Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 5th part

The next place where the group with Swami Vishwananda went is Ahobilam, about 400 km south of Hyderabad, (8 hours by bus).

The landscape is green, with hills and valleys and a lot of waterfalls and a deep dark forest.

Ahobilam is the place where Lord Narasimha appeared. There are 9 different Narasimha Temples in this aera.

Legend:

According to legends it is believed that when the Devas saw the manifestation of Lord Vishnu as half-lion, half-man, they shouted "Ahobala" (great strength) as well as "Ahobila" (a great cave in which the current sanctum is). Hence, the place can be called either "Ahobalam" or "Ahobilam". The mention of this place is present in the Brahmanda Purana.

The place where Lord Narayana appeared from the stone pillar to kill Hiranyakashipu can be seen in this place. The name of this pillar is Ugra Sthambha, which is now referred to as “Ukku Sthambha” in Telugu, which incorrectly translates to iron pillar.

Prayer to Lord Narasimha:

durgesv atavy-aji-mukhadishu prabhuh

payan nrisimha shura-yuthaparihi

vimunchato yasya mahatta-hasam

disho vinedur hyapatamsh cha garbhaha

"May Lord Nrisimhadeva, who appeared as the enemy of Hiranyakashipu, protect me in all directions. May that Lord be kind enough to protect me in difficult places like the forest and battlefront."

India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 4th part

In Shirdi the group also had some time to shop and to have a drink in between. (here enjoying sugar cane juice with Swamiji)

Swami Vishwananda takes care that the non-indians in the group don't get ripped off by some clever shop owners.

The group went to the ashram of Upasani Baba and Godavari Maa, great devotees of Shirdi Sai and saints themselves.

There bhajans were sung and Swami was gifted with a shawl and cloth belonging to both saints....the ashram is for ladies only.

The group also visited Shanipur where they participated in a puja and prayed to lord Shani, the planet saturn, to protect from enemies and ask him not to curse us since he is the God that curses people's lives and makes all bad things happen. The deity is the stone.

India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 3rd part

Swami Vishwananda and his pilgrimage group spent the last few days in Shirdi.

The City of Shirdi is always packed full with crowds of people, meaning that reaching sacred places often involved standing in long queues.

The group also visited the main and most important place in Shirdi, the Samadhi of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba.

Thanks to a very good and divine timing, the group managed to make it just in time for the Aarti and were able to stay in front of His samadhi for some moments to meditate and receive His blessings.

Another very impressive place was Dwarkamai (Masjid): Baba stayed at this place continuously for 60 years. Innumerable devotees got the blessing of Baba here. The Shila (Stone) on which Baba used to sit is located nearby. The Sacred Fire (Dhuni) lit by Baba is ever burning here. Baba used to give Sacred Udi (Ash) to the devotees to solve their problems in life. Udi distributed to the devotees now comes only from this Dhuni. Baba used to cook food here for distribution to devotees.

Nowadays the house has a big roof and a fence around it. If you come at the right time (very early in the morning ) it is possible to sit and meditate there.

Revati, one of the devotees attending the pilgrimage, writing about the picture below "Swami with the man looking after the temple (...his grandfather was a saint at that temple many years ago...) he was a very, very nice man and gave us all a lecture on why we should cherish and follow our Satguru.

(Thanks to Revati for the pictures!)

Swami Vishwananda pilgrimage in Shirdi

In Shirdi Swami Vishwananda venerated Sri Shirdi Sai Baba but also his disciple Shri Upasani Maharaj who through the grace of his Guru, Shirdi Sai Baba became a Satguru himself and helped thousands of people on their way to God realisation. It was not an easy task for Shirdi Sai Baba. To find out how he did it read on: http://www.vishwanandateachings.blogspot.com

India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 2nd part

From Nashik we went with Swami Vishwananda by bus through a wonderful countryside to the nearby village called Trimbak.

Trimbakeshwar is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas (Lingam (pillar) of Light). The extraordinary feature of the Jyotirlinga located here is its three faces embodying Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Rudra. Due to excessive use of water, the linga has started to erode. It is said that this erosion symbolizes the eroding nature of human society.

The Lingas are covered by a jeweled crown which is placed over the Gold Mask of Tridev (Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh). The crown is said to be from the age of the Pandavs and consists of diamonds, emeralds, and many precious stones. The crown is displayed every Monday from 4-5 pm (Shiva).

Adwait Kher, our host, welcomed us very heartfully and made it possible for our group to sit and meditate with Swami Vishwananda near the Lingam for a long time and to get the blessing of its powerful energy. 

We were all dressed "typically indian" which was very helpful and opened a few more doors.

Late at night we got on the bus with Swami Vishwananda to go to the next place - more news from there coming soon...

India Pilgrimage - 1st part

From time to time, we will post an update sharing some info about the course of the pilgrimage along with a few photos from the holy places that Swami Vishwananda and the pilgrimage group have already visited. Here is the first part:

After arriving at Mumbai Airport on Saturday night, all of the travellers boarded a bus to Nashik, one of the world's holiest Hindu cities. This place is important for Hindu rituals related to afterlife offerings. The Kumbha Mela is also held here once in every 12 years along the holy river Godavari.

Lord Rama along with Lakshmana and Sita spent 14 years in exile at Tapovan near Nashik.

Godavari Ghat: The Godavari river runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the biggest river basins in India.

The Godavari Temple was built by Elder Madhavrao Peshwa's mother, Gopikabai in 1760. This temple is open for devotees for 13 months during the period of Kumbha Mela (once in 12 years). It is also called the Ganga Temple.

Kalaram Mandir:

This temple was built in 1794 and is similar in its architectural design to the Triambakeshwar temple found nearby. The temple is 70 feet in height and was raised from the idea of Gopikabai Peshwa. It was built with black stone from the mines of Ramsej Hill. There is a beautiful gold-plated copper peak on the temple. Beautiful, lavishly adorned icons of Rama, Sita and Lakshman are found in the temple. The temple is surrounded by several smaller temples such as the Vithal temple, Ganapati temple and Maruti temple.

Swami Vishwananda hold a Workshop about the Sri Yantra in Moscow

During the Workshop Swami Vishwananda described the significance of the Sri Yantra and how it should be worshiped. After being energised, the Yantra of the Divine Mother brings prosperity to one's home. Swami Vishwananda also described the different aspects of the Sri Yantra. He mentioned the appearance of a huge Sri Yantra at the bottom of a dry lake in Oregon in the United States. Please click here to see the pictures:

http://www.vishwananda-blog.blogspot.com

OM Healings' groups and Atma Kriya teachers meet Swami Vishwananda

Swami Vishwananda spoke with all of the OM Healing group organizers and Atma Kriya teachers in Moscow before the darshan began.

Swami Vishwananda in Moscow

Swami Vishwananda received a very warm welcome in Moscow. Hardly any space was left in the darshan hall as many people gathered and more than a thousand devotees received darshan.

Darshan of Swami Vishwananda

The darshan with Swami Vishwananda began at 6 PM.

Swami Vishwananda Darshan

The Darshan of Swami Vishwananda finished at 4 AM.

In Finland with Swami Vishwananda

We got some pictures from Finland:

Yesterday there was a Mudra Course given by Swami Vishwananda.

Afterwards there was a Temple inauguration. The statue (Murti) of Kanchi Kamakshi Devi was fixed on the altar and the inauguration Puja and an Abishekam were performed.

finished!

Her name is:

Shree Sarva Roga Hara Kamakshi Devi

Welcome in Finland, Maa!

(Kuru, thanks for the pictures!)

Darshan of Swami Vishwananda

Swami Vishwananda received a warm welcome in Finland. He gave a mudra workshop and a darshan in Helsinski.

Swami Vishwananda talked about the happiness inside of ourselves. Please click here for more:

http://www.vishwanandateachings.blogspot.com