Kumbha Mela 2025 – Part 5, Meetings with Sadhus and Devotees

By Teresa Guerra

Jan 30th - The air was very polluted. Last night I was coughing and congested. Many other women in the tent were also coughing. When I went to the Shrine at 5:00a.m., I couldn’t believe how densely foggy it was. I was not able to see anything in front of me.  It stayed like that for a while. The amazing part is that the fog didn’t stop devotees and other people to engage in their routines! Groups of people continued walking towards the sacred rivers.

At breakfast, Srilatha gave me a cold medicine, which helped me feel better. After breakfast, Yugal, Srilatha and I went to see a mataji who was staying very close to our camp. To my surprise, it was Lalita Mataji from Gangotri. I had seen a video about her, sent by Marcela, which impressed me very much because of her simplicity and detachment. She welcomed us in her room, which was very simple.  She talked to us emphasizing that “we are not our body, we are not our thoughts”. The atmosphere was very peaceful. She was so sweet and loving, she was really “up there”; I started to cry.

After spending 20-30 minutes with Mataji, we went back to the camp. Srilatha reported at the dispensary. Later, Yugal and I went to see the current Shankaracharyaji of Sringeri Math. We lost our way, but finally got there by 11:25a.m. Darshan was at 12:00p.m. We entered the Ashrama; the monks were chanting from the scriptures. The atmosphere seemed to be spiritually charged! Then, Shankaracharyaji started doing Puja. Yugal requested Puja from another monk who was on the side. When it was our turn, we sat in a circle, along with the monk and other devotees. The monk was reciting the prayers and doing the rituals. There was a silver plate in the middle with a pair of engraved sandals in it. Yugal said that the sandals represented Shankaracharyaji’s feet. When the ritual was over, we sat on the side waiting for Sri Shankaracharyaji to finish the Puja. Then we had his Darshan, and he gave us fruit and flowers prasad.  

It was after 1:30pm. As we were leaving, we ran into Abhijit C. and Jayant. Their camp was Parmartha Sadhaka Sangha, next to the Sringeri Math camp. Yugal went back to the RKM camp; I went with Abhijit and Jayant to their camp. The atmosphere was very friendly and pleasant. I was welcomed and had lunch prasad with them. I spoke to Sangeeta and met her family. Before leaving I did pranams to Soham Maharaj. He was very engaging.

I walked back to the RKM camp arriving around 4:00p.m. I spent time with Srilatha and then went for Aarati. After dinner, I spent time with the matajis in their tent.