Companions in Solitude - 1: Pujya Gurudev

Companions in Solitude - 1:

My Solitary Himalayan Seclusion and Purpose of Tap Sadhana

Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

(Poojya Gurudevs Travelogue of the Pilgrimage to the Himalayas - Continued] My Solitary Himalayan Seclusion and Purpose of Tap Sadhana ).

This pilgrimage travelogue marks a prominent milestone in Gurudevs long, incomparably stupendous creative endeavour. In 1958, during his one-year self-imposed seclusion (Agyatvas) in Uttrakhand Himalayas he contributed a series of articles for publication in Hindi monthly Akhand Jyoti, titled Sadhak ki Diary ke kuchh Prishtha (Some pages from the diary of a sadhak). Later these articles were compiled and published in book form as Sunsan ke sahchar (Companions in Solitude). It is said that words used to cascade effortlessly out of Gurudevs pen, instinct with matchless profundity, clarity and simplicity, directly inspired by Mother Saraswati, as a token of Her Grace upon this beloved child of Hers. From this book one can have a feel of his inimitable, moving, musical style of literary creativity.
Now that Akhand Jyoti (Hindi) is going to complete 68 years of its life, let us remember, with deep gratitude and thanksgiving the contribution, the Yug Rishi made through his magically facile pen towards inspiring, guiding and exhorting millions of way-lost souls to rise, awake and start on their pilgrimage towards the Indwelling Light and know their true identity as sons and daughters of Immortality (Amritasya Putrah). We hope the English version of this book, which is being brought to the readers of this magazine through this series of articles, will be equally inspiring, uplifting and illuminating for the environmentalists, the nature lovers and the spiritual seekers.

The power of Tap (penance) is immense. Tap means heat. So penance means heating up the self for purification. The greatest of all the powerful elements in this world have their roots in Tap or heat. Sun heats itself up. Thus it is the Lord of the solar system, providing life-energy to all beings. The heating up of the atmosphere in the hot summer results in benevolent rains that provide relief, happiness and prosperity. When gold is heated it becomes pure and bright, enhancing its value. All the metals coming out of the mines in the form of ores are impure mixture of dirt, dust and stones. But when melted by heat, the pure metal separates itself from dross and becomes valuable. The unbaked pots, utensils and toys made of unbaked clay get broken even when slightly hit. But when baked in kiln they become red and strong; and earthen bricks baked in kilns become strong like stones. The soft limestones become cement when processed by heat and the structures prepared with it last for long durations.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma