Journey to Trimbakeshwar

I traveled to Trimbak yesterday. That is a city about 3 1/2 hours from Ganeshpuri. There is a jyotirlingam there, and I wanted to have darshan of that jyotirlingam. I may not get to see all 12 jyotirlingams, but I'm going to see as many as I can. You can read about the 12 jyotirlingams in India here, if you're curious about them - https://www.shreehindutemple.net/hinduism/12-jyotirlingas-of-lord-shiv/

We started our trip at 5:30am by having Nityananda's darshan. He blessed our journey.

Since I usually spend my mornings at the temple, it was nice to get a little taste. It was still dark as we hit the road. We drove through villages and towns, with yoga chants playing in the car. We also drove through a lot of open spaces. Here are some pics I captured along the way once the sun started to rise.

I resisted the urge to take pictures of every cow we passed walking down the road. I limited my snaps to this group...

After a couple of hours on a long and winding road (really, really winding), we arrived in the city of Trimback in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. That's where Trimbakeshwar temple is. We rolled into town around 9:30am and headed to the temple first. For 200 rupees (which is about $2.50), we got VIP darshan. The top of my head started tingling as soon as we set foot on the temple grounds. I got to do a pooja with one of the temple priests. A pooja is a sacred ceremony that conveys blessings for good health and a good life. I love doing poojas, and it was very special to do one at this famous and sacred site. In this video, I'm finishing my pooja with Arti, which is a candle flame ceremony, to the lingam.

I was delighted that we could take pictures and videos inside the temple. That's rare!

This picture is from a TV screen. The priests are doing Abishek to the lingam (giving it a bath). This lingam has water constantly running on it from an underground river that starts in the mountains above the town.

Up there 👆 is where the sacred Godavari river begins. Nobody knows where it ends. After pooja, I got a closer view of the jyotirlingam. That's when our VIP darshan ticket really paid off. We got to jump the line, and there was quite a line!

After, we got to tuck away in a corner and meditate. Talk about deep! Once outside, we had time for pictures.

Having a picture of yourself with the temple name in the background is important. After we left the temple, I really needed to use the bathroom. There were public toilets nearby, and this was my very first time using a traditional Indian toilet. I hope it's not TMI when I tell you how grateful I was that I didn't pee on myself. 😅

We spent time roaming the town, and doing some shopping. And having some chai.

And we stopped for some Masala dosas, which are a thin and crispy crepe with spiced potatoes and peas. Dosas are served for breakfast and snack. I love dosas!

There is a kund in Trimbak, which is a pool naturally fed from the sacred river. There is a hot water kund in Ganeshpuri that is fed by natural hot springs. This kund had cold water, which felt great in the heat of the midday! A kund is a sacred place, and the water in the kund is considered to be blessed. I made offerings to the kund - flowers and a coconut.

It was so refreshing to stand in that cold water. I did not immerse myself, because I didn't know how drying would feel. After a semi-dip, the shaded area on the other side of the kund offered a cool place to sit and rest.

On our way back to the car, we walked through the market. What an alive place!

We stopped for some coconut water before heading back to the car. It is so refreshing and nourishing to drink coconut water straight out of the coconut!

On our way out of town, we visited another temple. They are everywhere in India! This temple had beautiful rangoli at the entrance. Learn about rangoli here - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangoli

The temple Itself was about the size of a modest walk-in closet. No pictures allowed. On our way back to Ganeshpuri, we stopped at Sunset Point. It was not sunset, but the views were still quite extraordinary. I can only imagine what it looks like at sunset.

The man tending to the park told us that it's very busy in monsoon season. See the cow on the playground?

What a full day! I was so tired when I got home. It was quite a journey. 🙏