| Dev Badri Shaligram 26.10.2025 |


Dev Badri Shaligram*

With the divine darshan of the Lord, our pilgrimage was now complete. The love and bliss that the Lord was showering upon us were beyond measure! Everyone was immersed in a unique peace and joy. It may seem easy to write these words, but describing that exact moment is truly difficult.

I deeply wished to sit for a while in the temple courtyard, but due to the heavy crowd, it wasn’t possible. Then, by God’s grace, the temple authorities stopped the crowd at the main gate, and we were allowed to exit through a separate path leading down to the courtyard. We had brought with us musicians from Karnataka who played the Nadaswaram (a traditional temple instrument).

As the Nadaswaram played, the entire atmosphere turned deeply devotional. I wished we could sit there longer and simply soak in that divine sound. For almost an hour, we all sat there — my mind and heart were in a state of complete stillness, total emptiness! Because of the Nadaswaram, many people gathered around us. My eyes were closed, and then suddenly, I felt someone approaching me. I opened my eyes and saw that it was the temple’s chief officer walking toward me.

For a moment, I wondered, “Why is he coming to me now?”
As soon as he reached, he said, “Swamiji, how long will you be staying in Badrinath?”
I replied, “We’ll be here for one more day — today and tomorrow.”
He then asked which hotel we were staying in, and I told him the name. He nodded and said, “Alright.”

I wasn’t paying much attention to his words — honestly, I thought, “Why is he sticking around like this?” ????????

Then, in the middle of the conversation, he said, “Swamiji, are you coming to the temple in the evening?”
I nodded, “Yes.”
He continued, “For many years, I’ve had a Shaligram that is worshipped daily in the main sanctum of the Badrinath Temple. I would like you to have its darshan!”

The moment he mentioned the word Shaligram, my head turned sharply toward him and I asked, “What did you just say?”
I thought maybe I heard him wrong.
He repeated, “Shaligram.”

My eyes lit up instantly, and a wide smile spread across my face.

Oh Lord! What is this? Why didn’t he say he wanted to show me some idol, picture, or Shiva Linga? Why only the word Shaligram? Perhaps even he didn’t understand the depth of what he had just said — but God surely did.

Without a second thought, I said a big “Yes!”
“Of course, I will come. We all will!”

Hearing this, he smiled and left — and we returned to our room...

*To be continued...*