The drive to Badrikashram was breathtaking! The roads were extremely narrow. Most of the time we were driving at the edge of the road. Kudos to Indian drivers. They have a special knack of getting a van through where only a bike can fit! I have no idea how they do it. Our 8 lives were in 2 hands. Able hands of our driver Mr. Chatur Singh. He has such a mischievous smile and outgoing personality. He told me few times, sir, jab tak aap mere saath hain, safe hain, baaki bhagvan me haath mein!
That's right. He calls me sir. I guess Sir is madam with bonus respect in North India :)). The view of the mountains was simply breathtaking. The air in Himalayas along the road to Badrikashram has a herbal aroma in it. So many kinds of trees and plants. No two trees have the same shade of green. I have not seen so many shades of green in my life. So many kinds of trees, so many colorful flowers and so many kinds of fruits. This dev bhoomi is probably like a kalpataru to seekers. That is why they seem to be so attached to this place. I saw so many sadhus walking barefoot..wonder where they will halt when it gets dark. They don't seem to care about all that. They just seem to keep walking without a care. Badrish is taking care of them and they are completely aware of it!
In many places we were driving right through water falls. Alaknanda was our constant companion. She is the authority in this place. This is her home and one who comes here should respect that. It is up to her to let you go all the way up to Badrinarayan or swallow you. She was very merciful towards us. She caused no roadblocks, no land slides, no wait time, she let us go all the way through with no inconvenience what so ever. The sun was shining bright and sun rays were bouncing off of the waters, making little rainbows on the windows of our van. Very thankful to nature for showering her grace on us!
We stopped on the way at joshimath. There is a lovely temple for Lord Lakshmi Narasimhan here. Very sweetly smiling Narasimhar. This is one of the 108 divya deshams. I was pleasantly surprised to see paasurams in Tamil in this Temple this high up in Himalayas. This Lord has given darshan to Periyalwar. It was humbling to see this Lord who has given darshan to such mahaans. How did these saints make it here in the mountains 4000 years ago? Here we have all comforts and still complain!
A new grand temple is being g constructed here next to the tiny temple. The Lord will be moved here once construction is complete. We had the good fortune of donating to the temple. I urge all of you to donate few thousand rupees towards this effort. Not everyday one gets a chance to donate towards construction of a divya desham temple🙏
By the time we reached badrikashram it was 5.30 pm. My eagerness to go see the Lord was increasing by the minute. We dropped all our stuff and ran to the temple. There is a short trek to the temple, it is very miniscule compared to the trek in Kedar. The first sight of the temple was out of the world. Decorated by colorful lights the temple was glittering. One has to cross a small bridge over Alaknanda to reach the temple. She reminds you that she has been kind enough to allow you to get here. After thanking her, we entered the temple. I had the good fortune of reading Vishnusahasranam while standing in the line. The moment I came face to face with Badrish was absolutely magical!
He is completely covered from head to toe with golden and diamond ornaments. His crown is bigger than even him. He looks royal and looks completely in control of the mountains and Alaknanda . One can get a glimpse of why Alaknanda rises and falls and dives and roars and does all sorts of antics for him. He is that majestic. We got lots of sweet sugar candy prasad as soon as we see him. He seems to shower his sweetness on devotees who have had their background checked by Alaknanda. Seems like a speacial tie up these two have!
Side note to those who visit Badrinarayan , as soon as you reach, rush to the ticket counter and buy your tokens for the next morning 4.30 am nirmalya darshan. Tickets go fast. We were lucky to get the last few tickets. Next morning we woke up at 2 am, got ready and reached the temple at around 3.30. When we waited outside, we were greeted by Badrinarayan suprabhatam. It is very pleasant on the ears. Next they played vishnusahasranam by ms.subbalakshmi. How great is she? Her voice wakes up the Lord this high up in the mountains!
One by one they announced our names and called us inside and allowed us to be seated in front of the Lord while they performed Maha Abhishek. The Lord looks stunning in his original saligram form with no clothes on his body. He has a green glowing complexion. He is in his four armed formed seated in padmasan. Two hands are on his lap in meditative posture. He has matted locks and they falls freely on his chiseled shoulders. His chest is broad, waist is perfectly slender and the naval in the center captured and held everyone's attention the whole time. He was wearing his janevu across his chest. Wow. He is absolutely handsome in the true sense of the word! Didn't expect he would be like this under all those jewels. He is in yogic samadhi!
When the priest did sankalpam saying "jambu dveepe bharatha khande meroh uttare paarshve nara narayana parvatayor madhye Badrinarayana sanidhau aham", it hit me that I am actually here this deep in the mountains in front of Badrinarayan. It is a moment frozen in my memory. I hope I remember this moment when I breathe my last. We feasted our eyes on the Lord for the next two hours. Slowly he was decked with jewellery until he was transformed from his yogic self to the emperor of the mountains. When one sits in front of him, every thought flies out of the mind effortlessly and the mind calms completely. My wish is everyone reading this should be blessed with the good fortune of being here at least once in this lifetime! Prayers!
Badri Vishal ki Jai!
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