Varanasi Pilgrimage 2023

 I always love visiting Varanasi, the oldest living City on earth. Varanasi has a history of  over 3000 years.

I took a flight from chennai and landed in Varanasi on Saturday around 11.30 pm. 

We took a cab to Ganges Grand hotel which is close to dashashwamedh ghat. After freshening up  we gathered together for a brief meditation before we headed out to the ghats. Suddenly it started raining and so we stayed longer with our meditation. Hari shared the beautiful story from Autobiography of a Yogi  where Ram Gopal Muzumdar is sent by Lahiri Mahasaya to witness the interaction between Babaji and his sister at Dashawamedh ghat..

After the rain let up we walked to dashashwamedh ghat for the boat ride and ganga arati. 

The ganga arati was beautiful and the entire ghat was packed with people who came to see the arati. They were on boats, on terraces and all around. The love and devotion was palpable as the people swayed to the rhythm of the enthralling singing and  arati.

We watched the arati from the boat and then we took a boat ride to manikarnika ghat. This ghat and the harishchandra ghat are both ghats were cremations happen. Manikarnika has a  fire that has been burning for thousands of years. The Dum Raja family owns this fire and he gives permission for people to use this fire to light the pyres. It is believed that people who are cremated here attain moksha. It's a sacred ghat. it's also one of the 51 Shakti peeths.

We saw bodies burning on the pyre as we walked back from close to this ghat, back to the hotel. There was this stark revelation at that point, of the impermanence of life. The alleys were narrow with many shops on the way. Banarasi sarees, banarasi paan, sweet shops and souvenir shops. Raj bhog is a sweet Shop we crossed which is supposed to be a popular one. 

We were quite hungry after all the walking and we had a good dinner before crashing for the night.A busy day awaited us the next day 

The next day we were ready very early at 5.30 am in the morning, to proceed to Trailanga Swami ashram which is on Panch ganga ghat. We travelled by boat and had a steep walk up from the ghat to the ashram. The ashram is very beautiful and has a large lingam that Trilanga Swami brought from the Ganges river. Below there is a room where he meditated and where it is said he attained mahasamadhi by entering the Ganges. They have now built a new hall below,  which has images of Trailanga Swami and Saradha Devi .

We were told stories of Trailanga Swami from Autobiography of a Yogi...the story where a man feeds him caustic lime pretending it was claberred milk and the story of the Varanasi police imprisoning him since he never wore clothes, only to find him walking on the roof of the building....

Trailanga Swami has been found lying hidden under water for days, sitting on hot rocks for long periods and going for periods of not eating at all or eating large quantities of food.

We meditated at the Trailanga Swami ashram. As we were returning I was tempted to have a dip in the Ganges at  the panch ganga ghat. The water was clear and had fewer people bathing  I had a quick dip. It was exhilarating!  We then came back for breakfast. 

After breakfast we proceeded to Satyalok, the family shrine of Lahiri Mahasaya's family. Here there are statues of Lahiri Mahasaya, his son Tinkori and grandson Satyacharan Lehiri. The ashes of Lahiri Mahasaya and his son and grandson or also in a shrine here. There is a beautiful statue of Babaji here. There was a large group of people meditating in front of Babaji's statue. We meditated at Satyalok for an hour or so.

The afternoon was free to visit temples or do other things. Some of us bought tickets for the rudra abhishek at Kasi Viswanath temple. We had to get these tickets at the temple registration office. We put our belongings in lockers as we were not allowed anything except a small purse. We followed a priest into the temple. We were seated around small lingas and we could offer milk, ghee, turmeric, jaggery, herbs, honey, curd, bhel leaves and other Pooja items to the linga. This was done to continuous mantras being chanted by the priests while we were chanting om namo shivaya. The chanting by the priests was hurried and mechanical, which in a way detracted  from the sacred vibrations of the exalted Kasi Viswanath temple. We then got to have darshan of Kasi Viswanathan and also do the Abhishek of the sacred linga. They also gave us flower and leaf malas at the temple. 

I then had some free time and decided to do some shopping on the busy crowded streets where people thronged the roads and cycle rickshaws, lorries and bikes skillfully weaved through them.....there seemed to be an unseen order in the utter chaos that prevailed. Later I spent some time just gazing at the mighty river Ganges. I felt her warmth, her love and compassion for all. I bought some peanuts to munch from a hawker and was touched by his honesty when he returned a few rupees that I had over paid. He refused to keep the change.

In the evening we proceeded as a group to Ananda moyi maa's ashram. We took autos to the ashram. We prayed, chanted and meditated there. It was a blessing to also be able to visit Maa's room which has her bed. 

We went back to the hotel and I was exhausted. Over dinner I had a good satsang with gurubhais and then it was bed time.

The next day was the last day of our stay in Varanasi. I woke up early as a group of us planned to take a dip in the ganges. It was Guru Purnima and an auspicious day.  I was expecting a huge crowd but luckily for us it wasn't very crowded. We were able to find a place that was less crowded and we had a dip. The water was warm and we really enjoyed our dip. 

We came back to the hotel and then after a quick breakfast we proceeded to Lahiri Mahasaya's house. Guru Purnima day is the only day in the year that the house is opened to the public. Luckily there wasn't such a big rush outside his home. As we waited our turn in the queue we chanted Lahiri Ji's name. As we went in we found that there was a Pooja in progress and we could not  enter the room to pay our respects. We paid our respects and prayers to Lahiri Mahasaya at the door of the room. I felt truly blessed to be at Lahiri Mahasaya's home on this sacred day of Guru Purnima. Every brick and piece of the house vibrated with his presence. I was humbled to be there. Our darshan was quick and I had more than 2 hours left before I left to the airport. So I decide to take a quick tour of some temples nearby. I visited the Brihaspaati temple, Sankat mochan Hanuman temple, a beautiful Durga temple, Tulsi manas, Gowri mata mandir and  gowri kedarnath temple. I was moved by the vibration at Gowri Kedarnath temple. I had a strange encounter with a beautiful old woman in this temple. She kept smiling and nodding as if she knew me. I went to her and touched her cheek. She just smiled. There was a warmth and fullness in my heart after meeting her. 

I returned to the hotel and it was time to leave. The roads around the hotel was closed and so we had to take a rickshaw to another point, from where we boarded our cab to the airport.

The pilgrimage left me feeling so happy and fulfilled. I thank  Lahiri Mahasaya, Lord Kasi Viswanath, Ananda Moyi Maa, Trailanga Swami and Maa Ganga  for giving me this pilgrimage. I also take back sweet memories of my satsang with gurubhais. My special thanks to Hari and Shivendra. Shivendra's chanting was hauntingly melodious. Hari was cool and calm at all times. My special thanks to gurubhais Seema Agarwal and her husband, Uma Lakhotia and her husband,  Lovleen and her mature son, Renu and her sweet daughter, Ezekiel and Rodrigo...they made my pilgrimage more enjoyable by their company. 

The success of any pilgrimage is how it transforms you. I felt changed in some indescribable way. I felt closer to Lahiri Mahasaya than I have ever felt before. The giant Shiva Linga at Trailanga Swami's ashram and the sweetness of Ananda moyi maa - the joy permeated saint, filled me with a sense of love and gratitude for this path. Thank you Master🙏🏽🌹Thank you Swamiji🌹Thank you Ananda🙏🏽

Link to pilgrimage  photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZgekikgA7UJ9KoG26