A visit to Pashupatinath

by Ulla Bernholdt

Visiting Pashupatinath in Kathmandu leaves you in awe.  

It is a high-frequency energy centre where life and death, the past and the present meet, and miracles happen.

I would like to share with you an experience of how the grace of Mohanji saved me from taking another birth.

We often hear Mohanji say that people who are connected to a true Master can feel a certain intensity in their lives because the Master is reducing the number of lifetimes. What was supposed to be experienced over many lives gets reduced to only a few but more intense lives. 

Mohanji teaches us that a strong emotion connected to an experience leaves an imprint on us, which calls for us to take another incarnation for the fulfilment of a desire. 

In January 2022, my dear friend Gurudatta and I went to Nepal to do Annadan. In Kathmandu, we visited the Pashupatinath temple area, which is a huge temple complex. It has 492 temples and ashrams and also serves as a cremation ground on the ghats of the Bagmati River.  

Pashupatinath is considered one of the most sacred Hindu temples of Nepal dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is the 13th Jyotirlinga, and people would come from the whole Indian continent and beyond to visit and worship the ‘Lord of the Creatures’. 

When I arrived, I felt a deep desire to enter the main temple despite not knowing anything about the place. But I couldn’t fulfil the urge; I was denied access because Pashupati’s main temple is strictly prohibited for foreigners. You must have a certificate to prove your Hindu status if you look like a foreigner.

So, an armed police officer stopped me at the entrance asking if I was a Hindu. I am not religious in a traditional way. Still, the Hindu philosophy, following Sanatana Dharma principles and the liberation aspect of Hinduism is what come the closest to my own understanding and my experiences. This is why I told the guard I am a Hindu. But there was no way I could convince him, having a white complexion and no written proof. “You must go and talk with the people at the Sanskrit office”, he said, “they will explain.”

In the office, they said I had to be not only a Hindu but a Hindu by birth. Then they gave some examples of celebrities who had been denied access, such as Sonia Gandhi, the wife of the then Indian Prime Minister. 

The officer then told me that there was only one way I could attain eligibility to enter the main temple. That would be if my desire was strong enough so that I would be born again as a Hindu in Pashupatinath.

I was very disappointed, and inside I was crying because I could not enter the temple. At that point in time, even I could not understand myself. Where did this deep craving come from to visit a temple I had never heard of before?

Outside, youngsters were recording TikTok videos with the temple as a backdrop. Still feeling sad, I tried to see the positive side of the situation and concluded that I was indeed blessed to be born a westerner. Now, I have the capacity to travel to Nepal, do service and represent our Tradition. What if I were born again in Pashupatinath and I only cared about taking selfies like those young people? 

Nothing is given to us just by taking another birth at Pashupatinath; what if my level of awareness would be lesser, and I would forget my purpose? Indeed, we cannot be sure of getting the same beneficial circumstances that would make us crave for God and realisation. I do not wish to take an additional lifetime to go to one temple. And besides that, Shiva is omnipresent, so I don’t need to look for him in a temple! 

All these things I would try to convince myself. But the fact is after six months had passed, I still carried a very strong craving to visit the main Pashupatinath temple. Even though I knew it was impossible, I still hoped that someday I could enter. Every time I thought of the place, I would become very emotional, yearning to go there. 

I now went to Nepal a second time, and though I knew it would take a miracle for me to enter Pashupatinath, I could not give up my strong desire to enter the inner court and at least touch the temple. 

One day, I went to the temple market to purchase rudraksha malas and some gifts for my friends. Without even having planned it, I was drawn to the main gate of the temple, where an armed police officer was on guard. Spontaneously I approached him, thinking that I could at least try to enter.  

Again, I was asked to prove my status as a Hindu. “Where is your Hindu card?” The guard asked. Of course, I did not have such a card, but it came to my mind to show him the only cards I had; my Acharya visiting card and a Mohanji card. After an explanation about my connection to Mohanji, he accepted, and I was granted access to go through the first gate! 

I was stunned, thinking that only Mohanji could open the sealed doors for me. Confident that Mohanji could grant me access, I approached the next checkpoint. 

At the final gate, the procedure was the same. Again I was accepted by showing Mohanji’s photo on the card as an admission ticket!

Now finally, I could enter the courtyard and touch the temple! It was such an overwhelmingly happy experience to me, so fulfilling. The temple was not open, so I decided I would do three rounds of circumambulation, and I prostrated at every doorstep. At the end of the 3rd round, the big boss policeman came and threw me out of the premises saying foreigners were not allowed. I could do nothing about it, but I was feeling so happy now my mission was accomplished. 

This experience shows that Mohanji and his blessings are always with us and can take away any blockage in our life if we are eligible. We don’t know if we are eligible before we try. Mohanji knows what prevents us from going forward, and he does everything possible to fulfil our desires in this life to save us from taking additional births. He never postpones; he does his job even if it takes a miracle for us to reach completion.

Just as I end this story, I found an article in the Speaking Tree regarding visiting Pashupatinath:

The temple is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva) on the continent. In the past times, only born Hindus were allowed to enter the temple. Others could look at it from the other side of the river. However, the norms have been relaxed due to many incidents. If the individual is destined, they take and complete the journey to reach these footsteps without any resistance or obstructions along the way, under Rudra’s loving grace. It is the final stage of harsh penance. Thus, the slave (pasu – the human condition) becomes the Master (pati – the divine condition).

https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/about-famous-temple-pashupatinath-temple/128026

I offer my sincere gratitude to my Master Mohanji, who is the epitome of compassion and unconditional love. May I grow to be as selfless as you, dear Mohanji and serve the world! 

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 20^th October 2022

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