Dharaji Again

Dharaji, the serene place that is now submerged under Narmada dam waters was the topic of my first post when I started this blog. You can read it here. I am still hooked to its beauty and I am sure, anybody and everybody who has seen the place will share my feelings.

The vast expanse of the Holy Narmada before submergence

 This was how it looked before. I had taken this photograph in March 2007. Incidentally, large quantity of water was released daily from an upstream hydel project that would submerge the place as much as it is now, only a little less. It would start in the evening at the dam site upstream and would reach  Dharaji by 9 pm or so. But that phenomenon lasted only for few hours and once the water discharge upstream was stopped, the level would return to normal. It would generally happen around dawn.

 

Possibly the same angle from where one of the current photos has been taken (see link)

There was this small inspection hut belonging to the forest department from where I captured this image. I believe it is still there. The reason for remembering the wonderful geographical - and equally mystical - pilgrim centre is a series of photos of what it looks now. I accidentally bumped into it while searching on the net for something else.

 Someone has taken great pains to photograph the 'look' now and post it on the wikimapia site. You can see it here

Prayers and more prayers ... nothing more comes to my mind when I see this and remember how it was.

Mayawati's Advaita Ashrama

After a long gap, I am writing again about Mayawati and the Advaita Ashrama there. January 12 happens to be birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902). An inspiration for me since my childhood, I am still fascinated by his life and his works.

"After so much austerity I have understood this as the real truth - God

is present in every jiva (living being); there is no other God besides that.

'Who serves jiva serves God indeed"

This Ashrama was founded in 1899 by Swamiji's British disciple couple Capt J H Sevier and his wife C E Sevier. Swami Swarupananda, Swami Vivekananda's another disciple, was with them since the beginning and later went on to become the first president of the Advaita Ashrama. 

The place is situated at an altitude of 6,400 feet in the deep sylvan Himalayas. The nearest town is Lohaghat, 9 kms away. Although Mayawati is connected to Lohaghat with an all weather road, it can be a lovely trek, both on the winding tar road or through the hills, a short cut used by locals. Lohaghat is 15 kms away from Champawat district headquarters by the same name in Uttarakhand.

Swamiji spent almost two weeks in January 1901. The name Advaita Ashrama is a direct reflection of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy as propounded by Swamiji. It teaches each one to look within as there is only one Atman pervading all living beings and the Universe.

If you are not able to understand what I say, find out the complete works of Swami Vivekananda asap and start reading pronto.

More about the time we spent there when we visited the hypnotic place in August last year. And also about a wonderful charitable hospital that is run by the Rama Krishna Mission in this remote place.
       

Hypnotic Mayawati

Guess, what did I mean when I chose the title 'Hypnotic Mayawati' for this post? I am sure, the generation NOW is only aware about one Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

But this MAYAWATI is entirely different. It is a place in the Himalayas, in Champawat district of Uttarakhand. Only the regular readers of Ramakrishna - Vivekananda literature will be able to quickly recall the name Mayawati. If you are not one of them, read it now!

The beautifully landscaped garden around the Adwait Ashram adds to the serenity of the place

This is Adwait Ashram, the place where Swami Vivekananda spent few months in 1901 during his wanderings in the Himalayas.

Continued ...