My Nonprofit Reviews

Bhrigu Pariwar retreat 2017 - 10 day Alaska Cruise
Every year for the past 6 years Guruji, GuruMa and devotees of Shree Maharishi Bhrigu Ashram of Irvine California, plan a trip to India to visit Shree Bhramjyoti GuruMa (Babaji) at the Bhrigu ashram in Haridwar. Maharishi Bhrigu sent Guruji and GuruMa to meet Babaji in Haridwar in November of 2008 through Kakabhushundi Adesh. It was said at that time that Babaji would transfer her Shakti to Guruji and GuruMa. That happened last month.
As per Bhriguji‘s adesh the year 2017 was to go on a cruise to Alaska. The retreat was 3 days on land and 7 days at sea.
3 days on land:
The 3 days on land were spent in Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali and onward to Seward where we boarded the ship for the 7 days at the sea portion.
While in Anchorage we visited the Portage Glacier which is the crown jewel in a valley studded with alpine glaciers. The Portage Valley was literally shaped by glaciers with the majestic lakes formed by the melting Portage Glacier. Some of us took a boat to see the Portage Glacier up-close.
Next day we boarded a bus to catch the 12.00 pm Wilderness Express, a glass domed train to Denali from Talkeetna. This was a 4 hour train ride which was absolutely spectacular with breath taking views of the landscape of Alaskan beauty with waterfalls, lakes, rivers running amongst rugged tall mountains not to mention wildlife like bears and Moose tucked away in the mountains. We reached Denali at 5.30 pm. Our hotel was in the most gorgeous setting. There were no other hotels for miles on end besides ours. We had the running river as our view from the hotel room.
Guruji conducted daily morning Vishnu Sahastra naam, aarti and a mini satsang and evening aarti and mini satsang. In Denali our evening and morning prayers were done by the river bank. It was simply divine. It was an early start the next day with an incredible Denali National History tour where we saw the majestic Denali glacier due to the day being beautifully clear and sunny. Only 25% of the tourists ever get a glimpse of the Denali Glacier.
In Sunday Bhrigu Vani it came periodically that on -3rd, 5th and 7th day we will have a divine experience.
I would definitely say that the 3rd day divine experience was the glimpse of the Denali Glacier. With Bhriguji’s krupa we were amongst that 25%. We also had darshan of 4 ravens flying above our bus and then sitting down on hill showing the presence of Maharishis blessings.
We returned to Talkeetna that evening and took a 1 hr 45 min boating excursion in one of the many Talkeetna Rivers. Next morning after the daily satsang we were on our way back to Anchorage via the Alaska’s wildlife Conservation Center and onward to the historic town of Seward to board our ship - the Celebrity Millennium for 7 days at sea. All were excited at the sight of our ship.
7 days at Sea:
We were all settled in our cabins and after the evening satsang preceded for dinner at one of the restaurants on the ship. One of the chef’s on board took care of all our Indian meals. He cooked variety of wholesome vegetarian meals. Bhriguji was taking care of all the fine details.
The second day was spent at sea. We were all excited at the prospect of seeing up close the gigantic Hubbard Glacier, North America's largest tidewater glacier. It is 1350 square miles of blue ice and one of the most active in Alaska. My favorite part of the day at sea was just huddling around Guruji and Guruma for the whole day where we had satsang in a question/answer format. We had Guruji and Guruma all to ourselves something that is very rare. I enjoyed every second of it. There were so many things that were going on- on the ship however I was completely content as everything I wanted was right with me (Guruji and Guruma).
The next day was at port. We were in Juneau. This was indeed an amazing day. This day was certainly my favorite of the whole trip. We took an excursion to the Mendenhall Glacier. We did a native-style canoe paddle across Mendenhall Lake. The lake was calm, serene and scattered with icebergs. We were surrounded by beautiful views of the glacier from the water. The whole atmosphere felt very spiritual – all the while during paddling I was chanting Om shree Bhriguve Namah. Once we reached the Glacier we had to carry our boat out of the water and on to the land. There was a treacherous hike ahead of us to the Glacier which with Bhriguji’s Kripa we were able to do effortlessly. We proceeded on to walking towards the glacier and went under the glacier caves and proceeded to climb on top of the Mendenhall Glacier.

The Bhrigu Pariwar had 2 groups taking this excursion. Guruji and Guruma with 7 others were in one group and there were 10 of us in the other group. Guruji’s group had started and hour and a half ahead of us. Earlier in the year Bhriguji’s adesh had stated that all the devotees going on the Mendenhall Glacier will be together. We 2 groups spit up and Guruji’s group leaving well ahead of ours it did not seem possible that we would meet up. However, the adesh was completely true as when we reached the top of the Glacier we met up with Guruji’s group. It was divine. This I would class as the 5th day divine experience as we had Darshan of the ice formed in shape of Shivlinga with "Jenau"marks and also meeting up with Guruji and Guruma at the top of the glacier. We than continued on and explored the deep blue glacial pools and crevasses. It had stunning views and an unforgettable environment.

Next port for the ship was Skagway. Skagway is all of one street long. It is full of diamond and few other historic shops. Here we took a sightseeing excursion on a historic White Pass and Yukon route railway. This was a 40-mile round trip on a narrow gauge railroad that was built in 1898. The vintage passenger car took us 3000 feet in cliff-hanging turns and twists through two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. There were incredible views of glaciers, gorges and cascading waterfalls. As we were enjoying the beautiful scenic views all the while the guide was reliving the tales of the gold rush and the building of the railway. Guruji recited the morning Vishnu Sahastra naam, aarti and a mini satsang while on board the vintage train. We were at 3000 ft and saw a huge rainbow shining on top of an emerald green lake as if the maharishi’s were smiling upon us – This experience I would class as the 7th day divine experience that repeatedly came in Sunday Bhrigu readings.
Ketchikan was our next stop. While in Ketchikan we took a Misty Fjords flight seeing tour. There were 6 passengers per each sea plane. This was a 1.5 hour tour that flies over some of the most beautiful scenic sights into the heart of the Misty Fjords National Monument. The pilot had provided us with the head sets to point out some sights of interest. While on the plane we saw some wild birds and bears.
We had our next day at sea. This day was spent with Guruji and Guruma sparkling satsang in question answer session. Each day evenings were spent going to see the shows that were presented on the ship all the while having delicious Indian and other cuisines on board the ship.
Sadly our sailing came to an end as the ship arrived at Vancouver. We spent 3 further days exploring Vancouver. We celebrated the important day of Guru Purnima in Vancouver by conducting Guruji and Guruma’s Paad Puja. It was amazing how all the devotees were able to gather all the required items to conduct the Paad Puja in a hotel room.
We spent 13 glorious days in company of Guruji, Guruma and the ashram devotees.
Guruji has always emphasized the importance of the daily practice of the Guru given Geet Divya Kriya meditation. For the past year and all throughout the retreat Guruji had an added emphasis on the daily practice of meditation. This is simply because it is that much easier for a practicing devotee to apply the teachings from Guruji’s satsangs. A meditating devotee will have awakened the Guru within and a silent voice of his/her Guru will keep the devotee calm, level headed and decisive in adverse circumstance. The devotee will begin to be aware of his/her every action, such as when ego creeps up, the feeling of I, Me and Mine creeps up he/she will stop, self examine and eradicate such feelings. A meditating devotee will begin to see the inner Guru/God in everyone. A meditating devotee will be less attached to the worldly things and start detaching from people too. A meditating devotee is completely content being happy with inner joy rather that looking for joy in the outside world. A meditating devotee will conduct daily swadhyay – self study to begin small steps for the journey home.
Guruji and GuruMa I am “forever at your lotus feet”. Thank you for coming into my life and making me realize the true meaning of this human birth.