An amazing 5 day yatra of 3 jyotirlingas, Meher Babas ashram and sanjeevani samadhi of mauli at alandi.
- in eternal aum consciousness
- May 14, 2024
- 18 min read
Updated: May 16, 2024
Sarv lok Kalyanam, the ultimate goal:
Sarva loka kalyanam is not charity or volunteering. it is simply adding massive value consistently, to others lives, in all the roles i play in life. Roles could be of a son, a CEO, a friend. The only focus is on giving. The alignment to "selfless service" is every moment, in every role, not just once a month, when some volunteering activity is done.
With the current level of energy I can only achieve so much. Got an intuition to absorb higher energies and align myself for higher responsibilities for sarva loka kalyananam.
This realisation also came after the retreat in kasauli, where Hetal mentioned about conserving the energy, channelising it and not dissipating it in trivial activities.
Slowly the connections are increasing in number and in depth with like minded souls. So many got connected recently and so many exited my life. It is a natural law of attraction at play. I met many pure souls at kasauli, it was amazing. It was as if i knew everyone for a long long time...
The planning:
This yatra was planned, around the Puja at alandi on the 11th may, the day after Akshay tritiya. This is the annual Pooja at Aalandi booked by my father many decades back. he chose the month of may, as being a hot summer month, we get to apply chandan Ooty to the samadhi of mauli, a rare Oppenheimer l opportunity, available only to a few fortunate souls. The samadhi representals mauli himself, who is in a deep state of "sanjeevani samadhi" for hundreds of years.
One of the warkari saints got a dream that there is water dripping on the mauli from the samadhi. The trust contacted my father who was a prof in civil engineering in iit bombay. He told his student, Dr Kamat to come and personally apply a waterproofing epoxy chemical on the samadhi in 1970s, which was seen until recently. The white coating you see in the samadhi, is today replaced by a black coating, as the earlier coat had completed its service life.
Thursday
The missed flights:
As we were planning the yaatra, I told sudararshan to take a flight to reach Mumbai by late afternoon he book the flight for 2:45 a.m. instead of 2:45 p.m. he shared the screen shot with me, but even i did not notice it...needless to say he missed the flight! he booked another ticket when he realised this and was about to miss the flight again as he did not reach the airport on time! this is the first time it is happening to him and as if, time itself slowed down and was not in his control! It happens! He finally landed in Mumbai around 6 pm.
Some made it. Some did not:
Narayana, our family friend joined. My Kaka could not... People connect and disconnect based on their alignment to the mission of their life and the common mission of the group. there is no right and no wrong in either someone joining or not joining the Yatra. We accepted this and started the yatra. The three of us.
Friday
Yatra begins:
We started in the morning at five thirty...i put the gps location of bhimashankar jyotirlingam, our first destination. I had an indication that we are going through the hills, after leaving the main highway and probably it's going to take time, not knowing that it would lead us to an amazing place, something which i had not seen before.
Sudarshan was into a meditative state in the car as we were crossing the hills. He stopped the car at the gate of a Bhairav mandir on the way suddenly. He sensed something, and we entered the temple premises.
This is the location.
As we came in, we saw many rocks with orange shendur applied on them. Having spent a lot of time in kashi, sudarshan knew this is a place of ancient worship.
The placement of two nandis outside the temple was also a bit unusual, something not seen anywhere earlier...
The temple complex had a main temple of bhairava, a smaller maruti temple next to the nandis, a under construction hanuman mandir, a tiny Devi mandir and numerous other small mandirs around.
The air here felt different. The vibes were very strong. The sound coming near the temple was perfect anahata sound but external. It was loud, very loud, a first experience of its kind. I could hardly distinguish between the two sounds. The inner sound and outer sound literally merged.
Bhairav and hanuman are kshetra Palak deities. The entire Forest range is called Daruka Van with numerous Devi attendant’s presence. Moving a little away to the main road automatically changes the vibes or impact we felt as if the power was concentrated in that place but nevertheless radiates protective energy.
Walking barefoot, exploring the rocks around, we came across an almost spherical rock. A very unusual sight. Sudarshan tried to lift it, but could not. It must have been very heavy... considering that sudarshan has a body of a person who does regular work outs... Since many years. I did not even try! As he tapped the rock, it did not sound the same at all locations. Sounds were different, as if the internal composition was not consistent. These rocks from sahyadri mountains are very old, older than the Himalayas.
The rock is visible in the picture in the right side.
I was able to listen to a vibrant anahata naada in the Hanuman mandir next to main mandir, where both, me and sudarshan sat for a while, eye closed. The inner sound became louder and louder. The Hanuman murti is a special vibrant tantric manifestation. This temple is under construction.
In the main mandir, i was able to hear the instruments like drum, conch and Veena along with the inner sound. This was as the first time, I could hear the sounds...The murtis here are very ancient. Maybe thousands of years old. The face of one of the murtis was not visible, as if it was eroded by constant application of various powders and flowers over a long long period of time.
As we were leaving, another family from Mumbai stopped by. They simply took darshan, and finished their visit in a short time. I realised the importance of sitting still in these places to feel the energy, vibrations, blessings, activation, peace, calm etc. These in a still state get absorbed internally and stay for a long time, sometimes, across lives. Everyone absorbs these vibrations at different level. The source is the same, the recipient is different.
All the yogic practices, the yama, niyamas etc are designed to silence the mind. There is a saying in Sanskrit.
"Aswasthha chittanam khatatopo bhayankara". Meaning a unsettled mind undergoes tremendous effort. Which also means that a silent mind, gets it easily.
We left the place with an amazing experience, something like never before.
As we approached bhimashankar the atmosphere started changing. it felt cooler, calmer as we made our way through the forest up the hill.
As we approach the temple we saw a very unusual musical instrument drawing our attention. Watch this video and listen to the sound. This is something like we had never seen before
The stick is of a Til tree. Coated with Wax. The "Parat" used to knead dough was upside down. There was wax at the base. To create the music instrument, at our naada yoga studio, i got two sticks and will experiment on recreating this amazing instrument at home. This was very unusual. The perfect sound of "om namah shivaya" still resonates within.
The short om, the long om, the mantra, all create a perfect symphony together. The person had come from raigadh a few months back to the temple. It was as if, he was there only for us!
Here is a clear audio. Mesmerizing. Sudarshan recorded this audio by placing his phone very close to the instrument.
Buying a few mahakaal shirts on the way, we proceeded ahead.
Bhimashankar mahadev:
A period of sitting silently in the temple after our darshan followed. Got the afternoon arti by an extended stay after darshan. We felt a low intensity energy here. Anahata naada was lower in volume here and frequency. Shanidev faces the shivalingam here.
This is an undisturbed lingam, meaning it was not destroyed by the Mughals earlier.
Gorakshanath ashram
As we were doing the parikrama, we saw Gorakahanath ashram. This has a dhuni, which is very ancient. This is a key place where energy was maximum. This was in direct line of sight of the lingam, hence the energy... That's our logical assumption. Very few, actually next to none, came.
Importance of seva was explained by kunal, a young sadhu.
He told about the importance of not being attached to money with an example of a person who looked very rich but has a 1300 crore loan, which did not allow him to sleep properly! He told us the difference between wants and needs. A subtle but profound insight.
He also explained importance of the daily prayer, which yields the result suddenly, unexpectedly. These rituals give the result at the right time. So to be consistent.
And have good company, which is the key.
He stressed on the importance of seva, guru seva.
These are life lessons from a person who has a very high level of anubhuti.
According to him, A sadhu should ask what he needs, like limited quantity of food, which he needs right now and when he gets what he wants, he should stop. He should not ask for more than what is needed. He should not agree to be fed by the host, when the host wants. This is a profound message ... He instantly reminded me of kanhaiyaji, I met on varanasi ghats in shivratri 2024. This is one of the niyamas- santosham in ashtanga yoga.
Discussion with narayana on music:
As a student of naad yoga, I am still not aware of the basics of Indian music, the swaras and ragas. I asked narayan, an expert in this area for guidance. He is a brilliant composer, singer, sanatana supporter and very active on social media. So a lesson started, right in the car, when we were traveling! Narayan in the front seat next to the driver and me in the back seat. What a seating arrangement! He simply told me a few key points.
Brain knows patterns, not exact frequencies.
Music is individual, can't be taught in a class.
Saregama is the basic which takes years to practise.
One has to listen like a rasik, before one attempts to sing.
Don't imitate. Be orginal. Be yourself.
Its very easy to sing.
I actually did "saregamapadanisa", for the first time in my life!
This is the clue to get the naada inside tuned.
Disaster in booking the hotel:
As we booked a hotel online, and reached there, we realised that, This place had
no guests
no water
no power
no ac rooms
I asked them, so they have a lock? They said no, with a straight face! Haha.
This was the only let down in the trip, but as usual, it was a sign of better things to come. We found a hotel in Alandi at a few kilometres away from the main temple.
Soothing energy at alandi
As we stood in the line for darshan, We felt that Alandi has a very soothing energy. We did paduka pujan in the morning. These are the same padukas which are taken for vaari to pandharpur. To hold them, To do their Puja is a lifetime experience, available only to a fortunate few. In the puja, we were joined by jaideeep and his family, rajashree and her son and others...around 12 of us.
Sant dyneshwar is in sanjeevani samadhi at alandi. His presence continues to be felt by devotees. Sanjeevani samadhi is a rare process, accomplished by only a handful, where the elements dissolve into one another and finally, only a glow remains.
Your can read more about the process here.
Asking for something
All wishes and prayers get fulfilled for all devotees and that’s how people flock here.
When sudarshan asked, what did you ask for, from Maharaj, Jaideep said, "we dont ask for anything". Which in a way is correct, but in this, only the self is the context. Beyond the basic needs, there is nothing to ask for. This is santosham, a key niyama.
I have a different approach.
This is like going to a vast lake, and not asking for water, as your are not thirsty. You have water arrangements made for you and your family. This is the small world in which most people live of self and family. But, a question arises, what about the millions who are without water? How does this water reach them? How can I as a medium, help, contribute, do selfless seva through my many roles, to provide drinking water? Hence a prayer gets formed... Which was given earlier.
If you had access to unlimited power, knowledge and money, far more than what you need, would you ask for nothing, or everything to help everyone, who don't have access to it? This can only happen when one sees the creation as manifestation of the same consciousness, as the self, with out any difference, seamlessly.
Ask for the well being of everyone. Family, friends, universe beings. As you do value addition, you will recieve a portion, without asking anything for yourself.
This prayer of giving has evolved over a period of time... Few years actually. From asking for self to creating a model to channelise the universal energy as a medium is the purpose.
The prayer now is:
Blessed by satguru, acting as a chosen medium, with sincere gratitude, I transfer the eternal infinite knowledge, bliss and energy from the abundant universe, for giving prosperity, happiness and well-being for all, through mission one million associates by giving substantial value consistently through strategic innovation led ventures, while being in eternal sound of om/aum and divine music to graciously receive the rewards of health, wealth and happiness for me, my family, my associates and all the beings in the universe.
The prayer is inspired by pasyadan by sant dyneshwar, where he does not ask anything for himself.
Missed calls
Forgetting to handover the key at checkout and getting 23 missed calls! Was another experience altogether! In search of the master key of life, i forgot the room key in my pocket!
Anahata sound
In this trip, using the anahata sound as the indicator, for the first time, i could feel that the energy of bhairava is intense. The Devis energy is vibrating swaying, dancing. The alandi temple energy is soothing like a mother's love. Very subtle.
We did Nagar pradakshina. The place where muktabai made mandes on dyneshwars back was seen... This is done by an accomplished Yogi, where the Agni from mooladhara is converted to heat, extreme heat. A similar exercise is done by Tibetan monks, where they dry wet clothes on a cold winter night, just with body heat! This is a process, not a miracle. Someone who knows, can do. You can too, if you dedicate your life to this practise.
The wall which dyneshwar moved is now covered with another wall... You can watch a small video here.
Abhishekam at siddheshwar Mahadev was done where dynehswar used to pray.
Ajana vriksha
Sudarshan was blessed with a fresh leaf from ajana vriksha, by a devotee who was reading dynehswari. This is very rare. He asked the devotee if he could eat it.. and he did! It is not allowed to pluck ajana tree leaves. Still sudarshan got one on his first visit, in his hand! The devotee and sudarshan have never met in their life before!
A snoring formula
The lunch after naivaidyam with puran poli and amras was amazing. A perfect snoring formula...
Meeting with my childhood buddy
In the evening, I met v, my childhood friend at her place in pune, who sumitted mount Kilimanjaro a few years back... She realised that what people think does not matter at all... She did it for herself and detached herself from the result. This was a profound realization for her. So happy that we met. In the process of sumitting the mountain, one becomes a different person. Which she has... Her focus, priorities, will continue to transform inwards... As she continues to seek within. This is just a start.
Breakfast
Our breakfast was usually vada pav, poha and misal, the staple food of this region. With many outlets near the temples, this was easy to get, and light to digest.
Sunday:
Meher baba:
Darshan at meherabad at Babas samadhi was next. The feeling of peace and love is here ... A silent place...a peaceful place... Got two small booklets on baba. We could not stay at the ashrams accomodation, as it's closed this time in summer.
He has spread the message of universal love. Just like other saints have through their teachings.
We went for the Dhuni and arti in the evening... We decided to wait after the darshan for this. This trip was planned on such a way, unknowingly that we are here in meherabad on the dhuni day... Yogesh, our shankhnaad guru, told us that this is a calling from meher baba himself, that you planned it in this way...this is a rare occurrence and blessed one.
Arti and prayer
In the afternoon, the internal om sound was normal volume.. In The evening the volume increased significantly. Indicating higher level of energy presence during the arti of baba. He has said that whenever this arti is done, he will be there, blessing everyone. We could feel the presence of baba here.
Universal Prayer (Master’s Prayer)
Given by Meher Baba on 13 September 1953
O Parvardigar — the Preserver and Protector of all!
You are without Beginning, and without End,
Non-dual, beyond comparison, and none
can measure You.
You are without colour, without expression,
without form, and without attributes.
You are unlimited and unfathomable,
beyond imagination and conception,
eternal and imperishable.
You are indivisible; and none can see You,
but with Eyes Divine.
You always were, You always are, and
You always will be;
You are everywhere, You are in everything;
and You are also beyond everywhere
and beyond everything.
You are in the firmament and in the depths;
You are manifest and unmanifest, on
all planes and beyond all planes.
You are in the three worlds, and also
beyond the three worlds;
You are imperceptible and independent.
You are the Creator, the Lord of lords,
the knower of all minds and hearts;
You are omnipotent and omnipresent.
You are Knowledge Infinite, Power Infinite,
and Bliss Infinite.
You are the Ocean of Knowledge, all-knowing,
infinitely knowing, the Knower of the past,
the present, and the future, and You are
Knowledge Itself.
You are all-merciful and eternally benevolent;
You are the Soul of souls, the One with
infinite attributes.
You are the Trinity of Truth, knowledge, and
Bliss,
You are the Source of Truth, the Ocean of Love;
You are the Ancient One, the Highest of the High;
You are Prabhu and Parameshwar, You are the
Beyond-God, and the Beyond-Beyond God also,
You are Parabrahma, Allah, Elahi, Yezdan,
Ahuramazda, and God the Beloved.
You are named Ezad — the only One
worthy of worship.
When i heard the prayer, it has all the elements of nirvanashatakam and brahmagynavali. The words may be different, the essence is the same. It has to be.
When you chant a mantra of a Rishi, a stotram of shankracharya, their power and tapas and blessings are invoked, irrespective of the language. Hence the prayers of enlightened beings work, not a prayer of a normal person.
An example here is that the kings order when told by a normal person, has the power of the king. Just like a currency note has the power of the central banks guarantee. Try making your own currency and giving it to someone!
Dhuni
In the dhuni, we had to put a small piece of saldal wood soaked in ghee in the dhuni and wish one negative quality to be eliminated. I chose agyana or lack of knowledge or clarity to be removed from my self. As agyana is removed, It is only with gyana that Satya or the ultimate truth can be realised. And that is the state of jeevanmukti.
Chakras
The Bhajan and prayers worked on the anahata chakra, being pure love and the dhuni on the Manipur chakra, being Fire.
These are precisely the two chakras that were out of balance, accordingly to pranali, my pranic healer, who has helped many many people to heal faster.
To accomplish projects, great connection from the heart and a fire in the belly is needed which was activated in this session today.
A video call to sarika and yogesh, my shankhnaad guru during the dhuni, was their way to take darshan from their home in lonavala, as they could not come here today. Their happiness was priceless, worth all the effort, the time, the travel.
Monday:
Grishneshwar jyotirling:
On reaching here, we had breakfast at an interesting place where we saw this board.
We planned to do an abhishekam in grishneshwar mandir. We were assigned a guruji, barbekar. He ensured we had an excellent, proper Abhishek. As always, i prayed for sarva loka kalyanam and to accomplish this mission, all the resources needed from ashtalaxmi. The blessings where sought for everyone, you the reader included!
The shivalingam here represents the fire element. Again, the connection to manipura chakra was established! I was not aware of this until our guruji told me about it. After the abhishekam was done, we participated in the arti, by being inside the gabhara or the inner sanctum. Shiv arti is always special as it involves drums, conch, and other instruments, all playing in increasing and decreasing tempo and volume, to create an amazing experience.
Exactly opposite to the door of the shiv lingam, we saw a raised platform with very narrow steps. When sudarshan went up there, he saw an old asana, where a group of people must have meditated long ago. This arrangement is similar to what we saw in bhimashankar and it made us wonder about the the similarity between both. Maybe, the energy from the lingam is designed to be maximum, here at this location? One has to spend more time and experience this ...
Meeting a sadhu
We met a sadhu here, as i handed him a bilva patra for offering to shivalingam. He patted me on the back. He took out a shankh from his jhola and it was one of the most amazing shank naad i have ever heard. It requires tremendous power to generate a volume of that order from the naad.
We met him again, when he was having prasad, and we started talking to him. Somehow he liked us. He told us, "sadhu kisi ko kuch deta nahi hai. Lekin jab prasanna ho jata hai, tab apni langoti bhi de deta hai". This statement has a very profound meaning...
He has done multiple yatras of amarnath shivlingam. Attended many kumb melas. He gave us both a special object, which he asked us not to disclose to anyone...
We gave him some dakshina. He accepted it, without touching it, stating that this is the fuel needed to run the affairs in this world, nothing more.
We later found out that he comes here every Monday. And it was destined that we meet, so we all came together at the same place at the same time. He usually stays at a samadhi of a great Saint nearby.
He again called us to sit near him, as we were going out of the temple. We got a picture clicked, which he told us, not to share with anyone.
Our guruji told us that any modification or repair of the temple has to be done by asi, the archaeological survey of India. Asi treats all old structures has monuments and not as active temples which are vibrating with energy. The temples need to be free from the control from asi, to thrive and become the centre of learning, culture, finance, etc. To bind the society together.
Kailasa temple:
Situated near the jyotirlingam, is the kailasa temple in the ellora caves region. Sudarshan has a wish, since he was 9, to come and visit this place. This was a dream come true. Feeding monkeys bananas, we started the tour.
We fed the friendly/safe langurs as monkeys are agreesive while langurs are friendly...
Propose of our visit was to feel the vibrations and energy of this place, discover, why someone would build it at this specific place, the design, elevation, everything from this perspective, instead of a tourists viewpoint.
The energy of the place is still very vibrant and the anahata naada was steady and strong within. Sudarshan also felt and confirmed the same. It is surprising that even after hundreds of years of no abhishekam being done in the shiv ling, it still retains the vibrations!
Rocks have an immense capacity to retain vibrations within them. Hence the temples built with rock, and not bricks. Just durability was not the consideration.
We could only imagine, how grand this place would have looked, when it was fully operational. The caves near the kailasa temple appear to be designed to transmit similar vibrations that help the monks staying there, in their meditation. This must have been a great centre of learning, discovery and self realization. Today, It lies damaged both by invaders, time and nature.
Nandi photos from Ellora, talking about the perfectly designed Nandi seated as bull would in a natural habitat. The proportions were perfect..
Tuesday:
Trambakeshwar:
We both got up late today. This trip became tiring after the 4th day, as we are on the move every day, and the heat at kailasa got to us. We had slowed down by end of the day yesterday. We found a good hotel. Rio inn, which is very new, for a good stay over here.
Sudarshan is fond of "amruttulya chaha", the local tea. Whenever we see the board, we stop!
Abhishekam done today. No anahata sound in the temple today. There is simply absolute silence. As being attached to anahata is also an attachment, desire, a state. This is being stateless.
We got the special object, given by the sadhu we met in grishneshwar jyotirling, blessed by the trambakeshwar jyotirlinga from our guruji here.
A vision of massive loka kalyanam came in this instant covering all 4 aspects of moksha, dharma, kaama and artha. Involving a trust, business, politics and spiritually. It will take shape soon, very soon. This was coincidentally done at a special muhurtam on ganga saptami in pushya nakshatra on May 14th. This was the same time, when pm Modi filed his nomination papers.
our timing also coincided with Shiva pooja and aarti at noon, where our morning pooja was scheduled at 9 . Brahma ji Pooja and aarti at Brahma muhurt is completed according to the pandit ji
Darshan at nivrittinath mandir:
Went at the right time to contribute to jeernodhar of the mandir. The person there, handed over a portrait of the samadhi with a coconut. He is the elder brother and guru of sant dyneshwar and a avatar of lord Shiva.
It also coincided with Sant Nivrittinath considered as Shiva energy while Dyneshwar ji is considered Vishnu energy
The intuition to take darshan came as soon as we got out of the trimbakeshwar mandir.
Summary:
While bhimashankar transmitted the calmness of the moon, alandi transmitted unconditional love of a mother. Meher Babas presence was only love of a guru. While ghrishneshwar transmitted the fire energy, trambakeshwar is the Trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh. It is as if this Yatra was planned by intuition in this sequence, to seek blessings to fulfill the mission of sarvaloka Kalyanam.
Funding the Purpose and a new project unfolds:
We did a purpose finding exercise with Sudarshan. Our common purpose is innovation!
Building on our common interests of kashi, loka kalyanam, spirituality, we have a project coming up... That combines dharma, artha, kaama and moksha. Will share details soon as it unfolds. This is the start of something that is aligned to creating perpetual giving machine.
Meeting, aligning, working together with spiritual buddies is the perfect match of personal dna, which is manifested in the activities, aligned to the same dna. I could relate this immediately to what our mentor ambrishji says.
Action ahead:
The ancient centres are designed for balancing the energy system within us. Once this system is balanced, intuition, passion, mission everything becomes a flow. Make a list of power centres like jyotirlingams, ashtvinayak, shaktipeeths etc. which are aligned to the deities to whom you are ancestors have prayed. Once this is done, plan to go to these places, not as tourists to click selfies but to sit, meditate, absorb, transform and come out as a different person. For this, one has to spend sufficient time in these places. Minimum few hours and ideally a few days. Intuitively you will develop affinity to a certain place where you will be pulled. Follow this intuition.
Blessing:
By reading this may you be blessed by all the divine energies, mentioned in this blog. May All your dreams and desires come true.
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