| Photo Album: Mahabharata Pilgrimage India, September 2006 |
Kurukshetra: Bhadrakali temple (one of the 51 places of worship of Shakti); Bhishma temple (on the spot where Bhishma was slain by Arjuna); Brahma sarovar (lake where Lord Brahma is believed to have created the universe); Jyotisar (where Sri Krishna revealed the Bhagavad Gita)
Haridwar: Arati in Har-Ki-Pauri (waving of the lights in front of the river Ganga); Bhim Ghoda (where Bhima made a spring come out of a rock) and our center for poor girls and widows; Pawan Dham (famous temple of mirrors); other sights
Kankhal: Daksha Prajapati temple (where Sati Devi was born and sacrificed herself); Bilvakeshwar temple (where Sati Devi was reborn as Parvati Devi and where she performed her penance); Anandamoyee Ma ashram (where we met the current president, the French Swami Vijayananda; Sri Tripura Yogashram (founded by Swami Amlanand, also member of the Sri Hariharananda Education Society); other sights
Jagjeetpur: Shivedale school (founded by Swami Sharad Puri); Shivedale school cultural program (organized by the children on the theme of the Mahabharata); Matri Chhaya (campus for poor children, widows, and senior citizens, being built by Swami Sharad Puri and Swami Sarveshwarananda)
Rishikesh: Divine Life Society ashram (founded by Swami Sivananda); Ram jhula (Rama's bridge); Madhuban Ashram (where our group of pilgrims stayed); other sights
Tapkeshwar: Drona's cave (where the Pandavas' military guru trained his pupils) and its unique self-created shiva lingam
Uttarkashi: Vishwanath temple (containing one of India's twelve jyoti lingams, a self-created Shiva stone)
Ganeshpur: Sivananda Ashram (founded by Swami Premananda, direct disciple of Swami Sivananda); Himalayan Paradise (founded by Swami Ramswarupananda, direct disciple of Swami Chidananda); Swami Vivekananda Foundation (our new school for poor children being built by Swami Chetan and Swami Sarveshwarananda); kabbadi game (children playing this Mahabharata-era game on the site of our new school)
Didsari: Hariharananda Tapovanam (where Swami Sarveshwarananda spent two years in silent reclusion); Jill Ma's tapovanam (place of austerities and meditation)
Gangnani: hot sulfur springs and temple (on the way to Gangotri)
: town (and surroundings); ghats and Sri Ganga temple
: the journey (by horseback); arrival the source of the holy Ganga
Joshimath: Shankaracharya Math (one of the four head monasteries established by Adi Shankaracharya) Badrinath: town and surroundings; Badrinath temple (dedicated to Lord Vishnu)
Malla: various sights of this village (the last before the Tibetan border), inhabited by people of Mongolian origin; Sage Vyasa’s cave (where the Mahabharata epic was written); Sri Ganesha’s cave (where the Mahabharata's divine scribe resided); Bhim pul (Bhima's bridge)
Mathura: Sri Krishna's birthplace
Barsana: this small village perched high above the Yamuna river is the birthplace of Sri Radha, Sri Krishna's beloved playmate
Other sights: Neem Karoli Baba ashram (where the great saint is buried); Sri Anand Bihariji Temple and Garden (where our group of pilgrims stayed)
In the footsteps of the Kriya Yoga masters: Lahiri Mahasaya's house; the famous Dashaswamedh ghat where Babaji, his sister Mataji and Lahiri Mahasaya appeared to Ram Gopal (as related in the Autobiography of a Yogi, chapter 33)
Places of learning: Benares Hindu University (and home to the city's second Vishwanath temple, open to non-Hindus); a traditional Sanskrit school
Other sights: Durga temple (Durga Devi is said to protect Varanasi from the south, as one of the fierce goddess guardians of the holy city); miscellaneous
the Golden Temple (holiest place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs)
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