Himalayas with Isha Sacred Walks

 Embark on a journey with us as we recount our Himalayan Yatra with Isha Sacred Walks from October 2, 2024, to October 12, 2024. This powerful and intense pilgrimage was one of the most profound experiences we’ve ever had, following our transformative Kashi Yatra with Sadhguru. Each day brought new insights and deepened our spiritual connection, leaving an indelible mark on our being. 😊

Day 1: October 02

We had already arrived in New Delhi on October 1st and stayed at AeroCity. By 8 AM, we were buzzing with excitement as we headed to meet the Isha group at Delhi airport. We boarded our dedicated Isha bus and embarked on our journey to Haridwar. The 6-hour ride was smooth, with good, straight roads, and we enjoyed a packed breakfast onboard. We even stopped at a charming Dhaba for lunch, adding a touch of local flavor to our adventure.

Upon reaching Haridwar, we were blessed with our first sight of the sacred Ganga River and a magnificent Shiva statue 🙏. Haridwar, renowned for Patanjali Yoga and its wellness center, greeted us with images of Baba Ramdev and numerous ashrams, truly the spiritual gateway of Bharat.

At our hotel, we felt the warmth of Isha Sacred Walks as we received duffel bags for repacking, rain ponchos, and Himalayan T-shirts, preparing us for the journey ahead.

The evening was magical. We gathered for a Satsang in the hotel banquet hall, where Sadhguru welcomed us, saying we had crossed the Dwar/Gate of Shiva. He shared profound insights on approaching the Himalayas and gave us essential instructions for the unpredictable mountain weather. We ended the day with a hearty dinner, our hearts brimming with excitement and a sense of divine blessing 😊

Day 2 :October 03

We were supposed to wake up at 5am, but our excitement got the better of us, and we were up by 4:30am! The day began with Guru Pooja at 6am sharp, followed by a guided Shambhavi session in the hotel banquet hall. There were two groups: S1 (all foreign nationals) and A1 (Indians). After a hearty breakfast, we boarded Bus 2 and set off for Uttarkashi via Rishikesh.

The journey to Rishikesh was smooth with flat and straight roads. At one point, we saw a huge hoarding that read, “Welcome to Devbhoomi,” and that’s where the mighty Himalayas began to reveal themselves 🤩. The roads transformed into winding ghat roads, with every kilometer taking us higher and higher. Our seasoned driver sped along, making us jump and wobble in the bus 😂. The road ran alongside the Bhagirathi River, and as we traveled further, the breathtaking vistas made us feel like we were in the lap of the Himalayas, surrounded by majestic mountains.

We stopped for lunch at a decent hotel that served a buffet meal. The bus ride was filled with fun games and self-introduction sessions, making the journey even more enjoyable.

After a long 7-hour drive, we finally reached Uttarkashi, home to the powerful Kashi Vishwanath Temple. We headed straight to the temple, which, though small in size, felt like it had just been consecrated yesterday, as Sadhguru mentioned. We had a magnificent Darshan of Kashi Vishwanath and Devi Parvathi, located adjacent to Shiva 🙏. All the Isha meditators then sat outside the Garbhagriha and began chanting Yoga Yoga Yogeshwaraya and AUM Nama Shivaya, which transported everyone to another dimension, leading us into a meditative state. It was one of the most powerful experiences we’ve had so far. We spent almost 2 hours at the temple before checking into a hotel named ShivaGanga. 

The day ended with a Satsang where Sadhguru shared the fascinating story of how the Ganga became a holy river. We then enjoyed a tasty and wholesome vegetarian dinner. Tomorrow’s wake-up call is at 4am, volunteers mentioned as we move to higher altitude the sleep quota will also get reduced😂

Day 3 : October 04

Day 3 started with a sharp 4:45 AM Guru Pooja, setting a serene tone. The climate dropped to 15 degrees in Uttarkashi, so jackets came out for the first time on this Yatra 🥶We boarded our bus to Gangotri, the birthplace of the holy Ganga River. The bus ride featured Guru Pooja, an Inner Engineering crash course, and Devi Sthuthi, perfect for Navarathri and our impending visit to a Devi Temple. Practicing Shambhavi onboard was a tad tricky due to the ghat roads' wobbling 😁 

Breakfast was a pleasant surprise—almost like a real Isha meal with millets, except for the bread and jam.😜

After a five-hour journey filled with twists and turns along majestic Himalayan roads, we finally arrived at Gangotri, the abode of Devi Ganga 🙏 Weather marked 8 degrees and 10-minute walk led us to the temple, where we faced the holy Ganga, guided by Sadhguru into a unique process to connect with Mother Goddess🙏The ice-cold river dip, accompanied by the Shambo chant, was indescribable—like dying and being reborn, leaving us momentarily absent from ourselves 🌸

We then proceeded for Dharshan in the temple, surrounded by the mighty Himalayas. Along with Maa Ganga, several other Upadevathas reside in the Gharbhagriha. Blessed by Devi during auspicious Navrathri days, we also visited surrounding temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Hanumanji, with a view of the snow-capped mountains and Gangotri glaciers 🙏

After soaking in the divine atmosphere, we returned to the bus, enjoyed another Isha lunch, and made our way back to the hotel by around 7:30 PM. No Satsang tonight, and tomorrow promises a long 10-hour bus journey 😁

Day 4 : October 05

Day 4 started with Guru Pooja at 4.45 am. We then boarded our bus with packed breakfast. Did Shambavi followed by a Satsang from bus in which Sadhguru initiated us into a Mantra which we need to keep chanting while going to Kedarnath tomorrow. 

The 12hour bus ride entangled large intestine with small intestine and the liver and kidney changed its position, the only functional thing was heart - imagine the road condition now 😂😂 

Finally after a “smooth drive” reached Sitapur where we had our first glimpse of Kedar which we are going to trek tomorrow 😍😍🙏

With lot of excitement going to sleep now as the wake up time is 2.30 am tomorrow 😂😂

Day 5 : October 06

We were up by 2:00 AM, filled with excitement. Guru Pooja was at 3:15 AM, and then we started walking to the biggest destination of this Yatra—the Kedarnath Temple. 🙏

After a 2 km walk from the hotel, we joined a queue with more than 200 people, all waiting for Kedarnath Darshan. We waited for about an hour until the gate opened. Everyone was pushing and rushing to get the shuttle cab, which takes you 4 km up the mountain to start the Kedar Trek. It was pitch dark, with volunteers calling “Isha, Isha,” and we ran to one and got the cab. We reached a point where we had to walk 2 km to Gouda point to get the ponies for our trek. Sadhguru joked in the Satsang that although it’s an evolutionary step back, he was giving us four legs to trek Kedar. 😂

Mounting the ponies with great difficulty, our adventure to Kedar began. The ride was chaotic, with ponies often treading the mountain’s edge, where a fall would mean a 1 km drop—a sudden death! 😂 After a 5-hour pony ride, we reached the top of the mountain where the temple is located. We then had to walk another 2 km to reach our hotel, which is very close to the temple. Setting foot on Kedar felt like a lifetime blessing. 🥹

We checked into the hotel, a shared room setup where we ended up in different rooms. We dropped our bags and immediately rushed to see the Kedarnath Temple. The first view of the temple was a lifetime memory. 🙏🥹 With a huge queue in front of the temple, we decided to meditate in the compound. After that, we walked back to the hotel to take a small nap before the process set forth by Sadhguru 😊

Around 2:30 PM, everyone gathered on the west side of the temple. To our surprise, the entire area was set up like a Satsang with Sadhguru’s photo, Guru Pooja arrangements, speakers, and more. It was unbelievable to have such a space next to the temple itself for conducting the process. Sadhguru’s influence was evident, with the head priest and every Sadhu or Aghori there showing immense reverence to him. We felt incredibly blessed and grateful to be Sadhguru’s followers. 🥹🥹🙏 

The process began with Guru Pooja. Guru Pooja in Kedar felt different, with a strong presence or energy throughout. 🥹 Then the actual process started, something beyond words. Sadhguru asked us to chant a mantra with him, then place our middle and right fingers on our Anahatha first. He started making sounds that resonated deeply within us, causing us to tremble intensely. At one point, I felt I might be thrown out of place. He continued by placing fingers on different chakras above Anahatha. We were trembling, tears flowing uncontrollably. Writing this brings tears to my eyes again. 🥹🥹 Once the session ended, it was just tears, tears, and more tears. 🥹🥹🥹

Sadhguru ignited a fire in each of us in the presence of the powerful Jyotirlinga of Kedarnath Temple. 🙏🙏🙏 The experience was even more intense than Bhava Spandana. 🥹🥹🥹

Swamy then took a picture of all participants in front of the Kedar Temple. The smiles on everyone’s faces were indescribable. 😊😊

We then went for Darshan inside the temple. The experience was incredibly powerful, especially right after Sadhguru’s process🥹🥹

We then walked to Kalbhairava Temple, about a 20-minute walk from Kedarnath. We had Darshan of Kalbhairava Baba and meditated there for a while🙏

Next was the Kedarnath Aarti, with hundreds of people, including Isha meditators, assembling in front of the temple by around 6:30 PM. The Aghoris began dancing with Damaru in hand, a spectacular sight 😍

After the Aarti, we were advised to rest as we would have a special Darshan at midnight. We rested until 11:30 PM and then rushed for the Darshan. Even for the special Darshan, there was a huge queue, and we waited an hour in minus 1 degree weather without shoes. 🥶😅 

The biggest blessing of this Darshan was that we could offer water and ghee to the linga with our own hands. We touched the linga and even placed our foreheads on it. 🥹🙏 The shape of the linga in Kedar Temple is very unusual. We bowed down to Kedar Baba and the Upadevathas, leaving the temple with a profound sense of reverence. 🙏

We then decided to do a small pradakshina around the temple and saw many Aghoris performing their rituals, which was an incredible experience. We roamed around until 2:30 AM, then finally went back to the hotel with the greatest experience of our lives. 🥹🥹🙏

Day 6 : October 07

Slept for 3 hours and woke up at 5:30 AM. Since there were no specific Isha plans, we decided to visit the Kedar temple premises and give offerings to as many Aghoris and Sadhus as we could. Around 6 AM, we went to the temple and did just that. They all accepted our offerings and blessed us 😊 Each one of them tried to return Vibhuthi, Chandanam, or Rudraksha as Prasad, but we politely refused, as instructed by Isha during our Kashi Yatra back in 2022 not to accept anything from Aghoris. We then meditated for half an hour and did not try for Darshan due to the huge queue outside.

Around 8 AM, we had our breakfast and walked back to the pony point to get a pony. This time, we got a real big horse🤩 We started from the pony point around 9:30 AM and reached back at the starting point by 1:30 PM. Then, we returned to the hotel and had lunch. We decided to skip dinner and sleep early, as we need to set forth our Yatra to Guptakashi tomorrow, where Sadhguru Sri Brahman spent a few months meditating with a few of his disciples. 🙏

Day 7 : October 08

Day 7 started with a wake-up call at 5:00 AM, and we boarded the bus by 7:30 AM. Guru Pooja followed by a Satsang happened in the bus, where Sadhguru spoke about the significance of Kedar, stories of Agastya Muni, his connection with Swami Nirmalananda, and more. After 2 hours of driving, we reached Guptakashi, or the secret Kashi, where Lord Shiva hid himself from the Pandavas. This place holds great significance for Isha meditators as the Linga in the temple has the same energy that Sadhguru embodies. In other words, if one touches the Linga with enough sensitivity, they will recognize it as Sadhguru. The temple is located in a small compound, and we had to walk through a narrow lane to reach it. We went straight for the Darshan until the other buses arrived.

Once everyone arrived, we were instructed to wet our heads with water from the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna, and then we sat for a special process conducted by Sadhguru. It was a unique meditative experience that lasted for almost 30 minutes. 🥹🙏 Once the process was over, we got a special Darshan and were able to offer water from both rivers to the Linga, touching it with both our hands and forehead. It felt incredibly blessed to touch the Linga consecrated by Agastya Muni himself. 🙏🙇‍♀️🥹

We then meditated in the temple premises for some more time after wetting our heads again with water from the holy rivers 🌸

We then started to Rudraprayag, where the two rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini merge together. We reached our hotel around 3:30 PM, took some rest, and went to the Rudraprayag confluence by 5:00 PM. We were fortunate to experience Sadhguru's presence while sitting just in the middle of the confluence of these holy rivers. It was a magical moment 😊

We returned to the hotel and are now awaiting the plan for tomorrow. Everything is a surprise.😁

Day 8 : October 09

Day 8 started with Guru Pooja, followed by guided Shambhavi at the hotel. We then boarded the bus for a long 8-hour journey to Badrinath. We slept for almost 6 hours on the bus. 😂

We reached Badrinath by 3:30 PM and had a Satsang for an hour, where Sadhguru spoke about how a pilgrimage should happen and the significance of Badrinath Temple. 🙏

After that, we got our room and enjoyed a strong coffee and some hot, tasty pakoras. 😋😋

We then walked to Badrinath Temple, about a kilometer from where we were staying. For a while, we had a Himalayan dog as our companion. The temperature was about 8 degrees, very cold. The first view of Badrinath Temple from the other side of the Alaknanda River was amazing. 🤩

We then entered the temple for a Darshan of Bhagavan Vishnu, singing the song “Sri Krishna Govinda Hare Murare He Nadh Narayana Vasudeva,” which was an amazing experience. 🥰🙏 The Darshan lasted less than a minute due to the huge crowd.

We then visited the Upadevathas and sat in the temple premises for meditation, which lasted about 30 minutes. 🧘🧘‍♀️ We visited the hot springs in the temple premises which was like boiling water in an outside temperature of 4degree and finally returned to the hotel. There weren’t any specific instructions from Sadhguru on how to visit Badrinath Temple. 😊

  

Day 9 : October 10

Day 9 started at 4:45 AM as we rushed to see the Neelakanta Mountain. Sadhguru had mentioned in yesterday’s Satsang that it would be glowing at that time. However, we couldn’t find anything, but we did take one photo before heading back to our hotel room. 😅 

Around 6:30, we started our visit to Mana Village, the last village of India, famous for being the birthplace of the Pancha Pandavas. It’s a small, beautiful Himalayan village on the banks of the Alaknanda River. We walked through the narrow village roads and finally reached a cave called Ganesha Guha, where Ganesha wrote 18 puranas and the Mahabharata with the instructions of Veda Vyasa. We continued our walk to Vyasa Guha, where we sat and meditated for a while. It was a powerful, meditative space.

We walked further to see the Bhim Phul, a huge rock placed by Bhima to cross the Saraswati River. The incredible thing is that the Saraswati River originates here and merges with the Alaknanda after a short distance.

Further beyond Bhim Phul is the place where the Pancha Pandavas performed their Karma Yatra and attained Mukthi.

We also saw the last Indian Tea shop in Mana Village but didn’t try the tea. 😁

We then headed back to the hotel and started our long journey to Rudraprayag by 10 AM. On the way, we stopped at Vishnuprayag and finally reached our hotel in Rudraprayag by 7:00 PM. Now eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s plan. 🤩

  

Day 10 : October 11

Day 10 started with a comforting breakfast at the hotel, followed by our bus journey at around 7:30 am. Given the significance of Navratri, we immersed ourselves in chanting Devi chants, particularly the Linga Bhairavi Stuthi. As the resonant echoes of our chants filled the bus, we felt the divine presence of Devi enveloping us, as if we were journeying alongside the Holy Mother herself 🥹🙏😊

Our journey brought us to the Dhari Devi temple, a revered form of Devi Kaali, known as the guardian of the Char Dham temples. The trek to the temple, set amidst the rushing waters of the Alakananda River, was a serene kilometer walk. Upon reaching, the Devi Darshan was an awe-inspiring experience, with the deity adorned in exquisite ornaments, and we were blessed with the Vishwaroopa Darshanam of Maa Kali in her full, magnificent glory🙏😊😊

Continuing our pilgrimage, we made a significant stop at Devprayag, the sacred confluence where the Alakananda and Bhagirathi rivers merge, giving birth to the holy Ganga 🌸

Our arrival at the Haridwar hotel around 1:00 pm came with mixed emotions, as we realized that our yatra was nearing its end. The bonds among our bus companions had deepened, forming a family-like camaraderie amid the majestic Himalayas🥰

Lunch was a delightful change, a lavish buffet offering a welcome respite from the repetitive aloo dishes that had become our staple. Post-lunch, a Satsang with Sadhguru infused us with spiritual energy, which then burst forth in an ecstatic dance session. With Isha songs like “Alai Alai” playing, we danced with such fervor that we soon found ourselves in a trance-like state, reliving the entire yatra through our joyful movements💃🥰

Our journey then led us to witness the Ganga Aarti in Haridwar, a brief 10-minute bus ride away. Seated by the sacred Ganga, we chanted “Yoga Yoga Yogeshwaraya,” each of us holding a diya for the Aarti. As the priest commenced the Aarti at Sandhya Kala with Vedic chants, the experience was profoundly powerful. Lighting our diyas from the Aarti lamp, we set them afloat in the river, feeling a deep sense of unity with the Holy Mother as we watched them drift away. Flowers offered to Ganga floated alongside, symbolizing our prayers and reverence🥹🥰

After the enchanting Aarti, we returned to our hotel, where a special dinner awaited us in the lush lawn area. The night air was filled with an ecstatic energy, and as we shared this meal together, the sense of oneness was palpable. Our evening concluded with an impromptu dance session, celebrating the love and joy that had blossomed throughout our journey😊😊

               

Day 11 : October 12

We woke up at 6:00 AM, feeling a bittersweet mix of emotions as we said our goodbyes to everyone who had become like family. It was incredibly hard to part from the beautiful souls we had connected with during this transformative sojourn 😊😊 But alas, it was time to go. After a heartfelt breakfast at the hotel, we set off for New Delhi. Along the way, we stopped at a quaint Dhaba for brunch, savoring our last taste of the journey together.

We reached Delhi by 2:00 PM, and almost everyone began their journey home by flight. A few of us, whose flights were scheduled for the next day, returned to our hotel at AeroCity.

Without a doubt, the Himalayas with Isha Sacred Walks was the most intense and life-transformative journey we have ever undertaken. The experiences, the connections, and the profound insights gained will forever be etched in our hearts. This journey was not just a trip; it was a pilgrimage that touched our souls and changed us in ways we never imagined🥹🙏

Heartfelt gratitude to our revered Master and beloved Guru, Sadhguru 🙏🙏🙇🙇