All World
Gayatri Pariwar

     A sadhak (devotee) should be considered fortunate, if he gets an opportunity to do sadhana under the shade of Himalayas, in the lap of Ganga, in a devotion-filled environment and under powerful protection and guidance.

The paramount importance of Sadhana – Upasana is repeatedly stressed in the Indian Philosophy and the scriptures of Yoga. In spite of this, it has been observed that sometimes people following all the prescribed rules and rituals do not get the benefits of Sadhana – Upasana, which have been mentioned in the scriptures. This is due to the negative effects of the environment. It is true that some Siddha ascetics change the environment with their will power and Tapa Sadhana (penance). But it is also true that the effect of environment is quite significant in the development of human beings. As Sadhana – Upasana is related to one’s traits and each environment has its own good or bad aspects, the quality of place and environment becomes all the more important for higher level Sadhanas. Many positive and negative examples illustrating the forceful effects  of environment may be found in history as well as in daily life.

There is a famous story of Mahabharat. In order to select the place for the great war between Kaurvas and Pandavas, Lord Krishna appointed a special adept in the subject. He searched for a suitable battle-field around Hastinapur which had strong vibrations of fratricidal conflict. Upon returning he narrated one incident in which he saw two real brothers fighting in Kurukshetra. Lord Krishna chose this very place for the war, because he had a doubt that Arjun, being very sentimental, might refuse to fight with his own kith and kin. Similar incident is narrated about Shravan Kumar. When he was taking his parents in a Kanwar on a holy pilgrimage, he came to a place where he not only threw down the Kanwar but also abused his parents. After crossing that region, he felt deeply remorseful for his unbecoming behaviour. His father consoled him and told him that it was none of his fault. That place once belonged to a demon – Maya, who imprisoned his parents and then killed them there. It is a fact that the land too has its subtle vibrations and they can be felt by visiting sacred tanks, temples or graveyards.

The soil of Kullu is famous for apples. Such apples cannot be grown elsewhere even by providing best manure, water and conditioning. The oranges of Nagpur and the bananas of Bhusaval are not available elsewhere. Whereas Muzaffarpur is famous for lychees, Lucknow is famous for muskmelon. The tasty mangoes that are grown in Malihabad and Banaras, are rarely found elsewhere. Sandalwood trees grown in the forests of Mysore have their own special fragrance. A vast difference in the quality of grains is observed due to the variation of environment. The wheat of Punjab is much better as compared to the wheat grown in other parts of India. Cows, giving milk, can be found in the entire country; but there is no match for the cows of Haryana. It is the Azerbaijan region of Russia that is famous for centenarians. Death before 100 years there is considered untimely. These are all the effects and qualities of environment. One cannot remain unaffected by them.

The same principle applies to the vegetation. The herbs are the same, but when they are grown in different regions, their qualities vary. A significant difference is observed in the properties of Brahmi (a medicinal herb) grown on the bank of the Ganga in the Himalayan region and that grown on the banks of rivers in the plains. The same rule applies to other herbs too.

According to the regional peculiarites, the difference is found not only in the human configuration but also in the behaviour. Although, a human being is free and, in principle, he is fully capable of transforming all the traditional pressures with his own will power; but on the practical plain, it has been observed that the regional environment goes on moulding the residents. In spite of giving recognition to originality of a person, it has to be accepted that the majority of the people in society does not live thoughtfully but it lives under the influence of environment. The castes and families too have their own peculiarties. The religiousness in Brahmans, bravery in Kshatriyas, economic shrewdness in Vaishyas, artistic skills in sculptors, etc. are more pronounced as compared to others. Some tribes have the habit of theft and pilferage as their inherent traits. Some classes are notorious for cowardice and foolishness. When we search for the causes of these behavioural differences, only one prominent cause that is encountered is that when a person lives in a particular societal environment, he develops the virtues or the vices accordingly.

Any normal work can be done in the normal environment, but if it is desirable to do some extraordinary work, then an appropriate environment has to be searched. From this point of view, India’s Himalayan region has earned the unique distinction of being the most suitable place for doing high level spiritual sadhana. This region has been praised as the land of gods (devabhoomi). Important experiments on Ayurveda, chemistry, literature and Yoga have been conducted from time-to-time in the extensive laboratory of Himalayan region. This has been the land of action of Sapta Rishis (seven seers), great ascetics and divine personages. Gurukuls for students and Aranyaks for persons involved in righteous deeds and conducts used to be run here. Tapasthalis (places or regions where an ascetics do their penance) of persons like Vashishtha – a religious leader and a spiritual guide of Suryavanshi monarchs and Vishwamitra – an ascetic  and  visionary of Gayatri Vidya  were located on this very soil. Persons with divine vision say that the cosmic spiritual consciousness has been descending on earth specifically in this region. Scientists consider Polar regions to be the centres where the physical cosmic vibrations descend on earth. The same recognition is accorded to Himalayas in the field of spirituality. This region is a descending point for vibrations of universal divine consciousness where the sincere devotees, through hard penances, acquire divine qualities. This cold region is uniquely suitable for Sadhana. It is believed that the water of Ganga is a mixture of divine herbs.

Due to the hard penances done by Yogis and ascetics in this region, the environment here is filled with special spiritual vibrations. On entering this environment, noble thoughts and sacred emotions start flooding the consciousness spontaneously. It seems this region is still largely untouched by the polluted environment engulfing every corner of the earth.
A sadhak (devotee) should be considered fortunate, if he gets an opportunity to do Sadhana under the shade of Himalayas, in the lap of Ganga, in a devotion-filled environment and under powerful protection and guidance.

The aim of establishing Gayatri Teerth, Shantikunj at Hardwar in Uttarakhand State of India, is to provide such an environment to those who are desirous of doing higher level Gayatri – Sadhana. Through the seer-vision of its founder, the seer-savant-scholar par excellence, Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya, Shantikunj has grown into a unique fountainhead of moral, ethical and spiritual awakening of the masses in India and abroad, with its message of universal love, peace, harmony and unity-in-diversity. In order to integrate science and spirituality, Acharyasri also established Brahamvarchas Reseach Institute near Shantikunj Ashram. In the laboratories of this Institute are scientifically analyzed the effects of spiritual sadhana, rhythmic chanting of mantras, music, treatment by medicinal herbs and Ayurvedic preparations, and yagyopathy. The Institute is equipped with state-of-the-art apparatus and equipments. Hundreds of thousands of analyses done by the Institute so far unequivocally prove the scientific veracity of spiritual search and sadhana. Participants of nine-day Sanjeevani sadhana camps and one-month Yug-shilpi camps are regularly examined in the Institute before the start and after the completion of their training.

Thousands of persons who stay at or visit Shantikunj daily are deeply impressed and inspired by the refreshingly different model of human life, lived in the light of a practical, ever-progressive spiritual vision embodying the perennial truth of Vedic Heritage.Everyone, whether a visitor or a participant in the various training programmes, is provided free boarding and lodging. Shantikunj is truly the abode of peace. Whosoever enters into the orbit of its aura feels the sublimating, rejuvenating, revitalizing peace-inducing vibrations of this Haven of Peace.