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Companions in Solitude-1
My Solitary Himalayan Seclusion and Purpose of Tap Sadhana

[This pilgrimage travelogue marks a prominent milestone in Gurudev’s 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 Gurudev’s 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.
- Editor]   
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.

The ordinary mica, when heated hundred times in fire, becomes Chandroday Ras, an invaluable Ayurvedic medicine. Only when purified on fire several times, the metals become valuable Bhasma, Rasayan etc. that provide cure and healing for serious diseases. Ordinary grains, pulses and vegetable in their raw states are tasteless, uneatable and indigestible. But when cooked on fire they become tasty and easily digestible. The soiled dirty clothes, when heated in the washerman’s boiler, are washed clean and spotless. The foods we take in are digested by the fire in the stomach (in the form of pancreatic secretions) and help produce blood, bones and marrow that build up and sustain our bodies. If the purification in fire or the process of heating is stopped, all the processes of nature will come to halt.

All the functions of creation are going on only because of heating up of nature. The latent potential in the creations manifests itself in various forms of Tap like energy, valour, courage, enthusiasm, knowledge, science and so on. Mother nourishes the embryo in the uterus by her body heat and gives birth to the baby. Whosoever endeavoured to rise above the humdrum, lazy, indolent state had had to take up Tap. All the brave men and women who have left their imprint on the pages of history have had to undergo Tap in their own way. Similarly the chosen few from amongst the farmers, students, labourers, scientists, administrators, scholars, industrialists, and artisans who have made some great contribution in their respective fields could do so because of their extraordinary hard work, perseverance, devotion and Tap. Had they remained dull, lazy and inactive and indulged in ease, comfort, lavishness and merriment, they could never have reached the heights they attained by their tireless toil and perseverance. Of all the energies, spiritual energy is the purest and greatest. It also implies that wealth of spiritual enlightenment is superior to all the worldly wealth. Even with ordinary power of wealth, wisdom and might, people achieve enormous progress and happiness, but the achievements of those who have gained spiritual enlightenment are many times greater. The difference between the worldly wealth and spiritual wealth is the same as between brass and gold or glass and gem. There are a lot of people who are rich, virtuous, powerful rulers, scholars and artists. But they cannot be compared to the great souls who not only elevated themselves but also contributed immensely for the betterment of the world through their spiritual attainments. In ancient times too, those who wanted their children to be endowed with virtuous qualities like, hard work, perseverance, patience, peace, truthfulness, compassion and wisdom used to send them to the Gurukuls,  (seats of learning under the guidance of Gurus) so that they could be well groomed to inculcate such virtues and be able to face the hardships, hard realities and challenges of life unflinchingly, confidently and boldly.

Whenever and wherever any great thing has been accomplished in this world, there was inevitably the power of penance behind it. Our country has been the land of gods and god-like humans. The land of Bharat was called Paradise on Earth. It was also in the forefront of humanity in terms of wealth, knowledge and valour. The credit for attaining this peak of progress is attributed to the unshakeable adherence to noble-aimed penance of its people of yore. The lazy, selfish, amorous, pompous and greedy people have always been looked down with contempt and considered inferior by the basic Indian culture. The greatness of the power of Tap was truly understood and imbibed throughout the golden ages of our history making them the torch-bearers of spiritual, ethical and moral values of humanity as also rich in worldly prosperity.

If we go through the past history of Bharat i.e. India, it will become evident that the multifaceted progress of this land has been based on penance and its adoption. Lord Brahma, the creator of this universe, performed Upasana of Gayatri for hundred years, sitting on the lotus emerging out of the navel of Lord Vishnu, before embarking on his mission of creation. Manu, the ancient sage, who framed the ancient ethical and moral code of conduct for human society, was able to accomplish the great assignment only after performing penance along with his wife Shatroopa. Lord Shankar is himself the embodiment of Tap.  Shesh, symbolised as the Serpent, is carrying the weight of this earth on his head by the power of Tap.

Saptarishis, the seven pre-eminent Rishis in ancient India, performed Tap of immense proportions, as the result of which they became immortal and are now shining in the sky as seven stars. Brahaspati, the guru of the gods and Shukracharya the guru of demons were able to guide and protect their pupils by the power of their tap.

The superhuman capabilities of Vishwamitra, who brought into manifestation a new creation, and Vashishtha, who had been giving guidance to several generations of the kings of Raghu dynasty lay in Tap Sadhana. Once king Viswamitra, along with his troop of soldiers, visited Vashishtha in his hermitage in the forest. The latter instantly arranged a sumptuous fare befitting the guest and his entourage, despite there having been no visible materials or facilities for the purpose. Seeing this, Vishwamitra was awestruck. This was made possible through the miraculous powers of Kamdhenu cow kept by Rishi Vashishtha in his Ashram. Later, Vishwamitra invaded the Ashram of the Rishi to get hold of the divinely blessed cow but he was defeated by the unarmed Vashishtha again with the help of Kamdhenu. Vishwamitra then declared that a king's formidable might is powerless before the power of Brahma tej of a Rishi and he renounced his kingdom and took to the path of tap for the rest of his life.

In order to rescue his forefathers condemned to hell and to quench the thirst of the parched land and thereby ensure the well being of the people, it became necessary for Bhagirath to bring Ganga from heaven to earth. This was not possible by any worldly efforts. So, intense penance was the only way. Moved by his hard painstaking and untiring penance holy Ganga agreed to come down to earth, for which Lord Shiva had to be persuaded to bear the enormous impact of torrential Ganga on his matted head. Only superhuman Tap could accomplish this descent of holy Ganga on Earth.

Rishi Chyawan (an eminent scholar of Ayurved in ancient India) had been engrossed in Tap for such a long time that white ants made an anthill of his body. While passing by it, princess Sukanya saw two glittering objects through the holes of the anthill, which she pierced with thorns (and they began bleeding). The shining objects were nothing else but the eyes of rishi Chyawan. He had to undertake this intense tap to prove his eligibility for the share of boundless energy of the Spirit, by awakening the latent energy centres in the etheral body.

Right from birth, Shukdev (a great saint and scholar of Mahabarat period) was of meditative and contemplative nature. It was his conviction that the best use of this rare gift of human body is to awaken dormant spirituality indwelling the human soul. He kept himself away from the worldly temptations and got engrossed in self-awakening instead.

Dhruva a prince who took to Tap in early childhood and is known as the legendary star in the galaxy, attained highest spiritual heights through Tap. Had he lived a life of pleasure and merriment, like ordinary princes, he would not have been able to become the ever-shining star of the heavens and thus attaining immortality. Worldwide fame and a vast kingdom also came to him effortlessly and unasked. Rishi Kanad, who lived on broken grains scattered here and there on the ground and Valmiki, who lived on the white juice of Banyan tree, were deprived of worldly pleasures. But what they got in exchange of their Tap far greater than the greatest of mundane gains.

During their time Buddha and Mahavir, the founders of Buddhism and Jainism, also took recourse to Tap as the unfailing weapon to help the people get rid of sorrows and sufferings. They transformed the atmosphere of evil and violence into one of peace and compassion. It is considered easy and proper to suppress evil with the might of arms. But they are not found as effective as the might of Tap. The axe of Parshuram (which he got by Tap) proved to be a far, more effective weapon than all the superior weaponry for eliminating the unjust kings. The anger of Rishi Agastya could not be borne by the poor ocean. In three gulps Agastya consumed the entire water of the ocean. When the gods were constantly getting defeated at the hands of demons, Rishi Dadhichi sacrificed himself and offered his powerful bones with which the heavenly weapon of Vajra was made, enabling Indra to defeat the demons and restore peace and happiness in the godly realm.

In ancient times, only those who were endowed with patience and endurance were considered eligible for education. Only such people could do justice to knowledge by its application for the welfare of mankind, apart from meeting their own minimal needs. But today education is monopolised by the greedy and the acquisitive, which misuse it. It is the so-called educated class, which has become a curse for humanity, creating problems of all sorts. In the olden days the parents used to send their children to Gurukuls (hermitages where students had to stay and work while undergoing real education) in order to cultivate nobility in them. In a Gurukul the Master (Guru) used to put them to various tests of endurance for quite some time and only after a student had passed this primary test was he considered eligible for receiving formal education. The readers might be acquainted with the stories of Rishis like Dadhichi, Uddalak, Aruni and innumerable others who had to pass through such stringent tests of endurance.

Brahmacharya (Celibacy) has been considered an important part of self-control. The unmatched might of Hanuman and the supreme valour of Bhishma, who remained celibates throughout their lives, are known to all. Adi Shankaracharya, Swami Dayanand and many other great men had been able to do great service to mankind due to the conserved energy of celibacy. In the olden days there were many married men who observed controlled continence even while leading married lives.

On acquiring inner power, the hermits used it not only for their own benefit, but spent a part of it for upliftment of their disciples. Rama and Krishna, by undergoing studentship at the hermitages of Rishi Vishwamitra and Rishi Sandipani respectively, got their personalities so developed that they came to be called Avatars of God. An ordinary Maratha boy, by getting trained by his illustrious Guru Ramdas, became Chhatrapati Shivaji. Through the infusion of a small dose of divine power of Ramkrishna Paramhans, an atheist youth named Narendra became great Swami Vivekananda, who took the message of Vedic Sanatan Dharma to all corners of the world. Indra, the king of gods, who was wandering in search of shelter from the attacking demons, was enabled to defeat the demons by Dadhichi, the great rishi, who gave his own bones for making the powerful weapon Vajra. A Dacoit Ratnakar became saint Valmiki through brief impartation of self-knowledge from Narad Muni.

Those who wished to have worthy children born to them have also been benefited by the blessings of hermits. King Dasharatha who did not have a child even after three marriages, was blessed with four sons by performance of Putrakameshti yagya by Rishi Shringi. Having had no child for a long-time, king Dilip along with his wife tended the cows of Rishi Vashishtha, with whose blessings a child was born to them, thus saving the dynasty from extinction. When Pandu in Mahabharat period became impotent, his two wives, Kunti and Madri, gave birth to five illustrious sons through the blessings of Rishi Vyas. About Jawaharlal Nehru it is said that Motilal Nehru, who was worried about having no child for a long time, was blessed by a Rishi of the Himalayas, who shed his body for fulfilling Motilal's wish. Many sons of rishis used to be born with the attributes of their parents' power of Tap and in the childhood itself used to perform such feats, which were difficult even for their elders. Shringi, the son of Rishi Lomash, on seeing a dead serpent thrown around his father's neck, cursed that whoever had done the heinous act would die of serpent bite within seven days. The curse of the Rishi's son did materialise and king Parikshit, who had done the misdeed, did die of serpent bite on the 7th day, despite elaborate precautionary mesures.

The pages of ancient history are replete with instances of exactly desired outcomes of such curses and blessings. As the punishment for unwillingly killing Shravan Kumar by his arrow, king Dasharath was cursed by the father of the boy that he too would die of the pain of parting of his son. True to the hermit's words Dasharath did die of the unbearable pain of parting of Rama. Even gods were powerless to nullify the effect of curses of Rishis. Indra, the king of gods, and god Moon, too, had to suffer from the curse of Rishi Gautam. The ten thousand sons of King Sagar had to die in fire for incurring the wrath of Kapil Muni. When pleased, the Rishis too, like gods, used to shower their blessings and innumerable people got rid of their sufferings and experienced peace and happiness.

Not only men, but spiritually exalted women of ancient India also undertook immensely difficult Tap. The incomparably arduous Tap of Parvati compelled Shiva, (whose fire of wrath burnt to ashes Madan, the god of love, for disturbing his trance, a state in which he always liked to remain), to marry her. Anusooya, on the strength of her power of Tap, transformed Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, into small kids. Sukanya restored youth for her old husband. Savitri brought back to life her dead husband Satyavan, from the clutches of Yama, the king of Death. Kunti gave birth to a son as glorious as the Sun himself by worshipping the Sun god, when she was a virgin. Enraged Gandhari cursed Krishna that his tribe would also become extinct in the same manner, as had her sons, grandsons and their accomplices. Her words proved true. The entire yadava clan was killed through internecine battles. The hunter was burnt to death by the fire of wrath emanating from Damayanti's eyes. Ida helped her father in completing his Yagya and getting his desire fulfilled. All these wonderful results are the manifestations of the power of Tap of women.

Like gods and Rishis, the demons too had mastered the power of Tap. They also performed profound penances and acquired boons, which could not be achieved even by Rishis and gods. Ravana in the course of his profound Sadhana, offered in sacrificial fire his own head several times to Lord Shiva and was given the boon of invincibility and conditional immortality by the Lord. So pleased was He by Ravana’s Tap. Kumbhakarna also had got his special wish for sleeping and awaking for six months alternately fulfilled due to penance. Meghnad, Ahiravan and Mareechi had gained magical powers due to Tap. Bhasmasur had gained, by his Tap the power of killing anyone by merely touching the victim's head. The valour of demons like Hiranyakashyap, Sahashrabahu, Baali etc. was also the result of Tapa. Many demon ladies like Tadaka, who was a headache to Vishwamitra and Lord Rama; Pootna, who attempted to kill Krishna; Sursa who tried to swallow down Hanuman Trijata, who entertained Sita by her numerous tricks to lessen her sorrow; were renowned for possessing great occult powers.

Leafing through the pages of the history of India one comes across numerous such instances where ordinary human beings have astounded the world by their amazing deeds of benevolence to humanity, besides self – upliftment, by their power of Tap. Even in the present era, the works done by enlightened souls like Mahatma Gandhi, Sant Vinoba, Rishi Dayanand, Meera, Kabir, Dadu, Tulsidas, Soordas, Raidas, Sri Aurobindo, Maharshi Raman, Ramkrishna Paramhans, Ramtirth, etc. have been of revolutionary dimensions. From the very beginning, I, too have adopted this path of Tap. I have utilized the power gained from the hard Tap of Gayatri Mahapurashcharanas for the welfare of the world. As a result, innumerable persons made material and spiritual progress of high order through my instrumentality. Many are the people who got rid of their pains, sufferings, sorrows and worries. Simultaneously, commendable works were also accomplished towards moral and ethical social transformation. The pledge to prepare 24 lakhs of Gayatri sadhaks and to perform Yagyas of 24 thousand Kunds was so enormous that it was not possible to complete it by hundreds of people working together for many generations. Yet all this was smoothly done within a matter of days. The construction of Gayatri Tapobhoomi at Mathura, the organising of Gayatri pariwar and the translation and publication of the Vedas and their commentaries can be seen as the manifestation of the power of Tap.

I have decided to pursue intense Tap in future too. So no one need be surprised if I devote my entire future years of my life for Tap-sadhana. I have realised fully well that the importance of Tap is greater than the greatest worldly achievements. A jeweller does not exchange glass pieces for gems. My decision to pursue the path of Tap in preference to hankering after mundane pleasures may displease the members of my family and relatives; but in due time they, too, will realise that my decision was wise and foresighted.
The work which the politicians and scientists are engaged in at present is only fanning the fire of mutual hatred and distrust and might lead to mass-scale annihilation of humanity by weapons of mass destruction. Forceful and effective voices advocating peace, harmony, love and brother-sister-hood of all humanity are rare – and are almost inaudible in devilish din violence, strife, hatred based on race, religion, region, culture, etc. Such noble virtues surcharged with transforming energy cannot be designed and developed in the seats of political power or in the laboratories of scientists. Even in ancient times, when such a need arose, the weapons of peace were forged in the laboratories of hermitages by resorting to Tap-Sadhana. In the present time too, many great souls are quietly engaged in this work.
Many efforts are being made to make human life and the world a heavenly abode for all sentient bengs. Many industries, businesses, factories, means of ransport, dams, schools, hospitals etc., are being built up. It is expected that these efforts will help solve the problems of poverty, diseases and illiteracy to some extent. But unless the virtues of love, brotherhood, compassion, generosity, faith in Divinity, restraint, and service are operative in human consciousness, no effort in the direction of universal peace will succeed. So long as highly and nobly evolved souls like Gandhi, Dayanand, Buddha, Mahavir, Narad, Vyas do not appear on the scene to inspire and provide guidance, it is impossible to elevate the mass mind to a higher plane of consciousness. Until the public thinking is not refined and elevated, until pure and idealistic feelings are not generated, the raw urges of hatred, enmity, grabbing, adultery, laxity, and sinful deeds cannot be flushed out from public behaviour. Till then there will be no respite from the suffering of pain, strife, disease and poverty.

It is necessary to charge the atmosphere with subtle spiritual current of transforming energy so that moral forces could develop, sublimating human character at its base. This can .be achieved only through Tapa-Sadhana of special nature performed by highly elevated souls. This is the greatest service to humanity, religion and culture. Today its need is urgently felt, for, with the passing of time, evil forces will overwhelm us and lead to colossal disaster.

This call of the Time Spirit has compelled me to take the present step. I have been doing Gayatri Upasana regularly for six hours daily from the- day of Yagyopaveet Sanskar. But it is not enough for achieving great goals. It calls for tremendous energy of Tap. So it has become necessary to perform intense, concentrated Tap for one year by staying in that area in the Himalayas where Rishis perform their Tapa. This Sadhana is not intended for personal benefits. I have never longed for heaven or salvation and will never do so either. I have pledged umpteen times to work for the upliftment of human dignity. So then, how come the question of escapism? Universal welfare is my welfare. It is with this aim with the aim of I have taken this step to melt myself in the intense heat of Tap.

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