solo trippin

I landed in Delhi, went to Tan Coffee while drinking a mocha and reading Patti Smith’s memoir, Just Kids. At night, I had to catch a bus to Haldwani and go to Kainchi. I reached Kainchi, took a shower and ran to Kakrighat after praying to Maharajji. I sat in the meditation hall of Swami Vivekananda there and met a father with two of his daughters who were living abroad. The next day, I woke up and went to have Maharajji’s darshan to leave for Kasar Devi. I found a taxi which used to do a one-day tour of Jageshwar Dham, Golu Devta and Kasar Devi temple and drop you back to Kainchi. So I tagged along and got to write down my goals on a piece of paper in the bell temple of Golu Devta, the god of justice in the Kumaon region. At Jageshwar, the vibration had shifted to a slight cold and slow feeling, like Shiva and Parvati having supper or talking about the future of Earth and its beings. When I got down at Kasar Devi and left my luggage in the hostel, I went jogging to the temple and climbed the steps to witness the most beautiful aarti of my life. The murti of Durga ji in Kasar is filled with love and belonging. After Kasar, I went to Dwarahat to go to Mahavtar Babaji cave. I tried meditating (tried because my posture was sloppy). It was Swami Sri Yukteswar Ji’s birthday. I took a morning bus at 4 am to Chopta from there to go to Tungnath temple. I felt blissful lying in the meadows of Chopta the previous day before the midnight trek. After the trek, I left for Rishikesh and stayed in Anant Dham for 3 nights. I met baba who got Virat and Anushka married and spent time with him in his dham. Mornings began with aarti to Ganesha, Shivji and the Divine Mother. I met Gunjan Bhaiya, who treated me at Raha Cafe. We witnessed the Ganga aarti in the evening. This feeling of meeting the divine in Rishikesh is very heartwarming.