyasa prayed to and invited Ganesha to be his scribe as he went into state of superconsciousness and dictated the story of Mahabharata. Here in the village is the cave where Vyasa meditated and also the cave where Ganesha heard and wrote the Mahabharata.

The story of the Mahabharata made Vyasa feel impure for he had to describe the Kauravas in such great detail and the gory battle scenes. He thus, to purify himself, decided to write Srimad Bhagavatam, an entirely devotional treatise, centered all around Krishna and his great devotees! How could one possibly comprehend the incredible blessings of visiting such holy sites, where these great scriptures were born!

As we walked the narrow streets of Mana, looking at and purchasing the local handicrafts made by the villagers, hearing the Saraswati River flowing in the valley below, and the endless ranges of high mountains leading to Tibet, we were truly transported to an ethereal plane, where thoughts of this world seemed only but loosely anchored to our consciousness. The stillness of the inner world felt closer than ever. No wonder the Lord of Badri is eternally engrossed in deep meditation!

Saraswati river and the mountains, seen from Mana village

Babaji's miracles all along the way

One of the first things you notice about India is the striking juxtaposition of the past and the present, giving one a strange feeling of being in multiple worlds simultaneously. One moment you are sipping coffee at a Starbucks, or walking through air-conditioned malls where English seems to be the only language of communication, and in a couple of hours, you are driving by the countryside and are stopped by a large herd of cows crossing the road, or witnessing a procession with larger-than-life deities and a riot of colors and sounds.

Past and present flow and co-exist seamlessly as if neither had any substantial reality, when underneath all seeming appearances, they are tied together by a God-centered culture that has preserved the highest of spiritual teachings and is constantly morphing to adapt to changing times.

The 4 of us – Shanti, Lakshmi, Nivedita, and myself – arrived in India on Friday, September 2nd at various times during the night. Our time in India started with a day in Delhi, cherishing our joyous reunion with the Ananda family there and enjoying the company of friends, old and new.

The Indian experience did not truly begin until the next day though when we took a short flight to a town in the foothills of the mountains and commenced our 7-hour drive to the base of Babaji’s cave above Ranikhet. We were now far away from the incessant traffic, noise, and pollution that were inescapable in Delhi. Village after village, scene after scene, we soaked in every bit of the Indian heartland with our eyes and our hearts.

The group outside Kainchi ashram

On the way, we stopped at Kainchi, a small village in the Himalayas where the great saint Neem Karoli Baba spent most of his life. None of us were prepared for what we were about to experience in the one hour we spent in the small temple campus built around the place where the saint lived.

The land was sacred, and his presence palpable. We read the holy hymn, Hanuman Chalisa in his honor. As we sat next to the chanters singing at the temple entrance, tears streamed down our cheeks. It was as if a gush of wind, with all its might, had flung open the doors of our hearts leading us to an experience that we had not imagined. Words seemed superfluous. We were transported to a place of pure feeling that transcended all cultural barriers.

Right around sunset, we reached our destination after a long and exhausting drive – a beautiful resort nestled in the forests at the base of Babaji’s cave. One might say we had already covered part of the hiking distance to the cave as we drove the last stretch through an almost unpaved road, to reach the resort that was well past the official trailhead.

It was divine providence that led us to this place. It was not where we had initially made the reservation to stay. But circumstances drove us to change and instead pick this place… or I should say, Babaji took an active interest in our planning and made sure we landed at this resort. Only after reaching there did we learn that the place is owned and run by a devotee couple from Delhi who visit here twice a month. It is very new – just about three months old!

The man, a dedicated kriyaban and YSS member for over 20 years, was looking for a way to step out of his corporate career and serve Master. Based on the guidance of a senior YSS monk and an inspiration that came to him at Babaji’s cave, he purchased and started developing this property as a retreat to serve devotees that come to the cave. The property is on the original trail that Lahiri must have walked in 1861 to get to the cave. It is in fact right on the sacred Dronagiri mountain where the cave is located. The cave is a mere 45 mins hike from here.

Our rooms at the resort

Bidding goodbye to our gracious host

The river Gogash, where Babaji asked Lahiri to bathe before receiving kriya could be heard loudly from our rooms, and the water used in the property is directly drawn from the river – so we were showering in river Gogash during our stay here, just as Lahiri did!

He also shared with us that ten years ago, he, along with a senior YSS monk and other devotees, had uncovered the original trail that Lahiri Mahasaya must have walked in 1861 from Ranikhet to the cave. This trail is over 45 km long and is to be done in a single day through forests and pastures. The group did the hike during the 150th anniversary Lahiri’s initiation in 12 hrs and ended at Babaji’s cave in the evening. He plans to revive and guide others on this hike, which was personally quite exciting for me to hear!

We were treated to delicious home-made food, prepared lovingly with vegetables from the organic garden on the property. Every morning and evening we meditated with the couple at the resort’s meditation temple. How master brings all of us brothers and sisters together, only he knows!

The hike to Babaji’s cave can be considered easy to moderate, with some incline and switchbacks. We washed ourselves in River Gogash on our way up, to honor Lahiri’s purification ritual. The stillness was surreal in our blissful hour-long meditation inside the cave. At the end of the hour, 3 Indian women entered the cave and joined us. Their smiles reflected the joy of their souls.

They were part of a 10-person group from YSS in Kolkata on pilgrimage. As the group gathered outside the cave, we all joined in joyful chanting. Only a couple of people could communicate in broken English – but most of them knew the words to the chant “O God Beautiful” – we spontaneously erupted into song and dance, celebrating the one large family of Master’s that we were all part of.

Our host at the resort had packed a large lunch for the 4 of us. So large that we could share with the group of Indian pilgrims and yet we all ate to our heart’s content. It was a miracle to behold – all the food was consumed, and no one left hungry. As we entered our resort late afternoon, the skies burst open into a loud thunderstorm. A few minutes late and we would have been soaking wet along with our bags. Clearly, we were in the bubble of Babaji’s watchful protection!

The cave entrance

Our group outside the cave