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The Sadhana Camp – Day 4

The just Bhagavān teaching a Lesson

Unknown to me, the just but merciful Bhagavān, who couldn’t tolerate even a trace of selfishness in His devotees – had decided to teach me a lesson! I woke up around 4:30 a.m. that morning, with a heavy headache. I was barely able to get myself out of bed, but at the back of my head I knew that duty was calling to deliver the morning tea. I realised that for a volunteer, the responsibility of completing a job well is even greater than that of a paid employee! This is since a volunteer just has goodwill to win or lose, and any lost goodwill is very difficult to win back! I choicelessly decided to sleep for some more time in order to be fresh for the early morning talk and instead go a bit late to Yoga class that day. This way, the morning tea would also be delivered on time in Gita Mandir (after Yoga class). The thought of my discussion with akkā and refusing to take the videos entered my mind, with a tinge of repentance! But alas, I had not fully realised my mistake yet and Bhagavan was watching!

After getting ready, I reached Gita Mandir and kept the tea flask and glasses near the open terrace and hurriedly made my way to attend the rest of the Yoga class – silently repenting to have missed most of it. My earlier act of selfishness had ensured that, I had lost both the sevā as well as the Yogāsana opportunity – further adding to my repentance! After completing the remaining exercises in the inside hall, Sumanth ji then asked all of us to come outside to the open terrace, for laughter yoga. I suddenly remembered the other day, when there were hardly five minutes left for the sādhaks to have tea before Swamiji came to the hall to start the talk – with them ending up having to take it in a great deal of rush! Reminiscing thus, I momentarily lost control of my tongue and blurted out, saying that after Yoga class, everyone could have tea on the open terrace itself (thereby saving time). To this, I instantly received the deserved reaction with someone saying “Tea is not important now!” Repenting for having momentarily lost my self-control, I slowly walked to the open terrace and tried to laugh away my mistakes and repentance in laughter yoga therapy – but failed miserably at it! As I had dreaded, after yoga class there were less than five minutes left and I requested everyone to have their tea quickly, before Swamiji came! As I completed serving tea to the sādhaks present there, being kindly helped by Usha akkā – who drew out the glasses for everyone, Swamiji had already arrived in the hall and was taking his seat.

My troubles weren’t over yet, as I rushed to my usual seat at the back of the Mandir hall. As I was about to take a seat, I realised that the smaller light at the centre which illuminated most of the back of the hall, had not been turned on yet! Knowing that this would cause a problem, as sādhaks taking notes will not be able to see properly in the dully lit early morning hall, I then made my way towards the nearby switch board. Not knowing which switch to turn on, I started to check each switch individually! Kirit bhai rightly gestured me to sit down, but I didn’t listen, as I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind – about the perceived difficulty that the sādhaks would face. By this time Swamiji had already started the Omkāra Japa and unknown to me, my movements were probably causing disturbance to the nearby sādhaks. In my hurry I turned on the bigger light at the centre with the forgetfulness that Swamiji had asked to turn it off the previous day and was just about to take a seat when Asmita didi came to my rescue and quietly informed me about what Swamiji had said earlier. I then immediately turned it off and not finding the switch for the smaller centre light, finally gave up – to avoid further disturbance and then took my seat. My already heavy heart now weighed almost a ton! With a thoroughly disturbed mind reflecting upon my recent failures, I started listening to Swamiji’s words, which slowly started soothing my heart like a balm!

Redemption by the compassionate Bhagavān

I prayed to God to make me remember what Swamiji said in his talks that day, realising that I didn’t have my book (lost the previous day) to take notes on. As the talk proceeded and I looked around, I realised that in spite of the poor lighting, the sādhaks who were taking notes, seemed unaffected and somehow could continue writing seamlessly! This made me realise that my earlier efforts were actually in vain, as it was God’s will that day to have poor lighting in the hall and then His grace that some could even take notes there! Seeing my earlier efforts as unnecessary and the resulting disturbance caused to some saddened me further. Then in the middle of the talk, the large-hearted Bhagavān, seeing the poor state of his devotee must have felt some compassion. He then gave me a chance to redeem myself by presenting an opportunity to do a small sevā to an elderly sādhaka sitting nearby. I immediately got on to the task and after completing it, sat down with slightly teary eyes and the tonne-like weight of pain in my heart, instantly lifted by the all-merciful Bhagavān! I felt immensely happy to have won back His grace and then continued listening to the talks with much improved attention!

Gathering some more Pearls

That day Swamiji was explaining about the different koṣas (sheaths) in our personality. As he sprinkled different pearls on us, I caught one on gratitude, which said, a grateful mind is a beautiful mind! If we are grateful / thankful, then the cosmic forces will give us more and more occasions to be grateful – a cosmic law! He also gave us a useful exercise, to make a note of what all good things we received in this camp and focus only on the good in others. He said, “All of us are a mix of good and bad. If a person has many virtues, but only a couple of vices, then focus only on the virtues and never find fault with anyone.” Another pearl on forgiveness said – only the strong can forgive and that forgiveness gives instant peace! Inability to forgive someone indicates our weakness and lack of spiritual progress! Yet another pearl on confession said – in life we make mistakes and then learn – there is no other way! The first step is to admit a mistake (ego will always try to justify mistakes). Mistakes are unavoidable – hence, immediately confess to Bhagavān and say – ‘I was wrong, please forgive me!’ Confession gives a sāttvik joy!
Finally, Swamiji handed us the largest and most precious jewel on Devotion or Bhakti (love for God) – rightly called as the mother of all virtues. It declared that, Bhakti is the mother of Jñāna (knowledge) and Vairāgya (dispassion). With Mukti (liberation) relegated to being Her dāsi only. Then he gave us a simple technique on how to love God – try to know how much Bhagavān loves you (by remembering all the good things that were given to you)! He also asked us to test Bhagavān, by taking all our problems to Him, to be fully involved and conscious during our prayers and to make Bhagavān our charioteer of life!
I later met Sumanth ji and asked for his forgiveness for having missed his class, when he correctly reprimanded me like a father does to his son – speaking about the disturbance I had caused earlier. I said my intention was to only provide sufficient lighting to the sādhaks taking notes, but he said no matter what, I had to stay quiet once Swamiji started the chanting. Having fully realised my mistake, I apologised to him again and humbly said that I would try to correct myself and would not repeat it next time. My lost bag and book were then returned to me during breakfast time, as someone had taken it mistakenly – since they all looked alike. I thanked God for his earlier reassurance and for making sure it was returned to me within a short period of time.

Gāyatri Havan (Homa) at Dakshinamurthy Ashram

Vinod ji had earlier asked us to be present at Dakshinamurthy Ashram’s Yajñaśālā, half an hour before the havan started – for some sevā work. Hurriedly gulping down my breakfast, I rushed to take a bath and then made my way to DA, with Rajesh bhai at my side. I saw several sādhaks both junior and senior gathered there early, to help in setting up things for the Yajña. With numerous hands acting in unison, within a short time everything was setup and the Yajña started on time. The Yajñaśālā had a beautiful setup of one large and four smaller Yajña-kuṇdas (ritual pits) available, around which 8 to 16 people could perform Yajña simultaneously! Kirit ji and Vinod ji had kindly agreed to conduct the Yajña on a non-regular day for us (it usually happened only on Sunday and special festive days). They went to each group gathered around the Yajña-kuṇda and gave crystal clear instructions on how to perform the Yajña, which then took us close to two hours to complete. Swamiji was welcomed by Vinod ji and other convenors in the Yajñaśālā as per the rituals and tradition of the Dakshinamurthy Ashram and graced the occasion by his presence. He was seen quietly meditating, probably on the divine mantras being chanted. After the pūrṇa āhuti (final sacrifice) was done, I did Krishna-arpaṇam into the Yajña-kuṇda, which is our usual custom after completing any pūjā.

Meeting with a couple of Sādhaks

That evening I happened to meet Indira ammā and we got talking about what she did for a living. When she mentioned that she worked for Canara college, Mangalore, I suddenly remembered my late father’s wish of donating to Canara high school – where he had studied earlier. Not knowing anyone there, I hadn’t got an opportunity to fulfil his wish yet. When I mentioned this to Indira ammā, she very kindly said that she would introduce me to the right person, who will accept the donation made to the institution. She kept her promise soon after and shared the contact, thereby helping me to take one step ahead, towards fulfilling my father’s wishes.

That night after dinner, I had taken a seat next to Ramprakash ji. I had immediately taken a liking to Ramprakash ji (or Prakashji as he is called), when I had met him earlier – looking at his ever-cheerful and humble nature and his concern for others. We had a jolly conversation joined in by Mohan ji and Rajesh bhai about the childhood days of Prakash ji and his travels (and travails!) from Bombay to Mangalore in those days when he described he had to take one train and two buses for the strenuous journey – taking him 2-3 days to reach! When I exclaimed that it must have been fun travelling back then – he joked by saying that it was for him, but not for the parents! We also talked about the immense time it took for making a long-distance call (STD/ ISD) and about some of the older gadgets like pager and telex, which had very short lifetimes on the technological landscape.

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The Sadhana Camp – Day 3

In the early morning talks, Swamiji beautifully cleared the misconception held by many that only the good people suffer! He elaborated the opposite as being a fact – that it’s only the good people who really enjoy life! He went on to add that only a good person gets love, respect and affection from everyone around him.

Boat ride on Narmada Mātā

That morning, before breakfast, Sachidananda annā kindly enquired with me if I would be interested to go on a boat ride. I immediately agreed and mentioned that a few others were also interested. Post breakfast, annā then gathered and led our well sized group of about 15-20 people towards Somnath ghat. Kirit bhai had helped to arrange the boatman to come there instead of Kuber Bhandari ghat (the usual pickup spot of boatmen), considering one aged ammā couldn’t walk down the steep steps of the latter. After annā spoke to the boatman, we all got into the boat to begin our journey. It was a very soothing experience for us, as we glided in the lap of Narmada mātā towards the Kuber Bhandari ghat, followed by the famous peepal tree and Modi guphā (where PM Narendra Modiji had apparently hidden himself during the emergency). We then took an about turn and proceeded towards Triveṇi saṁgama up to a point, before the boatman finally dropped us at the starting point. Everyone enjoyed the trip to their heart’s content and thanked annā for his sevā to arrange everything for us so well!

Bhū Devī and the Farmer

Post the noon talks and Guru-pādukā pūjā, the anna-dāna sevā kartā had brought dry fruits – to be distributed as prasāda. They were put in a small bowl, and I started distributing them to all. Asmita didi carrying a big container of the same followed me. Whenever I ran out of dry fruits, she would immediately refill my bowl from the big container, and I would then continue with the distribution. I playfully remarked to her that she is like Bhū-devī (goddess Earth), who has almost unlimited resources to replenish us with, while I was like a farmer – simply taking from Bhū-devī and then giving it to the people around me!
During lunch that day, I was seated on the stone benches along the wall of the Annakṣetra, where many of the blue bags given to us during the inauguration function, were scattered all around me. I saw one aged ammā unable to find a place to sit on the stool by the table. This was my first meeting with Mahalakshmi ammā. I called her and made some space for her and her friend to sit near me. I was pleasantly surprised to see her large heartedness to bless me without asking and her ever cheerful attitude.

Visit to the famous Peepal tree of Karnali

Post lunch, I happened to meet Sachidananda annā again, who said that he planned to visit the Peepal tree – which had now become famous in Karnali, where Vinod ji’s Guru Śrī Shantvan ji Mahārāj had done his Sādhanā. I had heard a lot about this place and was eager to go there (but didn’t know the route) and Bhagavan had now sent him along with Balakrishna annā to show me the way! Before we started out from SK, Sachidananda annā suggested to have sugarcane juice at the entrance of Kuber Bhandari temple. Upon quenching our thirst with tasty sugarcane juice and making our way outside, we saw a dog sitting almost in the middle of the road and one aged ammā beating it lightly with a stick!

Thoughts of a mother disciplining her child, when it doesn’t listen to her and the same mother later nurturing it, rushed to my mind – as I kept watching. But Sachidananda annā saw it differently and immediately asked her not to beat the poor dog – his heart being filled with compassion for it. The dog finally got up and slowly limped away, with two of its legs dangling by its side unused! At that time, seeing the condition of that poor dog, Rajesh bhai said something beautiful. He said we should consider ourselves really fortunate and thank God to have given us a human life with good health! He asked us to notice how that dog must be suffering constantly, in that diseased animal body!
We were joined by few other sādhaks and after a good walk along a winding path, we reached the most discussed Peepal tree – a large tree, with its branches spread majestically and with a concrete sitting area built around it. I found it to be a very serene place – charged with spiritual vibration! Sitting under the tree, I met Savitha ammā for the first time, as she talked about the Sagar Mission centre in Karnataka and her desire to invite Swamiji there. She mentioned that Sagar was filled with knowledgeable but kind pandits, who happened to correct anyone who said anything contradictory about our scriptures. She then said something which immediately caught my attention – she said that she had witnessed the live talks of Pūjya Śrī Siddheshwara Swamiji. I had only heard about this Mahātmā, who is so humble that despite being a Sannyāsī, he refuses to wear ochre coloured robes and is instead always dressed in all white. He is known to draw eager crowds numbering thousands, in huge open grounds that throng for his early morning spiritual talks. She said that she would share the talks of Swamiji, which was a great help for me. Later, I witnessed her deep humility in a game we played – despite her having a good amount of God-given scriptural knowledge.

Taking the first dip in Narmada Mātā near Triveṇi Saṅgam

On our way back, Sachidananda annā suddenly mentioned that he was taking a dip in Narmada Mātā every day, with MM Bhaktaji. A desire for the same arose in my mind – as swimming was one of my long-cherished hobbies. But I was not used to swimming in rivers and was a bit apprehensive about it, as I had heard stories of unseen undercurrents sweeping away many an unsuspecting bather! I said that I wished to visit Triveṇi Saṅgam and take a bath there, but annā said we could go instead to Somnath ghat that day and visit Saṅgam some other day – since we had heard that it was quite far by walk from Gita Mandir. I agreed without thinking much and said I would join him that day.

After the early evening talk at Gita Mandir, I came to know that annā had already proceeded along with Bhakta ji to the river, down by the Somnath ghat. Rajesh bhai and I were just about to head in that direction, when for some unexpected reason, Priyanka didi came to meet us. She was excitedly talking about her great experience at the Triveṇi Saṅgam the other day and some of the beautiful temples along the way. She directed me to go there instead, adding that it wasn’t far away from Gita Mandir. This prospect somehow excited me more and I immediately proceeded towards the Saṅgam, alongside Rajesh bhai – who was also eager to visit it. But to our dismay, we found that the previous day being Kārtika Pūrṇimā, a lot of devotees had gathered at the Saṅgam for pūjā and had insensitively left behind a whole lot of trash – of plastic and used clothes, lying on the riverbank! It really pained my heart to see Mother Narmada being thus polluted – but there was too much trash for us all around to remove and without a dustbin in sight anywhere. Wading our way around the trash beside the riverbank and seeing the clear waters of Narmada Mātā up close, gave some lost peace back to my heart! Seeing that it may be dangerous to bathe directly in the Saṅgam, we instead entered the water in a shallow and safe place and then took a dip there. Even there the current was so strong that it was capable of sweeping a person away if he simply sat in the water unsupported!

The hapless Donkey

While returning, I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t kept my word to annā of taking a dip with him that day! This pained my heart, as I had always tried my best to keep my word given to anyone. As we were walking back from the riverbank, I saw the same group of donkeys seen the other morning, now simply standing in line side by side and with their master nowhere in sight. It was a funny sight to us, as I exclaimed to Rajesh bhai that I remembered seeing these same donkeys being made to work hard, during my morning walk earlier. As we approached the group, Rajesh bhai’s keen eyes spotted one of the donkeys lying down completely on one side – almost motionless! Seeing this, I exclaimed, “Hoofed animals never lie down completely until their end is very near.” Rajesh bhai asked me if it was dead! But upon looking closely, we saw that all the donkeys had been tied to each other at their necks! However, this particular donkey was struggling with the rope which had somehow tightened around its neck and was helplessly lying down – probably to release the tension in the rope and had presently, moved slightly at one angle for some relief.

We immediately started looking around for their keeper, but couldn’t find anyone else near them. For a moment I thought aloud, ‘Should we try ourselves to unwind that rope?’, but I was a bit scared to approach a group of strange donkeys – without knowing a thing about how to handle them! We then quickly made our way up the ghat and I was wondering aloud to Rajesh bhai on how to enquire about this keeper of donkeys in Hindi to the locals: “Do we call him Gadhon kā sardār (leader of donkeys)! or maybe Gadhon kā mālik (master of donkeys)!?” Both sounded a bit odd, but quite funny! We finally found a couple of locals and enquired about the Gadhon ko sambhālnevālā (person who took care of donkeys), as I finally found the right phrase! They mentioned that they knew the fellow and he lived at some distance from there and added that they also had his phone number. We asked them to call him up immediately and inform him about the predicament of his donkey and to hurry, else the donkey might be fatally injured soon! They were wise to understand and immediately went on their way to give him a call. Having done our bit, we then proceeded onward, towards Gita Mandir for the late evening talks. The earlier pain in my heart of not having kept my word to annā suddenly disappeared, as I intuitively realised that it was God’s will that we visit Triveṇi Saṅgam that evening – to relieve the misery of a poor hapless donkey! But I was never able to take a swim in Narmada Mātā again during that entire trip – perhaps the merciful Mātā thought, this was best for her little child!

Meeting some more great devotees of Karnali

I somehow lost my blue bag and notebook after the evening class. I remembered all the hard work spent in taking down the notes from Swamiji’s talks, to refer to later. But my inner voice calmed me, by saying that it would be returned to me soon. I came back to SK, where after dinner, I was reminded to bring back the tea flask taken in the morning – one which I had forgotten to retrieve from Reva Guest House. On my way back with the flask, I saw some very poor aged women in ragged clothes, sitting in front of the closed shop next to SK. There were about four of them and they were kind-heartedly sharing their food with each other. When I looked at them, one of the women looking at the flask in my hands, asked me if I had some chhās (butter milk). I regretfully said I didn’t have any and that the flask contained tea which was very old, being prepared in the morning. Listening to me, she immediately asked me if I would like to share their dinner with them! I was truly touched by the kindness of these women who seemed to have nothing in this world, but their dinner and they were ready to share even that! I humbly said that I had already had my dinner, thanked them and then proceeded inside SK.

A selfish Mistake

For the first few days, I hadn’t observed that Nayana akkā was silently doing the sevā of capturing beautiful photos and videos of the camp. I had just seen her once or twice taking some photos and thought she was doing it just for her memorial purpose. Akkā approached me that evening and asked if I could help to take some photos/ videos, during the Yoga class early in the morning which she wasn’t attending. Earlier, I had initially agreed when Sumanth ji asked me the same in front of her, with an understanding that it would only be a few photos for memorial purpose. But when she elaborated to me it was not just for that, but I actually needed to capture short tutorial videos of each exercise being taught- this caught me by surprise! I have been a fitness enthusiast for quite some time and was thoroughly enjoying doing the morning yoga exercises, being taught there. When I came to know that by capturing these videos, I would end up missing that day’s class altogether, a hint of selfishness emerged in me and I refused to help – saying that even I desired to do the exercises along with others and would miss out on it, if I spent time taking videos! Akkā’s disappointment was visible on her face, but she didn’t say a word to me. As I found out later, she silently continued doing her sevā and was present early the next morning, to capture the tutorial videos. Unknown to me, my behaviour may have displeased Bhagavān, who always listens to all happenings – as Swamiji says, “He is like a CCTV camera which is turned on twenty-four hours a day and which has unlimited memory and power supply!” Though I didn’t realise it immediately, this incident had caused some unknown disturbance in my mind, which I somehow missed to notice – as I didn’t spend any time that night on the valuable daily practice of introspection!

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The Sadhana Camp – Day 2

The day started early for some of the sādhaks – with morning Yogāsana. Sumanth ji (Mr. Sumanth Kumar Nag) used his talents for the sevā of teaching Yogāsana to the eager sādhaks. We were taught simple warm up and breathing exercises along with prāṇayāma and relaxation. The best part came unexpectedly at the end – with laughter therapy and Sumanth ji with his child-like enthusiasm and vigour, made sure we all laughed together to our hearts’ content! He was aptly supported by his wife, Anākshi ammā, who went around us all, gently correcting the sādhaks during the Yogāsana session. She had been given such a beautiful and melodious voice by Bhagavān, that once we heard her singing bhajans, the requests came to her everyday – to sing more and more! At one time I remember, she was singing – Om namaḥ Śivāya! Om namaḥ Śivāya! The entire audience at Gita Mandir kept on listening to her, mesmerised by the beauty of her voice! At one point after singing for a long time, I could feel she was straining and finding it difficult to sing anymore – at which time I suddenly got up and went towards the stage. I knew what I had to do, but as I was walking, I wondered how could I follow her!? Maybe she too understood my predicament, as she kindly continued singing with me together for some time. She finally withdrew and went back to her seat, and I continued for some more time till Swamiji entered the hall.

Swamiji started the talks early in the day with a short but profound message – ‘Pay attention and treasures unfold!’ or simply put – ‘Pay attention and know!’ This was followed with a beautiful simile, where facing our filthy mind was compared to drinking poison i.e., accepting the negativities in me, being painfully aware of them to develop desire to transcend them – then transform ourselves! Many other beautiful pearls were then showered on us by the merciful Swamiji which are too many for me to describe here!

First visit to Kuber Bhandari temple

After the morning session and a hearty breakfast of Gujarati Gotā, Rajesh bhai and I decided to visit Kuber Bhandari temple, which was a beautiful experience. As soon as we entered the main building, we saw a series of smaller shrines followed by a shrine dedicated to Śrī Krishna – where anyone could touch the mūrtī. I found this quite rare and unlike most south Indian temples which I knew, where the good folks there ensure that God is always kept at a safe distance from His devotees! And with no entry for anyone other than the priests, to the garbha-guḍi (sanctum sanctorum). I gratefully touched the lotus feet of Bhagavān’s mūrtī. Then we proceeded towards the main shrine of Kuber Bhandari dev, which had a beautiful glass ceiling. Even though it was Kārtika Pūrṇimā on that day, the crowds had not yet started thronging in. We sat in a corner near the main shrine – where it was peaceful, and I meditated there for a while. We then saw a beautiful peepal tree inside with 11 lingas around it – representing all the jyotirlingas in India. After going around them reverentially, we entered another shrine from where Narmada Mātā could be seen and strangely, her waters had noticeably receded from what I remembered the other day! The priest informed us that, that happened when they opened the gates of the dam and let the water out for irrigation/ drinking purposes downstream. We then exited the temple from behind and proceeded to the ghat. Rajesh bhai kindly bought a big bag of puffed rice, to offer to Narmada’s numerous little children, huddled together in Her waters and constantly playing in the lap of their mother!

Meeting some great devotees of Bhagavān from Karnali

During the early afternoon talks, an incident happened, that really touched my heart! When Swamiji’s talks were going on, most regular devotees visiting Gita Mandir, seeing an audience gathered there, did their obeisance to God from near the entrance door itself. However, a poor and simply dressed devotee, whom I later realised may have been a Mahātmā in disguise, walked across the hall towards Gita devi’s shrine. He simply didn’t walk across, but rather seeing all the sādhaks gathered there, he humbly kept his hands folded, all along the way while walking across, thereby respecting all present there! What a unique act of humility! Later, during the evening session, another devotee made his presence felt whom we had the good fortune of only hearing. He was loudly singing the praises of Bhagavān, without any inhibitions whatsoever – unlike those that we usually have – as he walked on the road adjoining the Mandir. Such was his devotion and humility that Swamiji recognised it immediately and stopped his talk for a couple of minutes as a mark of respect for that simple, but great devotee of Bhagavān! Again, this reminded me of Nāradaji, who as they say used to go about, constantly singing praises of Bhagavān – without a care about what others thought of him!

Impromptu Satsaṅga at Dakshinamurthy Ashram

As we were about to set out for the early evening session, we were informed that it was cancelled due to Chandra grahaṇ (lunar eclipse) and subsequent closure of Gita Mandir. We then came to know that an informal Satsaṅga would be held at DA, at the same time. We all then hurriedly reached DA, to see a large group already gathered there. But to my dismay, instead of a Satsaṅga, this session unexpectedly turned out to be a ‘chatpatā chāt’ session for the evening – as gently put by Swamiji! However, there were some discussions on Bhagavān Śrī Rama and Sita Mātā, which was enlightening for me. It was here that Sreenivasa Murthy Sir (a very well-read sādhaka) and Asmita didi, along with few others, answered one long pending question of mine – which had haunted me for quite some time and for which I had not got a satisfactory answer, until this time. Towards the end of the session, the air was quite tense and Kirit bhai did a nice job of releasing the tension, by delivering a great joke, while pulling Indu ammā’s leg at the same time – which seemed to be his favourite pastime! He said that though Indu ammā had insisted upon the same, he had asked the cook not to prepare a dish called ‘Gotā’ (made from besan) for breakfast – the effect of which unexpectedly came out during this session (in the form of some heated debates)!

Reason out things before accepting

Someone I respect had asked me not to watch the sun that day during grahaṇ and I had accepted it without a second thought. While walking with Rajesh bhai and Shrinivas Balgi Sir, the former asked me if we want to go to Kuber Bhandari ghat for watching the sunset. To this, I remarked what I had been told earlier. The moment I said this, Balgi Sir immediately started questioning the logic of why not to see the sun – when it’s a lunar eclipse and earnestly tried to reason it out. Then Rajesh bhai and I too immediately joined in remembering our elders saying that it’s safe to watch a lunar eclipse and that only a solar eclipse shouldn’t be seen directly – due to the fact that the sun rays appear to be mild at that time, but is really strong enough to damage our eyes. This incident taught me not to accept anything blindly from anyone and always to question things, but with the right attitude. The merciful Bhagavān will then help to shed light on that subject – to help us understand better. Later, Balgi Sir’s never say die attitude came to the fore, as I saw him doing warm up exercises of Yogāsana with only one hand (probably due to his frozen shoulder). Instead of sitting quietly, he participated and did everything that was possible for him, which was remarkable! We then proceeded to the Kuber Bhandari ghat, where we saw a few priests busy doing Japa, watching the sunset. We found out later that the puṇya of Sādhanā, is more on grahaṇ days and the daily Japa mantra that we practise, recharges itself when Japa is done on such days! Sitting on the steps of the ghat, Rajesh bhai and I briefly discussed our individual spiritual journeys – as we saw the most magnificent sunset that evening, with its golden hues and reflections stretched across the lap of Narmada Mātā!

In the late evening class, Swamiji greatly simplified the path to Liberation for us. Be good – do good (by following scriptures/ Mahātmās) – transcend the world – become liberated! Choose the sacred and choose the noble always!

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The Sadhana Camp – Day 1

I woke up early with difficulty on hearing the alarm and knew that duty was calling! A mysterious force in me motivated me to do the tea serving sevā tirelessly every day! The benevolent Bhagavān just flashed a simple message in my mind, one which my manda buddhi (unintelligent mind) could easily understand – ‘One of the simplest and best ways to please God is to lovingly serve all around you.’ This became my greatest motivation and I kept repeating this like a mantra in my mind, whenever asked to do sevā or upon spotting an opportunity for the same, during the rest of the camp. Unlike my earlier assumption, doing sevā constantly refreshed me rather than making me tired. That morning, after delivering the tea, the compassionate Bhagavān rewarded me with crisp fresh air and led me to a meadow-like place on the banks of Narmada Mātā (where I could get some exercise with a quick morning walk), while showing me a glorious sunrise! Near the riverbank, I saw a strange sight, where a couple of folks were making a pack of donkeys haul sand from the riverbank – mostly an illegal activity nowadays, with shortage of natural sand. Not giving it much of a thought, I then proceeded towards SK for breakfast.

Inauguration of Camp at the glorious Gita Mandir

Later in the day, we had a very beautiful inauguration ceremony, at the magnificent Gita Mandir – our first visit to this holy place! We started by chanting Gita dhyanam, followed by chapter 1 of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita – a practice that continued till the last day of the camp till the completion of all 18 chapters! This activity was managed excellently by Jayashri amma and Shankarji and equally well supported by majority of the sādhaks in the Camp. Swamiji then took the stage and started the talk by comforting everyone with his soothing words. What stood out for me is that he remarked, “We have left all our luxuries behind and have come to this remote spiritual place, for our Sādhanā. He added that at any place where there is a material disadvantage, there is usually a spiritual advantage and vice versa.” Maybe he too had heard some hushed whispers of the inconveniences caused to some sādhaks before they could settle down here completely. These words instantly put our minds to rest, and I am sure most of us started feeling comfortable from there on in the camp. Vinod ji was again given the stage and as per his earlier noble wish, he could now address the whole group together about the significance of Narmada Mātā. However, I had heard about most of these topics, the previous day itself.

Start of spiritual talks by Swamiji

At the end of the inauguration function, I was given the beautiful privilege of performing Gurudev’s (Pūjya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda) pādukā pūjā. It was the first such pādukā pūjā for me and Roopa ammā lovingly guided me all along. Post lunch, the talks started with a thin crowd trickling in, early in the evening. I was wondering what could be the main topic of the camp? It was then, when Swamiji started talking about the benefits of meditation, that I understood Meditation was going to be a great topic for the lectures at the camp! One which I am really lacking at and hence, there would surely be a whole lot to learn! I started scribbling on my notepad and was pleasantly surprised to see even the senior-most sādhaks there, humbly doing the same!

Though I won’t go into the details of each lecture session as I won’t be able to do justice to them and as they would anyway soon be available on the Chinmaya Mission Mangaluru YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZZZYjnDfj4WEeSy-dXaBww). I will, however, surely cover some parts of it which touched my heart and where the merciful Bhagavān bestowed His grace upon me, by flashing some divine thoughts in my mind. The beauty of Swamiji’s talks is that, not only does śravaṇam happen, but it is also followed by mananam sometimes – depending upon how you are able to connect the current topic with your past experiences in life. This is not to be mistaken with vikṣepa (wandering mind, due to lack of interest), which I had thought it to be the case initially – but later realised, it was actually mananam. The final takeaway of the day’s talks was that – ‘Every experience in Meditation is knowledge! So, keep continuing at it!’.

We again had a wholesome Gujarati dinner that day, which was the case for the rest of the camp!

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The Sadhana Camp – Day 0 (Arrival)

The day finally arrived when I would begin my journey! It was a strange journey – one that started all alone, then with a whole lot of strangers in tow and to a strange far away land! We were visiting a little village called Karnali, in Dabhoi taluka of Vadodara district in Gujarat. But some part of me was excited and, at the same time, curious to go through this unknown experience! After meeting some of my fellow campers at Bangalore Airport, with pleasant exchange of “Hari Om!”, we then boarded the flight. Our entire group from Bangalore and Mysore was united only near the exit gate of Vadodara airport. This was the first time that I met Asmita ji, who was busy herding all of us together. We all then assembled at a point and met and greeted each other. Asmita ji’s keen eye spotting me as the odd young man in the group, she immediately told me that she would give me a lot of seva work to do – to which I nodded smilingly! Then we boarded a big red bus with luggage secured and proceeded towards the camp. Looking up the name of my camp site, Shiva Kripa (SK), my eyes twinkled as incidentally, I had also stayed at a place by the same name during my recent visit to Isha Yoga centre, Coimbatore – from where I had left with good memories. With hope filling my heart, we then reached our destination, well after lunch time.

Arrival at Shiva Kripa Guesthouse (SK)

As soon as we arrived, I saw one man with medium built and average height, very busy and constantly moving about like a bee, instructing the bus drivers and all others around him. This was my first glimpse of our dear Kirit ji (Mr. Kirit Patel), who I found is always busy as a bee in the loving service of all devotees of Bhagavan. When he asked for some help to move the baggage of the sādhaks from the bus to SK premises, I immediately drew some inspiration and energy from him and got into action! After securing our luggage in front of SK office, with hungry bellies and assurance from Kirit ji that our baggage kept in the wide open would be safe, we then proceeded towards the Annakshetra (dining hall). Once we were inside, I heard one sādhak start to chant the beautiful verses from Chapter 15 of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and the rest of us immediately chimed in. This practice was followed on all days of the camp just before lunchtime A sumptuous lunch awaited us, giving us an inkling that our stomachs would be well taken care of ahead – thereby freeing our minds to focus on the higher things in life!

Post lunch, we hurriedly collected our room keys and checked into our rooms. We were told by Kirit ji that there was a nice Peepal tree somewhere nearby, along the banks of river Narmada. After a brief rest, I came out and saw what the other folks were doing. I heard someone exclaiming that the given rooms were not meeting their expectations! I humbly said that, in such remote places our expectations should be kept low. I asked some folks around, if they wanted to visit the Narmada river bank and soon found Priyanka ji from our group, who was up and ready and also willing to visit the same. I immediately took a liking to the ever-cheerful Priyanka ji, looking upon her as my elder sister. I saw that she always tried to beat down her own ego while speaking to others and was able to do it in a humorous way! She had found a way to cheerfully laugh at her own faults – a skill developed only by a blessed few! One of the useful life lessons that I learnt was, to cheerfully beat down and crush our own ego to a pulp and then offer what remains at the lotus feet of Bhagavān!

First visit to Narmada from Somnath Ghat

We both then proceeded towards Narmada from the Somnath Ghat side – along a long winding, sloping road. At the ghat, the first close-up glimpse of Narmada ji filled my heart with a strange kind of joy, one that I had not experienced earlier! The holiness of this place was silently speaking to all the eager and curious ones! Then while walking on the bank, Priyanka didi, who already knew a lot about Narmada ji, commented that every stone at the riverbank was considered holy – just like a Śiva-linga! This pleased me at first but also made me a bit uneasy, as I found myself trudging along on these very stones – choiceless due to lack of any other path to walk on! We then saw a beautiful sunset and later made our way out towards SK via the outer steps on Kuber Bhandari temple ghat.

First Satsang at Dakshinamurthy Ashram (DA)

On reaching the SK campsite, I happened to see the timely message sent by Asmita ji, kindly informing the group that a few people had gathered to meet Swami Aparajitananda at Dakshinamurthy Ashram (DA). Following the shared Google Maps pin, and joined by a few others, we then immediately proceeded towards the Ashram. It was past dusk when we reached there, and the lights had also gone out. We could barely see each other. I could faintly see someone in an orange robe in the distance and thought that, this might be Swamiji. But I somehow couldn’t make myself to go near him and offer my praṇāms (respectful greeting) due to the enveloping darkness. Though I knew Swamiji well – through his talks and remembered him during my prayers, a thought entered my mind that he may not really recognise me, that too in the dark! When it’s dark, you usually approach only one whom you know closely and who in turn also knows you well! Intuitively realising my discomfiture, the merciful Swamiji immediately exclaimed, “Prabhuji!” and to our surprise, the lights also came back at that very instant – as if drawing energy from him! I immediately did praṇām to him and then we took a seat. Seated next to Swamiji, I saw a slim aged man, dressed in all white, who was looking at all the people gathered there with twinkling compassionate eyes!

All asked Swamiji to speak about some topic. Some asked him to speak about his spiritual journey. Swamiji very diplomatically mentioned that he would talk for the next few days anyway and why to talk again now! He then graciously asked Kirit bhai to take over and to also introduce the man in white – Mr. Vinod Joshi and to explain to us the significance of this holy place.

A determined Sādhaka fulfilling his Inspiration

Kirit bhai spoke about the inspiration sprung in his own heart to conduct one Jñāna Yajña at this place in Karnali – almost three to four years back! But somehow due to various reasons, it had not materialised until this very moment. Seeing his inspiration and long-cherished desire finally finding fruition, he looked as joyous as a Sādhaka who had now become a Siddha, after meeting his Maker in his own hallowed mind!

He then launched into a brief introduction of Vinod ji describing that it was the good fortune of all of us that the latter was present with us today. He started by describing Vinod ji’s amazing feat of completing a full parikramā (circumambulation) of Narmada river – spanning a whopping distance of about 3,500 kms just by walking barefoot – taking him about 157 days to complete! He added that unlike now, this was done at a time when there wasn’t much infrastructure available for the parikramā vāsīs, as they were called. I came to know later that they were very similar to parivrājaka sannyāsīs, who carried only a couple of clothes and some minimal items with them during their yātrā. Most of them didn’t carry any cash or card and were wholly dependent on God and Narmada ji – to take care of them during this strenuous journey! What a great faith and sādhanā demonstrated by them towards Narmada ji! Inspired by Narmada ji, the local people take care of all their needs and provide them shelter and the parikramā vāsīs in turn, bless all by doing satsang and visiting holy spots, all along the way! Thinking about them makes my head automatically bow to them and then find myself mentally prostrating at their feet!

Glory of Mother Narmada

Kirit bhai then passed on the stage to Vinod ji. Vinod ji greeted everyone humbly and was a bit reluctant to talk that evening – though he loved to talk about Narmada Mātā, as we found out later. He exclaimed that, the others from the camp, who had not yet arrived at the campsite, would miss this topic – showing the ample compassion for all in his heart! After being goaded by both Swamiji and Kirit bhai, Vinod ji slowly started talking. He mentioned that unknown to many, Narmada ji is one of the holiest rivers in the world! As many know, Ganga ji is regarded as pāpa mukta nadī (the river who frees you from sins!). In comparison, Narmada ji is regarded as śrāpa mukta nadī (the river who frees you from curses!). This immediately caught everyone’s attention! He went on to describe Narmada ji as the daughter of Bhagavān Shiva and Mother Ganga. He mentioned that as per Narmada purāṇa, Ganga ji comes once in a year to meet Narmada ji to cleanse her own sins! Please refer [1] where the above has been described in more detail. A daughter who has clearly exceeded her approving mother in holiness and purity! I later heard from Vinod ji that when Bhagavān Shiva was performing the Tandava nritya (dance), Narmada ji was born from the sweat of Shiva. I listened with rapt attention and was thrilled to hear about all this – as I loved pauraṇic stories! A divine spark of devotion was instantly lit in my heart and Narmada river became Narmada Mātā (mother) for me, from thereon. Vinod ji then went on to explain that she, being the holiest of the rivers, was frequented by the great sinners of this world since times immemorial. Among them were Kuber and Indra, who did tapas for a long time on the banks of Narmada Mātā and finally got Mukti (peace) from their sins. He then mentioned the well-known Ashvatthāmā from Mahābhārata, whom many consider as the greatest of all sinners! Though being a Ciranjīvi (one who could live eternally in a human body), he had been cursed to be a Brahma-rākṣasa due to his evil deeds. He had roamed all the three worlds looking for some peace, but had found it nowhere. It was only on the banks of Narmada Mātā then, that even he could ultimately find some peace! Vinod ji mentioned that some people had even seen him here as a very tall and well-built figure walking along the banks by himself silently. Vinod ji, during his parikramā yātrā, had also seen the footprints of a tall, large man that he believed were Ashvatthāmā’s. I later felt some compassion for Ashvatthāmā in my heart – though he had done a very heinous act post Mahābhārata war; he had also repented and suffered indeed for a very long time – almost for five thousand years! I was glad that he found some peace here.

Vinod ji then went on to briefly introduce Kirit bhai’s wife, Indu ammā – who had got an opportunity to serve Mahātmās like his Guru, Śrī Shantvan ji Mahārāj, at a very young age during her childhood itself – indicating that she was indeed blessed! This reminded me of Nārada ṛṣi who had done something similar and had then attained greatness.

We later proceeded to SK where the sādhaks from Mumbai had just arrived and we were then served a wholesome dinner at the Annakṣetra there. I met my roommate, Rajesh ji during dinner and found him to be a quiet, contemplative soul, with whom I could connect to easily. He had a very compassionate heart and tolerated my faults silently and patiently while staying with me as my roommate in SK.

Being handed the Tea sevā

After dinner, Kirit bhai sought me out and asked me to perform the sevā of giving early morning tea to the sādhaks, staying in nearby campsites other than SK. I intuitively agreed for the same almost immediately, not knowing at that time what a great service he did to me! I had never been an early morning waker in this lifetime, except for a year in boarding school, where they made an unwilling boy wake up at five a.m.! Though I usually slept not more than seven to eight hours daily, I was too disorganized and had a weak desire to make an honest attempt to sleep early in order to automatically wake up early the next day. This sevā, was a God-sent opportunity for me to create a daily best practice of waking up very early, which I realised only later. My learning here was that God tests us by giving various opportunities for our improvement and then watches us – if we are making an honest attempt at it or not. And though we never know it in the beginning, the realisation of why He gave us a particular opportunity only comes later, upon doing silent mananam (reflection).

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Sadhana Camp 2022

A Sadhana Camp on ‘Meditation Techniques’ was conducted on the banks of River Narmada at Karnali, Vadodara (Gujarat, India) by Chinmaya Mission Mangaluru from November 7 to November 12, 2022. One of the campers, Sri Krishna Dāsa has shared his experiences during the camp in the form of this blog.

|| Hari Om ||

Nectar-like moments and learnings bestowed by the
all-merciful Bhagavān
at Narmada Sādhanā Camp – Winter of 2022

Prologue

It was about ten years ago that I started my journey with Chinmaya Mission. My father was an ardent follower of the Mission and I had heard some nuggets of wisdom from him. But I started actively following the teachings of the Mission only after he passed away.

Though I realised this only later – much like everything else that I describe here – I was a highly ignorant, insensitive and reluctant sādhaka before the camp! I was also a part-time devotee – thinking about God only very few times a day, engaging in bhajans only on festive occasions, attending Jñāna Yajñas once in a while and rarely doing seva activity outside my family. However, by Bhagavān’s abundant grace on this insignificant and ordinary devotee of His, I had remembered Brahmāji’s (Pūjya Swami Brahmananda) advice of doing Karma Yoga and to offer all actions done during the day at the feet of Bhagavān just before retiring for the night, which I followed regularly. I had briefly heard about some Sādhanā camps organized by the Mission at holy places, but never knew when they would happen, or how to register for the same.

My pūjya Guru is Swami Aparajitananda. His very first talk that I had heard on Bhaja Govindam (on a CD), several years back, had been a wake-up call for me and had captivated my mind like nothing else! His unique mix of Bhakti and Vedānta, coupled with practical wisdom pearls, always attracted me to his talks – since Bhakti is my chosen path, coupled with my natural curiosity to know more. I had only met him during the Yajñas held in the pre-Covid era and used to frequently listen to his CDs on a variety of topics from Bhakti to Vedānta-based texts and used to always remember him in my prayers. However, I was recently inspired from within to visit Swamiji at the Mission centre in Mangalore. During the visit, Swamiji gently mentioned to our dear Roopa ammā (Mrs. Roopa Rani Vasanth, Secretary, Chinmaya Mission Mangaluru) to keep me informed about any Sādhanā camps occurring in future. One fine day, a few months later, I unexpectedly got a flyer from Roopa ammā informing me about one Narmada Sādhanā camp.

I had a quick look at the flyer during a busy work week and thought that I would look more deeply into it during the weekend. Many weekends passed and I kept procrastinating about registering for the camp, like I usually did for anything spiritual! One day a quiet voice in my heart, which I seldom listened to, told me to go ahead and register for the camp and that it would do me good. By His merciful grace, I listened to the voice this time! Then I firmed up my mind and called Roopa ammā to express my desire to be part of the camp. I came to know that I was the 70th person registering for the camp! Probably the last one! But being the large-hearted person that she is, ammā agreed to accommodate me in the camp at the last minute. Little did I know what was waiting in store for me there!
 

The Planning

Without my knowledge, a lot of work was going on silently in the background, with many minds, hands and feet working in unison to organize the Narmada Sādhanā camp. Roopa ammā directed me to Asmita ji (Mrs. Asmita Dhore), who was leading a group from Bangalore with about fifteen members. I reached out to her, and she quickly added me to a WhatsApp group that she had created to co-ordinate the travel, which she did with excellence – until the time we reached back home safely! A few days later, a larger WhatsApp group consisting of all the campers was created by Shankar ji (Mr. Shankar Iyer), and I found myself a part of it. Later, a well-written note was sent by Roopa ammā to all campers on the items and preparation needed for the camp. Meticulous care was taken to list each and every item needed by the campers to make sure they found themselves comfortable there. I was delighted to know that my prep work had gotten easier. I simply followed the list and gathered all items for the trip. Being my first such camp, I naturally over packed (the food mostly!) thinking that I would need many snacks to appease Jaṭharā-agni devatā – especially in the evenings! I later realised that, this effort would mostly go in vain!

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