Between February 28 and March 13, 2005 Gurudev, Mahamandaleshwar Swami Nityanand, traveled in northern India. On March 8, during more than a week of satsang and joyous gatherings at New Delhi’s Green Fields Public School, Gurudev celebrated Mahashivratri with about 1000 devotees and visitors.

Four days of increasingly blissful satsangs and chants with Gurudev preceded the Mahashivratri festival on Tuesday March 8. Anant Lavar Shastriji, the Brahmin priest, arrived a few days earlier to make his preparations and the school, again graciously offered for the event by it founders, Mr and Mrs Khanna, looked pristine. The school’s garden – where many meals were served, was in colorful and fragrant spring bloom. The satsang hall was decorated with intricate paper cut-outs and fresh flowers dominated by roses and marigolds. As the days passed and numbers grew, Gurudev asked that each day’s copious offerings of flowers were freshly arranged around the room.

Gurudev arrived at the venue on March 6 and was welcomed and garlanded by Mr B.R. Nanda, the renowned historian, author and recipient of two of India’s highest civilian awards. Mrs Khanna performed aarti and young local devotees sang a bhajan while New Yorker, Peter Fagiola, a masterful classical drummer, played the Pakhwaj.

Afterwards Gurudev spoke about pure and selfless love towards God. He said worldly love towards material things and fellow humans was conditional and impermanent. Most of the time we were so immersed in a material state of mind that even when we came to the ashram for spiritual quest and knowledge, we found ourselves unable to detach our minds from worldly matters. We needed to surrender ourselves consciously and completely in the name of God and to explore the spiritual path with pure heart, love and compassion.

The daily schedule in Delhi began with morning meditation from 6.30am to 7am, followed by the Guru Gita and chanting until 8.30am. Evening programs were from 6pm to 8pm although departure time grew much later as darshan lines grew longer. On Monday March 7, after evening aarti, Swami Ganapati, an American-born guru, paid his respects to Gurudev. Many of his disciples were also present. We had earlier welcomed about 25 of Ganapati’s young Belgian devotees at the ashram in Magod where they spent a few days experiencing ashram dharma. Gurudev invited Swami Ganapati to share some of his memories of Baba.

Aastha Desai, a school teacher and Mumbai-based devotee explained the work of Shanti Hastkala in villages around Magod. She showed a variety of handcrafted items made by villagers under the supervision of skilled Shanti Mandir volunteers. Aastha said the handwork was only available at this stage at the ashram bookshops and money raised would fund new materials for hastkala or handcraft production. It was a project offering work and hope.

To end the satsang, Gurudev reminded us of Baba’s advice, that one must keep the company of saints to ensure purity of mind. He said the mind often strayed and indulged in bad thoughts so one needed to work continuously to maintain its purity. In a world filled with media hype and me-ism, the company of a good saint is all the more important, he said. In the past elders inculcated the values of charity, love and empathy but in modern times, one was only concerned with oneself.

The following evening was Mahashivratri – the night which infuses shiva tattva, the vastness or unbounded emptiness of all-pervading darkness – began in the morning with Guru Gita followed by Om Namah Shivaya and Shree Ram Jai Ram ahead of the evening aarti. At 6pm Anant Lavar Shastriji was ready to perform Lord Shiva’s first abhishek (ritual bath).

The night was divided into four quarters, each representing a different embodiment of Lord Shiva. These were of three hours each with an abhishek performed during each one. During the first abhishek at 6.30pm, the hall resounded with Vedic mantras and shlokas (hymns) while white and pink lotus flowers and leaves were offered to the Shiva lingam. The devotees also filed by offering flowers and leaves. In this way the first abhishek was completed. Three additional abhisheks were performed at 9.30 pm, 12.30 am and 3.30 am. Earlier Gurudev said there would be no need for devotees to retire for a break during the ceremony. We stayed throughout the night until next morning’s 6.30 finale, sustained by light snacks provided outside the hall after the later abhisheks.

Celebrations continued for the next three days. The numbers swelled so that at times the last to arrive had to stand at the back of the hall. As the chanting intensified, the air became suffused with joy and shakti. Each day the darshan queue grew longer. Even after darshan, devotees lingered, delighting in the grace and blessings until Gurudev left.

On the evening of March 11, after satsang and stirring singing of the Hari Paath, Gurudev spoke of the devotion and intent of its author, Saint Jnaneshwar Maharaj. Jnaneshwar says one can attain moksha (liberation) simply by remembering the name of Hari (God) for a fraction of a second, provided it is done with pure heart and devotion. By reciting the Hari Paath our mind, body and heart become pure. Gurudev said whatever knowledge we acquired by studying the Vedas and scriptures or listening to the saints should be made a part of our daily practice. Only in this way would we derive its fruits. Once we were on the path to self-realization we needed to pursue it sincerely and without doubts. Although we might occasionally feel confused or disappointed, we must never lose faith.

Gurudev’s visit concluded with a Dhyan Shivir (Meditation Intensive) on March 12. The next day saw the conclusion of the Delhi celebrations and the atmosphere was charged with love and gratitude for the blessings Gurudev had so lovingly bestowed during his tour. Devayani sang a beautiful Bhajan by Mirabai then acknowledged the profound love and compassion of the Delhi devotees.

At the vidaai (goodbye) satsang, Gurudev said each of us was blessed to receive the grace and feel the presence of Bhagawan Nityanand and Baba Muktanand.

“We perform many activities but if we don’t have the right feelings we may think, why doesn’t God come? God is not like a vegetable that you buy. But we try to negotiate with God – let my son pass his exam and I’ll do 11 Guru Gitas! We heard yesterday that life goes according to destiny but with that you must combine self effort. God dwells within your feelings, attitude and inner being.

“Everyone knows what he or she has in their inner consciousness, even if it can’t be expressed. For this we read the scriptures, to learn on which path we should walk. We have talked of people who started with Baba then left to see what the world would give. They found the world gives nothing; it takes. As Tukaram Maharaj says, bless me so I always remain in the company of a saint. When destiny brings you to a saint then you must make the effort to stay there.”

Gurudev compared people to a summer harvest. Some are ripe to pick, some never ripen and some rot. “You need faith, devotion and effort,” he said. “If you continue to do your sadhana every day the atman in your own heart will guide you. You don’t need intermediate agents; Baba can tell you from within your own heart. The continuous transformation going on inside is the prasad of the Guru. Get rid of your doubts. The Sadguru destroys all your doubts. If you travel with one leg in each boat you will drown. Have faith in one! Keep on having strong and firm faith in the one you have chosen.

“God bless us that we get rid of the illusion of worldly life and become peaceful. Let our mind not wander here and there. Everything is already in your heart. The bliss you seek is already there.”

Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jai!