Divine Visit to Badrinath | 17 June 1961 | Sai Darshan Special 362

This Day…That Year

Six Decades ago, June 17 was indeed a blessed day in the life of all the citizens of the holy town of Badrinath, for the the Lord's love came down in torrents on that day.

Few holy shrines have a more glorious and mystic legend behind it, as the holy Badrinath. And fewer still are those that even today touch one's very being as this remote temple nestled in the majestic Himalayas can.
Was it then a surprise that the Lord who assumed a human form chose to make a 'pilgrimage' there? Yes, a pilgrimage where the Lord to worship whom the pilgrims travelled, Himself journeyed with the eager devotees.

17th of June was a momentous day. If anyone, part of the trip or the hosts had slipped into the powerful grip of maya, into believing that He too was a pilgrim like themselves; it can be said that Bhagawan woke them up on that day.
It happened during the morning abhishekam; Swami was in the temple and all of a sudden He began waving His hand. And the next moment there was in the divine hand an idol of Narayana, with four arms holding the Mace, Shanka, Chakra and a Lotus. And along with this idol He also materialised a golden thousand petalled lotus.
People were still to comprehend this heavenly moment, when the divine hand moved about in circles once again; and there on Swami's hand, for all assembled to see, was a Jyotirlinga. Legend has it, that Adishankara installed one of the Jyotirlingas he brought from Kailash, at Badrikashram. Swami then placed it on the thousand petalled lotus.

Baba mentioned for the first time about the trip to Badrinath
in a very interesting way in 1958. Seated on the sands of the Chitravathi with a few devotees one evening, Baba said that He would one day take devotees to the place where He per­formed penance.
The small group gaped for they wondered when and where in His 22 years of earthly life did Swami do penance. Only when in 1961 plans were drawn and devotees chosen for a trip to the holy Badrinath, Prof. Kasturi says they were reminded of that evening's promise; for it is believed, that Narayana Himself sat in Tapas at Badrikashram, where the Badrinath shrine stands today.

On the 18th, Bhagawan and the fortunate entourage began their journey back. They reached Lambagad for lunch and reached Joshimath the following morning. And again Baba walked this entire distance from Badrinath to Joshimath, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
The group then left Joshimath the next morning in a convoy of cars and vans, and reached Haridwar on the 21st. On June 22, the group started for Dehradun from where they boarded a train to Delhi.

Thus concluded an eventful and glorious chapter in the life of the Avatar- it was not a pilgrimage but a divine expedition
to revitalise and re-infuse Spiritual efficacy into one of the
1 most holy shrines of the land.

- Sri Sathya Sai Media Centre

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