Читать книгу Salvation in Kali Yuga. Swami Vankhandi Maharaj: Interviews, Satsangs, Teachings, Parables - - Страница 2

India, foothills of the Himalayas, May 2024. We’re ascending a mountain trail from Lake Sattal to the summit of Hidimba Parvat. The atmosphere around us is alive with birdsong, surrounded by forest freshness. The air is crystal clear and nature here is breathtaking. Massive pine trees sway gently in the spring breeze, releasing the subtle fragrance of pine needles. These aren’t like the pines in Russia – they’re much taller, with fewer branches and cones the size of an adult’s foot. They say tigers roam these forests. For now, though, we only see monkeys leaping from branch to branch and an occasional deer hastily retreating at our distant approach.

This area is now a sanctuary. But before Swami Vankhandi Maharaj arrived here, nearly fifty years ago, and began watching over these forests, this was merely another Himalayan foothill slope, gradually being invaded by human activity – trees were being cut down and litter was beginning to accumulate.

«Vankhandi" translates from Hindi as «Knower of the Forest.» He came here and became the guardian of this place. I wrote «merely another slope,» but that’s not entirely accurate. This hill is actually an ancient pagan site, where people have worshipped Mother Nature since time immemorial. Vedic sages once lived here, performing tapas (profound spiritual practices for mastering the mind). Even the legendary rakshasi, Hidimbi, after whom this hill is named, underwent significant spiritual transformation here, evolving from her original nature to achieve the status of a Goddess. To this day, she is revered and worshipped as the Goddess of this Power Place.

We’ve come to Vankhandi Maharaj’s ashram hoping to conduct one or more interviews with him. I’ve long wanted to meet this holy sage, having heard so much about him.

Swami Vankhandi Maharaj, Hidimba Parvat hill. may 20, 2024

His full name is Bankhandi Swami Akhandanand Saraswati. The last part of his name indicates his affiliation with a branch of the «Dashanami Sampradaya» spiritual order, established in the 8th century by the great sage Adi Shankaracharya. This Vedantic lineage is also known as the «tradition of the single staff of renunciation» and requires complete detachment from worldly affairs while selflessly serving all living beings.

At the time of my visit Swami is nearly 105 years old (born December 14, 1919). He is a genuine sage who dwells in a stable state of «sahaja-nirvikalpa-samadhi.» In India, such individuals are known as «siddha-purusha» – a «perfected soul who has attained liberation.» I heard this characterization from an important scholar-swami who had come to pay respects at Maharaj’s ashram. In Hinduism, the term «siddha» also refers to those who have achieved significant extension of their physical lifespan and various supernatural abilities – though such individuals rarely demonstrate or publicize these powers.

Swami typically remains silent when asked about his past, family, or similar matters, because for a sadhu who has renounced the world, worldly concepts like family cease to hold meaning. Thus, biographical information about him is scarce. What is known is that he spent over thirty years high in the Himalayas, living among the glaciers in complete surrender to the Divine Mother. Even about this, he speaks rarely or briefly. Nevertheless, readers will find some fragmentary accounts of Maharaj’s life, both in the Himalayas and in the ordinary world, scattered throughout this book.

During the couple of weeks I spent at the ashram, I came across several Russian translations of Vankhandi Maharaj’s satsangs1 from 2021 to 2024. These contained invaluable, practical, and simply fascinating material. Additionally, I managed to conduct the planned interviews, three extensive interview-satsangs about nama-japa practice, self-inquiry, the phenomenon of shaktipat, and the subtleties of seva, selfless service. All of this ultimately formed the foundation of this book.

My notebook also accumulated several personal impressions and observations from my stay at the ashram, and I was somewhat uncertain whether to include them in the book. However, during the compilation process, I received this message from Maharaj: «Write about how you lived in the ashram, what you saw here, whom you met, how people live here, what they do. Describe your own experience.» Therefore, I decided to keep these notes – as brief introductions to the interviews and satsangs.

Siddharth