Journey Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Summary: Maniknagar

From Akkalkot we went to Maniknagar, at a distance of about 140 km. It was more or less a direct route but for most of the way, the road was in a bad state, with big holes and partly a cambered roadway. It was 26 December, winter time, but it was quite hot. You could see with the vegetation that it is unbearably hot in summer. Srinivas often had to slow down and drive around the holes in the roadway.

When we approached Maniknagar from the direction of the city of Humnabad, the surroundings suddenly changed. There were huge trees along the road giving shadow and the fields were green and well cultured. We approached the Shri Manik Prabhu Temple – a site with huge palace-like walls surrounded by green lanes with statues and little temples. Everything was very clean and well maintained.

Manik Prabhu (1817 – 1885) was an Indian saint and freedom fighter who is regarded by many people as a Datta Avadhuta, a person beyond ego-consciousness and duality, or even as an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.

In the Sripada biography, there is a hint about him in chap. 45 and a story of a prophecy in relation to a meeting between Shirdi Sai Baba and a Datta Avadhuta – Manik Prabhu – in chap. 4. (“He then met a Datta avadhuta and asked for silver coins. As his tin would not get filled up, the avadhuta put two khajur fruits (dates) in it. Then he was satisfied. With that, the chaitanyam (consciousness) of Datta flowed into him.”) In the inner court of the Manik Prabhu temple, there is a picture relating to this meeting:

Srinivas had often been at this place of Manik Prabhu and he had arranged a meeting with Shri Dnyanraj Manik Prabhu Maharaj, the present head of the Shri Manik Prabhu Samsthan (temple) and the sixth office holder in the series of successors. It is the only succession line of such Datta avadhutas for the spiritual guidance of the devotees, where the energy is upheld over a long time.

Srinivas had told me that recently the Manik Prabhu temple had published the book “Shri Manik Prabhu. A Rare Spiritual Gem” by Anandraj Prabhu and that they wanted to ask me for a German translation, since I had translated the Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrum.

We were received by the son of Shri Dnyanraj Manik Prabhu in a grand old villa and we came to know that Shri Dnyanraj was sick at the moment and could not receive us. We were offered lunch, and the book was lying on the table. I politely explained that due to my age, I am handing slowly over work I am doing and that I cannot pick up new tasks of such a size. But that I would look if I can find a German translator. The son gave me a copy. (If you are interested and able to do it, please contact me.)

We later visited the nearby small temple dedicated to Devi Venkamma or Madhumati Shyamala, his disciple (a yogini revered as a devi by Shri Manik Prabhu’s devotees).

Afterwards, we went back to Hyderabad and arrived at Divya Kalanjali in the evening. It was time to say good-bye to Srinivas and Santosh, our dear guides and travel companions of this part of the journey. The next part was the journey to Srisailam.

Journey Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Summary: Akkalkot

The longer we travelled together, the more we became a travel group. For the journey to Akkalkot, Santosh, Srinivas’ friend from Hyderabad was especially important, since he has been already in Akkalkot several times and he speaks Kannada language spoken mainly there, while Marathi is the official language in this area. But during the journey, we came to know a new side of Santosh. He showed pictures and we came to know that, besides being an IT person in business, he is a priest in a cave temple in Hyderabad area, from the SriPada Anugraha Temples Seva Trust, where Sri Narasimha Saraswati had once meditated for a day and met the king of the area there.

I was astonished and felt reminded of H.P. Blavatsky’s book “From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan” (free e-book), about her journeys through India, often with a small travel group, to which belonged Gulab-Lal-Singh, a Thâkur from Rajasthan, who is no other than Master Morya. (In the 1990s, I had translated large parts of the fascinating book into German for a group.) Now, we were travelling on similar paths.

Akkalot is a little town where Swami Samarth, also called Akkalkot Maharaj, the 3rd incarnation of Lord Dattatreya in Kali Yuga, had lived from 1856 – 1878, Akkalkot being the place of his Samadhi, where he had left his body. (More about Swami Samarth, a biography and a story of early theosophists coming to this place in the 19th century already.)

In the late afternoon, we arrived at Akkalkot, a town in Maharashtra, where we stayed in the house where Cholappa had lived in the second half of the 19th century, now being a pilgrims hostel. Cholappa was the favorite disciple of Akkalkot Maharaj, Swami Samarth.

It was Cholappa who “discovered” Swami Samarth in 1858, realizing that he was an extraordinary divine incarnation though from the outside, he looked like a naked lunatic sitting on a heap of garbage. Swami Samarth stayed in Akkalkot for about 22 year until entering samadhi in 1878. Still today, his presence is felt strongly there. The present owner, Dhanandjay Nandkumar Pujari, belongs to the 15th generation from Cholappa. In the entrance hall of the house, there was a huge painting showing Swami Samarth.

In the evening we went to Shri Vatavruksha Swami Maharaj Devasthan, a temple in the town dedicated to Swami Samarth. A big crowd slowly advanced into the temple where a ceremony was conducted. We saw different objects like a bed, sandals, and a staff of Swami Samarth and other objects.

Priests carried around a statue of Swami, while the crowd of people was ecstatically chanting. Flowers were showered over the bier with the statue – a very emotionally and devotionally charged atmosphere.

Later, we were in a house with a huge hall, (use a browser with automatic translation) where great masses of pilgrims were given free and tasty meals (location on Google maps).

Next morning, we set out walking barefooted to a temple related to Swami Samarth’s samadhi, about 3-400m walk. Like at the previous temples visited, I had to put on a dhoti (Indian garment for men) with no shirt. Inside the temple, different groups of people were sitting together with priests who conducted rituals with little statues of Swami Samarth. Our priest was the head (owner) of the Pilgrims’ Lodge where we had stayed overnight. Under singing various mantric chants, the priest washed the statue with water, milk, curd, adding kumkum (red powder), sugar, and then washing all off again. Then, the statue was dried and clothed with colourful shawls and decorated with many flowers. At the end, we entered a small room at the inner of the temple and received blessings.

The fee charged for each one of us was a bit a surprise. The other places we had visited were less commercial or not commercial at all. But it was a long ritual.

Afterwards, we were shown in a side-building different objects related to Swami Samarth – a staff of Swami Samarth and a bed – and then we walked back to the lodge. From there, we set out for the next part of the journey, Maniknagar and back to Hyderabad.

The path of Aquarius is mysterious. It demands enquiry and intense search into the occult for lifting veil after veil. Unfolding concept after concept to realise that we are ourselves just a concept of THAT. Aquarius demands the letting go of concepts and the free flow of energies in all directions. We learn to BE and yet experience all states of consciousness simultaneously.

The 15 Images of Synthesis for the month of Aquarius illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Aquarius paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

Journey Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Summary: Gangapur – Kadaganchi – Ladchincholi

From Kuruvapur, we continued our journey to Gangapur, the place where Narasimha Saraswati, the second incarnation of Dattatreya in Kali Yuga, the present dark age, had stayed for a number of years in the 15th century AD.
We stayed overnight in the Avadhoota Ashram, a beautiful and serene place on the banks of the Bhima river.

At the reception, a young man gave me a warm welcome: “Namaskarams Master, we have met at May Call 2022 in Bengaluru, with Master KPK.” Manu is living in Gangapur and doing volunteer service at the reception of the Ashram.

We had a hearty exchange and together with Karin and Katrin, we gathered in his Manu’s room for evening meditation.
Next morning, 24 December, we went to the Narasimha Theerta, at the confluence of the Bhima and Amaraja river, where Narasimha Saraswati had meditated for a longer time. He used to regularly walk along the Bhima river from Gangapur to this place and impregnated it with his energy.

Together with other pilgrims, we took a bath in the river greeting the morning sun. There is an old Audumbara tree, a sacred fig tree, which is a sprout of the tree under which Narasimha Saraswathi used to meditate. The pilgrims walk around the tree and chant mantrams – a mystical ambiance. We later returned to the Avadhoota Ashram.

Next to the ashram, there is a garden at the river with a greater number of pillars open towards the sky to receive energies. The pillars are arranged in a structure of the Sri Yantra, related to the divine Mother aspect and they are meant to receive the energies of the Mother.

Later, Manu guided me to a big hall, where a big box contained booklets full of hand-written mantrams of the Divine mother to anchor the energy. There were beautiful big stone statues of different forms of the Divine Mother and 10 metal statues of the Dasa Mahavidyas, 10 forms of the Divine Mother arranged in a semi-circle.

Manu explained that they are arranged as complementary energies. He much meditated on their symbolism and explained it to me showing parallels to the Mystic Mantrams of Master CVV. I felt a sublime divine presence.

Before leaving, I had a short talk with the head of the ashram, the son of the founder, a young man of vibrant energy.

We continued our journey and stopped in a small village, Kadganchi, with a special old Datta temple, Shree Sayandeo Datta Mandir. Inside, there were many people singing devotional hymns to Lord Dattatreya.

A man guided us into the basement of a house in the neighborhood with a cave-like room. There, a man, Sayandeo had received via intuitive impression the Guru Charitra, the biography of Narasimha Saraswathi about 100 years after the latter’s leaving Gangapur at the age of about 78.

The Guru Charitra contains a short story of the life of Sripada Srivallabha (1320 – 1353 AD) in the first 5 chapters, the only information about him for centuries, kept in the awareness of the people in central India, until in 2001, the biography of Sripada was published in Telugu and then many other languages.

We continued our journey and stopped in other village (Ladchincholi) , where from 1908 – 1973 lived Sridhara, a saint who was a reincarnation of the second eldest brother of Sripada, whose incarnation was already announced in the Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam, the biography of Sripada (chap. 9, 10, 41).

Ramaraja Sarma, second eldest brother of Sripada, born lame, was healed by Sripada; he became famous in his next incarnation as Avadhuta Sridhara, as a partial manifestation of Dattatreya (chap. 9, 11, 41). As said in the Sripada biography, a disciple of Sridhara, Sri Sajjanagada Ramaswamy, later founded the Mahasamsthan temple at the birthplace of Sripada in Pithapuram.

From there, we continued our journey to Akkalkot.

Journey Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 11, Summary: Mathangoud – Panchadev Pahad – Kuruvapur.

Next day, 22 Dec. towards noon, our friend Srinivas arrived at Divya Kalanjali together with his friend Santosh, to complete our travel group for the first part of the pilgrimage.

Srinivas is from New Jersey, USA, but is Indian by origin origin. He helped me much with the translation of the Sripada biography and also organised the first part of our pilgrimage tour. His friend Santosh comes from Hyderabad, and on the tour, we quickly also became good friends. Both are deeply linked to Lord Dattatreya and provided very good background information of the “how to” of the journey. Srinivas is a good driver and had rent the car. He drove good, as fast as the road allowed.

The first stop was Mathangoud, a very special and little known place where a miracle related to Sripada had happened during his incarnation in the 14th century. – Three robbers accompanied by a colleague beheaded a man at that place but when he remembered Sripada, the latter manifested, killed the robbers and put back the head of the man who came back to life. (See the Sripada biography, chap. 18, story of Vallabhesa).
A yogi later had traced inwardly this place in the 20th century and meditated there for long times in solitude, and then this little temple developed in the last decades. There is a group of huge rocks standing in the flat countryside surrounding a cave temple. And there was a very pure, serene ambiance, and the divine presence at this place touched us profoundly.

From there, we continued to Panchadev Pahad, the Sripada Chaya Ashrama, where we wanted to stay overnight.

Inside the ashram hall, there was continuous singing the name of Sripada and two priest conducting a fire ritual.

The sun was already slowly setting when we set over to the island of Kuruvapur in the Krishna river.

This time there were no more the coracles used for crossing like we had in 2017 but motorboats. In the river, I saw at some distance what I thought to be a branch of a tree. I only later came to know that there is a group of crocodiles near the island.

In the temple at the place where Sripada Srivallabha, the first avatar of Lord Dattatreya in Kali Yuga had lived and meditated for several years in the 14th century a group of about 50 people were chanting the name of Sripada. To enter the temple, the men had to put off shirts and shoes and put on Dhotis. Santosh gave me a dhoti and helped to put it on. Together with other pilgrims, we went into the innermost room of the temple while the priest was waving a camphor light giving us blessings. I again experienced the powerful divine presence which already had deeply touched me during my first visit in January 2017. We could not sit down but it was a trance-like experience in standing and with open eyes.

We stayed a while in the presence and then crossed again the river for spending the night in the ashram at Panchadev Pahad.

There was a beautiful sunrise in the morning when we again crossed over to the island. However, this morning there was no Sripada statue in the temple – preparations for some other ritual were going on. It was like experiencing the divine presence without a physical form. We stayed some time in the presence.

Several people came and wanted to take photos with me – Srinivas had informed them that I had translated the Sripada biography to German. In the book, 4th chapter, there is a story with a prophecy given by Sripada in the 14th century that in the future the book would be translated to German and to many other languages. So, people were interested in the fulfilment of this prophecy. For me, it was a strange feeling – the interest of the people in me was not me as a person but as a bridge to a miraculous prophecy of 700 years ago taking to manifestation now, as other prophecies in the Sripada biography had manifested in the past and are manifesting through his expression of divine Will.

Afterwards, we went to a nearby huge bayan tree and a small cave-house temple, where Vasudevanand Saraswati, (Tembe Swami) hat meditated a while my friends creeped in – I preferred to stay outside and absorb myself into the beauty and ambiance of the place and in observing the people around.

We then visited the Vittal Baba temple in Panchadev Pahad opposite of Kuruvapur at the Krishna river and then continued our journey, the next goal being Gangapur.

Journey Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Summary

The last days before the start of the journey to India were very intense. I was happy to finally close down the computer and to finish last details of packing very early morning. It was 20 December, the day before winter equinox, and there had been ice rain in the night. Luckily, I had covered the car windows the evening before, so that the ice could easily be removed.
My wife took me to the nearby railway station and we said good-bye – I won’t be online the first 11 days of the journey. In the train, people were on their way to work, and I on the way to Zurich airport. After arrival, the luggage was quickly checked in. When I was on the way to passport control, I took a shortcut. A lady in the 30th smiled to me saying, “I also thought of taking this shortcut but then took the longer way.” We met again in the queue and later at the dock of the Etihad flight to Doha.

We quickly started conversation. She was a Kundalini yoga teacher from Zurich going to a seminar on an island in Thailand and I told her that I was going on a pilgrimage to places of Lord Dattatreya in central India and a seminar on wisdom teachings in Visakhapatnam on the Bay of Bengal. She was from Albanian background, Muslim by origin but felt drawn to yoga. Her family of origin had let her go where she felt drawn to, being the youngest of the children. I enjoyed hearing this – spirituality makes rigid mental / emotional concepts porous and opens inlets for the light of the soul and new ways of life.

We spoke about this special combination in her spiritual background. She shared more about her search and how she had traveled with her husband in an old camping bus to Turkey and Syria, originally planning to go to Afghanistan a few years ago, dreaming that a day might come again to travel to India via land like it was possible some decades ago… Then, we exchanged the addresses of our websites, and our paths took again different directions in Doha.

The plane to Hyderabad was a little late, but this way, Karin and Katrin, my two travel companions from Germany, whose plane from Frankfurt was late, arrived in time. On the plane, we sat in different corners. I took a cinema journey to a distant future in another galaxy – diving into “Dune, part 2“. On my last journey to India a year ago, I had seen part 1. I only watch and enjoy movies while traveling.
We arrived early morning in Hyderabad. There was a long queue at immigration. Later, money change and taking a taxi. Vasishta from Divya Kalanjali, a WTT group of Hyderabad, gave directions to the taxi driver via phone.

We arrived at the WTT center during morning prayer / meditation, hearing “Namaskarams Master CVV” and were happy to sit down. Later, after breakfast, when I unpacked, I couldn’t find my spectacles. We searched everywhere, recapitulated every step, from the money change to the room – but we could not trace where the glasses had left nor the taxi driver find anything…. Luckily, a group member helped out with reading glasses from her late mom which worked fine for me…

We relaxed the rest of the day and met different families in Divya Kalanjali. They gave us a very warm welcome. It was like coming home, a soft landing in India.

Picture to the Month of Aquarius

The Indian Puranas describe musical intelligences which are called Gandharvas. They are supra-cosmic beings who are not bound to creation. They exist as musical movements in space and assist the work of creation. The music of the Gandharvas brings about the union of the souls with the Supersoul and bestows the bliss of liberation.

There is a royal Gandharva called Vena. He is poetically described as the essence of the Aquarian passage between apparent non-existence to apparent existence. Vena moves with ease between these two states like a spiritual and fiery river. This flow energy can also be described as a bridge going up to the highest and coming down from the highest. In us, the flow of the river Vena is located between the seventh and sixth chakras, i.e. the Sahasrara and Ajna.

The most important function of Vena is the neutralisation of binding karma. For this purpose, Master CVV gives the mystical mantra ‘Electric Hint’. It enters us like an electrical manifestation and then wipes off the images of the subconscious mind. For this purpose, the Master also gave the meditation 31 in the ‘Occult Meditations’:

“Vena, the Gandharva, is wiping off the pictures of the subconscious mind on the walls of my nature with the hieroglyphs of sound from his seven stringed lyre.” When we work with the sound key CVV, we can visualise how the energy of that Gandharva enters us from above our Sahasrara and fills all seven centres with the working of light and sound. This brings about purification and good changes within in us.

To illustrate the music of Vena, I used the picture of an angel playing music in a fragment of an altarpiece by Gherardo Starnina, painted between 1400 and 1410 A.D. A female angelic figure plays a harp, and the vibrations of the music travel in circles through space. Visualisations of the supra-cosmic plane are always only poetic approximations.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Aquarius illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Aquarius paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

The Sun in Capricorn sends very special rays that help us make our mind transparent. A pure mind is the basis for receiving the Super-soul.

The 15 Images of Synthesis for the month of Capricorn illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Capricorn paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

Picture to the Month of Capricorn

The birth of a universe is like a small wave on the surface of the Absolute. By its nature, the wave is but the sea in a different state. It is the beginning of a new creation, with the Absolute acting as the Creator. “The will to create” allows the first wave to emerge. This wave represents the beginning of a new cycle, the dawn of a new creation.

Capricorn stands for the beginning of new things – for the morning awakening, the dawn of the solar year and also for the dawn of larger systems. Creation also has its dawn, which can be compared to the emergence of a wave. The beginning is like the point or source from which various circles emerge.

From the deep blue of the night, all colours slowly emerge with the light of the sun. The sunlight dispels the night’s darkness. The colour orange precedes the dawn’s light of the sun, only after comes the light of the sun. The radiant orange is revered by all those who seek wisdom. It stands for the awakening of consciousness.

In the centre of the picture you can see a wave and behind, the sun rising out of the ocean. Circular rings spread out from the one wave, just as all subsequent effects arise from the first cause.

For the design of the picture I used elements of earlier pictures and a photo of a wave taken early one morning in Visakhapatnam on the Bay of Bengal.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Capricorn illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Capricorn paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

3 weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a priest of the Mahasamsthanam, the temple at the birth place of Sripada Srivallabha in Pithapuram, India. Sripada is the first avatar of Lord Dattatreya in this time, called the dark age.
The priest wrote that in the biography of Sripada, the “Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam“, written in mid-14th century AD, there is a mention of a prophecy that the book will be translated into German language in the future.
He had come to know that I had done this German translation.

He mentioned that the temple team is now collecting proofs of “what has happened as said by Sripada swamy in the Charitramrutha”. He further mentioned that “some people are creating some disturbances about Charitramrutha”, and he asked me to connect with him.

Beginning of December, we had a Zoom call. I invited my friend Srikanth from California, for a better understanding of the matter, and he also speaks Telugu.
In the talk, I came to know that in Bharat (another name of India) the government is now putting the Hindu temples under their rule and protection, with the idea of protecting the old Hindu culture from foreign influences.
Some political groups promote this. Muslim mosques and also non-orthodox Indian temples are not seen as coming under the protection of the Indian government and thus, are perceived as “foreign”.
And this goes also for the Mahasamsthanam and the book Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam, which people consider as a fake and not Vedic / Hindu culture, since the Telugu version only came to light in 2001, after having been kept secret for 33 generations.

The temple team now wants to submit proof that the book and the prophecies contained therein are a genuine revelation by collecting proofs and submitting them to a committe of the religious authority of the Hindu religious centre of Vedic learning Kanchi in Tamil Nadu to help them gain the government acceptance. The German version is of special interest for them, since it was was published in 2016 – no one could know in earlier times that this would happen – the Telugu book came out in 2001. So the German version is considered a proof of the genuine truth of the Sripada biography.
It is planned to prepare a room at the Mahasamsthanam containing the proofs. For this, they would like to have a copy of the German Charitamrutam and a video.
I have one last free copy from the book publication and said that I will send it to the temple when coming to India end of the year.

I asked the priest what they want from the video. The priest told me:

“I want you to include how your experience of writing Sripada Srivallabha Charitramrutha. Include what experience and miracles you had with Sripada Srivallabha swamy.”
I witnessed a number of mysterious things which happened while translating the book and beyond. So I created the following video last Thursday, 12 December 24; it was edited by a friend in Spain yesterday night (I informed the priest late last night). And it is published today, on the birthday of Lord Dattatreya, “Dattatreya Jayanti”, here in the blog and on YouTube. You can also download it here.

In the video, I also speak about how Master KPK / Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar supported the work very much, how a 5 languages website of the World Teacher Trust (WTT) on Sripada and Lord Dattatreya has been published in 2016 and how now the book has been published by WTT in 4 languages, besides German an edited English version and, on this basis, Spanish and French versions.

The video is called “The Miraculous Birth of the German Sripada Srivallabha Charitamrutam” – and it was indeed miraculous how this work happened. Here you find the YouTube version

The Anima Channel has published a video interview on “The Mystery of Dattatreya” in May 2023, where we speak about how I came into contact with the theme of Lord Dattatreya beginning of the 1980s and with Sripada 10 years ago.