My Kedarnath and Badrinath Yatra
Ever been on a pilgrimage? It is an experience worth going through. You may ask as to what is the difference between a pleasure trip and a pilgrimage. Yes there is a lot of difference. It has a lot to do with the mind. When you plan for a Pilgrimage first you have to have a determination and a belief about God . Then just pray to God to make it a success. If your belief is genuine then you will find Miracles happening to you.
My experience is worth recollecting. I was going through a poor health condition when my Sister called up asking me to join her on a pilgrimage of North India for 23 days. I was not sure that I could travel at all leave alone the Pilgrimage for 23 days. My Husband would be the last one to send me anywhere in that condition. I cursed myself for my sickness and wished I could travel some day and see the holy places like everybody. It was the first week of May and travelling in the hot sun would be a real punishment. I lost all hope and told my sister that I could not go.
On Akshaya Tritiya day, that is May 16th, everybody was talking about buying gold jewellery and my Mother-in –law also wanted me to buy something because it is auspicious to buy Gold on that day. All of a sudden my Husband announced that he had booked tickets for me and him for a 7-Day Pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath from Delhi through Southern Travels from 31st May to 7th June. I was surprised and could not believe it was happening. He told me that there were only two tickets available for that day. He also had booked Air tickets to Delhi and back. He said that was the gift for Akshaya Tritiya which was more valuable than gold. I was very much excited and suddenly I felt very strong and forgot about my sickness.
Slowly the news of our trip started spreading to all our close relatives and everybody started questioning “Can she travel?”. I prayed to God to give me the strength to fulfill my long desire. My husband and children were the only persons who were encouraging me and helping me to prepare mentally and physically for the trip. I made up my mind that I need not worry about anything since this was a GOD sent opportunity and started believing that GOD will definitely help me go through it.
Then I started getting prepared with all the accessories to be taken. I read about the places on the Internet and also read some books about what are the essential things to be taken when you go on a pilgrimage. On the 30th of May we started for the Airport. We wanted to catch the bus to the Airport but missed it in just 5 minutes. My husband got worried that we would miss the flight because the next bus was only after half an hour. Autos were not allowed on the express highway to the Airport and cabs had to be booked one hour before. I was cool because I knew God will not fail us. Suddenly we saw a cab waiting on the roadside just after dropping a customer. My son immediately talked to him and he agreed to take us to the Airport and we reached in time. Then I thought probably God knew that I could not take the bus journey and cab journey was better. It cost us the same price.
All the way through I, found things happening to me making me feel comfortable though it was planned differently. Nowhere had I faced any difficulty. The tour Guide was very much helpful giving us the best accommodation for the same price. Since I could not walk, my husband paid an extra amount for being carried in a “Doli”. My overweight was a problem for the Doli carriers and I prayed to GOD to give them the strength to carry me. LORD Shiva’s Darshan at Kedarnath with the sight of the Holy Himalayas gave me Life’s satisfaction and I could not believe it was happening to me. My husband was also very happy. The Badrinath Yatra was even more blissful. The bath in the holy Tapt Kund gave me a lot of strength and I was able to climb all the stairs well and waited in the long queue for the Darshan. At the foot of the mighty Himalayas the existence of a temple since times immemorial is what was fascinating. People stay there only during the months from May to October. The temple is closed from October to May as it is filled with snow. Both Kedarnath and Badrinath have been mentioned in the Skanda Purana which is supposed to be the oldest epic available. Further from Badrinath is the MANA village, which is the last village in Indian Territory near the Indo-Tibetan Border. The sight of the Saraswati River was a dream come true for me, since it is seen only at this place and at all other places it flows underground. Even at Allahabad, the Triveni sangam, the Saraswati River joins from underground. The Saraswati river , the Alakananda river, the Bhagirathi river, the Mandakini river, the Ganga river all have been mentioned in the Holy scripts and have their roots in the Himalayas. All the way through we find holy confluences called Prayagas where the various rivers join and flow downward to ultimately join the ocean. A dip in the Holy Ganges or Ganga at Haridwar was an experience worth going through. You feel rejuvenated and strong and that was what happened to me. I did have my share of sicknesses all through but the medicines given by my doctor helped me through and I could face them all easily. Now after completing my trip successfully all our relatives say “If Ratnamala can do it, we too can do it”. And now everybody started planning for their Pilgrimage. How about you?
CRVLR
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