Damaddamaddamannināda — The thunderous beat of Shiva’s damaru from the Shiv Tandav Stotram still echoes within me. During my week at the Adhyatmik Sadhana Shivir in Swami Dayanand Ashram, Rishikesh, we recited it countless times. For many seekers, it was a tongue-twisting challenge; for me, it became a powerful soundscape — as though Ravana himself was invoking Shiva. In its rhythm, I was reminded that transformation often begins where comfort ends.
A week can sometimes feel like a lifetime — especially when it changes you from within. Just days ago, I thought waking up at 4:30 AM was impossible. Today, I long for those temple bells.
I returned from this retreat with a heart heavier than I could have imagined. Saying goodbye after those seven days was one of the hardest things I’ve done in recent times.
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The Awakening
Every morning began with the Ganga flowing silently outside my window and temple bells calling us to prayer. The ashram itself was a gift — right on the banks of the river, yet away from the bustle of crowded ghats. It sits perfectly positioned—close enough to hear the river's ancient whispers, far enough to find real silence. A perfect setting for stillness. What began as dreaded early mornings became the moments I cherished most: waking before dawn, joining the temple aarti, partaking in the simple yet soul-nourishing prasadam, and sinking into meditation.
🐚The
Conch Moment
If the mornings awakened me, the evenings gave me my defining moment. All my life, I had never been able to blow a conch. Not once. On the second evening, after endless trials and failed attempts, something shifted. A sound finally emerged — not just from the conch, but from deep within. In that moment, a lifetime of self-doubt seemed to dissolve into divine possibility, carried away by the Ganga’s flow. It became my moment of self-actualization — my own little nirvana. Fellow seekers soon began waiting for me at every aarti, morning and evening, to hear the sound. Their encouragement filled me with a quiet joy I still struggle to describe. Such a simple act, and yet, it became my spiritual awakening.
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The Food Revelation
Meals were served with clockwork precision at 12:30 PM and 7:30 PM - plain dal, rice, and vegetables. Back home I would have dismissed such food as “ungainly” and chosen hunger over blandness. And yet, to my own astonishment, I began to crave it! The absence of masalas (spices) felt like the presence of something far deeper — the strength to embrace the unthinkable. What I once rejected became nourishment for both body and spirit.
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Sacred Studies
The sessions on the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the chanting of the Shiv Tandav Stotram were blissful — infusing my heart with clarity, strength, resilience and an unexpected stillness. Free afternoons walking by the river and exploring quiet ghats became instant sources of rejuvenation — as if ancient wisdom quietly met modern confusion. And there, by the river’s edge, certain things began to make sense in ways they never had before.
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Ganesh Chaturthi Magic
On August 27th, the ashram celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with a devotion I had never witnessed before. Lord Ganesha bathed in water, milk, ghee, honey, sandalwood paste — rituals performed with such reverence that the Maharashtra in me was deeply moved by this sacred spectacle unfolding by the holy Ganga. Ancient traditions meeting timeless devotion created moments of pure divine connection that will remain etched in my heart.
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The Serendipitous Journey
If the ashram gave discipline, the free day gave discovery. We were warned not to venture out, let alone cover 225+ kilometres in a day — the monsoon was unforgiving, landslides were common, the Ganga was flowing above danger levels. Yet, with a friend, I trusted instinct over fear, and we set out. What followed was one of the most serene adventures of my life — through Vasishtha Ashram, Devprayag, and Tehri Dam. Each place left its quiet imprint, teaching me that sometimes the most beautiful discoveries happen when you choose faith over caution.
They say the Ganga doesn't just flow through the mountains—it flows through you.
Seven days ago, I arrived seeking a pause in transition. I leave with something far greater: the realization that transformation isn’t always about strategy or planning. Sometimes it comes in surrendering to 4:30 AM bells, in finally blowing a conch after a lifetime of trying, in discovering that the simplest food can nourish the deepest hungers, and in witnessing divine celebrations that touch your very soul.
This one week taught me that transformation doesn’t always come from grand designs. Sometimes it comes from discipline, surrender, and the courage to step into the unfamiliar.
The hardest part wasn't adapting to ashram life—it was saying goodbye.
I return to the so-called ‘real world’ — but carrying something eternal within, held with gratitude. 🙏
#Rishikesh
#Spirituality #Transformation #PersonalGrowth #Mindfulness #InnerJourney
#Leadership #Vedanta #SelfDiscovery #Gratitude #GaneshChaturthi #BhagavadGita
#Ganga
