Part 1/2. Kriya yoga retreat in Mahakumbh Jan 25.
- in eternal aum consciousness
- Feb 3
- 18 min read
The inspiration:
The desire to go to kumbh got stronger in December after doing kriya yoga and attending the retreat. I was looking for a camp with like minded souls. And kriya yoga team had set up one for a month!
The booking extension:
Earlier, i was told that accommodation was available only from 23 to 27 jan. I requested chankaya baba and he graciously accepted the extended stay till 2nd feb. Guruji was also going to be there in these days. Just being in the presence of a realized master is enough! It all just worked out.
Thursday:
Met Aditi and Tanushree on the flight with arti, right from Mumbai to parayraj.
Flight was late by two hours. After a pickup coordination at the airport, instead of 9, we realised we were actually 12, with kriyavans from other countries also joining in.
Double laddu baba from Surat was also with us. It was great to meet him after the gev retreat.
Satyam, our coordinator for cars, quickly arranged for another car! And we were off to the camp with all luggage nicely tucked in the boot!
Amazing airport the whole city is lit up to welcome the devout to the holy city of prayagraj.
Check in:
Chanakya baba and his team allocated beds to us in the dormitory as everything was pre-planned and well organised.
Book store:
A small bookstore at the camp made all the books available to us!
If you ever want to assess the depth of any spiritual organization, just take a look at the books their masters have produced over their lifetime! Kriya.org comes at the tops. Got many books from here to study further.
Food:
Satvik boiled vegetables. Decided to make this as my standard diet for the duration of the stay.
Bhajan at night:
Every night, there is a Bhajan in the camp. I can't relate to devotion easily, as self realisation has not happened yet!
Someshwar mahadev darshan:
Took darshan for someshwar mahadev and offered flowers and milk on mahadev. Prayed for everyone's happiness.
Friday:
Sangam bath:
We booked bikes and Bath at sangam by taking a boat. The five of us.
After the snan:
Did Mahamrityunjay mantra, Manifestation mantra chanting in the sangam. This is energy, the same as ganga river. The state of mind was pure and thought less even though there were many people around. Did meditation. Body was moving due to the currents. And shivering in the cold, yet the mind was thoughtless.
In prayagraj, after kumbh sangam snan. Sitting in atmabodhi mudra. Amazing experience 🙏🏻 in cold water, body temperature managed by Swara yoga. Could have been there for longer time...chanting and meditating...more snans lined up till 2nd feb.
Where is the sangam:
Guruji told us that Sangam is 3 km from the actual meeting point. We are in sangam itself. We are at the banks of the holy river for purification of mind, body, energy. Looking back, if the people knew this, the stampede could be avoided, by distributing the crowds.
Bhajan:
In one of the discourses, this Bhajan was sung by guruji:
चलो मन गंगा जमुना तीर,
चलो मन गंगा जमुना तीर,
चलो मन गंगा जमुना तीर,
गंगा जमुना निर्मल पानी,
गंगा जमुना निर्मल पानी,
गंगा जमुना निर्मल पानी,
शीतल होत शरीर,
चलो मन गंगा जमुना तीर,
चलो मन गंगा जमुना तीर,
चलो मन गंगा जमुना तीर,
Natasha said that let the sand remain on the body. As it's holy sand! And the plan to take bath was cancelled. You get the right guidance at the right time. I eventually did take bath in the evening, to avoid becoming Sand man!
On the way, i saw an amazing over crowded tumtum. Never seen something so overloaded.
A typical day the at the camp looked like this:
Darshan of Naga sadhus:
The young boys we met at night, arranged for bikes and with other friends, we went on a naga darshan.
It was the first time, i was seeing naga sadhus up close from a few feet only. It is true that they don't wear any clothes at all. There where many of them including a naga sadhu who has not put his hand down, a one who is in jhoola for many years, one on prickly cactus lying down, one called rabadi baba who feeds rabadi to everyone, rudraksha baba who wears more than 25 kgs of rudraksha on his body, nandi baba who moves around with a bull with an extra limb, a baba who was floating a stone on water, a baba who cures people just by touching them.
I saw many people seeking their blessings. I could feel the stark difference between guruji, a paramhamsa and radiating a soothing aura, vs the vibrant energy of the nagas.
On the way, saw this interesting character with a moustache! kids like him walk on the tight rope and entertain the passers by.
Flute recital:
Met an amazing group from abroad, coordinated by a person settled in new zealand. I don't have the video handy!
Saturday:
Got up late today and missed the snan at someshwar ghat and kriya yoga session. Taking two dips back to back on two days, did not make sense much, as one has to be careful for exposure to cold, which i am not used to much.
Finished a call with prasanna my college buddy from san jose, usa. We have a call on the last Saturday of every month to exchange notes and learning on Spiritual progress. Have told him to do kriya yoga. He will come to Mumbai soon and May be get initiated. I have made a list of my dear friends, who are spiritual seekers, to be initiated in kriya yoga!
Discourse by guruji:
Unless you are a Sevak, you can not be a sadhak. Every action i take is for seva of all living and non living beings. I don't have to do any specific seva. Only when the mind is not attached, can sadhana be done. Otherwise, the mind will create hurdles in sadhana also.
Lunch as falahar:
Being ekadashi, the lunch is only fruits. Amazing. Exactly what I was thinking of in the morning!
Reading the book by guruji:
Out of the 3 verses, which are dear to me and are the foundation of my studies, is nirvanashatakam. The book on nirvanashatakam was on display. I got attracted to it and picked up the book for a study. Around 100 pages. Should take a few hours to read. Looking forward to finding some gems within.
Travel from airport near the mauni amavasya snan date:
It was impossible to travel to airport to with round trip taking upto 8 hours. So people left the camp very early in the morning, to beat the traffic.
Here is an excellent photograph clicked by James on one of the nights!
It is so surreal! This is one of the ma walking between the two forms, with the white lamp shining, as if it's the moon!
Meeting pranjali:
As i got out of the gate, i saw two ladies, dragging their suitcases! They had landed at 7 am and even at 3 pm, had not reached their tent! I quickly shared the contact of our bikers who gave them a lift to their tents. For them, help arrived, exactly when they needed it the most! All by the grace of guruji. And the best part is, she is looking for kriya yoga initiation! I shared all the information i had. She stays in Africa and will get in touch in her next visit to India.
Histas baba:
After the discourse by Histas baba, he told a key point. It's not enough to listen. It is important to reflect on what is heard. This is also explained in the qualities of a disciple, one of them being swadhyaya or self study. So during and after the discourse, reflect, study, write notes, absorb, discuss, and do course correction!
Sunday:
I met anindya, a captain in merchant Navy here. The camp group left a bit early for the snan. we had a map in-hand, but Soon it was clear that we will not be able to catch up them. I had a great time with anindya, who is a brahmachari with kriya family. When you walk with some one for 5 hours, you do make friends!
Monday:
Attended the bbb meeting online. This is a group of brahmin business bandhus who meets every 15 days. An interesting organisation, where i made so many friends!
There was a discourse by guruji daily in the morning and by other Swami's in the evening.
Special significance of kumbha:
Coming together of great souls, some seen and some unseen, only in energy form. Happens in the kumbh. They come in their own. There is no invitation to this event. This is amazing.
The combination of 3 rivers, the specific time, which comes after 12 years and coming together of great souls, which energizes the kumbh within and purifies the mind, body and soul.
Every story in our puranans is metaphorical in nature and points to an inner process.
Meeting Parveen:
Parveen Runs a charity in UK for homeless with a magazine business generating 100,000 pounds a month of income for homeless.. We talked of many things, including ishtadeva etc, and i shared the method of finding ishtadeva, which i learnt from Tanushree! We then went to take Darshan of somnath mandir with other kriyavans.
Ishtadevta:
In kriya yoga, there is the ishtadevta which is the saguna form of consciousness, one prays to. I was intrigued to find out the ishtadevta for myself. One of the method to do so is from calculations from this link based on your date of birth, time and place.
https://vedicrishi.in/kundli/kundli-report one of the tabs gives the ishtadevta names.
The other is to follow your heart. Remember that all saguna forms are the same consciousness expressed in multiple forms and names. Worship the one with total immersion. that is the key.
Chanting ishtadevta matra, is like tuning the mind to the most compatible frequency, to accelerate the spiritual journey.
Prayer:
The question answer session ended with the universal prayer for:
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु ।
मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत् ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥
May everyone be happy, may everyone be free from disease, may everyone's life be prosperous and may no one suffer sorrow. Oh God, grant us such a boon!
Another Spirtitual Engineer:
I met an interesting person from Chicago, who like me, goes by logical understanding in spiritual matters. He is anis friend and was Manning the gate, when i met him. (The camp was asking everyone to record their in and out so that they would be sure that everyone was accounted for. The gate of the camp was also shut, to prevent the crowd from entering inside).
Meeting Swami satswarupananda:
I also meet Swami satswarupananda who cleared some doubts of mine regarding kriya yoga quickly.
One of the things we discussed in to avoid night shade plants like tomato, brinjal etc.
Night shade veggies are capsicum chilli peppers brinjal tomatoes potatoes... these trigger inflammatory pathways through the presence of compounds such as solanine...therefore they're from a species called Solanaceae
so while some believe that these veggies strengthen immunity.. especially in winters ... the compound is known to trigger arthritis and other autoimmune processes
it's okay to eat everything in moderation or less.. one can cook them well
Over crowding:
It is estimated that 10 million people will take bath on amavasya. The streets are overflowing with people. With groups walking from nearby places to reach the sangam. Once they take the bath, they just head back to their homes. It is interesting to see, two streams of people. One coming in and other going back!
Dip in sangam at mauni amavasya:
From 28 evening to 29 evening is the time of amavasya. The time to take a dip has finally arrived! It was decided to take the dip at around midnight, considering the crowd. Leaving our wallets and phone in the camp, we started! Everyone was given an orange band to wear for easy identification.
With sound of shankhnaad, the group started from the camp to the someshwar ghat. To keep the group together, the mission had organised a cordon with a long plastic pipe. A smart and practical move! A very long flag pole with a large flag was right in the front, guiding everyone. To make way, two conch blowers were in the front. It was a slow and un hurried walk.the outside temparature was low. Everyone was wearing multiple layers of clothing.
As we entered the water, Needless to say, the water was cold! Initially, it felt chilly and we were not able to withstand the cold. But swar yoga techinques, made it easier again.
Once a few dips were taken, i was used to the cold water and decided to spend more time chanting and meditating in the cold waters.
Prayers for everyone's well-being, invocation of dieties, ancestors and gurus was done to seek their blessings. The purification process was under way.
The snan had a refreshing effect.
After the bath, after a quick change, we stopped to have chai at the local Tea stall, just outside our camp. The joy of having hot tea at two am, is something out of the world.
Inside the camp, we took blessings from guruji. And some hot kadha was waiting for us!
Rather than just sleeping, some of us decided to meditate. Meditation at 2.30 am was amazing after the snan! In the mediation hall. There were a few who were sleeping and their snoring mixed with my anahata naada was so funny!
As it was getting very cold, combined with the effect of the snan, had to proceed to sleep within an hour!
Wednesday:
Today, there is no morning kriya. Only a discourse is planned. We are encouraged to be silent and contemplate within.
Annadan:
What an opportunity to do annadana at the kumbh! And when greater service, gathering all the plates!
Parveen and another baba were dedicated to cleaning up the plates thrown carelessly by the people, into garbage bins. Their commitment is out of this world. It's my privilege to be of some help to them.
Sadhu bhojan:
In the camp, there was a feast organized for all the monks and brahamcharis. It started with chanting mantras. Here everyone who wanted to serve, was given a chance, provided they were in the traditional dress.
Filling water in the bottles for manuni amavasya:
We walked to the Ghat and filled water in the bottles. This is the water blessed with amrut kaal.
Evening with live orchestra and buffet dinner:
As we were walking by, came across a restaurant with live music! Walked in there. Enjoyed the food and the music. It got crowded by 8.30 pm.
Thursday:
Woke up late and directly attended the discourse of guruji, missing the morning kriya session to complete the sleep and rest.
Travel tips:
If you are travelling to kumbh, please follow these tips as you may have to take a motorbike ride or walk, if you are caught in a traffic jam!
Only cabin baggage. No suitcases.
Backpack is the best.
Travel early morning only as the traffic is minimum now.
Be prepared to walk with luggage for a few hours.
Traffic jams maybe everywhere, esp on main snan dates. It just does not move at times. Check Google map.
Where to take snan:
Come to arail ghat or boat club. They are on opposite sides. Book a boat and go to sangam spot which is a platform in the middle of the river with changing rooms etc.
Location of arail ghat
As our camp was near arail ghat, we took the boat from there.
Sangam snan 4:
Another snan at the sangam followed with James, pronounced hilariously as jam-ees by someone, and we were all laughing!
This is the night view of the sangam. Brightly lit up.
James captured this hilarious heading form rupa, a leading inner wear brand.
We were expecting a major rush between 28th Feb and 5th March. There was no much rush at the sangam, presumably due to the low turnout after the stampede on 29th, which took away quite a few lives. On 29th we all prayed for the peaceful onward journey of the departed souls.
Kumbh at home:
I collected some sangam Sand this time to keep it the kumbh pot with sangam water to create a mini sangam at home! This unforgettable, once in the lifetime, mahakumbh that happens once in 144 years, will have a permanent place at home and in my heart. This container is available on amazon for home delivery.
I still remember the phone calls and messages from worried friends and family coming to check on us. It was planned with divine guidance for our group to avoid the crowds and take snan at the someshwar ghat. This ensured safety for everyone.
Traffic:
Due to the heavy demand on the road traffic, there were jams everywhere in the road, some extending to more than 24 hours. The adminstration is doing it's best, but the city infrastructure is simply not geared up for the rush.
Departure:
I am having second thoughts. I am planning to leave a day early and spend time with my cousins who stay locally, to have sufficient time to reach the airport. The vehicle traffic in the kumbh mela is stopped, with only bikes and e rickshaw avilable till the parking lots. I wonder how to take my suitcase on a bike. Another first?
Discussion on what really matters.
Being a paramhans, guruji is the realised master. Over having tea, James and parveen discussed their many spiritual experiences of how they got intitiated, their journey till now, their sense of spirituality. It was a great learning! Instead of chit chatting and gossiping about others, cricket, movies, politics, it is definately better to discuss what matters the most! You! And not the mind, not the mind, but the situation spiritual journey! And it definately helps Harshit to sell more chai!
Encounter with a sadhu:
Though i could make out that this sadhu is not genuine, i did not want to dis-respect him. (Genuine sadhus don't go around, catching people. They sit at one place and people come to them). I have him some dakshina, and He gave me a rudraksha and a Shiva pendant and blessed me for overall success. With the exponential business growth we have planned to serve more people, all blessings are welcome!
Shut that alarm!
Around 5 am, i could hear loud music from loudspeakers that woke me up. The guy next to me, thought it was someone's alarm set on the mobile and half asleep, he said "someone, shut that alarm"
The big issue:
I recommend you invest time and see this video by John Bird! You will be a different person, seeing what a man can create from the depths of poverty: An opportunity to help the homeless earn money with dignity.
You can read more about him here.
The way it works is that the homeless are given 5 magazines free, worth 10 pounds. They sell it and invest the sales proceeds in 5 more magazines for 5 pounds. Each magazine they sell, earns them a pound. Generating close to 100,000 pounds monthly for the community! Amazing!
During Covid, big issue committed to supporting the homeless vendors, even though there was no sales. They raised a million dollars in donations! They committed to give, even before they had the money! This needs a courage and commitment of a different level.
A few days back, John celebrated his 80th birthday! Happy birthday John!
Parveen is very fortunate to have an amazing soul as a partner, both at work and at home. The work that they both are doing is beyond amazing. Spirituality is not only about meditation. It is about helping the ones who really need help! That is seeing the divine everywhere in everyone. God bless you, you family and the big issue community, Parveen.
Tipping:
Whenever I tried to give a tip to anyone, they simply refused first. They only accepted when i insisted multiple times. They simply did not expect any tips. I saw this attitude with the chai guy and many other small stalls where i bought snacks etc. This is a huge cultural difference from the west. Here the people may be poor, but they believe they don't deserve anything more than what is the price. This is a sure sign of inner satisfaction!
Middle point restaurant:
Just a few shops away from this bank was this nice garden restaurant. To have a change from the simple camp food, we had a few meals here too! It is there that we had long long chats with our friends over kulhad chai!
Excellent arrangement:
Inspite of having hundreds of people in the camp, everyone was well provided for. Ample food. Ample blankets, beds etc. everything was so well organized. One night, I saw chankaya baba sleeping in office..I asked why? He said, people come in late at night also. I have to attend to them. This level of seva is...I have no words to describe it.
Absolutely safe camp:
The camp was absolutely safe. There was no incident of anyone losing anything at all. People were keeping mobiles, cash etc in unlocked bags. No issues at all. Though there were total strangers around me. I felt as if I knew them for a long long time! The common connection being kriya! It was like one big large joint kriya family!
Chappals lost and found:
It seems i had chappals very similar to someone. A few times, they did go missing, only to appear outside the dining area or meditation hall! When they did go missing, i was looking at everyone's feet, trying to locate them. I was Charandas! (Charan means feet in Hindi. And das means a devotee). It was hilarious as ani and parveen also saw this a few times!
4 pm mean does not mean 4 pm:
Once we had planned to go out. One of the group members was delayed. I said. We will wait. This is not what is done in the west. Whomever comes, they leave on time. I told them, we are not going on any schedule. We are just walking to the Ghat! East West cultural difference!
Kadha made our day:
The amazing kadha, a herbal preparation made everyone's stay pleasant. Available in the mornings and evenings for everyone, it really kept cold, cough and sore throat away for most of us. It was simply outstanding planning!
Super cold nights:
My bed was right next to the metal sheet of the dormitory. At night, it was super cold. I did not request for a change as the office was managing hundreds of visitors that time. Many times at night, the sleep was not proper, as i am not used to cold at all. This was inspite blankets provided by the Ashram! Afterall, in Mumbai there are only two seasons. Summer and rains!
Cheating on the diet:
I was mostly on boiled vegetables throughout the retreat. A few times i had little kheer, convincing my mind, that is not food. It is Prasad! I have to get back into satvik food soon atleast on the weekdays!
Anindya:
A captain in merchant Navy by profession, very humble and loving person at heart. He shared many of his experiences in sailing, on kriya, ashram, high seas, people management etc, as we discussed late into the night, many times!
Transformation of skanda baba:
I saw skanda baba with a beard when i came to the camp. Just before leaving, i thought he has a younger brother! Looking closely, i realised it was him. Clean shaven!
The vip was missing here:
In the previous kriya gev retreat, ayyappa Baba's little daughter was the star attraction. The vip. Everyone missed her over here. She was the most active person in the group in gev!
Chais and more chais:
I got james (jam-ees) addicted to the tea! Harshit was super happy seeing his business boom! James even got the mud tumblers as a souvenir! Small packets of pea nuts kept the chai going and conversation flowing!
Happy to share:
Natasha and her cousin came. Deepti and her husband are coming to stay at the camp. They were looking at a place to stay at the kumbh. And i told them to look at no other place other than this one! Chanakya baba was kind enough to accommodate them. Natasha had a great time here in kumbh, though we could not interact much in this trip.
Time to leave:
As i sat down packing by bags and saying bye to all kriyavan friends, i realised that this is how life is. The camp is like life. We connect to people deeply, like i connected with parveen, with just a question. "How is the food?", with anindya, as both were late to join the group for snan, with Tanushree, as she was on the same flight and many more. Some come early. Some stay. Some connect. Some don't. Some leave early and some leave later! I look forward to meeting by friends again soon. When, i dont know.
Becoming a hni:
Taking back memories, experiences, contact numbers of new friends, a still mind, blessings from guruji, a new vision, learnings, so much "wealth" back with me. I already feel like a high networth individual! HNI!
Leaving the camp:
We booked a car early in the morning. Parveen and another baba had flights the same day. I dropped off at my cousins place and they proceeded ahead.
The blog writer is caught:
Someone told Nalini, who came from usa, that i was the blog writer of the earlier blogs on kriya. She had read them, but did not know the person who wrote them! And i was caught! i dont write, it simply gets written. I am just a medium.
Stay with cousins:
My cousins stay in prayagraj, for many generations. I had planned to meet them for a day before i left for Mumbai.
I had a hot shower bath after ten days! It felt good! You bet! (In the camp, the arrangements for bath etc were very clean. Hot water was in buckets. Expecting a shower in the camp was simply a bit too much!)
As we met, one of my uncles shared that he gets worried when his son steps out of the house or is late to return at night etc. I told him, this is how the mind works. It keeps generating thoughts. To go from monkey (always restless)mode to cheeta mode ( still always and fastest when it runs) do kriya yoga. But he is past 70 now. Difficult but not impossible to break patterns at this age. I am fortunate to get inducted in kriya yoga in 50s and my kids, before 20!
Looking at my schedule, my cousin sister remarked in Hindi:
Subah mein puja sanatan
Rat mein party tanatan!
Double laddu:
That reminded me of the double laddu baba i met in the gev retreat. Is it possible to be spiritual, work by seva to all and enjoy with family and friends? Why not? This is Dharma, artha, kaama and moksha! Afterall! The key is to know it's your role and you are not the role! That's all!
Ajit the actor:
As i carry the holy ganga water back home, it reminds me of a dialog from ajits (an old Hindi movie bad guy with a class of his own) movie in Hindi.
Mona, maal load ho gaya hai. Jahaj aaj land hoga. Kab aur kahan, peter ko maloom hai. Hoshiyar rehna, pulice kabhi bhi aa sakti hai. 😃
Means: Gangajal is on its way! To Mumbai.
Let me know who needs it on my WhatsApp number 9167397102. Will keep a small bottle ready. As Tanushree suggested, you can use it to make sandalwood paste at home and apply the paste to your forehead! This will keep you connected with sangam every day! Brilliant idea, Tanushree!
Divine Departure Delay:
The flight was delayed by two hours. A perfect time to edit and finalise this blog, before I get into work mode.
Blessing:
Praying for your well-being, prosperity and happiness. May rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati bless you together with abundance awareness and acceptance.
Blessing you with inner cleansing with each mindful breath. Inhale, exhale and hold. As the kumbh of your body gets purified slowly and surely only to dissolve into the 5 elements at the right time with regular practise and gurujis blessings.
I wish to be a part of Mahamrityunjay Mantra!!
Wat an excellent read!!!