All World
Gayatri Pariwar

Autobiography of Poojya Gurudev Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya )

The matter of Gurudevs invitation to the Himalayas went on increasing like Matsyavatar. There is a story in the Purana that a tiny fish happened to enter Brahmas kamandalu (water pot). When Brahma took water in his palm for sipping, it magnified and covered the entire palm. Brahma dropped it in a pitcher, where instantly it became double the size of the pitcher. Then Brahma threw it in a nearby pond, where it outgrew the dimensions of the pond. Finally, Brahma released it into the ocean, where the tiny-looking fish magnified itself to cover the whole of the ocean. It was then that Brahma understood the mystery that the tiny fish was the incarnation of Vishnu. Brahma then praised the Lord and sought His directions.
The Matsyavatar (Vishnu incarnated as fish) then dematerialised itself, after fulfilling the purpose of the incarnation. .

The chain of events in my life was almost similar. My spiritual life commenced when Gurudev got me initiated into sadhana by Malviyaji, who had performed my yagyopavit (sacred thread) ceremony and had explained to me the procedure of Gayatri jap. I was then a small child, yet I regarded it as a gospel truth and followed it strictly without any interruption. I followed the principle of No food without sadhana. This will continue till the last breath.

Thereafter, at the age of fifteen I had the vision of Gurudev in the form of light. He had directed me to perform Gayatri Mahapurascarana sadhana for twenty-four years so that I may become a true Brahmana. I was also directed to visit the Himalayas from time to time, as and when called, to get myself spiritually recharged, after undergoing rigorous tests. After each such encounter, I was entrusted with new and greater responsibilities. Whenever I stumbled Gurudev picked me up in his arms.

Hardly a year had passed after my first darsan of Gurudev in my room of worship on Basant parva in 1926, when I received a telepathic invitation in early 1927 to visit the Himalayas and meet him again on Basant pancami parva.
This first pilgrimage lasted for about a month. Although I was not in any haste, I was eager, no doubt, to see that which, till then was unseen. Others would not have even thought of visiting that region in that season of peak winter and face the hardships, loneliness and danger from wild and ferocious animals. My higher self had to wage a stiff battle against phantoms of fears, safety, security and disinclination to risk hazards for noble aims. This state of dilemma hardly remained for about twenty-four hours. I informed my family members and started for the journey exactly the next day.
They kept mum because they knew that my decisions did not change. It has been my practice throughout life, like Matsyavatar, to appear in toughest tests and come out of them with flying colours.

My first invitation to the Himalayas was my first experience of its kind. I had no prior information about the hazards which I would be required to face there. In those days there was road and bus conveyance facility from Devprayag up to Uttarkashi only.
The entire track after Uttarkashi had to be trodden on foot. The distance between Rishikesh to Devprayag had also to be covered on foot. I had no experience as to what essential luggage should be taken which could be carried in a back-pack. I had taken some more luggage, which I had to distribute to co-travellers, and I retained only that much which was essential and which I could carry while going on foot. Gurudev wanted to test me whether I had the capacity to face adverse circumstances. Anybody else placed in those circumstances would have become nervous, turned back or would have fallen ill. But Gurudev wanted to practically teach me that adverse circumstances could be faced and made favourable if the will-power was strong. For achieving something significant in life, one has to be strong in spirit.

 It is said that in old days Risis used to live in this region between Rishikesh and Gomukh and the region above Gomukh was the abode of gods. Circumstances, however, changed after the ice-age and gods withdrew into their astral forms and they still roam in the astral space. Risis of yore shifted to the region above Gomukh. The region below Gomukh is now visited by tourists. Although there are some cottages here and there, it is rare to find any person who may be called a Risi in the region below Gomukh.

 I had heard that siddha yogis (enlightened saints) lived in caves situated in the upper Himalayan region but I did not find any proof of it. It is an inhospitable region and it is well-nigh impossible to physically survive there over a long period of time. Casually people do visit but they do not stay there. I came to know from sadhus whom I met that they were there out of sheer curiosity in the hope of getting something miraculous from some one. They had no philosophical background and their lifestyle was hardly that of an ascetic. After a brief acquaintance, they used to express their wants. I felt unhappy and marched ahead wondering how such people could provide spiritual inspiration to the pilgrims.

 In comparison to these sadhus, I found petty shopkeepers in cattis (halting places) of higher moral and ethical standards. They were simple good people. On purchasing flour, pulses, rice etc. they gladly supplied utensils for preparing food free of cost.
They sold tea, bidis, match boxes, gram, jaggery, sattu, potatoes etc., to the travellers. Pilgrims were often devoted but poor. Locally made blankets were available in the night on hire at the cattis.

Cold season and walking on foot, both these were difficult tests. Residents of these places used to shift in this season to the lower regions for their livelihood and for grazing their cattle. Similarly, sadhus and hermits also shifted to lower regions to escape the unbearable intensity of cold, icy weather. There used to be utter silence in cottages in the villages. I had to undertake my pilgrimage under such difficult conditions from Uttarkashi to Nandanvan.

There was loneliness throughout with no proper arrangement for boarding and lodging. Wild animals used to roam about freely. Cold icy winds kept blowing all the time. The sun used to remain hidden for long hours behind high hilltops. It was visible at about 10 a.m. and disappeared behind the mountain peaks at about 2 p.m; Even though there was sunshine on the peaks, there used to be dim darkness at the foothills. Hardly some stray person was met on the trail. People stirred out only when there was some inescapable work like death of someone. For me the entire region wore a deserted look. My only inseparable companions were my palpitating heart and thinking mind. I was being put to a test whether or not I could undertake a long journey under such difficult conditions. My faith rooted in the heart told me that so long as providence wills me to live, no one can kill me. My mind contemplated that there was life in trees, in flora all around. Birds live on them. Fish live in water. Wild animals wander in the forest. They remain alone and quite unclad. I told myself, "When there is profuse and riotous play of life in the forms of flora and fauna, all around, how could this region be called deserted? It is unbecoming of you while professing the maxim vasudhaiv kutumbakam to feel yourself cut off from the flow and manifestation of universal Life in myriad forms, of which you are an indivisible portion. Is it not a fallacy to consider human beings alone as living entities?"

My pilgrimage went on and with it continued my thinking. As man is in the habit of living in a community he is afraid of loneliness. Darkness is another big cause of fear. Throughout the day man lives in the light. In the night lamps are lighted to dispel darkness. But darkness in wilderness is much more frightening. A yogi has to get rid of this fear. Fearlessness has been regarded as an important attribute of spirituality. In its absence, mind remains unsteady.

 Another danger in this awe-inspiring silence of the wilderness of the Himalayan region was the fear of wild and ferocious animals who stalk freely in the darkness of the night in search of their prey. Any encounter with such animals in the night amounted to direct confrontation with death. In the all-pervasive silence of the wilderness such animals came out even in day time in search of their prey and water. I had to face all these hazards during this journey.

During my halts at night, I met slithering black snakes and hissing pythons. Lions of small stature are also found in this area that are agile but less powerful than the ones found in the plains. Amongst animals that mainly live on vegetation, bear is the most aggressive. Wild elephants are found in Shivalik ranges and lower regions of the Himalayas.
All of them, by nature, are harmless unless one sees them eye-to-eye or they apprehend being teased or provoked. They charge at once if there is the slightest feeling of fear or anger.

 Pilgrims are often required to face pythons, snakes, iguanas, bears, panthers, tigers, and elephants. They leave the track and flee away when I they find persons in a group but they go on their own way if they see a person alone. In that event the person has to take a detour otherwise he is bound to be assaulted by them.

Such confrontations came my way ten to twenty times in a day. Seeing me alone they used to move fearlessly and did not leave the track. I had to do so to save myself. This description appears to be simple in print but it was extremely dangerous in reality, since it was a grim confrontation with death. Sometimes these animals stealthily walked by my side and sometimes they followed me. Fear of death is most benumbing. Although they might not charge but their very sight appeared to be dreadful like actual death. When one had to face such encounters almost every hour of the day, palpitation of the heart was bound to increase. These ferocious animals often used to be in a herd or a pack. If they had attacked they would have cut me into pieces, clawed my flesh out and my life would have at once come to an end.

But there also I had to muster courage and foresight. Death is no doubt great but not greater than life. If there is a feeling of fearlessness and love within, even these ferocious animals cool down and their nature is changed. During this journey there were about three to four hundred such confrontations but I summoned up courage every time and maintained a perfect inner equanimity and an attitude of friendship and fearlessness. I had a firm faith that death has a fixed time, so why should I not face death happily if I have to die here in such circumstances? Why should I be afraid of it? This attitude had to be evoked and maintained resolutely. Loneliness, darkness and messengers of death had all combined to frighten me and warn me to withdraw and turn back but my power of determination came to my rescue every time and my pilgrimage went on proceeding ahead.

I was being put to test whether I was afraid of loneliness. In a few days my resolve became stronger and the creatures of that region became my own kith and kin in spirit. Fear disappeared, loneliness became a friend. With this success in the first question paper, started the series of successes in others.

The next test was of stoically bearing the rigours of Himalayan winter. I thought that when by practice, mouth, nose, eyes, head, ears, hands, which remain exposed, did not catch cold, why should the covered parts of the body feel cold. In Norway, Finland and regions around the North Pole the temperature was always below the freezing point and still Eskimos and people of other communities lived there. Here the altitude was only about ten to twelve thousand feet above the sea level. I thought the challenge was not insurmountable and means could be found out to seek protection from cold. I came to know from a local man that on the outer surface of the mountains there was severe cold but insides of the caves were comparatively warm. There were some specific types of shrubs, which catch fire although they are green, and these can be used to make fire for warming up and cooking. There were vegetables like leaves of langadaa, marca etc. which could be eaten raw. The knots on the stem of birch tree (bhojpatra) on being boiled, give a tea-like drink, which removes cold. If one sat on his feet in a pose so that his head touches the knees, he would not feel much cold. Feeling less or more cold also depended on ones imagination. Children run here and there scantily clothed, yet they do not feel any discomfort. One cannot speak about old and sick persons, but the fact remained that a young and healthy man cannot die of cold. I adopted these measures and got fully convinced of their efficacy. Cold became manageable. It also helps a great deal if optimistic thoughts are entertained.

 One more thing about ferocious animals. Their eyes shine when they move out mostly in the dark. All animals, even lions, are afraid of human beings. If a person is not afraid of them and they are not teased they do not attack human beings.
They can thus be befriended.

 In the beginning, I was afraid of them. Then I recalled how wild animals are tamed and trained to perform miraculous feats in circus. I had read the description of a European lady of Tanzania, whose husband was an employee in the Forest Department, how she had tamed two tiger-cubs who had separated from their parents. They used to sleep in her lap even after they had fully grown up. If there is authentic fearlessness and a genuine feeling of love a person can enjoy living in a dense forest. Adivasis and Bhils often live in dense forests and they are not afraid of anything. Remembering such instances, I became fearless and thought that a day would come when I would live in a cottage in the forest and a cow and a tiger would drink water at the same place.

Mind in the mass of humanity is weak. It can become powerful, if it is properly trained. I dispelled fear from my mind and continued my pilgrimage in that region. Instead of expecting favourable conditions I thought of making my mind strong enough to be able to live unperturbed under all conditions. I moulded my mind in this direction and adverse circumstances, which, in the beginning, had appeared frightening, became easy and natural.

The mind came under full control by constant beating, thrashing and moulding during this pilgrimage journey of twenty days. I started feeling as if I was born in this region and have to live here until I die.

From Uttarkashi to Gangotri there was a perilous trail prepared by pedestrians. There was a footpath also from Gangotri upto Gomukh. Tapovan is beyond Gomukh on a still higher altitude and there was no proper track leading to it. It is also a plain plateau. One has to walk according to inner inspiration or by relying on ones fate. After it, there is a series of high mountains before one reaches Nandanvan. This was the place where I was summoned. I reached there at the appointed time and saw Gurudev standing there. Our joy knew no bounds. At first, he had visited my house.

This time I came to his abode. I ardently wished and prayed for such meetings to recur frequently throughout my life. This time I was put to three tests: to live alone, endure the tempestuous fury of inclement and icy cold weather and to remain unafraid while surrounded by ferocious animals. I passed in all the three tests.

Our talks did not last for long, Gurudev said, "It was necessary to have strong will and determination to attain spiritual power. Adverse circumstances could be transformed into opportunities for self-growth.
A person having the soul of a Risi should not be afraid even of death, what to speak of tigers and lions. You have to spend most of your time under such conditions."

 I was taken to the cave in which he had his abode and was shown a place to sleep. I had a very sound sleep, the duration of which might have been twice or thrice the time of my normal sleep. My entire fatigue and weariness of the journey disappeared, as if I had not walked at all.
 I took bath there in a flowing stream and performed worship (sandhya) there. I saw Brahma-kamal and Dev-kand for the first time in my life. By the smell of Brahma-kamal a person enters into yog-nidra in a short time. Dev-kand is taken out from the earth. It is like sweet potato and tastes like a water-nut. A ripe Dev-kand weighs nearly five kilos. It satisfies one persons hunger for about a week. These two were the only tangible presents of Gurudev. One helped in eradicating physical fatigue and the other in infusing the mind with high spirits.
                                                              (To be continued)