TheV edantaK esari~

~ JULY2013

Entering the HimalayasLord Shivas Abode

Paatal Devi

The next morning from my guest quarters, Nanda Devis unearthly visage was the first to greet me as I descended the steep hillside steps to the convent shrine room. After rea!fast, "ra haprana and I, with #ovind as our driver, egan our day$long pilgrimage. %ur first stop was "aatal Devi, an ancient Shakti pitha&the sacred spot of a natural stone yoni etched into the floor of a small cave inside the temple. 'ere also (wami )ive!ananda had come in the fall of *+,- after his stop at the near y cave of .asar Devi. In *///, the "aatal Devi temple had een erected along with simple !utirs for mon!s quarters ad0acent to the mandir, or temple compound. The !utir where (wami )ive!ananda stayed is now occupied y a poor, recently widowed mother. The local temple authorities had ta!en pity on this woman and her child and given permission for them to stay in one the mon!s quarters and clean the temple premises in return for this special favour. It was at the spot of the Paatal Devi temple that Vivekananda first received the word a telegram had arrived at Lala Badri Shahs Almora home, divulging the shocking news of his sisters suicide !he Swami, torn with agon", was suddenl" awakened to the plight of Indian women and later worked toward womens upliftment in India as part of his mission on earth

Muslim Graveyard 1rom "aatal Devi we drove to the near y 2uslim graveyard where (wami )ive!ananda almost passed away from hunger due to the exertion of his pilgrimage, and san! to the ground with exhaustion. The !eeper of the cemetery, a 2uslim fa!ir y name 3ulfi!ar Ali, saw the swamis dire plight and offered him a cucum er, the only food

he had. )ive!ananda as!ed him to put it into his mouth as he was even too wea! to do this much himself, ut the 2uslim protested, 42ahara0, I am a 2uslim5 4That doesnt matter at all. Are we not rothers6 (wami0i declared with a smile. %n that spot #ertrude (en, wife of renowned scientist 7oshi (en, erected a memorial to immortali8e )ive!anandas oundless gratitude toward this 2uslim fa!ir to whom he owed his life. %ne could say that this simple monument is a testament to this living example of Advaita )edanta&or what interfaith understanding can ring at its root level. Ramakrishna Mission Kutir, Almora 1rom there we drove a mile or two to the 9ama!rishna .utir, a centre of the 9ama!rishna %rder, and descended the steep staircase past the li rary and guest cottages to the temple, erected on the spot where (wami Turiyananda had stayed for seven years, after (wami )ive!anandas mahasamadhi in *,-:. 'is ed upon which his photograph rests against the pillow is to the left of the main altar. To the right is a da88ling painting of 2other Durga, the "rotectress of the ;niverse. %n the left wall of the inner shrine and chapel are two wall$mounted glass cases where (wami Turiyanandas personal articles are !ept<everything from safety ra8or, shaving cream ottle, food utensils, and spectacles to well$worn slippers and a crucifix, dar!ened with the years5 It was difficult to leave ones seat in meditation= the atmosphere resonated with the sound of silence&palpa ly tranquil, li!e the shimmering calm of a vast, placid la!e. (wami Turiyananda esta lished this sacred space of utter peace in Almora as well as at (hanti Ashrama, in Northern >alifornia&a retreat must for any see!er who han!ers for solitude and deeper meditation. In the Footsteps of Vivekananda After lunch prasad and a tour of the #amakrishna $utir, we left for Sarada %ath But on the wa", Pra&haprana asked 'ovind to pull over to view the sloping forest land &elow us She then e(plained) *+ne time in Almora, Vivekananda was with one of his &rother disciples ,pro&a&l" Swami Akhandananda- as the" made their wa" toward their ne(t stop one evening Suddenl" the swami turned to his &rother.monk and said, */ou go &" the road, and I will cut through this forest Swami Akhandananda agreed, &ut soon afterwards &ecame curious and somewhat pu00led &" this odd travel arrangement So he followed Swami1i deep into the pine forest Suddenl" through the &ranches, he saw a white light ahead which &ecame &righter and &righter as he approached a clearing !here he saw his &rother.monk em&racing Sri #amakrishna *Ah, that is wh" "ou wanted to come alone into this leopard.infested forest2 he later told Swami1i

At Lala Badri Shah s !ome, Almora After sharing this reminiscence, "ra haprana and I returned to our 0eep and rode further, past 7oshi (ens Institute, where he had made his cutting$edge discoveries of consciousness within plants, until "ra hapranaonce again ec!oned the driver to turn off to the side of the road. To our left was a steep cliff and to the right a staircase leading upward to ?ala 7adri (hahs house. ?ala 7adri (hah was a wealthy landowner and close disciple of (wami )ive!ananda. In 2ay *+,+, (ister Nivedita, @osephine 2ac?eod, and (ara 7ull<all prominent Aestern disciples of )ive!ananda&had stayed at his home in Almora. Bvery day (wami0i used to wal! from (hahs Thompson cottage a mile or so away to his %a!ley 'ouse for rea!fast followed y several hours of conversation with (ister Nivedita and his two other women disciples.

S"ami Vivekananda and Sister #ivedita It was here under a pine tree that (wami0i transmitted a nondual spiritual experience to (ister Nivedita and gave her a glimpse of 7rahman& ut only after a period of rigorous training. (ister Nivedita later divulged how her guru ruthlessly tore at her 7ritish preconceptions of India as she utted up against his passionate love for Indian ideals and culture. 7ut gradually her center of gravity was made to shift from a deep$rooted Buropean world view to a more Indiani8ed outloo! of Indias ancient tradition and culture. %nly then did the painful assaults end and )ive!ananda announcedC 4There must e a change. I am going away into the forests to e alone= and when I come ac!, I shall ring peace. In (ister Niveditas wordsC 'e lifted his hands and lessed, with silent depths of lessing, his most re ellious disciple, y this time !neeling efore him. 7ut though such a moment may heal a wound, it cannot restore an illusion that has een ro!en into fragments. ?ong, long ago, (ri 9ama!rishna had told his disciples that the day would come when his eloved Naren would manifest his own great gift of estowing !nowledge with a touch. That evening, at Almora, I proved the truth of this prophecy. 1or alone, in meditation, I found myself ga8ing deep into an Infinite #ood, to had led me. And I understood, for the first time, that the greatest teachers may destroy in us a personal relation, only in order to estow the Impersonal )ision in its place.D

$arshan of an %npu&lished Reminis'en'e of S"ami Vivekananda Today ?ala 7adri (hahs home has ecome a hotel run y the (hah family. The proprietor greeted us as "ra haprana and I clim ed the stairs and wal!ed to (ister Niveditas corner room. Then we made our way to the room where (wami0i had stayed as (hahs special guest, at the opposite end of the mansion. This was to e "ra hapranas special surprise for me. Inside this &eautifull" maintained room, was the cot and eas" chair that Swami1i had used, along with an armoire and standing mirror atop a chest of drawers Various smaller articles the swami also used such as a lamp, water pot, and hu&&le &u&&le were encased in a wall.mounted glass case

7ut a ove the chest of drawers was the most unusual first$generation tinted photograph of )ive!$ananda that I had ever seen anywhere. 'is eyes captivated me and I felt as though they followed me around the room&so living this photograph seemed. I was struc! dum &unli!e his other photographs (wami0is eyes did not ear the expression of ?ord (hiva= they were, without dou t, none other than the lotus eyes of ?ord .rishna. Ahen the proprietors wife, Indu, entered the room, with her help I managed to ta!e the est photograph possi le. Then she and "ra haprana shared their storyC Indus mother$in$law, @ana!i Devi, was 0ust newly married when she went to the home of her hus ands grandfather, ?ala 7adri (hah, a devoted disciple of (wami )ive!ananda. @ana!i Devi understood that her grandfather$in$law paid the utmost respect to all sadhus who visited his home. Therefore, one day when one stri!ing sadhu came to his home, she rought him a tall glass of mil!. The mon! dran! the entire glass, then as!ed her, 4Aho do you love most6 4?ord .rishna, she responded. 4)ery good, he nodded with pleasure, then left. The sadhu was none other than (wami )ive!ananda. (hortly thereafter another sadhu came to (hahs home and gave the young ride a scroll that was securely wrapped in a tu e, 4Dont open this for :- years, he instructed her.

Time past, then one day :- years later as the woman was usy moving her household elongings, she found the scroll and opened it. It was a colour$tinted photograph of (wami )ive!ananda, perhaps ta!en in (an 1rancisco. A most extraordinary photo&it ecame living. Ahen Indu was newly married, she used to ma!e fun of her mother$in$law, who long ac! was the young ride who had met (wami0i. Indu shared how @ana!i Devi would stand efore this photograph of (wami0i and tal! to him. ?ater when "ravra0i!a "ra haprana came to Almora, she used to go to the (hah residence to hear @ana!i Devi herself divulge her stories of (hah, (wami0i, and his photo. (he used to sayC 4If I stand to the left of the photo, he is loo!ing at me. And if I stand to the right, he is also loo!ing at me. I tal! to him, and he answers. Eou also can with "ra haprana, 4'e Fmeaning (wami0iG also tells me news efore it happens. %nce when @ana!i Devi was staying with her son in 'aldwani, she suddenly awo!e in the middle of the night to find (wami0i standing y her edside with tears flowing from his eyes. 4Ahats wrong, (wami0i6 she as!ed. 4"lease go to your home immediately was his only reply. Then he vanished.

Thereupon the woman wo!e her son and insisted that they egin their 0ourney to Almora immediately, in spite of all his protests. Ahen they arrived, she found her hus and, who was ?ala 7adri (hahs grandson, on his death ed. (he gave him #anges water and he soon reathed his last. (uch was how this photo of (wami )ive!ananda ecame living and guided her life. Stories such as this come from the real India, the spiritual India And from such stories it is possi&le to touch the outer realm of the awesome giant of a %an, that special &eing, we call an ishvarakoti Vivekananda had initiated the "oung &ride &" drinking her glass of milk, thus swallowing her karmas And in his own inscruta&le wa" he arranged for his photo, &earing Lord $rishnas likeness, to land in her hands !hat the "oung &ride could not help &ut &e mesmeri0ed &" it, worship and adore it, was surel" also his doing B" Lala Badri Shahs association with Swami1i, generations of his famil" mem&ers have &een &lessed, for rarel" has the world seen such a spiritual giant as Vivekananda
Pravrajika Brahmaprana is a nun of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood. She has compiled and edited several books on Vedanta, includin !he Complete "orks of Swami Vivekananda, Volume #$ Vivekacudamani of Sri Sankaracarya, translated by Swami !uriyananda$ and "ith the Swamis in %merica and &ndia. Brahmaprana has also written numerous articles on the philosophy and practice of Vedanta for journals and antholo ies in %merica and abroad. 'Pravrajika Brahmaprana(s pil rima e to %lmora took place in )ctober *+,*.-