The group left Rishikesh in the morning and reached Barkot in the late afternoon. Barkot is the base station for the trip to Yamunotri, the first of the Char Dham centers we plan to visit during this Himalayas Yatra.
The satsang on this was evening was a free wheeling question and answer session. Some one said that he had moved from master to master in the past and felt a deep void when the masters passed away. He wanted to know if the connection with a master was an addiction that leads to suffering.
Swami said: Addictions are those that one consumes more and more with decreasing enjoyment. A master’s relationship is very different. A one time contact leaves such a deep impression on you that you grow in that relationship.
When someone asked Ramakrishna, ‘ What is ultimate in life ? Is it enlightenment?’ , Ramakrishna responded, ‘No. It is the deep connection with the master‘.
In one’s relationship with the master one receives all the great joys of enlightenment with out the responsibility that goes with enlightenment. The essence of the trip is that connection with the master. .
In small group such as this it is easy to create that connection. You get to realize what I think about you. This realization creates a bridge between you and the master. It is a rare blessing. This connection will get you out of any depression, when no other technique will work. No God, no ritual, and no technique works when you are in deep depression. Only the connection with the master, that smarana or remembrance gets one out of the deepest of depressions.'
On a lighter note he said that it is best to choose young masters so that one's connection with them is for the long term.
Nithya quotes of the day:
Some one asked what is the difference between the love of an ordinary person and a master.
Said the master: When somebody overflows it is love. When no body overflows it is energy.
When somebody meets nobody it is enlightenment when nobody meets somebody it is incarnation.
Huge mountains seems to be so much alive on the way to Yamunotri via Barkot. Yatris stayed in Barkot overnite and proceeding to Yamunotri the next day
Hairpin bends are commonly seen in the mountain roads
Yatris having lunch in a hotel on the way to Barkot
Hotel Him Darshin, where all yatris assembled for Swamiji's evening discourse
Evening discourse in progress...
Yatris enjoying the jokes made by Swamiji
Questions from the yatris are answered briefly by Swamiji
Swamiji answering the yatris questions, His shadow at the wall is seen
