Satopanth Yatra-9th to 19th August, 2011.

                                     Jai Badri Vishal!    Jai Satopanth!

Self in front of Sri Badri Vishal Temple at Badrinath.

  In 788 AD in the village of KALADI, 6 miles east of ALWAYE in the state of Kerala a great gem of Mother India took birth from the womb of Aryamba (wife of Sivaguru who himself was son of Vidyadhar) due to the blessings of Lord Shiva in Vasant ritu, during Abhijit muhurt. He was named Samkara (Shankara). His father died when he was only seven years of age but his mother took great care to raise him. By the age of sixteen the boy learned all the scriptures and started writing commentaries on them.

   It is said that great sage Patanjali had 1000 disciples. It was a rule that while he would deliver any teachings to his disciples a curtain would be drawn between them. This practice was always followed as per the instruction of the master. But one day a disciple removed the curtain amidst the lecture and broke the rule. Lo! All beheld Sheshnaag sitting there as Patanjali was avatar of Shesh. The moment he breathed out all the students sitting there were decimated in the fire of its poison. The guru could do nothing to save them. Then one disciple by the name of Gaudpaad came as he was late on that day. He saw the whole play and fell at the feet of his guru who told him that he has also fallen under the curse and would turn into a Brahm Rakshas. On repeated requests to know how to undo this curse, Gaudpaad was advised to go to the river Narmada and find a fit disciple and once he transfers his teachings to him only then this curse will be undone. So, Gaudpada went there and with grace of Guru found a fit disciple in Vishnu Sharma and passed his teachings to him. He was named Vishnupaad and was taken to Badrik Ashram. Both the Guru and the disciple went into Samadhi inside a cave. Samkara reached Badrik Ashram and went into the cave where both of them were in Samadhi. He was so much inspired with their presence there that he started praising them with Dakshina Moorthi Stotra. On hearing such a hymn so beautifully rendered, the Samadhi of both the guru and the disciple broke. They were extremely happy to see a young boy in the form of Samkara standing in front of them. Gaudpaad touched the head of Samkara and passed on all the knowledge of 7 crore mantras, Vedas, Samkhya and whatever he knew. Such was the marvel of nature called Samkara (Shankacharya). For 32 years he served the Mother India and kept the flame of knowledge burning in his motherland and left his body around 820 AD.

   During his time many different sects were prevalent and all tried to gain supremacy over the other and claimed to be better. Shankara single handedly defeated all the different groups in discussions and raised the flag of real knowledge. He created four mathas in all the four directions of the country and thus bound the whole nation in one fabric. He created Sharda Peeth (Vishwaroop) at Dwarika from where Tirth and Ashram sect of sanyasi’s come. Here Sam Ved is followed and mahavakya of realization is TAT TWAM ASI (That you are/Swaroop). This has to be realized in this dham. In western India at Puri another Dham was created and it is called Govardhan Peeth(Padmpaad) and two sects of Sanyasi’s Van and Aranya, come from here, Rik Veda is followed here and the sentence of realization here is PRAGYANAM BRAHM(Pragya is Brahm/Prakaash). Another dham was created at Rameshwaram by the name of Shringeri math(Sarswati),   Bharti, Saraswati and Puri sect of sanyasi’s come from here. The sentence for realization here is AHAM BRAHM ASMI( I am Brahm/Chaitanya). Fourth dham was created at Badrinath Jyotir dham and called Jyotirmath from where Giri, Sagar and Parvat sect of sanyasi’s come. Here Atharv Ved is followed and sentence of realization is AYAM ATMA(I am atma/ Anand). Kanchi kaam koti is called Pancham Peeth. Mandan Mishr was the first Acharya of Sringeri math and was named as Sureshwara Achrya by Adi Shankaracharya.

   It is said in the Purana that at the time of the churning of the great ocean by Devtas and Rakshas, Sumeru mountain was used as a churning block while Sheshnaag was used as rope.It is said that after completion of this task lord Vishnu who took the form of a tortoise and on whose back Sumeru was resting asked the mountain to get off his back. But Sumeru refused to do it himself and asked the lord to put him at some nice place. Lord put him in the Kailash mansarover which thus divided into two parts. One part is still Kailash mansarover while the other part is called Satopanth. The water of both places is just the same.

   Badrik Ashram is the seat of lord Vishnu where he is known as Sri Badri VishalSamkara came there he located the statue of the lord and took it out of the river Alaknanada and installed it in the temple and thus Badrikashram temple came in to being. In another Purana it has been explained that after mahabharath when time for the Lord Krishna came to leave he advised his followers Pandavas to come to Himalayas, Sudama to reach Badrinath. It is also said Goddess Luxmi turned into a tree of berries and spread herself over the Lord while he meditated and thus the name Badrik Ashram came into being. But whatsoever is the story, it is clear that lord resides here. Another unusual thing is that if we look at the top of the temple one finds Sapt rishis (Atri, Jamdagni, Vashishth, Kashyap, Gautam, Bhardwaj and Vishwamitr) and Dhruvtara close together. There are many sacred places in and around Badrinath explained in various scriptures. Some are known and some are forgotten by people.One started the present yatra from Hardwar by participating in the evening aarti at Har ki Pauri.

(A View of Har ki pauri from other side at the time of Gangaji aarti in the evening)

  The great splendor of Himalayas unfolds once we move ahead of Badrinath. At a distance of 12 km from Badrinath is Luxmi Van, 10 km ahead of Luxmi Van is Chakra teerth, 5 km ahead of it is Satopanth and 6 kms ahead of it is Swarga Rohan, which is the last destination of this yatra or expedition.

   A day earlier one performed poojas at the temple and sought permission from the Lord to start the pilgrimage ahead. Beginning at 6 am in the morning from one’s Dharamshala in rain the journey was started. Two porters carried all the provisions and two seekers quietly accompanied them. In continuous rain and dangerous tracks, where some time the width of path narrowed down to half a foot only with rock face on one side and a deep gorge on the other, mantra automatically came to one’s lips. Remembering the guru tattva or Isht one took a deep breath and negotiated all such moments. Thus moving slowly, resting to catch breath from time to time one reached Luxmi Van. The moment one reached this place a pair of dogs appeared. One was black and one was mix of brown, black and white. 

Self with two special dogs near Luxmi Van with Anil (blue umbrella)

   It is enumerated in Puranas that when Dharamraj Yudhishter traversed on this last journey a dog accompanied him. While all his brothers along with their wife Draupadi, one by one died on this journey, in the end only a dog accompanied him till Swargarohan. There a special plane from heavens came along with devtas to take him along with them. Since Youdhishter was a personification of Dharma, he tried to put the dog first on the vehicle. Devtas refused to take a dog along to the heavens. Seeing this Yudhishter told them that he will also not go there as only this dog gave him company throughout the journey while his own brothers and wife died on the way and could not give him company. Realising his stead fastness on the path of Dharma, the dog changed his form into Yama, lord of death. He explained that he was only testing him. Only then Yudhishter ascended the vehicle for onward journey to the heavens.

   There at Laxmivan one put up the tent in the rain while another group met on the path itself occupied one cave with a door installed on it. The porters found another cave around to put up for the night. In the evening they prepared dinner and all soon rested in their respective places to restart early in the morning. One was sharing the tent with a friend. Around eight in the evening, when dinner was finished,continuous rain was falling down, all were zipped up in their sleeping bags ,then  someone was heard chanting, "Jai Satopanth! Jai Satopanth!" One heard the voice as the person approached the cave to rest. But it was locked from inside by the other party. One heard his knocking on the door but it was not opened. So the person started leaving the place in the rain. But the  travelers in the tent thought of the difficult weather outside and called the person to come in and rest inside the tent for the night. Hearing the call he came back and opened the tent door to enter and then one realized that it is a sadhu who is coming down from Satopanth in this heavy rain. According to him, he came down from Satopanth to Luxmivan in flat one and a half hour. He spread his blanket and sleeping bag on one side of the tent. On inquiring he told that he is a Sadhu from Ramanand sect and is a naga. At the age of 16 when he went to learn Sanskrit at Ayodhaya, he never went back to his house and took the robes of a sanyasi. He had traveled 18 times to Satopanth. On inquiring about his experiences, he refused to share as according to him they should not be told to anyone. But he had seen Devtas, Rishis, Yakshas, Gandharvas etc. all who roam around in that area. Thus talking he went to bed. Around 1:30 am at night all of a sudden a light passed over the tent. One got up to inquire at which the sadhu said not to go out. According to him it may be that some sidha is passing by, so one should not try to face them. Thus, whole of the night passed with rain outside, falling over the tent and making a continuous sound. Around 7am in the morning the sadhu left the tent on his downward journey. After his departure one realized that the sadhu was not at all wet when he came at night while we were wet even inside the tent. So, who was he or was he not is a big question!

   The Next morning the rain subsided and breakfast was prepared. The other party proceeded on their yatra ahead while we got a little late in packing up everything from the spot. As we proceeded further on our yatra it started raining again. On the way one has to wade through innumerable waterfalls and rock slides. Umbrellas and raincoats seemed to be ineffective  in such a continuous downpour. Slowly one reached Sahasrdhara (thousand waterfalls). It’s a place where on one's left side is the sky touching rocky face of the mountain. It's imposing presence makes you revalue your own entity and one realizes that one is nothing in front of Mother Nature. On the far away right are the snow covered  mountain ranges and in between is a vast expanse of glaciers. The travelers sat by the bank of the emerging river from Sahasrdhara and performed poojan for all devtas and Varun dev especially. Rain subsided and stopped as one ascended the next range of small hills in between. Thus walking one reached Chakra Tirth in the evening. One of the yatris heard the sound of a conch here. It is said that when the Pandavas undertook their journey to Swarga (heaven), Arjun left his body here. Thus only Yudhishther was left along with a dog to continue his ascent to heaven. Tents were put up here for the night, food prepared and one zipped up the sleeping bags. Once again rain started pouring. All around goats and sheep assembled together with little ones huddling with their mothers while a lone owner hid below a rock where he had built a small shack. The night was still not dark and one could not sleep as is usual in such places. The consciousness is always alert to embrace the Reality.

                                                   

Glacier behind Chakrateerth

 
   The whole night one heard the drumming of rain drops against the tent fabric and in the morning we planned to leave for Satopanth. In front was an imposing ascent which was informed to be the most difficult. One slowly slowly started up that gradient. Resting every 25-30 mtrs to reach the top where a small red flag of the devi was installed. Down below one could see the porters packing the tent and other things. While on the other side there was no path at all. One could see only stones and stones and from time to time one could hear water flowing below it. After which one saw long glaciers, while on the other side one could see the sky kissing  mountains peaks. From time to time one heard a great thunderous rumble as big ice bergs crashed down from the mountains. The sound itself was enough to decimate anyone’s ego. One thanked god to be on this side of the glacier. Such was the track on which one started when the porters came up to the flag post and everyone descended on to the other side.

   Here on this side there was no path at all! Continuous rain was making the stones slippery on which one has to proceed throughout this stretch of journey till Satopanth. Thinking of His Grace one kept on moving. One did not stop anywhere but kept on moving however slow to ward off any evil happening. Though one thought that by moving out of it as early as possible one will save oneself, but at heart one always knew that the SAVIOUR is someone else. Negotiating a trough and going up again and re-entering a trough one emerged on a hillock amidst this stone expanse. From there one saw another stone path after which a steep hillock appeared on the top of which a red flag was struck. We were informed that behind that hill is Satopanth. One felt re energized and knew that the goal was near. With fresh inspiration one quickened the pace to reach the top. When one reached it, on the other side was the great triangular lake of Satopanth. Serene greenish blue water was sparkling though it was still raining. Whole of the luggage was dripping along with whatever one wore. One felt happy and elated at last to reach the desired destination. On close inspection one noted that there was no fit place to put up a tent. There was one small room which is clearly visible in the photograph also below. All made straight for it. On reaching there one met the group which camped at Luxmi Van(jungle) during one’s night stay there. All were happy to meet each other. Since there was no place to stay, two travelers also adjusted inside that small kutiya (shack) along with its three occupants. The kutiya roof was leaking inside and one could not help but stay wet. One had thought of doing a havan there in the morning by borrowing a few wood pieces from the baba there. But the group which had arrived earlier were carrying everything along with them. They were planing to do a havan since morning but got delayed for no reason. When one reached there, they were still planing to do havan and requested to lead it. One felt it to be a divine intervention and was happy to seek this opportunity. So everyone got together and prepared for a havan around 4.30 pm. One chanted the mantras, offering ahutis to all the Devis, Devtas, Yogis, Rishis, Matrikas, Kundlini Shakti, Guru lineage, Navgrah, Dashdikpal, Panchlokpal, and all ancestors. It took almost more than an hour and every one was happy and satisfied. Though one had planned to bath in the pond in the morning, perform nitya poojan and follow it with a havan but Mother-Nature had something else in store.
  
    There were small birds which would come inside the kutiya and eat out of your hands without any fear. It is said that these birds keep the Satopanth pond clean by taking out even the smallest speck fallen inside it's clear waters. These birds are considered to be spirits of the sages of ancient times. Afterward food was prepared and shared together. Porters retreated to their night dwelling while all five travelers crammed into that small kutiya.

 There was no space to stretch ones tired legs, so one had to lie the whole night in one position, only a few times one afforded to turn over. At night one could hear bells ringing periodically though no one inhabited that place! It kept reminding one of the Rishis and Yogis staying in these areas in their subtle bodies. A co- traveler heard the sound of a conch. One meditated and in the vision saw four Rishis walking in a line amidst a mountain range. Later one was informed that four Sidhas always roam this area. They are Narda, Parshuram, Bali and Ashwathama. One mentally bowed down to their presence. At mid night it started snowing. When one came out of the kutiya in the morning one saw a thick coat of snow all around and it was still snowing. We received a message from the Mauni Baba, who lives eight months a year there, to leave the place immediately as the weather is getting inclement and it might make ones retreat blocked for days. So there was no way to pitch any tent there in that weather, hence in the morning at 6am all packed up and started the return journey in heavy snowfall. Thinking of all the  event that happened one felt that since last thing which one had planned to perform there was forced to be undertaken first, it must be the WILL of the yogis residing there in subtle and one felt happy. Since final work was done first , hence no time was given to perform preliminaries and hence one was asked to leave Satopanth for whatever reason it may be. The 2nd photo below shows the whole area covered by snow which only the night before was completely bare as in the 1st photo.

                                    

Photo of Satopanth Lake in rain and during snowfall

   The stony path was totally covered in snow. One had to take every step consciously as not to get stuck in between two stones. Repeating ones mantra one kept on moving through the difficult and rough terrain. Slowly the other party was left behind while two of the travelers along with two porters kept moving without any stop. One reached Chakra Tirth and was pained to see newly born sheep and goat off springs lying and dying there. One could do nothing but pray for their onward journey. As the weather got worse so the owners left that area in such a hurry that they could not carry all the new born ones with them.  They were left behind and died of cold and hunger. On the way one saw as many as 10-15 small and young big animals dead in the snow and rain. That was the WILL of the Nature and one could not do anything. Passing through Sahasrdhara one left the snowing range behind but entered into rains instead! All around fresh waterfalls had appeared and one had to wade through countless of them. Thus everything dripped and shoes squished through mud and water. To ones great relief party reached Luxmivan. One felt very thirsty but there was no water to drink except that of Satopanth, which we had carried along to share with all the friends, sadhaks and bhaktas back home. There was no alternative but to drink that very water there for energy. One took two mouthfuls and started on the return journey again with regained strength. Now one felt recharged to reach the destination Badrinath without  stopping. Walking in the rain we reached Vasodhara Glacier. Below it Alaknanda was moving in full flow and might. Over it was the glacier. Porters checked the glaciers and confirmed it to be safe to negotiate, though cracks were visible in it!

       Vasodhara Glacier & falls as seen from the other bank and with Porters crossing it below.

Vasudhara Falls at the back on the other side of Alaknanada

Porters crossing the glacier with cracks visible 

Alaknanda roaring below the glacier at Vasudhara

   Vasodhara is named after eight Vasus (Ap, Dhruv, Som, Dharm, Anil, Anal, Pratyush and Prabhas) who did very hard penance at Vasudhara. The story goes that they were banished from heaven along with Gangaji. When they were falling down along with Gangaji they requested her to be their mother on earth to which she agreed. When she came down on earth King Shantanu married her. But the rule was that he will never question her ever to which he readily agreed.  Every time she gave birth to a son, she would put it into Ganga river. The king could not say anything because of the rule to which he himself had agreed. This happened seven times and the king was a mute spectator. But when the eighth son was born and she was going to put him also into the river, the king could not control himself. He questioned her and she broke the wed lock. That eighth son was later known as Bheesham Pitamah. All the Vasus were full of  tapsya and luxmi.  Dharam along with his wife Dhara had done severe penance to have Lord as their son. They succeeded in this endeavor and in their next life the Lord became their child in the form of Sri Krishna!

 
   Chanting ones mantra one ran across the glacier on to the other side where one was helped by the porters to climb up into the safety of a natural path. From there the rain was just a drizzle and all walked up to the Mana village three km away which is the last Indian village on the Indo-Chinese border. This is the place from where the river Saraswati issues. It travels for a distance of about one km. and then again disappears underground to surface at last at Thirtha Raj, completing the Trivaini Sangam !

                                        Breath taking Source of the river Saraswati

 

Temple of Saraswati at the appearance site of the great river

    Here one had darshan of an Avinashi sect naga baba, who wears one kundal (earing) only. His Isht Devi is Chinnmasta.He belonged to the sect started by Srichandji son of great saint Gurunanak Devji. Baba claimed to have built the kutiya at Vasodhara where Naradmuni baba used to live. One had gone to meet that Naradmuni Baba two years back, but was informed that he left his body 5-6 years earlier. It is interesting to note that one went there to offer a book on Yajna to him while he himself had planned to perform a Luxmi havan there. He died without  fulfilling his wish. Now about five mahatamas from Sri Vrindavan live there and their Guru is a disciple of the famous late Devraha Baba.

With Avinashi sect baba at Saraswati

   From there one got a taxi to cover the last 3 km distance to Badrinath. The owner of the dharamshala, Pt.Kashi Prasad, was very happy to know that all have come back. All of them were very apprehensive because of the inclement weather. Thus the journey was completed and in the morning thanks giving prayers were offered at the temple. Then one entered into the holy hot water kund for an hour and relieved the stress on the body!

   One had to stay an extra day in Badrinath as the road below was blocked. Next day at 7am somehow one started the return journey moving sometime in a jeep, sometime in buses and sometime one has to be on foot to negotiate road blocks. In the end at 9 pm one reached Rishikesh for one night. 

Famous eating place at Rishikesh-CHOTIWALA

Next day after having food at famous Chotiwala restaurant  in the afternoon one took a bus for Chandigarh and reached ones home at 7 pm. Met all the family members, friends and distributed Prasad of Badrinath,everyone tasted the water of Satopanth , all were inspired and felt the amazing grace! May the grace fall on all those who read this small post also, Om!

     Jai Badri Vishal ! ~   Jai Satopanth ! ~    Jai Gurudeva!   ~Om! Om! Om! ~