Hari Aum.
I hope all readers had a wonderful Navaratri. I had the immense good fortune of visiting Rishikesh and participating in the spiritual activities at Sivananda Ashram recently.
I had just over a week of annual leave from work so made a short visit to North India (Delhi and Rishikesh) to see family (both biological and spiritual families). It was my daughter’s first visit to this part of India (she has been learning Hindi for the past year so I told her this is a good opportunity to practice!).
I was particularly excited about taking her to Rishikesh, a place that I feel is like none other on the planet. (I wrote about Sivananda Ashram in October 2017 and feel all of this still applies today).
The weather in North India is relatively cool and pleasant at this time of year. After the searing heat of summer, temperatures of 25-28 degrees in the daytime and 16-20 degrees at nighttime are very pleasant. It is not-too-hot and not yet too cold.
After eight long years, I felt very happy to be able to visit Rishikesh and especially Sivananda Ashram. Even when physically away, this place always feels close to my heart and mind. I had been longing to go for a while but the visit was delayed due to various reasons (including the pandemic, arrival of daughter, health issues, work and so on).
One difficulty I faced was that, as a householder yogi, the expectation of one’s spouse and relatives is often that every holiday should be spent in the traditional way— visiting family or going to a favoured holiday destination for relaxation.
I had to have a mini-fight with them to be able to make this trip—even going as far as to mildly (or maybe no-so-mildly!) threaten to take sannyasa (but a modern version that would involve fulfilling my duties as a mother—as abandoning this would be completely unacceptable both spiritually and materially, and against dharma in my specific situation).
After threatening to take up sannyasa/ monastic life (a spiritual path that has on some level been an inspiration for me for decades) if not given the freedom to visit Rishikesh, there was a backing down by my husband and others who then kindly took steps to help the visit take place!
I also stated that, from now on, especially as my daughter is a bit older (aged seven), I would like to visit Rishikesh and the Ashram every year ideally or at least once in two years (with or without the rest of the family in accordance with their wishes; I do not wish to compel anyone to join me but, equally, I cannot be compelled to stay away!). Never again I declared, would I be able to stay away for eight years (unless things turn out that way by the will of God)! All this was accepted by my relatives for which I am very grateful.
Being a householder devotee is no easy task. But it is a great privilege and opportunity too. One can also truly relate to and appreciate the descriptions in the Puranas of various relationships (such as Yasodha’s love for the baby Krishna, the teasing by Krishna of His wife, Rukmini and so many other divine Lilas). Although these are divine Lilas, they are portrayed through the lives of human avatars that we can relate to, that help us to form a loving relationship with God Him/Herself.
I was at Sivananda Ashram during the annual Sharad Purnima puja at the Vishwanath Mandir. The full moon on this night is said to have special healing properties. It is also a sacred night associated with Krishna’s famous Rasa Lila dance as well as the worship of Goddess Lakshmi. Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati’s son, Kartikeya, is also said to have manifested on this day.
It was a clear night in Rishikesh with a large glowing full moon visible in the sky. The temple was decorated with beautiful diyas (clay lamps) and flowers. Various devotees from all over were present.
I too attended with my family. We heard the chanting of many sacred Vedic hymns and mantras. The main focus of the puja was Lord Shiva. The devotees were all invited to participate by forming queues on either side of the entrance to enter the shrine and offer a large spoon of cooked rice to the Shiva linga as mantras were recited. (There were separate queues for women and men in accordance with tradition; we were also seated separately in the temple).
Many different offerings were made by the Swamis conducting the puja such as milk, honey, water, rice, turmeric, Bilva leaves, fruits and flowers.
It was a simply beautiful experience. I was surprised to find tears streaming down my eyes as I gazed upon the deities in the temple, including Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna and the Divine Mother.
I have come home after so long, I said. So much has happened since I was here last, eight long years ago, both in spiritual and material life. It was only by Your grace, I told Them, that I was able to continue with spiritual life despite all the trials and tribulations, despite the health issues and the pandemic, despite so many challenges within and without. Keep me on the spiritual path, no matter what, I said.
Help me, O Guru and God, I said, to do japa daily, to be sincere, to develop true devotion, to complete the purascharanas and to attain God in this very lifetime.
As streams of tears fell silently from my eyes while standing in the queue and watching the puja, a few drops fell on my daughter’s head (she was just ahead of me). She asked me if I was upset and gave me a big hug to try and comfort me. I smiled and said these were tears of happiness and that I was ok. She was then reassured and enjoyed the rest of the puja.
During this visit, I also spent time attending meditation and chanting sessions at the Samadhi Shrine, where the mortal remains of Sivananda are placed with his statue and a Shiva linga. My family and I participated in the various daily spiritual activities such as Mahamantra chanting and satsangs.
My daughter, Uma, had been sporadically chanting mantras until this time. I told her that mantra japa was a great blessing and the age of seven is when children were traditionally introduced to sacred mantras. She could do a mini-mala of a mere 27 recitations of any mantra or prayer from any spiritual tradition of her liking I suggested (Sivananda teaches us to respect all traditions; as my husband is a practicing Christian as well as a yogi, we celebrate both yogic/Hindu and Christian festivals and also visit both temples and churches). She chose a short Radha-Krishna mantra out of the selection I offered and has been chanting this daily since. She has had a fondness for these deities for some time.
Uma is also keeping a spiritual diary to record her mantra chanting as I suggested this will help her keep track of the regularity of her practice. In addition to obtaining a mini-mala for her japa, she asked for and obtained various other ‘souvenirs’ from the trip including toys and books (spiritual and material gifts are both necessary, especially for children!).
She also received generous quantities of sweets in the form of ‘prasad’ (food that has been offered to God) given by the kind Swamis at the Ashram. Overall, she was very satisfied by the trip and said she would love to visit again!
On the whole, although this was a very short trip due to the limited one week of leave from work during the school break, it was deeply satisfying. I felt I was home again. A family member asked me if I do not regard places other than Rishikesh as home. I said the various places where I have lived and worked in life are home—from this lifetime. However, Rishikesh and the Himalayas, feels like home for many lifetimes, not only this one. The feeling one gets there cannot be experienced anywhere else (at least for me and many other yogis).
As one travels on the road from Haridwar to Rishikesh, through the meandering hilly roads and chaotic traffic (that is classic for India), past placid cows who roam freely on the roads (my daughter enjoyed counting the cows but agreed with me when I said they really should be placed in a ‘goshala’/cowshed!), one enters the realm of the yogis.
As one leaves Delhi and other more materialistic cities far behind, and enters this sacred region in the foothills of the Himalayas (called the Shivalik hills), one finds that material matters fade away from the mind and spiritual thoughts strongly predominate.
This is after all, the land of Shiva, the land of Vishnu and the land of the Divine Mother (the whole Earth belongs to God of course but some areas have a concentration of spiritual places like the Himalayas).
A key feature of this part of this hilly region is the sacred river Ganga which flows from the Gangotri glacier further up from Rishikesh down to the plains in North India. Daily worship (Ganga arati) is conducted at the banks of the river especially in the evenings when lights and flowers are offered along with the chanting of hymns and mantras.
People also come from far and wide to take a dip in Ganga as this is regarded as a method of spiritual healing and washing away of past sins. There are dedicated areas near the banks where the water is more shallow and it is regarded as relatively safe to briefly enter the water (which is freezing cold even in Rishikesh). I had a brief dip too and also collected a small amount of water to take back with me (this is often used in pujas and worship).
This trip was too short (four days) to be able to really get involved in the free medical work provided by the Sivananda Charitable Hospital (as I have done on previous visits). The senior Swamiji, who is the head of the hospital, told me they currently have a full team of doctors (including physicians and surgeons) which was very good to hear.
It is a privilege to be able to support the excellent work of the hospital and Ashram and I was glad to be able to make a donation towards this prior to leaving (the Ashram never asks visitors to donate anything but rather, makes a point of giving to others whatever they can, be it spiritual teachings, food, medicine, education etc —they perform numerous types of useful work in society).
During the visit to Ashram, I had the chance to speak with some of the Swamis and obtain some spiritual advice. I also met fellow yogi friends from Europe who were there at the same time by coincidence. It was a wonderful experience and I wish it could have lasted longer.
However, as householder yogis, our karmas call us back to our usual spheres of life and we must perform our duties as a form of spiritual practice. And so, I am now physically back at my usual home but feel ever connected to Sivananda Ashram and Rishikesh, which is my true spiritual home.
The karma sannyasa tradition (created by Swami Satyananda, disciple of Sivananda) is suitable for householder sadhakas who wish to make spiritual progress while living a regular life in society. (I have written a post about this previously).
I will conclude this post by wishing all readers a very happy Diwali in advance. May the light of our spiritual practice shine daily throughout the next year. May God bless us all with true devotion and spiritual liberation in this very lifetime.
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
