On the 5th of February, 2008 at about 2pm I got the news that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi had dropped his body and moved on. For years I had listened to his amazing talks about enlightenment, world peace and Transcendental Meditation. I even had the opportunity to tell him my spiritual experiences while meditating on which he gave a beautiful commentary that lasted for half an hour.
By 10pm that night a friend knocked on my door and said, “do you want to go to India?” I jumped out of bed put on a coat, walked through a snowstorm and went to my friends place to start applying for the Indian visa. 11 hours later I was in downtown Chicago running to the consulate after a 9 hour, all night drive through a blizzard.
Miraculously I got my visa (they at first told me I would have to go back to Australia to get it!) and was on the next flight to New Delhi. It was wonderful to land in India, even though it was my first time it felt like home. We took an all day train to Allahabad and arrived there at about 6pm.
By that time I was soooo tired but some kind of energy returned to me upon throwing my bags off the train that only stopped for 60 seconds. We took an auto rickshaw to the school/ Ashram where Maharishi’s body was being displayed. As we got closer and closer I felt more and more energy and happiness inside.
My friend and I stepped out of the vehicle and headed straight for the epicenter of this Vedic chanting that blasted from loud speakers. We neared a small shed that many people lined up to enter. We picked up a hand full of flowers at the door and walked in.
Galactic Silence, Unbounded Bliss, Light, Expansion of the Heart and Tears of Joy.
I was 2 meter’s away from Maharishi! It was absolutely like nothing I had ever experienced before – beyond words, beyond thoughts only a feeling of deep love and appreciation. Even though Maharishi had left his body days earlier I was feeling as if he was still there. The power and light that emanated from his body was incredible. I thought to myself, “now I know for certain he is the real deal, he is a fully enlightened master“.
All kinds of people from all over the world came to this cosmic party. You may have heard of the filmmaker David Lynch who loves Maharishi and promotes Transcendental Meditation all over the world. In fact his foundation has already provided scholarships for more than 100,000 at risk children to meditate!
The next day was the funeral and cremation. I was sitting at the cremation ground while a huge procession of people carried Maharishi’s body from the room where he was displayed the night before. It was like a gigantic power of energy and bliss was moving towards us. There were drums, whistles and cheering. As they got closer and closer the energy and excitement grew immensely. I strongly believe that Maharishi had an enormous aura of power, bliss and peace that extended for miles.
Maharishi’s family had the honor of preparing the funeral pyre with large blocks of sandalwood. Apparently it is auspicious to touch the wood that burns the body of the enlightened. I was lucky to give some incense that was put on the pyre.
Dr Girish Varma and Dr Prakash Srivastava, two of Maharishi’s nephews are picture here. They were the main people who performed the ceremony and lit the fire.
I had my eyes shut most of the time and was experiencing so many emotions – sadness, happiness, joy, bliss, anger, peace and fulfillment. I had many very spiritual experiences during the 3-5 hour ceremony. It was like Maharishi was giving me more of his unbounded reality as the elements in his divine body were being liberated back to the Earth.
After the cremation we were able to walk around the pyre three times. For some reason I sat down beside the coals where the wind was blowing. The hot ashes hit my face as I meditated very deeply. I was being fried on every level both spiritually and physically.
Afterwards I was so burnt that my face began pealing almost instantly. By that evening I was so tired that I slept very deeply. During the night I had further spiritual revelations and darshan of Maharishi.
The next day after the fire had burnt down, Maharishi’s family picked up all the ashes into large urns. These were later distributed all over India to the holiest rivers.
On that same day we went out to the “sangam” which is the confluence of three rivers – the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. This is one of the holiest places in India and really has a divine, celestial feeling especially at dusk.
There were hundreds of people who gathered in the boats to witness the release of Maharishi’s ashes. These are two friends Kevin and Justin.
Following the 10 days that I was at Allahabad I went to the central point of India known as the Brahmasthan. In this place Maharishi has constructed an entire city for Vedic Priests to perform group meditation and traditional ceremonies that involve chanting the Vedas. I was there at the Brahmasthan doing my own long meditation for 6 weeks. It was a sublime experience that gave me deep rest and rejuvenation.
I want to thank all the people who helped me go to India because without you I wouldn’t have fulfilled my life long wish of seeing Maharishi in person.
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As Maharishi always used to say, “Jai Guru Dev.” Which means I give thanks to the divine teacher.
