We got up early in the morning and went to the banks of
Ganga. The
devotees chanted Vishnusahasranaam. The sun rise from behind the
mountains, the sound of Ganga flowing mixed with the melodious
chanting of Vishnusahasranaam was enchanting.
It was the day of Nirjala Ekadasi. As we are not used to it, we
were served some snacks at the ashram. We had satsangh with
Swami Premanandaji Maharaj. Raghavji asked the Swamiji to give us
a message. Swamiji said "Be thankful to the Lord for whatever
that happens in life. It is by His will and judgement that things
happen. Don't complaint against or reject His will." He took some
annaprasad of Puri Jagannathji and gave to Radhakrishnanji. He
asked Radhakrishnanji to eat it. He ate it. Swamiji said, "See,
today is Ekadasi. But he did not think, 'Why is Swamiji doing a
foolish thing? Today is Ekadasi and still he is asking me to
eat rice. I will not eat it.' He thought, 'Swamiji knows today
is Ekadasi. Still he is asking me to eat this. So it must be fine
to eat it.' This should be your attitude. You should rely on the
judgement of God.
He also said that it is the Lord who has become everything in the
world. Learn to see the Lord everywhere. At the same time, use
your intelligence also. He told the story of the Elephant God and
the Mahout God.
We took leave of Swamiji and visited the Vishwanath temple at
Uttarkashi. There was a huge trident, which was supposed to have
been used by Shiva.
Then we went towards Yamunotri. We reached Hanuman Chatti at night.