Brahmapuri – One Day, One Night

Brahmapuri. One Day.

Brahmapuri is an exceptional holy place in an exceptional holy country. On our Sahaja Yogi tours with Shri Mataji in the 80’s and 90’s She would take us to many famous places, and to some out of the way places, of extraordinary auspiciousness. Brahmapuri features areas nearby a Shiva Temple on the Krishna River with ghats and long steps that were useable in any weather, for the river floods at times. The yogis stayed in simple camps on the banks with sleeping, bathing and cooking pendles erected and simple trench toilets dug into the ground. It was Heaven. Our one concession was that our washing, our dhobi, of mens white cotton kurtas, and ladies many coloured saris, was organised and done off-site, and returned washed and ironed. Otherwise we were completely happy to be away from everything, with each other, sleeping on the ground on simple mats, on the great land of Yoga Bhoomi. Maha Bharat.

Whilst all over India there are always people around, where we were staying was away from the town, by the river, across from the temple. Sometimes Shri Mataji would sit on the rocks with Her feet in the river and the yoginis and yogis would immerse themselves in the river, blissfully soaking up Her Blessings. The temple and places nearby served the community for pujas and at times for ritual funeral rights and burning pyres. We had a large collective pendle for morning meditations, evening programs with music, and talks by Shri Mataji. Whilst on tour She would be working on us and so would Mother India. At Brahmapuri we had pujas with Shri Mataji and its fair to say we would almost lose our sense of individuality in the depths and heights of that blessed time and place.

Before Sahaja Yoga I was deeply attracted to Lord Shiva and I was thrilled to discover that Shri Mataji would encourage our love for all the Deities, their Qualities and Blessings and we would celebrate major puja celebrations for all the major ones each year. Shri Krishna is the incarnation of Lord Shiva and the God of Yoga. Across the Krishna River, the lofty temple of Shri Shiva beckoned, and when there was a pause one day I arranged to cross the river and investigate the temple. The temple was upstream from the camp and on this day I noticed as I went there were some locals preparing something on our side of the river closer to the temple. Having accompanied some yogis for a walk I explained I intended to breast the river and visit the temple and they offered to take my white kurta and pyjamas, towel and Aussie thongs back to nearby our camp. In t-shirt and long board shorts I entered the river that was flowing down stream towards the camp and merged into an easy swim, crossing without difficulty.

When I got to the other side I emerged alone, refreshed and very silent. The day was warm and sunny and I had no way to towel off, content to let the day take care of drying this earthly entity. I got to the lower ghats at the bottom of the steep stone stepped staircase and became aware there was nobody around and that this was likely to be a solitary experience. I paused and reflected on the opportunity to experience this as deeply symbolic of my pure desire to make my spiritual ascent in this life and also reflected on the incredible blessings and boons Shri Mataji had bestowed already on us yogis. I commenced the climb bathed in warm morning sun and lost touch with anything except the moments. As I got to the top and slowly entered through the gateway into the paved temple surrounds I noticed the stone statue of the bull Brahma deity and beyond, the very beautiful Shri Ganesha inside the first portal. I stopped awhile and requested Shri Ganesha to remove any obstacles in my journey and ascent. I sat with Him for some time and eventually felt I was allowed to enter the heavily stone constructed and private inner sanctum.

Inside it was almost like twilight. There was very little of a decorative nature but there was the most powerful and yet simple big stone Shiva Lingham and Yoni placed at the very centre. The area was not large but sufficient to sit around the archetype of Lord Sada Shiva and His support and consort, Shri Adi Shakti. I positioned my self with my back to the plain stone back wall looking over and past the installation, out through the one small door, out across the river and countryside. I was alone. However the people who used the temple were evidenced by a carefully placed water container that was arranged to hang overhead and drip very slowly over the central stone lingham. There were two flowers arranged on the lingham and yoni. A brilliant white flower sat atop the lingham, a little away from the intermittent water drops, and a single brilliant orange flower decorated the yoni surrounding the base. At Shivaratri time in Australia lots of white flowers spontaneously bloom. In India there are always many vibrant orange flower garlands and decorations. I sat taking it all in and thought its like being in the presence of a swayambhu, like Uluhru in central Australia. At first you might not sense much until your attention settles. Gradually the remaining thoughts and visual impressions began to be replaced by the Reality of something profoundly subtle, deeply universal and holy. I became increasingly peaceful. And very alert, and Present.

Deep experiences are by their very nature singular, and impossible to communicate in words. I sat for some time and felt the rising of my Kundalini and at the same time a very beautiful but emotional feeling of gratitude for my journey so far welled up and pretty soon my eyes were filled with silent tears. No pathos was part of this, it was just a resounding confirmation that yes you have sought and you have found and come through so many things and yes your Mother knows you and your Father loves you. I determined to focus and express my true desire to be totally Present with full awareness in this Holy place. ‘Holy Father, Divine Mother, Friend, Beloved God’ I entreated very quietly, but intensely, yet knowing there were no words to express my purest desire, I resorted again to deep Silence. And Time went away…. Nothing interrupted this sojourn into the Mystic and there is nothing much more I can say about it except it came in long slow waves of all encompassing focus and expansion. I don’t know how long I was there, and I was somehow in pieces when I finally made my way out of the temple and sat at the top of the steps that led back down to Earth, the River and the Life of mortal beings. I sat in the the sunshine that was still shining and looked out vacantly over the vista. Yogis and yoginis I could see away down river as beautiful white and brightly coloured beings and realised how precious and rare they were. I realised I would be joining them again soon but that was the World of Time and I was in no hurry, or fit state for that matter, to converse with anybody. But at least it would take some time to float down to where my things were waiting closer to the camp.

I started down the steps and realised my clothes were now dry. I paused sunbathing there quietly again for a while, and when I was ready and surrendered, I descended again to the river. I entered, and became like a log, content to float with the stream, without exertion, motionless, at one with the water. I was still but yet the river was moving and over several minutes three tremendously archetypal bird experiences followed. At first I saw an almost luminescent flash of blue wings that appeared from a small bird and I thought ahh that’s really Shri Krishna blue, how extraordinary that colour. And then standing steadily, gracefully tall, erect and serenely quiet was a very white long beaked heron type of bird, who did not move at all, as I slowly drifted by. My mind wondered what this symbol could mean, perhaps Asia, it felt. I was reminded of the Zen tradition. The river then slowed and widened as I floated out into a flatter area and I was just almost dreamlike. My ears under water meant no sounds and I was still in heightened awareness. I have often had encounters with eagles and other birds of prey. In Western Australia the great wedge tail and the many hawks, in Eastern Australia the grey white bellied Sea eagles, and in India, in Delhi and elsewhere many eagles, hawks and others. As I lay limply in the Krishna River I might have thought about how the Lord Vishnu flies astride his vehicle, the great Garuda, but at that moment I was still somewhere beyond Time. And yet improbable as it was, looking up stream, as I floated down, as if in a Dream, this great eagle came with almost motionless wings, gliding effortlessly in my direction. Whenever I see an eagle I am almost transfixed. At this time beyond Time, I watched in total Silence as it flew towards me and without any hesitation or pause it flew down directly and just a few feet away from me in the water, it snatched up a fish in its talons effortlessly, gracefully and flew on without faltering. I wasn’t sure I wasn’t dreaming, but I was profoundly awake, and considering my day so far that day, everything seemed really beyond this world. I felt somehow I was beyond this world.

Not very long after I got closer to the camp and could see where my clothing and things were and readied myself to rise from the river and rejoin the yogis. Like a somnambulist in a dream I got out and and dried and dressed and began walking to where some yogis were gathered near the shoreline. I now realised the people I had seen gathered there previously were in the midst of a funeral and were now burning the body on the ghats, as they would be in the same way as the Eternal City of Varanasi. This was Death and Life and rebirth. Amen. The ashes from such fires might form the three lines across the brows of Shiva Bhaktas. I like them I suspect felt very little of interest in worldly realms that day and did not speak to anyone for quite some time.

Brahmapuri. One Night.

It was my first trip to Brahmapuri. Like all the early India visits and tours, in retrospect they are remembered as one continuum, wherein the experience in memory at least is seamless, as in a long journey that continues on at your next visit, to your spiritual Mother, India. We were staying in simple camps under light cotton pendals, travelling in those dusty red India Government buses, one of which broke an axle getting deeper into where we were to stay alongside that blessed Krishna River.

Whilst we might appear to the Western Eye as living in improvised makeshift camps, Vibrationally and Culturally, the Sahaja Yogis enjoyed the very best that India can offer at Brahmapuri. Shri Mataji and her brother Baba Mama would organise, orchestrate and educate us in the subtleties and sublime meanings of Indian music. It was very evident that these musicians would start playing up into higher vibrations, beyond them selves in the company and Divine Attention of our Guru and Divine Mother Shri Mataji and so they were exceedingly grateful for the opportunity to play for Her and our very appreciative group of international yogis.

In those very early 80’s the American collectivity was just forming and some were on this tour including Danny, a very eloquent speaker on behalf of Shri Mother and Sahaja Yoga, who was English, and was at that time the acting leader for Sahaja Yoga in the USA. He had just made the tour after having spinal surgery and was still in recovery and so could not sit comfortably for long.

It was that type of night that was balmy warm and clear and uncluttered by any interference from population or environment. We were gathered together with Mother for a musical evening of real enjoyment in one of the holiest places on Earth. These nights might traverse several hours and the comment from Baba Mumma might be “The Night is Young!”.

Danny after some time said he needed to stretch and would I like to take a walk with him. The night was very still and so we wandered down to the ghats where the music and sometimes Mother’s words would float down through the trees, as we got to put our feet in the water at the ghats. The night skies in India in the countryside can rival the clearest in the World, like in Western and central Australia. There is a quality to those vistas that you might call Viratic, that like a great conch call can grab and hold your attention and your mind in thought free awareness.

Danny and I were taking in the countless stars with our feet soaking in the Krishna River. Muted conversation was quelled and then after a minute or so discussing how Sahaj Yoga was going in different places I thought to say out of the blue as it were – “You know I think Sahaja Yoga will not work out properly in the World until it works out in America.” At that moment in the Play of the Divine a very big flaming meteor or shooting star soared across the heavens in front of us. We went very quiet indeed. Subsequently, like a few other great India tour moments, I was inspired to write poetry trying to recapture that experience. There were many but Brahmapuri is such a special place and there is now a Sahaja Yoga ashram there.