Following the Master: Kumbh Mela 2015 – Days 6 & 7 (Sharing Experiences)

"For everything that we do, we use water to clean. She knows how to clean. She knows how to purify and that's why in all rituals - we're talking about Christianity, Hindusim, Buddhism - in all religions you see that there is water." - Sri Swami Vishwananda

The Journey:

After an amazing day taking part in the bathing ceremony, the devotees spent the next few days sharing their experiences through Satsang and visiting saints.

Sri Swami Vishwananda and Bhakti Marga were also featured in many magazines throughout the region. The Indian media are intrigued by the western pilgrims dressed in white, wearing tilaks and singing the Name of God.

A very nice interview with Sri Swami Vishwananda was published in the spiritual section of the Sunday Times of India: http://www.speakingtree.in/a…/we-take-simplicity-for-granted

After the main bath, Swamiji also announced that he would be initiated as a Maha Mandeleshwar. More information about the spiritual significance of such an honor and the initiation will be presented
in the next blog. Stay tuned!

Highlights:

The morning after the bath was about sharing experiences regarding the snaan. Devotees related the feeling of unity with Swamiji and with themselves as a group.

One of the pilgrims reported that “This is one of the most incredible days of my life, I’ll never forget it. The whole night singing bhajans with devotees, sadhus and spiritual teachers had a very strong energy. I just wanted to dance and sing for God, surrendering myself completely. It was fantastic to be greeted in such a nice way by the Indians, always smiling, praising the Name of Hari, offering flowers and light to us. To be together with all the devotees and with Swamiji in this experience was unforgettable.  The energy was really high, and going into the river with my Gurudev and brothers and sisters was an indescribable feeling. After that, everybody had a big smile.”

After the Satsang in the morning, Swami visited a few holy places. Here's an experience from one in the group:

"We visited the Kalaram Temple, which translation means 'Black Rama'. Swamiji gave a short Satsang inside the temple and said that Lord Rama spent some time at this place when he was in exile.

In this temple, the murtis of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman are black, and Guruji said that they were self-manifested.

Next we went to a Shiva temple, where Guruji offered water to the Shiva lingam. The temple was small, but the pilgrims were invited to watch the arati, which Swamiji offered to the lingam.

After that, we went to Mahant Santosh’s camp, were they received us with Prasad. Later our “Bhakti Sounds” musicians played some bhajans together with other musicians. The place was packed, with lots of Indians enjoying and dancing to the Harinam."

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Following the Master: Kumbh Mela 2015 – Day 5 (The First Bath)

"When you are bathed in the Divine Name, whatever Name, whatever deity - the Name of Jesus, Rama, Krishna, Devi - if you get bathed in that Divine Name, you are released from many births." 
- Sri Swami Vishwananda

The Journey:

After much anticipation, the day of the first bath finally arrived. It is said that when one takes a dip in the holy water during the Kumbh Mela the person is cleansed of all past sins. Millions of people around the world have been waiting for this day for the past two years. The Bhakti Marga devotees finally got their opportunity, and here are a few highlights of the experience.

Highlights:

The night leading up to the first bath, an Indian TV channel interviewed Sri Swami Vishwananda for live TV. They were eager to speak with Swamiji and to show the bhajans sung by the Bhakti Marga musicians.  Most of the people in that region are used to traditional performances, and the "call and response" style of singing that is done by Bhakti Marga is very intriguing to them.

The timing worked out perfectly to show Mira in full force as she sang “Sabse Ounchi Prema Sagai” (Love is the Highest Prayer), and the crowd going absolutely crazy.

The next day the first bath took place. Here's a report from one in the group about the experience:

"Similar to the Kumbh Mela in 2013, Santoshji was kind enough to be our host and we joined his chariot for the procession. Guruji and he were side by side on top of the chariot.

Then we waited as a group a little ahead of its position. When we say “group”, you have to picture well over 100 devotees from Bhakti Marga as well as the devotees of Mahant Santosh’s Akara. At this point, there was already a crowd amassing and the intensity of the occasion could be felt more and more.

We were “holding” our position with bravery as we were waiting for what must have been about an hour, with many cars and chariots getting into the “take-off” position, before finally it was our chariot’s turn.

What followed was just an amazing journey through the winding and picturesque streets of Nashik.

The people of Nashik lined the streets of the town and gave us and all the other pilgrims a warm welcome. It was very sweet to observe their reaction as they saw to their big surprise a big western group of pilgrims with tilaks, etc., marching by, and when we smiled and waved at them, many responded with a big smile on their faces and folded their palms to give pranam greetings.

The drums of the group gave a strong rhythm and energy, that lasted throughout the journey. We danced and jumped, interacting with Guruji on the chariot, and sharing his Love to everyone around us.

Finally, after about 1.5 hours, we reached the Ram Kund of the Godavari river, where we took the holy and very refreshing dip. The culmination of the procession.

We then returned to our chariot and winded our way back to the camp of Santoshji, where we were again greeted by countless citizens of Nashik, who greeted us with “Radhe Radhe”, “Jai Sri Krishna” or “Jai Sri Ram” and throwing flowers and petals on us."

Many of the Bhakti Marga devotees were featured on a short video clip by the BBC during the bathing. Click here to watch it:  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34237280?post_id=889684867779538_889684854446206#_=_

Testimony: 

"It is much more than just the bath, it is a journey. Another portion of the path that leads us from the mind to the heart. Especially when you undertake this journey under the guidance and in the presence of your Guru, like we have the privilege to do, it becomes a highly mystical experience. Like everything on the spiritual path, it’s not about the outside, but really about the inside, but the outside helps us connect with the inside. The blessings that are evoked, are not only for us here onsite, but are extended to the rest of our spiritual family that could not be here physically, and ultimately the whole of humanity." - Swami Vishwakurunandhanananda (a.k.a Swami Kuru)

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Following the Master: Kumbh Mela 2015 – Days 3 & 4 (Arrival in Nashik)

"If you take any deity – take Rama, take Krishna – they all have a Guru. They all have a teacher to guide them. They are the embodiment of the Divine fully, but yet, they show that in life one needs the blessing of a Guru and the way to receive it is through Satsang, through gathering." - Sri Swami Vishwananda

The Journey:

After spending two beautiful days at Shirdi, the group arrived in Nashik, India, which is the central destination for everyone attending Kumbh Mela 2015.

The camp site near the Godavari river, where the main bathing dips will take place, has been set up for the 150 + devotees traveling with Sri Swami Vishwananda on this special trip. Days Three and Four were mostly spent getting situated and meeting spiritual teachers to share in Satsang.

Being the rainy season in India right now, car travel can be a real challenge due to the torrential downpours that quickly turn roads into rivers.

Nevertheless, the group manged to visit the camp sites of several spiritual teachers.

One of the main highlights of the past two days was the meeting between Sri Swami Vishwananda and Paramahamsa Nithyananda.

Highlights:

Here's a brief report from one in the group about the meeting between the two spiritual Masters:

"Today we left the campus where we are staying at 5:45 am to visit the camp of Paramahamsa Nithyananda which is in Triambhakeshwari, around 30 km away."

"When we arrived, Swami Nithyananda greeted Guruji wonderfully and seated him on stage right next to him. Many other guests were also present, including dignitaries from the Ananda Akhada and other saints from all over India. After many speeches, Swami Nithyananda's young devotees demonstrated the abilities of their third eye opening, as taught to them by Swami Nithyananda. A young girl read several random texts while blindfolded, truly amazing all present."

"After all demonstrations had ended, Guruji addressed the audience with a short speech. In it he praised the Guru as Bhagavan Himself and stated that only through His Grace can salvation be attained and all sadhana is fruitless without the Guru's blessings. He urged all the devotees of Paramahamsa Nithyananda to shower all their love on their Guru and surrender their minds at His Feet. He went on to say that Paramahamsa Nithyananda is the embodiment of Lord Shankara Himself on Earth and His devotees should count themselves lucky to have such a special Guru."

"After all the public activities ended, Swami Nithyananda invited Swami to meet with him privately. There they conversed as dear friends, as has always been the case. Many topics were addressed but we would like to highlight one, in which Swami Nithyananda once again showed his great friendship and respect to Bhakti Marga. Normally westerners are not allowed to take Darshan of the Jyotirlingam in Triambhakeshwar but Swami Nithyananda immediately put his devotees to help make it possible for us to visit and take Darshan. Right now the time and date is not set, but all looks to be good and we would like to sincerely thank Swami Nithyananda and his disciples for all the help."

The next few days should be quite exciting as millions gather for this event and the Kumbh Mela activities officially begin. Stay tuned!

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Following the Master: Kumbh Mela 2015 – Day 2 (Singing in Shirdi)

"Shirdi Sai Baba used to break all the barriers of religions that one can put in one's mind. He is a great example and a great saint, always humble. He gave and he is still giving so much to people." - Sri Swami Vishwananda 

The Journey:

Day Two of the journey was spent in Shirdi singing bhajans and visiting saints. Walking through the temple of Shirdi Sai and the town as well, many were reminded that Shirdi Sai was both a Muslim and a Hindu. One important element of his mission was to reconcile these two religions and show the unity behind them; very similar to Sri Swami Vishwananda’s way of showing us the same, but through Hinduism and Christianity.

Highlights:

Sri Swami Vishwananda and the Bhakti Marga devotees where invited to sing bhajans (devotional songs) at the temple of Shirdi Sai.

Thursday is considered the main day for pilgrims to visit the temple and it is estimated that around one million people visit the temple throughout the day.

It was a beautiful and powerful experience. The traditionalists in the room were somewhat surprised by the Bhakti Marga style of dancing and singing. But soon everyone joined in and were singing and dancing with them all in the Name of the Divine.

After the bhajans finished, Swamiji gave a few interviews to the media. Swamini Vishwamohini and Swami Paranthapa also gave interviews about the "Shirdi experience".

A variety of temples and saints were visited throughout the day. Here's a brief report from one in the group:

1. First, we went to a place where Baba had meditated for some time. This was the same place that he had sent Upasani Maharaja to do his sadhana as well.

2. The second place we visited was the samadhi ashram of Chaval Baba, who was known for receiving a vision of Sai and afterwards becoming his disciple. They had an OM appear on the floor of the temple, an image of Sai appear on the wall of the dhyaan mandir (meditation room), and various other miracles still happen there on a regular basis.

3. The last place was to see the samadhi of Ramdasi Baba. It was a lovely temple. One story says that Ramdasi chanted Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram as japam 200,000 times. When he finished his last mantra, a monkey jumped down from a tree and hugged the saint very tight. Then the monkey disappeared on the spot.  Jai Hanuman!

Travel Log: “The room was rocking, and it seemed like this kind of stuff didn’t happen as much as I would have expected it to. Once we really got going, it appeared as if the thick stone walls created a perfect sound chamber that gave the whole temple an aliveness to it. There was a tangible bliss that could be seen on people's faces. As Swamiji gazed in the direction of Shirdi Sai Baba's Maha Samadi, Swamiji revealed such a sweet aspect of himself to all the onlookers in the temple.” – Dimitiri, U.S.A

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Following the Master: Kumbh Mela 2015 – Day 1 (Journey to India Begins)

The Journey:

Gathering upon arrival at the hotel

After the large group's arrival, the adventure quickly began with a visit to the town of Shiridi, India.


Shirdi is best known as the home of Shirdi Sai Baba, and is located very close to Nashik where the Kumbh Mela is taking place this year. Swamiji felt Shirdi would be a nice place to visit for a few days before making our way to the Kumbh Mela camp site.

Shirdi Sai Baba

Shirdi Sai Baba was an Indian spiritual master regarded by his devotees as a saint. Revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees, Sai Baba stressed the importance of surrender to the guidance of the true Satguru, who, having traveled the path to Divine consciousness himself, will lead the disciple through the jungle of spiritual training.

“When the Divine Names are always on your lips, there will be no time for you to think of negative things. Shirdi Sai was always telling his disciples to chant Om Namo Narayanaya.”

 – Sri Swami Vishwananda 

Sai Baba is worshipped by people around the world. He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and Guru.

“The four sadhanas and the six shastras are not necessary. Just have complete trust in your Guru: it is enough.” – Shiridi Sai Baba

Highlights:

Visited the dhuni (a sacred site represented as a cleft in the ground where a fire burns) of Sai Baba which never extinguishes.

1. Swamiji said the site continuously helps to purify the world 
2. Sai Baba used to give Prasad, water and vibhuti to the people at this site
3. He went into a 3 day Samadhi (an immovable state of bliss) here

Visited the place of Mahalsapati Chimanji Nagare, who welcomed Shirdi Sai Baba and gave him the name “Sai” – he first rejected him though, when he found out that Shirdi was a Muslim; later when he realised the greatness of Shirdi Sai Baba, he repented and became one of his closest disciples.

Travel Log: “We embark under the shelter and protection of our beloved Guruji, as we follow in his footsteps, it is safe to say…a journey of epic proportions is upon us.” – Dimitiri, U.S.A

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