Letter to Gurudev

Katosan 1923

To Gurudev

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram

Guru Maharaj,

A thousand salutations at thy holy feet. Sri Ram’s kindness to me has been so great that after freeing me from the toils of Samsara He has taken me completely under His Divine guidance and support. O! Ram, Thou art my sole refuge. Thou hast been treating me as Thy helpless child ever taking tender care of me. Glory to Thee, O! Ram. Thy kindness and love is infinite. May I be never tired of uttering Thy sweet name, sweeter than nectar. My heart is full with the joy which Sri Ram gives me and I must talk of Him and His love, to whom? O! Ram, to whom? To thee, my brother, my Satguru. Sri Ram is showing me all the wonders of His Maya. Sri Ram took me round all the sacred shrines from the south of India to the uttermost north. He guided the footsteps of His humble servant over the blessed Himalayas. The very air over there breathes Sri Ram’s Divine presence. The never ending chains of mountains clothed with thick forests are eternal witnesses of Ram’s greatness. The Holy Ganga flowing down these Hills – giving life and sustenance to millions – is singing Ram’s glory. Indeed my sight was blessed with enchanting scenes and landscapes – that kept me spellbound. O! Ram, Thou art Grand! 400 miles I walked over the mountains and I never felt any fatigue because Sri Ram was kind to me. He gave me strength and peace. At certain places the ascents were so steep and path so rugged and narrow that a slight slip would pull a man down headlong into the bosom of Ganga – hundreds of feet below. When Sri Ram was my guide, what fear have I? He took me up and up and I walked on fearlessly in full joy chanting His sweet name. Kedarnath was the first place Sri Ram made me visit – about 160 miles from Hardwar. The path to Kedarnath is really dangerous. Many pilgrims have slipped down from the rocks and have been washed away in the torrents of Ganga. Mandakini, a tributary of the Ganges, starts from Kedarnath. The place is covered with snow and cold here is extreme. While ascending to Kedarnath one has to tread upon snow. Who protected me from cold? O! It is Thou. A temple is founded here surrounded on all sides by high rocks fully covered with snow. I ascended one of these rocks which none venture. I first thought it was not so high. I crawled up two hours, (nearly) still I could not reach the top. My hold while ascending was rough grass that peeps here and there through snow. It took me nearly 3 hours to travel up to the top of the rock. The distance traversed might be about a mile. To ascend was difficult enough but to descend was extremely perilous. I had simply to slip down 2 or 3 yards at a time and then grip the grass. Further it began to rain not water but big white globules of snow. O! Ram, who protected me here again – it is Thou and Thou alone. After nearly five hours I reached the bottom of the rock. I went to the source of the river Mandakini where the snow melts and flows down. Here I bathed in the ice cold water. O! Ram, it is by Thy grace I could do all these things. All glory to Thee. I stayed in Kedarnath for one day, then coming down about 40 miles ascended again another chain of hills, the path here was not so bad as the one leading to Kedarnath. But I had to walk over snow at several places and to cover a distance of about 81 miles (milestones are on the way) in order to reach the source of the river Alaknanda, another tributary of the Ganges. This place is called Badrinath or Badrinarayan. Here also the cold is very great. There is a wonder here. From one of the rocks surrounding the temple of Narayan flows down hot fuming water which is collected in a tank in which pilgrims bathe. I remained here also for a day and then came down. Thousands of pilgrims are every year ascending these hills for the Darshan of Kedarnath and Badrinath.

Through over exertion many old men and women give up their bodies on the way. Ram’s kindness to me during this journey was so great, that I never felt hungry on the way. The pilgrims here were very kind to me. They used to vie with each other in serving my wants which consisted of 2 or 3 rotees without salt and boiled potatoes. Some veritably worshipped Ram’s humble das. Hardwar is the starting point for this Himalayan pilgrimage. About 15 miles up the hills is situated the place called Rishikesh, where about a hundred Mahatmas reside in their respective Ashrams, thatched huts on the bank of the Ganges. The place is simply enchanting – for a time I thought of settling down here once for all, even without proceeding further on the hills. Even now I wish Sri Ram should take me to this place again so that I might spend the rest of my life in the company of these Sannyasis, but I do not know what His wish is. I remained in Rishikesh for 3 days. In my wanderings on the hills, I visited the Ashrams of Agastyamuni, Narad and Pandavas. It took me 40 days to complete this pilgrimage. These mountains are peopled by hill tribes who live by cultivation. They are so simple and so pure, uncontaminated by the touch of modern civilisation. Ram Nam is on the lips of all of them. They are a fair complexioned race, clad in clothing made of thick blankets. Even women use thick rugs for sarees. They are also rearing cattle and sheep; the latter yield wool which they spin and weave into blankets for their clothing. Wonderful are Thy works O! Ram. Returning from the Himalayas, Ram directed me towards Mathura, the birthplace of that love incarnate Bhagwan Sri Krishna, wherefrom I visited Gokul, Govardhan and Brindaban. I spent about 10 days on the banks of the holy Jamuna in Brindaban. Brindaban is a delightful place. From Mathura, Sri Ram made me travel down to Raipur, Ajmer (where I visited Khaja Pir, a famous Shrine of Mohammedans and thence ascended the hill of Pushkar Raj, remained there for 5 days. Then came down further this side. Ram wants me shortly to visit Dwarka and Girnar. Girnar is the stand or seat of Dattatreya. After visiting these places and Pandharpur, Ram seems to be wishing to close my itinerant life. At present I am staying in the Ashram of a Mahatma of Gujarat. This Ashram is situated in a jungle, quite solitary, where I can perform Rambhajan with great pleasure. I am praying Ram to point out and lead me to a place where I can spend the remainder of my life in meditation of Him, in uttering His sweet name. The charming music of the sound Ram has sustained me all along and will certainly fill me with His grace till the end. But what He intends to make of me is not known yet. My prostrations at the holy feet of my Gurudev, our father who gave me that Divine Ram Mantram and at thy feet also. I crave for thy blessings. May Sri Ram keep you all blessed with His grace is the fervent prayer of His humble Ramdas. I may, by Ram’s Will, remain here for about 10 days before going to Dwarka.

Love and Namaskars.

RAMDAS