Have you ever wondered what is that something inside of you that makes you move, think, talk and do absolutely anything? Have you ever wondered what happens to a person when they depart from this world? Ever thought of how people are born with a “sixth sense” or develop some kind of “instinct” that let’s them see the future? And finally, have you ever wondered what a soul or a spirit really is? If you’ve had such questions, you belong to that group of people who are in the stage of spiritual awakening. So, what is this ‘thing’ we call as a soul? In order to understand what a ‘soul’ is, you need to understand what consciousness is. Consciousness, or Atman, is a cosmic energy which guides you to take the decisions or perform actions in life. Have you ever had that feeling of someone stalking you while walking without even looking behind, or have you ever felt that “something here is not right”? What we call the ‘gut feeling’ is actually the consciousness trying to make you understand about the current situation you’re in. In other words, this is your “spidey-sense tingling”! Where does Atman come from? Atman is a part of the biggest form of eternal consciousness called the Brahman. As per the Upanishads, understanding the Brahman (pure supreme consciousness) is impossible. It can only be experienced as it has no form and hence is called the nirvika/pa (unconditioned), nirguna (unqualified) and nirupadhi (devoid of any limiting adjunct). For our understanding, let us say that Brahman is beyond Space and Time. For further clarity, the Space and the universe is a part of Brahman. “He/She is with God now, We are God’s children…” Heard your grandparents or elderly people say these? Sounds pretty unreal right? Well, it is all real. Let me explain how. The Atman (a small part of the Brahman) enters the body and becomes alive (called as jiva). After the Atman (soul) has completed it’s cycle in it’s current life, moves on from the body back to Brahman. That means, metaphysically, the consciousness moves from the physical body to the etheric dimension. And hence the statement, We belong to God or We are a part of God. There have been some instances where people who have come back from coma or have had a near death experience say that they saw a ‘white light’ at the end of a tunnel. This white light can be decribed as the Supreme Consciousness. If you really want a basic understanding of what consciousness a human being has, it can defined as pure white light (Note that it can always come in different shades and colours. This is the energy that envelopes the person, also called as aura in other terms). Therefore, you are not the body or the mind. You are pure consciousness or Atman and nothing else.
My Guru and I started from Dharwad via Taxi and reached our camp resort (just outside Dandeli – towards the thicker forests) at about 1:30pm. The temperature was about 30-31 degress centigrade and we were craving for food! Surprisingly, the food at the camp resort was homely. Soon after our lunch, both of us took a nice walk around the forest camp. While we walked, I observed a wide variety of birds that I’d never seen! (Dandeli is known for exotic wildlife). I observed the animals and birds with great interest. I asked Gurudev “How do these birds and animals know exactly what to do in life even though there’s no one to teach them?”. This caught his attention. He simply smiled at me and said “The Universe has programmed them in a specific way. They know everything from eating, sleeping, procreating and living. In fact, we humans are the real sufferers! Man is no intelligent being than nature. Man has the potential to use intelligence better than the animals and birds. But see where we are! We have become so ignorant that we have lost touch with Mother nature.”
His intent was very clear. I nodded as I understood what he was trying to explain.
We had booked a cozy wooden cottage and made our way back after spending a wonderful time in the forest. The silence in that area was so intense, I started to miss the sounds of the city!
At about 4pm, we sat for Ayurveda. Gurudev started conducting lessons on the fundamentals of Ayurveda which I
seemed to grasp quite easily! I always had interest in the human anatomy and would always score about 95-97% in biology in high school but I did not intend on studying medicine, until now!
I studied for about 1 hour 30 minutes and decided to revise what I’d learnt by dusk. After revising the material, we sat outside the cottage to begin with our austerities. We started meditating at about 6:30pm. After a brief amount of time, the cook himself approached cautiously towards us and in a soft tone told us that food was ready to be served. I slowly opened one eye to take a look at the time on my phone. I was stunned! It was 7:30pm and I felt we were only about 20-25 minutes into medition. Gurudev was lost in an entirely different realm. He wouldn’t even budge a little after I called out to him or gently poked him! I told the cook that we’d be at the dinning area very soon! A few minutes later, Gurudev opened his eyes. “Where were you?” I asked gently. His eyes were slightly red, his face seemed like dead man’s and he didn’t seem to understand me. A jiffy later, he slowly spoke “I was with Gurudeva (Gurudeva here is H.Hol Lahiri Mahasya) all this while! I’m very sorry if I seemed lost my dear.”
“That’s alright Gurudev.”
“I understood what happened back there.” I said as we walked to the dinning area of the camp.
As we picked up the steel plates, he said “One day, you too shall communicate with Gurudeva like I do.” I wasn’t very clear with the word ‘Communicate’ but I did not question as this statement was for me to ponder over.
We had the last sumptuous meal for the day and walked our
way back to the cottage by about 10pm discussing various aspects I had studied in Ayurveda. The vibrations in and around the camp were really very divine and graceful!
Day-2:
I was awakened to the sound of a knock at the cottage door at around 4:30am. We had 2 single beds in the cottage seperated by a small vanity table where I had kept Gurudeva’s photo (Lahiri Mahasya – Disciple of Mahavatar Babaji) and a small lit ghee lamp burning overnight right in front of it.
I turned towards Guru’s bed and to my surprise, he wasn’t there!
‘Who can it be at the door at this point of time?’ I wondered as I got up slowly and walked towards the door. I peered out through the curtains of the door’s window and to my notice, it was the cook holding 2 glasses of steaming hot coffee!
The coffee gave me a good sigh of relief!
I thanked the cook as I brought the 2 cups inside.
“So, he did stick to his words after all, eh?” Gurudev spoke as he came out of the steaming bathroom drying his short hair with a towel. Gurudev told the cook that we’d be needing hot coffee at 4:30 every morning. The cook seemed a little hesitant which is why Gurudev said those words. “Yes, yes! Hot coffee it is.” Gurudev and I love coffee. We always keep chanting ‘coffee runs in our blood!’
At 6:00am, we sat for yoga.
“I shall be teaching you a very powerful breathing technique
known as ‘The Full Yogic Breath’. This is an age old practice the yogis follow.” I nodded. I followed Gurudev’s instructions with great detail as I performed the technique. I could feel the prana rush into my lungs as though my body craved for life! Honestly, it was very different compared to any breathing technique. I felt as though the breath was fully alive and had it’s own consiousness. My head felt different, far different from what my body experienced. I had no thoughts flowing or had no chatter of the mind. Just me, the breath and my Guru’s voice. I knew nothing else.
Moments later, Gurudev commanded that I conclude the practice by gently opening my eyes. I did not feel as though I should open them. About 10 seconds later, I did. Everything around me seemed so very settled. It was as though nothing moved. A feeling of being stuck in time.
Gurudev asked how I felt. I wanted to answer but I couldn’t open my mouth. I tried hard but it was of no use. I took my time and gently whispered “Weightless, bodiless, beyond flesh and bones!”. He smiled and said “If you could experience bliss and ecstacy in the first round, imagine the feeling when you master it!”. Our yoga session ended at around 8:30am.
We walked to the open dinning area where breakfast was being served. Dosa and green chutney was on the menu for that day.
After breakfast, we had another wonderful session on Ayurveda. Since it was a Sunday, lots of tourists were flooding the camp. There was no stillness or silence of the nature. We could hear chatter and laughter, here and there,
some close and some in a distant place. Dandeli is usually crowded on the weekends and if you ever visit the place, you will definitely encounter various types of wildlife enthusiasts, bird watchers and wildlife photographers!
Post lunch, we continued with our austerities. Gurudev received a call from one of the forest officials and told him about a small watch tower inside the forest which was constructed by the Britishers. He said that it would be a wonderful trip to the tower. We agreed.
An assistent had been assigned to escort us safely to and from the tower back to the cottage. As we walked along the tracks, we observed various kinds of trees, plants and insects. The forest seemed to get slightly denser as we continued our journey to the tower. On our way, the official suddenly stopped and squatted slightly as he raised his right palm in the air. I definitely heard something run violently over the dried leaves which was a few metres away from us. I gulped with effort. My throat seemed dry and cracked. I knew there was something in the woods. Something wild and ugly that would pounce and tear you into bits and pieces! Gurudev seemed calm as he lent an ear to the direction the sound was coming from. My eyes were fixed towards that direction of noise. The animal moved so swiftly across us, I couldn’t even see it’s hind legs. “Nothing to worry about. It’s just a spotted deer.” said the official. ‘Damn! All that drama and imagination for one innocent creature!’ I let out the tension.
We continued our walk to the tower which was hardly 10 metres from ‘The most dramatic part of the walk’!
As we climbed the stairs of the tower, the official’s words sent a sharp chill down my spine. “Sometimes, if you’re lucky enough, you might even find a black bear or a leopard resting here in this spot.” He pointed towards the place I was standing, the middle of the tower! While he explained to us about the different predator-prey cycles, my major focus at that point of time was not to become the next meal for a hungry leopard or a hot-dog for the bear. I had no weapons on me of course and that intensified my fear further.
Gurudev understood what I was going through. “Fear will increase the chances of a predator being attracted to you. They can smell it in the air.” He spoke as he gently rested his palm on my shoulder.
“What should I do then?” I asked quickly switching glances between Gurudev and the open forest.
“Why worry when Gurudeva is there with us? You know he controls every breath of you and I. Pray to the Heavenly Father and he will surely respond.”
I immediately calmed down just by listening to Gurudeva’s name and the reassuring words of my Guru. Gurudeva never lets his disciples down and I’ve experienced it.
Moments later, we were back to the camp and I felt very foolish for being a coward in the Guru’s presence. “You shall learn over time. Don’t worry.” he said. I knew that he’d read my mind!
We spent the evening discussing about the life of Gurudeva and how he became a powerful yogi, the common experiences we had with him and various metaphysical theories.
Day-3:
It was a day to remember! We could feel the energy of the Powerful and Supreme, the Formless, Nirakara or in other words, Shiva! Gurudev and I had decided to chant His Mahamantram on this very night of Maha Shivratri.
Our day started off as usual at 4:30am. I was done with my yogic practices and other austerities.
“There is a Shiva temple near our camp. He (Shiva) seems to be calling us to receive His divine blessings.” Gurudev spoke.
By 6:30am, we’d reached the temple. The pundit was yet to start the preparations for the pooja.
“Seems like we’re a little too early.” I said observing the stone deity that was being garlanded with marigold, rose, jasmine and chrysanthemum.
“He’ll be done within 15 minutes.” replied Gurudev.
“How are you so sure about that?”
“Keep watching.” he smiled.
Exactly after 15 minutes, the pundit walked towards us with the offering plate and teertha. ‘Gurudev is no normal man!’ I thought to myself. We attended the aarti and had a very divine darshan of the Formless. The pundit handed over the prasadam and soon we thanked him for the wonderful aarti and took leave.
We reached the camp, had breakfast and were back to business.
By 1:30pm, my stomach was rumbling and growling like a hungry wolf!
“I can’t wait any longer. I’m so hungry that I can smell the food from here!” I told Gurudev as I got up from my meditative state. How can one meditate when one can see only food in the screen of the closed eyes?
“Very well then. Let’s go.” Gurudev responded as he opened his eyes with a big smile. They were twinkling with divinity.
We were informed that the lunch would be served in another dining area which was close to the tent accomodation as the kitchen that would usually cook for the cottages was closed for Maha Shivratri preparations. Just outside Dandeli, there is another major tourist spot called the ‘Kavala Caves’. It is famous for it’s naturally formed Shivling. Every year, about 50,000-60,000 (sometimes, the numbers go beyond 75,000!) people visit these caves on Maha Shivratri.
We sat comfortably in our chairs as we waited for our meal.
I carried my tab as I had decided to revise Ayurveda post lunch. Lots of tourists were pouring in and started to take their seats in the Dining area. As we enjoyed our meal, I heard a couple, who was sitting diagonal from me, speaking in Marathi. I myself speak the same tongue and anyone you meet from the same community makes you feel a lot happy!
I told Gurudev that the couple sitting diagonal to us are Marathi.
“So, where are you guys from?” he asked quite randomely.
“We’re from Pune.” replied the man.
“You must be a Konkanastha Brahmin if I’m not wrong!”
“That was a wild guess! Yes, we absolutely are.” He and his wife seemed to be quite astonished.
“How do you know that?” he asked with a surprise on his face.
“My wife is one of your people.”
“I’m Marathi!” I yelled out with excitement. I definitely couldn’t keep it to myself!
“Oh! That’s nice!” They replied smiling back at me.
We introduced ourselves to each other and had a wonderful conversation post lunch.
“Hi. I’m Ajay.” The person sitting next to me, whom I hadn’t noticed quite yet, extended his hand towards me. I responded with a firm handshake as I introduced myself.
He seemed not very older than I was. If I could take a guess, he’d be probably close to 25 years of age.
“What do you do?” I asked him out of curiosity.
“I’m into bird photography.” he said fiddling with the huge lens on his camera.
We discussed lots about wildlife, birds and photography.
He even educated me on how the different lenses work for different kinds of photography and how to operate them.
I was quite surprised with regards to photography. Never knew there was so much to it!
Soon enough, the number of people who were around came down to just the 4 of us. Gurudev, Ajay, Sanjay (the man from Pune) and I.
They were very eager to know about what we exactly practiced in spirituality. We gave them a small demonstration
of it!
Gurudev instructed them to perform certain experiments with water and some beej mantras right there and then.
They were quite surprised with the results!
We spent a very good time discussing further about nature, metaphysics and solving their queries.
“We’re planning to go on a night drive at 10pm. Care to join?” Sanjay asked the 3 of us. Gurudev and I agreed to do so and spent the evening studying Ayurveda.
It was 9:30pm. We were late for dinner as we were stuck in another dimension! (Figure of speech – we were lost deeply in our meditation)
Both of us got up together and quickly rushed to the dining area.
“We’re late!” I said as we hustled towards the tent accomodation.
Our new found friends were already at the table, finishing their last morsel.
“My wife, Deeksha, will be joining us too.” spoke Sanjay as we quickly sat down in our chairs. We nodded.
“I’ll go get my lens for the cam. Be right back.” said Ajay as he quickly jogged towards his dormitory.
Soon, we got into Sanjay’s car. I had to sit in between Gurudev and Ajay, while Sanjay was at the driver’s seat and Deeksha sat beside him.
I felt claustrophobic. Even an SUV was not enough to fit my Guru! He took about 45% of our space. Sometimes, I call him ‘The Beast’. All stacked with muscle!
Our journey began. Ajay was ready with his camera and we were ready with our flashlights. Our hope was to find at least one leopard lurking in the darkness that would cross paths with us. But seems like luck wasn’t on our side for that day!
After the “great search”, we found a Small Indian Civet that was trying to cross the road. Ajay quickly lowered down his window and clicked away like a paparazzi.
“Quick. Click that photo now!” Deeksha broke the silence as she snapped at him. He too carried a camera and I believe he got good clicks too.
After we had enough photos of the Civet, we took another course to find the leaopard!
Several minutes later, we gave up and headed back to our camp. We thanked the couple for the wonderful night drive and walked back to our cottage. As we entered the room, Gurudev and I finished a few rounds of the Shiva Mahamantram after which I dived right into my bed and knew nothing else.
Day-4:
“Wake up little yogi! Freshen up. It’s 6 already.” I could hear Gurudev’s voice in a distance as though he was speaking from the Heavens above! Somewhere far from where I was. Gradually, his voice started to sound a lot sharper and clearer. I realized that I was literally in the seventh heaven after last night’s safari.
I groaned as I sat up in my bed.
“Take bath and get ready for meditation.”
I took a hot water bath as the temperature outside was close to 16 degress!
I walked out of the bathroom wrapped in 2 thick towels. Minutes into stepping out of the nice hot sauna, my body started to shiver. I quickly wore my dhoti and angavastram and sat beside Gurudev.
After a wholesome experience, we decided to have breakfast.
“I was just wondering something. Don’t you think we need to give something in return to the couple who took us for the night safari? They seemed like really nice people. I read the energies!” I asked while Gurudev was locking the door from outside.
“I think we really should! Let me take a session on meditation for those 2.” he said while started walking towards the dining area.
Soon after breakfast, we met the couple and told them about our offer.
“That would be great! Let’s go to our tent.” said Sanjay.
We seated ourselves comfortable on the chairs that we had arranged just outside the tent. The sun shone quite brightly and now, the temperature seemed to increase quickly.
Gurudev introduced meditation to them and explained the metaphysical abilities that can be attained through consistent practice.
About an hour or so later, we had concluded the session.
“How did you feel?” Gurudev asked the couple.
“Wow!” Sanjay chuckled as he responded moments later.
“I didn’t feel the need to open my eyes at all! It was a
completely different experience” his wife said.
I could definitely see the glow on their faces. Their aura was indeed bright!
“Hey people! What are you talking about?” Ajay jumped into the conversation out of nowhere.
“We were talking about you!” Deeksha pulled his leg.
“What about me?” Ajay was very curious.
“We were talking about what kind of girl suits you for marriage!” added Gurudev.
Ajay was speechless! We all burst into laughter.
“So, will you be staying here for a few more days?” I asked Sanjay.
“We’re checking out by 12pm. We have lots of places to visit on the way!” he said glancing at his watch.
“It was really fun meeting the 3 of you!” spoke Deeksha.
“Same here.” Gurudev, Ajay and I replied at the same time.
“I too will be taking leave after sometime.” spoke Ajay.
We spent a few more minutes together and bade them goodbye.
Our taxi back to Dharwad had been booked at 1pm. It was our last day in Dandeli and I did not wish on going back to the city area.
By the time we finished packing, it was 12:30pm already!
“God, I will miss this experience!” I told Gurudev.
“If you’re saying you are going to miss this place, imagine when we visit the Himalayas, meditate in Babaji’s cave or
visit Gurudeva’s ashram!”
I simply smiled.
‘I have start preparing for those powerful places!’ I told myself.
We received a call from the taxi driver who had arrived just outside the camp.
(A small note to the readers: BSNL is the only service provider that functions in and around Dandeli. If you wish to travel there, don’t forget to buy their services!)
Lunch was already prepared and ready to be served. Gurudev and I informed the chaffeur that we’d be there in 30 minutes.
We quickly had lunch and thanked the forest department for their wonderful hospitality before leaving.
When we reached the camp gate, I looked over my shoulder and glanced briefly at the forest. 4 days went by so very quickly, I couldn’t even believe it!
We tossed our bags into the trunk and rested ourselves in the car.
“Can I begin the trip sir?” he asked Gurudev.
He gave the chaffeur the go signal.
And soon, we were on our way back to Dharwad.
A wonderful and blissful experience which we had back there will stay with me forever!
Spirituality no doubtedly works the best when you’re with Mother Nature.
What is the objective human life? The answer to that is HAPPINESS. Our eternal desire for happiness is our misery. And therefore sorrow is an outcome of this desire when we try to perceive happiness in the everyday activities we take part in. We tend to incline towards the direction which gives us more happiness. Our expectations are superficial and short lived and do not exactly lead us to happiness in the actions we perform. We try to extend our search for happiness in different places, at different times, through objects of our desire, and with people and various circumstances. The desire for happiness will end only when we realise it is an out come of eternal infinite bliss that is gained from nothing external but comes from within us.
Happiness can be found within ourselves and not from the inanimate objects around us. Inanimate objects are not the source of it. We tend to feel happy because we infuse the feeling of happiness into the material object we have with us. Let us look at it from economics point of view. Say we desire to consume some quantity of a product like a chocolate.. We are satiated when we consume a certain quantity of it. If we force ourself to consume more, we tend to start experiencing aversion towards the taste as it is overbearing on our palette. Hence, it is we who experience happiness and not the objects around us. Therefore, we are the source of our happiness. We are what we seek.
In reality, our natural state is to be content. Whether we have material objects or not, we should always stay in a state of happiness. When emotions get attached to objects, it brings sorrow and that is why we feel as though we lack happiness.
What brings this happiness in our lives? The answer to that is ACHIEVEMENTS. There are two types of achievements:
Gain of the ungained thing – Using the right knowledge and the required action brings in results. Here, we rely on the knowledge to lead us to the right result. There is no expectation of a certain desired result as such. This is what we call creation or innovation. Here, knowledge and action come together to bring in a gain which is acceptable in the true sense of the word.
Gain of the thing already gained – When we already have an idea of what we are looking for but have no idea of where to find it, contemplation or someone’s timely assistance helps us to find what we are looking for. Here, there is no action needed. Therefore, knowledge equals gain. Humans can perceive this knowledge through these different ways. They are through direct perception, inference, words or verbal testimony.
As a child, I loved to read books and this passion has only become more profound today! And to tell you, researching about different topics I read is the most interesting part. I always loved science and astrophysics and any person who would give me the key to initiate a conversation based on space or technology, I would readily discourse upon it forever!
People would urge me to stop at some point of time during our conversation, as they found it rather challenging that it always contained scientific terms which they could not understand!
What could I do? I must confess, I have always been a thinker!
I would always search for scientific truths and the reasons why these truths were so important as they helped to complete my quest for my search for truth.
Now coming to Hinduism, I was always intrigued by the different kinds of rituals being performed at home during various festivals and auspicious ocassions. When I questioned people why it was done so in a particular manner, they would answer me in a cliche saying “Well, we have been told to perform them that way. You shouldn’t ask why it is done so.”
This statement would usually put me off as people were not ready to understand the purely scientific reasons behind these rituals. That is when I had decided that I need to seek answers all by myself! Answers not just related to rituals or practices, but the whole of existence and this wonderful creation.
During summer holidays, I would go to Dharwad, my grandparent’s place (situated in North Karnataka). I used to wait for that very moment so that I could meet my ever-loving uncle, aunt and grandparents. My uncle is a Siddha, Yogacharya and Vaidya by profession. Since I already had interest in that field, I was profoundly curious and would watch with rapt attention when he would perform or practice his daily austerities.
When I was as young as 10 years old, I observed two very unique photos which were kept on his work table. The people in the photos looked very content and were in a state of eternal bliss. Out of curiosity, I asked him, “Who are these two saintly people?” He smiled at me and gently said, “This is my Gurudeva Sri Lahiri Mahasya and this is Mahavatar Babaji, his guru! They are the most powerful people I’ve ever known”.
They surely felt different and I could feel it within me because they resonated within every cell of my being!
In the month of December 2021, I visited Dharwad to celebrate Diwali at my grandparents’. It was then I explained to my uncle that I was serious about spirituality and wanted to practice it in depth. He affirmatively said that he would definitely help me with it.
One morning, I was just casually sitting on the couch in the hall sipping a nice cup of hot coffee when I suddenly felt a surge of charge go through the left side of my body. I realised that I was getting goosebumps! Some kind of divine energy, very powerful, guided me to look in the direction it came from. I realised my eyes locked onto the photo that was stuck on the wall beside my uncle. It was of Paramagurudeva, Lahiri Mahasya!
My eyes were locked onto him. I did not move an inch and nothing moved around me. It was as though time was stuck in suspended animation. And I suddenly realised that I was scared of what had just happened.
After a brief moment, my uncle walked into the hall to continue with his work. I couldn’t contain this information with myself!
I told him what had happened. As usual, with a compassionate smile, he told me that I had connected with his Gurudeva. Since that day, I have seen a welcome change for the better in my daily life!
A few days hence, my uncle told me that I have to be initiated into spirituality as his Shishya (Disciple)! I was completely overwhelmed by what he had just told and I couldn’t believe my own ears!
Since that very day, my uncle has become my ever-loving Guru!
One morning, I received a call from my Guru. He announced that he would initiate me into a very powerful and divine Devi sadhana (practice).
Until then, I had never really understood who this Devi was. In fact, I used to get scared just by looking at her fierce form and would always try not to look into her eyes!
I informed this concern to my Guru. He gently smiled and said, “She is the most compassionate form of Shakti (pure power), divinity and grace. Think of her as the most powerful divine mother protecting her child from the worldly evils and you will adore her for who she is”.
And so, taking my Guru’s blessings, I began my sadhana.
The Devi sadhana that I would practice was intense, my body temperature would rise and I would feel the heat spreading all over.
Within a few days into this divine practice, I could feel another astonishing holy presence around me. And I immediately knew who that was!
And whenever I felt her presence, I would gently smile with confidence and continue with my sadhana. At times, I could even feel a very comforting, warm palm resting on my head. I could feel a glowing current passing through my spine and I felt my divine mother giving me a warm embrace!
I always feel her presence flowing through me. There is no doubt that she is my mother and I’m her child! When in doubt, I call out to her and I feel that she is clearing the path for me!
