Picture: Rakesh & Yogacharya David standing under the Ashok Tree where Lahiri Mahasaya appeared in his physical body to Swami Keshabananda after his Mahasamadhi.
Without knowing why God was directing our feet in pilgrimage to India I have remained a simple and open child of the Infinite for His will to be done. I knew I wanted to be in Haridwar for Lahiri Mahasaya’s Mahasamadhi Day. We experienced such blessings from the Master, and felt him in such a wonderful way at Keshavashram. In past pilgrimages I have stayed near this ashram, but this time we were directed to Anandamayee Ma’s Samadhi Temple some distance away in Kankhal.
Here we were to become a part of Ma’s Lila, her divine play. Every morning and evening there is an elaborate arathi, a ceremony of worship. The Samadhi Temple is an extravagant display of marble, beautifully constructed. In the Sanctum Santorum there is a statue of Ma ensconced in a humble thatched hut; a fitting symbol of her humble birth and the way she lived her life.
There are different singers whose voices are broadcast on speakers, and a couple of dozen boys dressed in gold who accompany the singer. A priest is in front and center and arranges all the articles of worship. Ma was a respecter of Brahmanic law and Vedic rituals, keeping their notions of propriety and purity. While she lived her life spontaneously inspired by God alone, the rules of Temple culture are strictly governed by protocol.
Ideally the Brahman priest is a keeper of the sacred vibrations of the temple. He will care for the deity and the area around it with strict rules in place. These rules are designed to keep the vibrations pure and ensure that blessings will be transferred to devotees worshiping there. Lighted lamps and other articles of worship are offered to the deity and then given out in blessings to the attendees.
In these precincts we feel Ma’s presence so greatly. She is a living voice and presence in my mind, and she effortlessly guides me in inner experiences with a purity and purpose that comes absolutely from the highest planes of consciousness. For a great Soul such as Ma, physical death is of no import. Her consciousness, presence and divine purpose is fulfilled to any heart and soul sensitively attuned to God.
On the last night of Arathi Ma once again is present. Her smiling presence greets me through her picture and soon I am lifted beyond all sensory and supersensory experience. I am merged into the eternal Being and Presence of the ultimate, all-conscious Existence. No words may encroach into this beginingless, endless Source of all that is. In this state of Consciousness no rituals intrude, and no relationship of I and Thou can enter; only Oneness. I remained absorbed in this state throughout the arathi.
At another time we toured Ma’s museum; it holds many personal items and pictures of Anandamayee Ma. After touring the inside of the museum we entered the grounds where we are engaged by an elderly man whose few teeth go in every which direction. He has a wonderful glow about him. He speaks no English but kindly offers to be our guide to the museums grounds.
He leads us past a pond that has unusual leaves; we are told later that these are blue lotus plants, not yet in bloom. He then takes us to the Panchavati, a sacred grove of five trees, each specified species must be present to be considered a Panchavati. As we follow our guide we are charmed by this old man and the grounds. We then come to a building that was deconstructed in Delhi and re-erected here, it is a quaint hut where Ma lived while in Delhi. It has a wonderful vibration to it.
A young man from the museum joins us and gives us some information in English. He tells us, “Do you know how old he is?” Referring to our guide. He answered his own question, “He is one hundred and ninety seven.” I asked, “ninety seven?” He said, no, one hundred and ninety seven!” Well, in the country of India, one can come to believe in the miraculous around every corner.
Next to the hut are steps down to the Ganges. We descend to the riverside and it is here that we enact a ritual for Christine, dipping her laminated picture into the Ganges in this spot blessed by Ma. As in past pilgrimages we have felt the purifying nature of the Ganges; we ask Ganga Ma to so bless Christine that she may be cleansed of everything that is not of God. Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram. We then baptize our own heads and bodies in the sacred stream.
Walking up the steps there is a temple of Ganga Ma. She is a beautiful image: symbolically she represents the flow of life-force in the spine. By uplifting that life-current the individual soul is baptized in the healing currents of Prana, the Divine Life within and without.
As I think about our time in Haridwar/Kankhal, it has come unexpectedly to enter into Ma’s Lila here, but what a delightful, powerful and gracious play she has enacted within and without. Jai, Ma! Victory to the Divine Mother!
“We take our leave of Kankhal, but not of you Ma.” We have also felt the ongoing Presence of our dear beloved Lahiri Baba. To stand under the Ashok tree where he manifested to Swami Keshavananda and to be transported to his feet at his Samadhi Temple; these are blessings we hold close in our hearts as we board the train for Dehli and new adventures.