Himalaya Yatra

Char Dham Yatra Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand

(All photos captured on iPhone 13 Pro Max by Rohan Chitale – the magician!)

I had a dream since childhood…. to go to the Himalayas …

I wanted to experience the tranquility, purity and divinity present in the Dev Bhoomi of Uttarakhand state in India. My primary motive was to explore the immense nature enriched areas of the Himalayas, to observe and study the life of great ascetics, yogis and saints present in the land of God.

After reading “Living With The Himalayan Masters” book by “Swami Rama” and fascinated by those extraordinary experiences of living in the Himalayas….

Studying the biographies and autobiographies of India’s greatest mystics such as Swami Yogananda Paramhams, Mahamahopadhyay Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj of Varanasi, Ramkrishna Maharaj and Saikaka ji of Maharashtra impacted my inner drive to visit Himalayas no matter what.

But I didn’t know how to go, when to go and what to see….!

“Shree Swami Swaroopananda of Pawas” and because of his unwavering grace, guidance of Shri Krishnadasji (Sudesh Chogle), the simple and practical experience of Meeratai (Meera Potdar),

Divine blessings of my Sadgurudev Param Poojya Shri Joshi Kaka Maharaj and

Grace of the great saint Saikaka ji who continually visits and comes back from Dnyanganj/Gyanganj (most secret place present in the Tibetan region of the Himalayas that governs the entire Universe on physical, subtle and spiritual level)…

Our Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand became safe, fruitful and spiritually fulfilling!

Before I went to Char Dham Yatra, I was literally being pulled by the Divine force to visit and take blessings of the extraordinary saints, yogis and sages of Avadhut Koti in Maharashtra …

I had no idea how all of this was happening….!

Wherever I went, the Supreme showed his special love and grace upon me….

Without any prior planning and information about my identity to the temple authorities, when I suddenly went to Gondavlekar Maharaj Samadhi Temple, I was offered to place the Holy Padukas of the great contemporary saint near the Samadhi shrine of Gondavlekar Maharaj and back into the Palanquin…

When I went to see the Sanjeevan Samadhi Shrine of Shree Mahadev Nath (Great Saint from the Lineage of Shri Swami Swaroopananda of Pawas) in Chinchani, Sangli, the temple door was locked…But suddenly, the devotee of Mahadev Nath came walking from opposite side of road and opened the temple. Not only did I get the blessings of the divine saint, but I also got to sit near his Sanjeevan Samadhi for meditation!

When I went to take blessings of Shree Saikakaji, I was blessed to meditate there. Afterwards, when we started back on our way….The main gate was closed. After some time, I contacted Kakaji and told him that the door is closed. Kakaji said mysteriously “Baba Lok have stopped you, please return back so that it will be our pleasure to have dinner with you”.

I was astonished and pleased by seeing Kakaji’s grace and his humble gesture. I was fortunate enough to have the Prasad Dinner with him. After dinner I asked Kakaji, ‘who are the Baba Lok that you had mentioned on call? He said “we call Bhagwan Nityananda Ganeshpuri’s great Avadhut, Baba Muktananda and Sai Baba as Baba Lok”…!

The totally unexpected and unplanned meeting with Shri Krishnadasji and Meeratai on 20th September 2021 and the meditation that happened on the same day with Krishnadasji in the Mahadevnath Samadhi Temple was an extraordinary event.

This is because, Shri Krishnadasji had received Anugrah/Deeksha from Shri Krishna Saraswati Swami (Avatar of Lord Dattatreya) of Kolhapur on this same Full Moon Tithi (Bhadrapada Pournima) in the year 1990.

Another mysterious thing that happened on this day was, we all visited Ujwala aunt’s house in Sangli. Her daughter in law, Pooja Desai Chaphalkar was asked to sing any Abhanga of Shree Swami Swaroopananda of Pawas…

When asked, she suddenly sang the Abhanga that she had not sung for years….! (The following Abhanga is present in the Sanjeevani Gatha written by Shri Swami Swaroopananda of Pawas).

“Krupavanta Bhala Sadguru Labhla….Angeekar Kela Tene Majha…)

Listen to the Abhanga below:

This full Abhanga is provided in the Marathi version of this website page.

Another mysterious thing that happened in Kedarnath Dham….! Some unknown sadhu came and took me inside the Kedarnath temple near the sanctum sanctorum or Garbha Gruha. After I took Darshan and blessings of Kedarnathji, the doors were closed….

It is a sign of great fortune to receive the “Brahma Kamal Flower” that grows in the Himalayas on their own at an altitude of about 12 thousand feet. Great seekers of the “self” are in search of these Brahma Kamalas. When I went to Yamunotri temple in the Himalayas for taking blessings of Goddess Yamuna, the temple sadhu, gave me the Holy Brahma Kamal that was placed on the Holy Feet of Goddess Yamuna idol. I hadn’t even wished for the Brahma Kamal and neither did I ask anyone for it…The temple Sadhu said, “it is of great fortune….you received it”….!

(The importance of Brahma Kamalas in the life of spiritual aspirants is found in the “Shripad Vallabh Charitramrut” book written by “Shree Shankar Bhatta” and has been translated in many languages around the globe).

In Gangotri, the worshipers inside the temple, calmly explained everything about the temple and offered Goddess Gangaji’s prasad … and we were fortunate enough to do Gangapujan (worshipping the divine river Ganga), having a bath on the river Ganga and meditating on the banks of Gangaji.

When we took Darshan of Badrinath ji and sat outside the temple for meditation, without any prior thoughts about anything related, I saw the image of Shree Adi Shankaracharya coming before my closed eyes for quite some time…

It was later that I read…..the idol of Lord Badrinath was established by Adi Shankaracharya thousands of years ago….!

The reason for writing these experiences is not for showcasing miraculous things, but to make one aware that “supremely intelligent and divine cosmic energy” is absolutely present and such experiences do give rise to strong conviction and innocent surrender to this divine cosmic energy….. that is all…!

Before Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra happened….

We saw Gorakshanatha Temple of Battis Shirala, Mahasadhu Annabuva Maharaj Avadhut of Miraj, Sixty-four Yogini Temple in Amarapur, Dada Gavand Samadhi near Thoseghar Sajjangad, Kolhapur’s Lord Dattatreya’s incarnation Chile Maharaj Samadhi, Narsobawadi and Audumbar Shri Dattatreya Swami’s Darshan, Shri Bhuvaneshwari temple, Akkalkot Swami Samadhi, Bhagwan Shukacharya Samadhi place, Brahmananda Maharaj Samadhi, Dhondiram Maharaj Samadhi Palus, Anandamurti and Ramanand Maharaj Samadhi, Samadhi of Shree Shankar Maharaj of Dhankawadi, Yogeeraj Gulawani Maharaj Shaktipeeth, Shri Swaroopananda Swami Pawas, Kankaditya Mandir Kasheli, Vishweshwar Mandir Pawas, Chouranginath temple Sonsal, Fort-Machhindragad Machindranath Samadhi, Birthplace of Shri Krishna Saraswati Swami in Nandani and hundreds of Siddha Peethas were seen without any planning.

Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath)….. Hanuman Chatti…

Vashishtha Gufa cave…

Vyas Gufa cave (where the great Epic Mahabharata was written)…

Shri Ganesh cave…

Origin of river Saraswati…

and Bhimshila…

Near Mana Pass (The last town on India-China Border!)

Distant heavenly sights of Vasudhara Falls, Rudraprayag, Vishnuprayag, Devprayag, Kashi Vishwanath temple, Bhairavnath temple, Shaktimata temple…

Neem Karoli Baba Samadhi…

Shri Dayanand Saraswati Samadhi…

Born Enlightened Avatar Anandamayi Ma Samadhi…

and Keshav Ashram…

Ganga Bath at Haridwar and Rishikesh, Shivananda Kuti in Uttarkashi, Ganga Aarti of Rishikesh, Ram and Laxman Jhula…

Daksha Prajapati Temple, Dasha Mahavidya Temple, Mahakali Temple…

Navagraha and huge Shriyantra Temple…

Rudraksha Tree…

All these holy places were seen in just 10 days….I still can’t believe it!

When I joined back office on 8th October 2021, I feel no stress or fatigue!

It is absolutely certain that this Char Dham Yatra is not a thing to be achieved on the go…!

The visit to Kedarnath, which was not possible due to the difficulties of the Uttarakhand government’s E-Pass system, also happened easily due to the inspiration given by Shri Swamiji of Pawas and therefore one could stay and meditate in the Himalayan vibrations of Kedarnath!

My wife Ishwari’s full support, devotion and sincere preparation for Char Dham, Shridhar uncle’s Trekking and Mental Fitness experiences and Janhavi aunt’s special efforts for Kedarnath Darshan…all these …proved to be very helpful for the successful completion Char Dham Yatra!

In the end….we understood very clearly that the Supreme Power that governs the entire Universe also governs the physical governments in all countries and states and therefore, there was no reason to worry about anything.

The things that are important for completing this Yatra are “genuine inner longing and strong determination, complete surrender at the feet of one’s master or Gurudev, unshakable positivity and uninterrupted awareness that we are in the Land of God and therefore, also maintaining moral behavior…!

And most importantly, “Full grace of the Master or Guru!”

Only because of the guidance provided by Shri Krishnadasji and Meeratai,…..This journey was full of joy, enthusiasm and complete satisfaction!!

“Although Himalaya is known to destroy impurities,….
There is a possibility of loss of life “…

Even though this Ovi/sentence from Dnyaneshwari said by Krishnadasji was experienced by us in the form of spiritual test, the journey was pleasant, enjoyable, thrilling and successful without any trouble, crisis or difficulty.

Whenever we reached all temples and took Darshan of Char Dhams, it always came to my mind that my mother and father should have been with us to enjoy the nature, take the blessings of the supreme and receive the heavenly vibrations of this Dev Bhoomi or the Land of God.

But due to the misunderstandings of people about Char Dham Yatra, we generally kept the plan to ourselves….Otherwise, people might have started worrying about our travel for no major reason.

The Himalayas, the most sacred land of India…

The abode of spirituality, the Ganges, that originated from the Jatas of Lord Shri Shankara, came to earth with great efforts taken by “Sage Bhagirath” and flowing through the valleys of the Himalayas….the magnificent and divine temples built by our ancestors, where walking is also difficult…..

Every Indian should take an opportunity to visit and enjoy the Himalayas at least once in their lifetime. The blessings of the extraordinary sages, mystics and divine beings meditating in the secret caves of the Himalayas will prove to be a boon to the seekers who want to progress on the spiritual path!

Now…Back with Divine Energy, Positivity and Full Force😊!

Rohan Chitale (8th October 2021)