| 15 Oct: Rudraprayag |
Today is a long travel day, we are travelling from Utterkashi to Rudraprayag, a distance of 200 KM. We were able to get Internet connectivity, and Amalananda quickly updated a few pictures and blogs to the Ekatvam website before we all started on the long bus journey. By this time all of us had become accustomed to the travel through the mountainous roads. However, each section of the drive through the Himalayas is unique in its own way. There was one particular section of the drive where, when negotiating with a vehicle in the opposite direction on the narrow road, our vehicle was were a mere 4 inches from the edge of the ravine. One of us joked that we still had a good 4 inches to negotiate! Truely, we had become used to the mountain roads. On the way, we caught glimpses of the Tehri Dam, which is located on the Bhagirath River, the source to which we had been just two days earlier. It is the 5th tallest dam in the world, and the construction of this had caused a lot of concerns from the environmental groups, and from the people who had to relocate.  Our destination is Rudraprayag. "Rudra" is another name for Shiva, and "Prayag" means confluence. In these Himalayan mountains, there are several places, ending with "Prayag", signifying the confluence of two or more rivers. The biggest confluence is at Devprayag, where all the seven rivers that make up the Ganga river merge. However, this place was not in our itinerary, at least not on this trip. Rudraprayag is the confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers. At this confluence, arati is offered every evening, and we were told that it is a sight to behold. As today is the only possible time for us to see the arati, we let our driver Raj know that we had to reach there before sunset. In his eagerness to get us there on time, he missed a crucial turn en route, and we had to actually take a longer route. Naturally this led to a few anxious moments, but Raj made it up.We managed to reach the Rudraprayag confluence just in time. There was a bit of confusion as we tried to reach the arati place in time. The two rivers, Alaknanda and Mandakini have very different characteristics. Alaknanda flows through calm and unperturbed, while Mandakini is swift and swirling. These two rivers represent the union of Shiva and Shakti energies. We all descended on the steps of the banks (or ghats) of the rivers. It was twilight and just now beginning to get darker. Swamiji and Amma were very receptive to the intense Shakti energies there, it was flowing through them, it was them. Soon enough a small crowd gathered at the place, and a couple of pandits led the chanting of bhajans. Several oil lamps were lit. An old yogini led the offerings of the arati to the rivers. She waved the oil lit lamp rythmically to the rivers in circular motions. It was a powerful experience, watching her silhouette with the lamp, against the background of the beautiful singing and music and the roar of the mingling rivers. Later, the arati was passed to everyone who had gathered there. Swamiji and Amma offered the arati, followed by the rest of us. There was a sense of awe and humility as we offered the arati; it felt that the Gods were really present there and we were offering the arati to them.  By this time, the pandits, yogini and the rest of the people who had come to witness the arati left. It was pitch dark by now. Several steep steps up from the ghat is the Rudranath temple that is dedicated to Shiva. We all went up the stairs to the temple. For the first time, we saw a priestess in the temple, instead of a priest, and this was none other than the yogini who led the offering of the arati a few minutes earlier. She was toothless, a little frail and bent, but appeared to be full of energy. She immediately recognized Swamiji and Amma for who they were, she recognized the Shakti energy they were carrying. Swamiji and Amma too immediately connected with the powerful energies of the yogini. With Amalananda translating, there was a very intense conversation between them. The yogini said that the Divine Mother herself came to the temple in the form of Swamiji and Amma. With a grin, she remarked that the path chosen for them would be difficult at times, but that they would be successful in their mission of being the vehicles for the Divine Mother in reaching out to people. The yogini gave Swamiji and Amma a precious red sacred cloth, something that she never gives to anyone, as a blessing. It was such a beautiful experience, removing away the anxiousness and confusion which we had experienced earlier in the day. Imbibing the special energies of the Rudraprayag confluence, we headed to the hotel for a restful sleep after a long day.  |
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