| 16, 17 Oct: Kedarnath |
 There was a better feeling of clarity after the night spent at Rudraprayag. After a 3-hour 85 KM drive from Rudraprayag, we reached Gaurikund, the base for the trek to Kedarnath. Kedarnath is at an elevation of 3,581 meters above sea level (11,750 feet) and this shrine is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva.The trek to Kedarnarth was said to be just as steep as the trail Yamunotri, but over twice its length. It was a 14km journey to the temple and each member of our party opted to hire a pony for the demanding trip. About an hour into our ride up, when each person had begun to feel fairly comfortable on their pony Amma led a chanting session. She called and Amalananda and Raghudasa responded, "Hara Hara, Shiva Shiva."  Raghudasa's pony split from the group after sometime and hurried up the hill at a good pace. After some time he saw a dreadlocked, bearded and barefoot Swami of little words. Raghudas passed his bottle of water along to him and would wait for the rest of the group at the small village that marked the halfway point of the trek. Soon the party of seven regrouped at this small village and the dreadlocked Swami joined the group. This seemed to be another chance meeting that has been arranged by the masters that are guiding our journey. Amma and Swami elected to walk the remaining distance to the summit temple, and Amalananda decided to accompany them, giving his pony to the dreadlocked Swami as a form of Seva. The Swami's silent demeanour changed as his face lit up with childlike glee. His kind eyes sparkled and his smile revealed a great lack of front teeth. Amma detected his great sanctity and innocence and began to call him "Baby Swami," which proved to be the name that stuck for him.  With Swamiji, Amma and Amalananda walking, the other five of the group reached the village of Kedarnath sometime before. Atop Kedarnath, the wind whistled and light snow flurries blew about the gray skies. White whispering clounds sat midway down the towering snowcaps, mysteriously unveiling their heavenly peaks. Raghudasananda joined Baby Swami sitting on a crate near a small fire that was started by the porters and horsemen. Carla and Avinash went into town to make some calls home and Greg sat nearby waiting for Swamiji and Amma. Raghudas laughed to himself at the appropriateness of the name that Amma gave to Baby Swami. He appeared to be a man in his mid sixties, but had a chidlike face and youthful stride. In the cold mountian winds, he sat comfortably only wearing a dhoti, tied like a towel and a beige shawl over his chest. He let his graying dredlocks down, which came all the way down to his thighs! He was silent and Raghudas took this as a clue to let him be on his own and sat with Greg for a while.As they were waiting, Raghudas shared with the rest of the group, from his experience with Swami and Amma, about how they both carry and embody the Pratyangira Mother energy and that traveling with them is actually traveling with this aspect of the Divine Mother. Mother Pratyangira's energy is a great uplifter of Karma and will at times, push or pull out our karmas. This will definitely stir up past lifetimes and present emotions, creating a lila (illusion) that may be confusing and challening to our minds at a superficial level. Raghudas has seen, time and again though, that these lilas carry a much deeper significance for all involved. And from these situations Raghudas has observed the great healings and karmic upliftment that is possible when everyone opens their hearts to these lessons. Soon the bright orange and salmon winter hats of Amma and Swami could be seen peeking from a short distance down the trail.  We regrouped and checked into our rooms in the village. They were bitterly cold, as there was no heat, but offered some repreive from the blistery winds. Swamiji and Amma offered a separate room for Baby Swami. At nightfall, after some hot tea and coffee we all headed to Kedarnath temple for the evening aarti. It is a sleepy Himalayan town at the pilgrimage season's end. Smoke spilled into the narrow pathways of the town as groups of men crowded around small fires started in waste bins. Wandering dogs picked at trash in the streets and the steep shadowy peaks shot up in the night's sky towering about the village.The all stone Kedarnath Temple is from about 600-800 AD and was constructed by Adi Shankaracharya. It houses one of the 12 sacred Jyothir Lingas in India. These are massive energy centers that hold the the power of Lord Shiva and have naturally formed in nature. We all crowded into the temple and stood nearby the Nandi facing the Lingam. Amma and Swami were ushered into the inner sanctum to sit by one of the temple priests. The cold stone floor chilled our feet, however we all noted the inexplicable warmth that emanated from the temple's inner sanctum. It was as if the fire from the aarti and the lingam warmed all witnessing the ceremony. This warmth carried deeper into our beings and hearts and there was a great contentment felt among all. We were quite exuberant afterwards, Baby Swami had noticably changed and was excitedly speaking in Hindi to the group. Amalananda translated, as this Swami happily shared with his newfound companions. He told us all how special it was to have come to this temple and especially for those that Swami and Amma are carrying. He said that now it is "written in the scrolls" that we all have spent this much time and to be at the feet of Lord Shiva and that it is a great boon for all. Then he related an experience that shocked all of us, even Swami and Amma. Referring to Amma as his Mother, he told that 15 years ago he had a vision of a Mother that the whole world would come to know of and that was so full of Shakti. This is the Pratyangira Mother and he said, with a big toothless grin, that this Mother was now standing before him! Baby Swami retired to his room, with his once a day meal of small boiled potatoes and left us to absorb what he just shared. We quitely sipped on hot tomato soup, which has quickly become our staple diet in the North, as all of us were enveloped in our thoughts. Amalananda and Raghudasa felt a great love and pride for their teachers, who remained quiet and simple even after such great revelations. The hand painted words above our heads, read "Dyning Hall," we laughed at this as we headed off to bed, our thoughts on what more surprises would be to come. The 17th of October was the Deepavali Festival Day for Hindus across the world. This day is recognized as the victory of light over darkness. It is traditionally told that Krishna brought light to the world with a victory in a battle on this day. We rose at 3AM to get ready for a 4AM Abhishek and puja in the inner Kedarnath sanctum. It was dark and cold as we walked to the temple. Baby Swami was still wearing his bare essentials, not showing any signs of the cold. Swamiji told us that his inner body temperature is high enough to keep him warm even during fall in the Himalayas due to his Sadhanas. We settle down for the Maha Abishek inside the temple and "Jai Bolenath" was called by the four temple priests sitting at the pillars around the lingam. Mantras and prayers were recited by the priests and all of us were allowed to bathe the lingam. Swami and Amma did so on behalf of everyone and read all the prayers that they have sent in, to be blessed by Shiva. Again we noticed the heat from inside this room, and came from the stone lingam itself!  We left with our foreheads thouroughly covered in sandalwood paste and kumkum and Vibuthi (holy ash). We took a short breakfast before sunrise as the Deepavali Day's light illuminated the peaks surrounding us on all sides. We then set out for the far side of town, near the source of the Mandakini River, which rushed past the site of Adi Shankaracharya's Samadhi. Here it is told, that just before he received salvation that he was graced with the darshan of Lord Shiva and Shakti counterpart, Parvati. We sat and meditated on this vison for some time.Before 10AM the group would set out. We splashed some holy waters from the Mandakini on our heads and collected the waters to send back to everyone. These waters were astoundingly pure and sweet and had the divine fragrance of holy ash. Swami, Amma and most of the group chose to walk the 14km down to our awaiting vehicle. Raghudas, still ailing from his sore feet, gladly accepted another pony ride down. The group met at the midway village for a short lunch of ramen noodles. The townspeople happily fed and served the pilgrims as they knew this would be one of the last groups of people that they would see until next spring. Once in Gaurikund, we were met by our driver Raj, who drove us back to Rudraprayag. We celebrated Deepavali by lighting some fireworks, and went to bed contented with the experiences. |
Quick Links
Please help Ekatvam in its mission. Many blessings
