Map showing the Himalayan Trip Route🔗

Walking With God Where He Resides

For years I had longed to travel around in the Himalayan region. I had traveled fairly extensively from Darjeeling on the Eastern side to Kulu & Manali on the Western side of the Himalayan range, on to Naini Tal, Rishikesh and various other places in between. But I had always wanted to travel in areas around the legendary Valley of Flowers. One had heard that travelers could be overcome by the sight and smell of the flowers in this valley. The attraction was very powerful.

I had read about master Rama, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Shivananda and others and their mystic experiences in the Himalayan Mountains. The mystical allure beckoned from time to time. Of course, I had read all this before I met my own master.

It was sometime in March that the Himalayan trip took definition with my master. And of course, although the trip was to do with the Himalayas, it was not really so. It was another opportunity to be with the master, as it was for everyone who was with us on the journey! So though we went fairly close to the Valley of Flowers, being in the fragrant presence of the master, it no longer had the allure it had earlier.

The Himalayan Trip (2005) started with a number of people registering. There was then a swell in the number. Seeing this, Ananda Gambeer, one of the devotees*,* was sent on a recce to avoid the pitfalls of the previous year. Finally a batch of people from all over the world made the trip. A few others squeezed in at the last minute despite transport and accommodation being booked to bursting point.

By various means of transportation we reached Delhi. I was somewhat taken aback when I was made bus leader for the Vyasa team (team named after the writer and character from the Hindu epic, Mahabharata). From the way master described the small community within the Nithya (eternal) Himalayan trip community, I got the feeling that it was going to be a silver-haired doddering group. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Vyasa group was an eclectic mix of people, the microcosm that corresponded to the macrocosm of our Nithya community.

So we set off on the 23rd of May 2005 from a hotel in Karolbagh (residential and commercial area) in Delhi where we spent the night, after a kick-off puja (worship) ritual by master the previous night.

To the nostalgic tune of Arunachala Shiva, singing along with it himself, master performed abhisheka (holy bath) to the deities. He then announced the names of the 5 buses that would take the group on the trip: Vyasa - the hard core intellectual group, Shankara - the half intellectual and half picnicky group, Hanuman - the valorous group, Adikara Nandi - the administrative group, and Garuda - the group that would fly and offer services world over. Bus leaders were named.

Following this was a special meditation. Master spoke about the first deep spiritual experience he had at the age of 12 in his hometown of Tiruvannamalai. He had a 360 degree vision and saw everything as him around him. He asked us to close our eyes and visualize that we were able to see what was behind us.

After the rather difficult meditation, individual blessings followed and the group dispersed to wake up early next morning to board the buses to Rishikesh.

The tour had begun…

Someone asked: 'Master, what is the difference between God and guru (master)?'

Without a moment's hesitation and with characteristic authority came the response:

'What do you know about God? All you know is a bunch of words and concepts. You have no clue of what you are talking about when you refer to God. To you he is just an idea, a visualization of what you believe to be the ultimate energy and universal consciousness, or whatever name you wish to give something you know nothing about.

A guru is real. He is the reality of the ultimate cosmic energy. He is here and now. He is in the present; He IS the present. He is the bridge between you and the concept of God. In that sense he is greater than God.

A small story:

A man went to court citing a suit for defamation of character as he was seriously insulted by a friend who called him a dinosaur a year earlier. The Judge asked why he waited so long. The man said, 'I saw a dinosaur for the first time only last week and felt very insulted.'

When you begin to understand that you are living based on baseless concepts, your rationale simply drops; it disappears. Start living without concepts. Do not judge anybody by anything.

A disciple questioned Vivekananda, a great enlightened master, when the latter referred to his own master Ramakrishna as God. He asked him how he could call Ramakrishna God.

Vivekananda asked, 'Tell me what you feel are the attributes of God?'

The disciple replied, 'God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent…'

Vivekananda said, 'Stop! Explain to me what you mean by omnipresent.'

The disciple said, 'It means he is everywhere, he is in the sky, he is the air, he is here, and he is there…'

Vivekananda then asked, 'Do you see him then?'

Sheepishly the disciple shook his head and said, 'No.'

Vivekananda said, 'You foolish man, all that you know are words and concepts that have no real meaning. Enlightened masters are God standing in front of us.'

Someone asked me, 'Are you God?'

If you do not know what or who God is, how can you ask me whether I am God? Now I tell you: God cannot be defined. He can only be experienced.

I said to him: I am more than God. I am not here to prove that I am God. I am here to prove you are God. If any one calls me God, I should sue them for defamation of character because the knowledge they have of God is not correct.'

This was one of the minor interactions during the fifteen days we walked with our God in the Himalayas where he truly belonged. Majestically he strode, clad in saffron with his trademark trishul, the trident in hand. The trident is a 3-pronged weapon that symbolizes the destruction of the ego with its 3-fold desires of body, mind and intellect. Behind him was an energetic, though disheveled bunch of devotees. He was truly a sight to behold and so were we.

The theme of our trip as master had stated was to work on the guru-disciple (master-disciple) relationship. He covered this subject at length over the first 6 days, with a fitting Zen Question and Answer finale at Gangotri.

A few memories stand out:

• Day 0, Delhi: With the evening puja over, master began with an explanation of the significance of the Himalayas. He said, 'The Himalayas are the only true energy centre on Earth. Being around me in the Himalayas, you get murti (a living master), sthalam (energy centre) and teertam (holy water spot), all at the same time; a once-in-a lifetime opportunity and experience. During these 15 days at least, be intense in whatever you do. For the first time we shall cover all char dhams (the four holy pilgrimage points for Hindus in this section of the Himalayan range). This will be a life-transforming experience for every one of you. The person going up the Himalayas will not be the same person coming down after 15 days. During these 15 days, drop all your concepts of status; become like a child. Relate to everyone as you would relate to me. See God in every one, not just in me. Today is Buddha Purnima (Lord Buddha's birthday), the day I had my spiritual experience at the age of 12, a very auspicious day for us to start our journey.'
• Day 1: That first evening at Rishikesh on the banks of the river Ganga, at our master's behest we all jumped into the icy cold water, thrashing about, screaming Ganga ma ki jai! (praise Mother Ganga!) to avoid being frozen. We performed the shradha ceremony, the ritual performed on a death or death anniversary, this time to our forefathers thanking all of them for bringing us into this world. At the end of the vraja homa (fire ritual) we all took the oaths of ahimsa (not hurting anyone)/satya (truth)/asteya (not coveting or stealing from someone else)/ aparigraha (doing with as little as possible) and brahmacharya (living free of fantasies) for the next fortnight.

Master gave each of us a yagnopaveetha (sacred thread) and kavi (saffron) cloth to wear as protection as we traveled through the Himalayas over the next fortnight. The saffron was our mark of distinction as a group, standing out amongst the crowds as the Nithyananda family. And how we stood out!

• Day 3: This began with the trek up to Yamunotri, the origin of the sacred river Jamuna at around 11,000 feet from our base camp at Khardifal. We traveled and reached Hanuman chatti in batches, in mountain taxis, open jeeps, whatever came our way as our blessed vehicles. From there started the climb. The climb on the ponies was steep and locked the Swadhishtana chakra, one of the 7 major chakras related to the emotion of fear, for many! would shout out teasing words of assurance to the ones he felt needed them at the energy level! The tracks were barely two ponies wide, steep and lined with rubble, with no guard rails whatsoever. Master was borne regally on his dholi (a simple bamboo chair mounted on a stretcher) carried by four sure-footed locals. A few others opted for the dholis too, while most of the others rode ponies. Four of us walked all the way up, barely managing the last steep kilometer. After a visit to the temple at Yamunotri and an offering of arati (offering of lit camphor) to Mother Yamuna by master, we returned to Khardifal.
• Day 5: The day started with an early morning discourse at Uttarkashi before we set out for Gangotri. The previous night master had begun a series of talks and exercises designed to rid us of our samskaras - our unconscious unfulfilled desires. Against the backdrop of the majestic hills surrounding us, the master talked about the origin of River Ganga, recounting the tale of how Lord Bhagiratha brought the Ganga down from the heavens to provide salvation for the souls of his ancestors. Master explained its metaphorical significance in terms of one's personal enlightenment.

Lord Bhagiratha (meaning early life) was the forefather of Rama about whom the Ramayana (Hindu epic detailing the life of Rama) was written.

In the story, Bhagiratha prays to Brahma, the first in the triad of Gods. Brahma is the Creator, Shiva the destroyer, an aspect of rejuvenation, and Vishnu, preserver of the Universe. Bhagiratha prays to bring the divine Ganga down to Earth to cleanse the sins of his ancestors.

Bhagiratha was tortured by his past samskaras (emotional memories), which in the story are represented metaphorically by the pleas of his ancestors. His prayers and austerity are answered by 4-headed Brahma through a satori or a spiritual experience accompanied by 360 degree vision. Bhagiratha then seeks the cosmic energy of river Ganga. To help sustain that energy, he seeks the intervention of Shiva, the great master. He chooses the Himalayas as the base for this energy to land, which is his ananda gandha (the point where all 7 *chakras* of the human system collapse or converge). He prepares 7 cities, metaphorically the representation of his seven chakras, for the devas or Gods to live in, when Mother Ganga comes down. Finally, Ganga lands fast and furious, but Shiva holds her in his matted hair till Bhagiratha drops all his efforts and surrenders! Then Shiva allows Ganga to trickle down into the Himalayas. The story of the origin of river Ganga is the saga of one man's personal enlightenment through surrender of the ego.

• That night it was cold, dreary and wet at Gangotri. Not many of us were looking forward to the next day's trek to Gomukh, yet did not want to drop out for fear of losing a few precious hours with the master. Master appeared to be in deep ecstasy after the evening's arati in the temple on the banks of the Ganga. It was almost midnight when he rejoined us, announcing that he would not be going to Gomukh. Most faces actually lit up, as it meant that we would get to spend more sitting at the feet of the master instead of on our own ponies at our own pace. As it turned out, the next morning we heard that there had been road blocks due to snow slides and most people who ventured out from Gangotri to Gomukh had to return.
• Day 6: The next day at Gangotri was a bonus because of the Gomukh trek being cancelled. We walked with the master to the Pandava caves (where the exiled Pandava kings are said to have spent a part of their exile, as recounted in the great Hindu epic Mahabharata). We stopped once on the way and again at the caves, spending a few hours in an impromptu session of questions with the master.

That evening master sat pouting, like a little child, complaining that one of the devotees who took personal care of him, had forced him to wear twelve layers of clothing as protection against the cold. He took special care in showing us each layer: two mittens, two socks, one jacket, undershirt, sweater, thermal pants, and layers of kavi. Some wondered how these could be counted as layers while the more intelligent ones enjoyed the show! He declared that he had run away from the scene lest more layers were added on!

Soon after saying this, master turned Zen master, answering every one as he wanted to, rather than how we wanted to hear the answers. An example:

Q: 'Master, please explain the relationship between a master and disciple?'

A: 'Both play a psycho drama. Whoever understands that he is playing a drama is God. Who doesn't, is stuck. You are asking such a question as a disciple, because you think as a disciple. I understand the drama, so I am guru. There is no other difference.'

• Day 9: We trekked up from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, 16 km (about 10 miles) each way and about 6000 feet up. In 1997, while master was on his way to Kedarnath in his days of wandering, he met Mahavatar Baba, a living sage who is over 2500 years old. Baba blessed him calling him 'THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM' and merged into him.

Mahavatar Baba is from the Puri Parampara (lineage), and Kedarnath is the temple that stands in significance of this lineage. It is of special importance for master's followers to visit this temple, at least once in their lifetime. The Pandavas (heroes of the great Hindu epic Mahabharata) left their bodies in Kedarnath. So did Shankara, a great enlightened master and reformer of Hindu religion, who preached advaita, the Hindu philosophy that we are one with God. Shankara ordained the temple here. This is probably the oldest living structure in the world, certainly the oldest temple in Bharat.

Originally we had planned to stay the night at Kedarnath. However, as it threatened to snow, we returned to Gaurikund the same day. On our way up, one of the members of our group had a darshan (vision) of Mahavatar Baba. Master felt her energy and confirmed her darshan. Though I was on the pony behind her I had no such luck!

• Day 11: It was a bracing evening at Badrinath. After darshan of Badri Vishal, the presiding deity of Badrinath, we went up to the caves of Vyasa and Ganesha. Sometime earlier, master had a vision of Ganesha (the elephant headed God believed to remove all obstacles) at this cave temple, which confirmed for him the historic correctness of the Mahabharata. This great Hindu epic Mahabharata serves as a repository of knowledge for many spiritual and moral teachings and is believed to have been dictated by the enlightened sage Vyasa and written down by Ganesha.

We walked up over a mile towards the caves along the Tibetan border. Here our Master was truly God striding up the mountain with his trident, every inch the regal Shiva. Excellent as they were, our official photographer could do little justice to his presence as we walked with him. We sat around talking for over an hour while a local woman burst into spontaneous singing of bhajans, devotional songs. This made the evening fulfilling. We began our climb down well after dark.

• Day 12: The next morning at Badrinath was our most memorable. We sat in a hall flanked by the Himalayas. This was the day chosen for us to relive our samskaras

so that we would be relieved of them. What an experience it was! There I was, a grown man, rarely used to crying, finding myself bawling like a baby; I do not know for how long. Our master directed us to touch our foreheads to the ground so that the Himalayas would accept and relieve us of all our emotional memories. When I raised my head finally, eyes by now somewhat dry, my throat was still choked, yet there was peace in my heart and I could tell the others were experiencing the same.

• Day 13: Our next morning at Joshimath turned out a different sort. The sun came out from behind the mountains and just where master sat, a ray fell on him lighting him up.

As if on cue, he declared, 'Whosoever wishes to follow me will follow only me, and no other master' and went on to deliver a powerful message that resonated with the theme of the trip and was a fitting finale to the master-disciple theme. He expanded on the relationship amongst followers, something more difficult than merely being devoted to the master, and yet far more important to the sustenance of the master's institution. Master pointed out the courage, bonhomie and tolerance of the foreigners and non-resident Hindus in the group who were far more unused to the difficult Hindu conditions. We gave them all a round of well-deserved applause.

• Day 14: During our last halt at Hardwar there was confusion galore! After a late lunch, at 3 in the afternoon, a few of us followed master in whatever transport we could… (Some of us had to ride double with the auto rickshaw driver). In short order, we, or rather master, bought clothes for Anadeshwar/ Anandeshwari, the presiding deities of the mission, a huge silver plated trident that he insisted on carrying through the crowded market at grave risk to oncoming traffic, as well as to yours truly, who was behind and within touching distance of the pointed ends. To all these purchases, he added a motorized fountain. He then told us that after a Ganga bath at the ashram, where we were staying, we would return to buy rudrakshas at bargain prices. Rudraksha, literally means 'tears of Shiva', and are seeds of a tropical tree, that are considered to be sacred to Shiva and that induce good health. Master says that when worn as a garland, these seeds act as a battery, storing the energy of meditation and later recharging the mind-body system.

We bathed in the Ganga near the Premnagar Ashram where we were staying master did a homa, which is a fire ceremony or offering to achieve a specific aim, and before one could say 'Jack Robbins' he was off to do the aarti at Har Ki Paudi, the main bathing point at Hardwar. We followed as best as we could but our buses were held up half-way. So we got out and tried to follow, stumbling, sprinting, walking and finally limping over the remaining mile. To add to the show, there was a windstorm that blinded us for a while and it threatened to rain. We were all however, supremely confident that despite all the raging confusion, we would reach the spot before master started his arati and that it would not rain.

Both came to pass, but with such touching closeness that I could have cried. With over 200,000 people on the steps leading to Ganga that evening, finding master and the crew was easier said than done. With a kind of blind intuition, a few of us pushed on, cleaving through the dense wet mass of humanity, till someone spotted master's umbrella, barely a few minutes before the temple arati. We began to wave our saffron robes to attract the attention of the rest of the group. What a sight for Hardwar to behold!. There we were, over a hundred mad men and women charging towards our dear twenty-seven year old master, screaming at the top of our voices! Finally we did end up buying rudrakshas, sphatika crystals and other stuff at bargain rates.

Day 15: We set off on an early morning walk along the Ganges with the master, along the very road where he had stayed for 6 months under a bridge during his quest for enlightenment. He consigned the notebooks where we had written our samskaras, to Mother Ganga along with our sacred threads.

Shortly after this we returned to Delhi. With flights and trains to catch, our farewells began amidst hugs and the promise of keeping in touch. For many the inner transformation that master had guaranteed the first day was already evident. The sheer love and compassion for our fellow beings was far more sincere and heartfelt. We did not really wish to part, yet we did. Master came down to the lobby of the hotel where he was staying. We prostrated ourselves before him and took his blessings before our departure.