 Pilgrim Letters
and Pilgrim Photos
In their pilgrimages to India the monks of Atma Jyoti Ashram have visited many places of spiritual holiness and met people who embodied the special sanctity which is still to be found in India despite the onslaught of modern materialism. Links to the correspondence which chronicles those travels, as well as photos of those people and places will be posted here as the site progresses.
Monks' Letters: In January through March of 2003, three of the monks from Atma Jyoti Ashram travelled to India, visiting holy places and people in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and the foothills of the Himalayas. An account of their journeys is recorded in these collections of emails sent to the abbot of the Ashram in America.
• Monks' Letters, Set 1: Bengal, including Belur Math, Kamarpukur, Jayrambati and more, and Tamil Nadu, including Tiruvannamalai, Ramanashram, Arunachala, and more.
• Monks' Letters Set #2 – Tamil Nadu (Tiruvannamalai, Arunachala, and Ramanashram; Sri Rangam, Chidambaram, Tanjavur, Chennai), and the foothills of the Himalayas (Hardwar, Kankhal, Rishikesh, Dehradhun, Vashishta Guha).
Pilgrim Photos: At upper left is a photo of the bathing ghat along the Ganges at the famous Dakshineshwar Kali Temple north of Kolkata, which played such an important part in the life of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. Click here to see more photos.
India Video: The most sacred river of India is the Ganges, which Hindus literally believe flows from heaven to earth for the purification of all whom its waters touch. To the Hindu the Ganges is divinity in the form of a river.
Originating high in the Himalayan mountain range, the Ganges emerges on the Indian plains at the holy city of Hardwar (also called Gangadwar–the Gateway of the Ganges). The Kumbha-mela is held here every twelve years.
Any bathing in the Ganges is considered supremely purifying and meritorious, but the most auspicious place in Hardwar for the sacred bath is known as the Brahma Kund (also known as Hari-ki-Pairi).
Every night at about 6:00 p.m. there is worship (arati) of the Ganga at the Brahma Kund. The arati-worship consists of an elaborate ritual of offering large lamps to the Ganges accompanied by the loud banging of ceremonial gongs, the playing of musical instruments and the singing of hymns in praise of the Ganges.
In February of 2003, pilgrim-monks from the Atma Jyoti Ashram participated in the Ganges worship, which they also videotaped, as well as the shrines and religious goods shops located around the Brahma Kund.
Download Ganga Arati Video:
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