In the previous episode, we had witnessed how our temples and our “Sanaatana Dharma” as a whole has enormous significance and certain vested interests and anti-Hindu elements that are trying to raise their ugly heads today can never even think in their wildest dreams of “destroying” them! It is to be noted here at this important juncture that our Bhaarata Desha in the past has gone through an enormous amount of invasions – Right from the Muslim rulers to the British era. Even though these invaders tried their level best for more than a thousand years put together to destroy our Sanaatana Dharma, they weren’t successful even an inch! If such is the case, who are these listless anti-Hindu elements today, who do not even have an iota of understanding of our greatness? Hence, readers and ardent followers of “Sanaatana Dharma” like all of us, should not even pay heed to all their rantings! We should not waste our precious time given to us by Bhagawan in getting carried away by all their constitutionally illegal activities that they keep performing day in and day out! We should remain steadfast and focused in our approach towards attaining Bhagawan and should never deviate or pay heed to the narratives of these half-baked crooks! Thus, all of us should come together to embark on “Teertha-Yatras”, visit temples as much as possible, help those temples that are in dire need of facilities and funding and thereby obtain the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan in all those places. This is the lesson that all of us should learn from this section of discussion. This is the awareness that all of us should develop and spread amongst our near and dear ones as well, so that they too would get interested in contributing for a noble cause.
Moving on further thus, we shall now witness some important procedures that are a part of embarking “Teertha-Yatras”. Firstly, when we are embarking on a “Yatra”, we should have the feeling that all the people who come along with us are equal! We should never discriminate between each other. We should never point out to people and say that I’m from an upper class or I’m rich and you are from a lower class and you are poor. This is a wrong attitude to have when we embark on “Teertha-Yatras”. We should always remember that all of us are equal in front of Bhagawan’s eyes! It is the same Bhagawan who had given us this human birth and to the others as well. While giving us this birth, Bhagawan never differentiates between any of us. It is only we who create all these differences according to various parameters that we set, such as family background, financial capacities, etc. Hence, the point is very clear – While we embark on a “Punya-Kshetra” tour, we should develop that maturity to shun all the differences between each other.
Secondly, when we’re travelling, we should not expect luxury and royal treatment at any place. We should be prepared to endure minimal comfort. We should be prepared to stay in dormitory accommodation with all of them together. At that time, we should not keep demanding that we want accommodation in a 5-star hotel with air-conditioners, etc. If we’re going to demand all these facilities, we have everything at home, isn’t it? Hence, what is the purpose of coming for a “Teertha-Yatra” then? Thus, we should develop the mindset to shun all physical facility and should learn to live with bare minimal facilities for the entire duration of the “Yatra”. Thirdly, we should leave all our personal and professional issues at home and office before we embark on the tour. We should not keep thinking and talking about all these while we’re amidst the “Yatra”. Our focus should only be on Bhagawan, the significance of each temple or ashram or river, and to obtain that divine experience. Fourthly, we should never gossip about anyone or anything while we’re on the “Yatra”. This is also something that all of us should take care of.
Fifth, and most importantly, many of us have this practice of taking a shower in the hotel / lodge while we go to a “Nadhi-Theeram” (Spiritual places along river banks). This is an extremely wrong practice! If we’ve to take bath in our hotel rooms, why do we even spend so much time and effort to go to these places? Thus, wherever we travel to “Punya-Kshetras” that are alongside holy rivers like River Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery, etc. we should ensure that we do our “Snaanam” (Shower) in the river only! We should pay due respect to the river that flows through that place. For instance, if we go to Deva-Prayag or Varanasi or whichever place that falls along the River Ganga’s course, we should ensure that we go to the banks of the river and take the “Snaanam” there only. We should never miss this opportunity. Moreover, it is also widely quoted at various instances in our “Sanaatana Dharma” literature that taking a “Punya-Snaanam” (Holy dip) in these rivers would potentially remove all our sins and make us spiritually pure! Given this significance, we should never miss this golden opportunity.
Of course, all of us would agree to this point, but we might have our own prejudice – For instance, in many places, the river beds might not be very clean. There would be so much dirt all along the bed. Or, there would be so much crowd, and because of this, we might get “switched off”! We should never get into all these thoughts! We should remember one thing – How do we obtain gold or any other precious metal? Is it readily available underground? The answer is “No”! We only get the “ore” of the precious metal with all possible impurities in it. It is we who processes the ore and turns it into the precious metal that we wear, isn’t it? Similarly, the significance of each “Kshetra” and “Nadhi-Theeram” would be amidst all these “dirt” and “crowd”. It is we who have to take the initiative to purify ourselves by wading through all these. We should develop this mindset within us and it is very important! Hence, the point is very clear – Whenever we go to a “Nadhi-Theeram”, we should ensure that we take the holy dip in that river bed only, and not in our hotel rooms! 🙂
So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 