Insights from a VIP Sadhu

On the compound next to Yoga Niketan, right above the gorge of the Ganga, three sadhus were living in simple huts. One of those sadhus sat the whole day on his tiny veranda and devotedly scribbled into a big book placed on a wooden stand before him. Two more big books were spread out near him. He translated the Yoga Vashishtha into English using both the Hindi and Sanskrit versions for reference. The Yoga Vashishtha is an ancient teaching, which the guru Vashishtha imparted to Ram, the prince of Ayodhya, when he came back from a pilgrimage and had lost all interest in worldly life.
Prior to my trek to Gomukh, James, an American, who also lived in Yoga Niketan and daily visited the sadhu, had taken me along and introduced me to him.
Meanwhile James had left; and I went alone to Brahma Chaitanya or BC, as the sadhu was called. He was an impressive, powerful character in his late fifties, tall and strong, his matted hair so long, that he could use it as a cushion, his laughter louder than even the roar of the Ganga and his eyes sparkling with humour and charm. He was quite naturally a VIP among the sadhus and the president of the sadhu community in Gangotri. As he came from a wealthy family and had been an engineer, confident behaviour and commanding authority came easily to him and this self-assured conduct stayed with him as a sadhu.

Early in life, he became interested in spirituality, read a lot and practised pranayama, but he was young and did not want to be celibate. So, he married and had two children.
When he was in his late thirties, he however had enough of family life and, one fine day, left his wife and teenaged sons. He had thought about it for a long time and had tested himself, he explained. Then he was sure. He wanted to become a sadhu.
However, his wife traced him in Uttarkashi and was adamant that he came back home with her to sort out some inheritance issue. He yielded. Yet soon after, he left his family for good. His wife discovered him in Gangotri, too, but now she respected his wish.

He told me, what happened, when he begged for the first time:
It was in Haridwar. He still had a few hundred Rupees in his pocket, but now wanted to start his new life – without the safety net of a bank account and with full trust in providence. He stretched out his hand towards an elderly gentleman. As a reaction, he did not get any alms but a furious rebuke. “You should be ashamed, young man! Go to one of the ashrams which offer free food for sadhus!”
The newly baked sadhu was greatly annoyed, went straight into a restaurant and ordered a meal. Then he checked into a hotel. In the night, his conscience troubled him. “So quickly am I offended? Only because of a passing remark?”
Next morning, he gifted his travel case to a boy in the hotel and threw the rest of his money into the Ganges. “I now fully belong to you. You have to look after me now”, he told his Ganga Ma. From then on, he did not face any problems. He went to the centres, which served food to sadhus. He specifically mentioned that he joined the queue like everyone else.

The talks with him were highly interesting and he had, unexpectedly, an exquisite library in his hut – books by ancient and modern Indian and even Chinese masters, and by Zen- and Tibetan Buddhists.
Our conversations in the afternoon became routine and I looked forward to them. Afterwards he often dived into his hut and came back with a book in his hand. The first book he gave me to read was “Jnana Yoga” by Swami Vivekananda. It was that very first book that I had bought in Kanyakumari at the Vivekananda Memorial. Strangely, now it did not touch me so much anymore. Books like the “Shiva Sutras” or the “Spanda Karika” about the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, which flourished in Kashmir in the 11th century, I found now more appealing and enjoyed studying those texts in the beautiful surroundings at the height of over 3000 meters with snow-capped mountains standing guard.

BC made fun of the important looking, but unnecessary activities in the world and advised me, “Turn inward. You will enjoy it.” He handed me a poem of Chuang Tzu, a Chinese master, who had quite accurately described the ‘Active Life’ already over 2000 years ago:
“What would become of business without a market of fools? What would become of labour, if there were no superfluous objects to be made?” he asked for example already at that time. And his ironic advice: “Produce! Get results! Make money! Make friends! Make changes! Or you will die of despair!”

On BC’s advice, I bought a mala, a kind of rosary, made from 108 beads from the sacred Rudraksha tree in one of the shops near the temple and sat for hours on my bed repeating mantras. I was generally feeling well and when I woke up at night, I heard the mantra repeating itself. Yet sometimes I also felt heavy and down. How would my life go on?

One day BC suggested, “Now I will cure you from feeling small and unwell.” Then he asked, while pointing around himself with a sweeping gesture of his hand, “Whose world is this? Yours or mine?” And he answered himself, “Mine! You appear in it. In the same way is everything what you perceive your world. Everything in your world is there to help you. My world is different. You are alone. Nobody influences you.”
On one hand, he was right, but only on one hand, as everything that is put in words touches only one aspect of the truth. Certainly, no sentence can hold the truth.
Later, when he talked about virtual reality and informatics, he suddenly declared: “We all are only mechanic robots.” He mentioned scientific research, which claims that emotions depend on genes, hormones and so on. For example, the attraction between man and woman is based on testosterone and estrogen. “It just happens. You don’t have a part in it. You simply watch. Don’t get involved in what happens”, he advised.

I remembered that I had brought a bar of chocolate for him. “Do you eat chocolate?” I asked. Because sometimes he looked very holy, for example said, that he does not like conversing on worldly topics, and I considered it possible that he had renounced such worldly pleasures. “Yes, of course I eat chocolate”, he immediately replied.
He told me that once an American accused him of wasting his talent. “You should give lectures in the West”, he had said. BC answered him, “I have here everything I need. I get daily two meals.”
“Meals okay. But if you want chocolate, you have to do something for it”, the American had replied.
“Look! I even get chocolate!” he exclaimed and once again burst into roaring laughter.

BC was nice to me. He did not like to talk to other sadhus, because they were not really interested in spirituality, he said. “Most of them are sexually frustrated and some even keep women. They give an excuse by saying that the ancient rishis also had women.” He suddenly became loud and thundered, “If someone has not finished with his sex drive, he has no place here.”
“Do you shout at me?” I asked.
“No, never”, he suddenly became quiet, friendly, explaining. I felt that he might have shouted at himself. It probably was not always easy for him to stick to his vow of sexual abstinence.
“What happens if a sadhu breaks his vow of celibacy?” I asked and thought of the punishment, which in Buddhism was ordained for a monk – the expulsion from the monastery.
“Nothing happens. He falls, gets up and falls again.” He had made a slip of the tongue and hurriedly corrected himself, “and tries again.”

“Only few are really interested and do their work properly”, he said. “A doctor from Amma’s ashram, who runs up to Gangotri whenever Amma travels overseas, is one of them. He is genuine. A young woman is also genuine. She flew to Paris when she was 17 to learn fashion design. But this fancy world did not suit her. She informed her parents that she wanted to take sanyas. They were not pleased. They had money and wanted a comfortable life for their daughter. Yet she was determined and got her way. She lives now under very simple conditions here in Gangotri”, he said.
“You also belong to those who are genuine”, he flattered me and suggested to come earlier so that we had more time for our conversations, as he daily left at 4.30 in the afternoon for his food in an ashram.
I liked BC. He had those traits that I was lacking: strength, confidence and a loud voice. I had always been on the quiet, shy side and my voice does not become loud, even if I try.

“All spiritual seekers are unhappy”, BC declared out of the blue one day. “You, too”, he said and hit a tender spot. Was I happy? Not particularly, I had to admit. “They have the knowledge, but something holds them back”, he continued. “Be like a lion! Break free! What can the world give you? All faces are like in a movie. Don’t get entangled in the plot! When you die, the movie ends anyway. Throw the film roll away – now already! Throw out your thoughts! You are greater than the film, which consists of thoughts. Do your work well and sincerely. Let the others think what they want. Follow your conviction. Help is always available”, he encouraged me.

I sat either in front of my hut and studied ancient scriptures or inside and meditated. During the first few weeks in Gangotri, I made hardly any contact with others. It was an intense time, and it slowly became clearer to me what ‘pure awareness’ signifies.
“Look at those snow-capped peaks over there, but nevertheless stay with your awareness inside”, BC advised me. “Try to be aware of the unity behind the apparent duality – be aware of the white paper and also perceive the black print on it. Be attentive! Give your attention not mainly to the objects, but to attention itself”, he demanded. I tried it and got an idea what he meant.

Once he gave me the ‘Golden Letters’ by Garab Dorje, an ancient Tibetan master, after he had again dived into his hut. They were a treasure, like the Shiva Sutras, and I copied them by hand into my diary, because there was no copy machine in Gangotri.
The content of those letters is simple, yet very subtle. The main thing is to recognise that this fresh, immediate awareness of the present moment is the truth that is sought after. It is ever present – this ordinary, thought free awareness – now in this moment. Realise this ordinary awareness as your true nature and stay with it, because everything else, which means all appearances in this world, are only modifications of this basic awareness and therefore secondary.

BC shared my excitement regarding the Golden Letters. He suggested that during my next meditation I completely relax and then suddenly and loudly shout “Phat”. This would cause the pure awareness to rise up. In the evening, I tried it and it had a tremendous effect. It felt so beautiful that I didn’t want to move. Joy mixed with gratefulness. As if something had opened – an insight into my Self.
In the next morning a hint of bliss was still felt. Later it disappeared, yet now it was easier to discover it again. My own immediate, ever-present awareness had now become more familiar. I was sure that with time it would become dearer and dearer. I was grateful for this gift and better understood Ramana Maharshi’s saying: “You are always enlightened.” The true, inconceivable basis on which the mind builds its dreamlike castles is indeed always lovingly present.

BC suffered since long from back pain. One morning the pain became unbearable and he could not get out of bed. The doctor from Amma’s ashram advised him to go to the hospital in Rishikesh for a check-up and accompanied him.
When BC came back after a fortnight, he felt better and decided to stay in Gangotri for the winter as usual, even though everybody advised against it. It was only end of September and already ice-cold.

“Last year a Frenchman paid for my winter provisions”, he told me, and I knew why. I felt obliged.
“I will pay for it this year”, I offered. “How much is needed?”
“5000 Rupees are enough.”
I had not expected that much but had forgotten the cigarettes which he smoked one after the other.
Later I came to know that every November before the temple closes, a businessman from Punjab sends a truck with provisions up to Gangotri, which supplies the seven or eight sadhus who usually stay through the winter with their basic needs. BC had not given out this information. Yet I did not mind. He simply needed more than others. I was grateful, and money could not possibly compensate for what he had given me. Pure awareness as my own inner being had become more recognizable through the contact with him and his books.

Four years later, in August 2005, I went once again to Gangotri and looked forward to seeing BC.
“Brahma Chaitanya is no more”, the manager of Yoga Niketan informed me, even before he unlocked a hut for me. “He died completely unexpected last month in Delhi.”
I really felt sorry. He had been so full of strength and life. I did not understand how he could have gone to Delhi in the hottest season. He himself had told me that he would not leave Gangotri again. Only his ash would be carried down into the plains by his Ganga Ma.

I heard two versions why he went to Delhi in the peak of summer:
A well-known, ‘big’ Swami from Delhi wanted to meet him and sent two of his followers to Gangotri to request him to come. BC declined. However, they came again and urged him. That time he yielded, maybe because the Swami had offered to arrange an Ayurvedic treatment for him. Yet nobody knew why the Swami wanted to meet him.
The other version said that BC wanted to go to Delhi on his own wish for Ayurvedic treatment and the Swami arranged it for him.

It would surprise me, if BC had wanted to do a treatment in Delhi in the hottest time of the year. I had been in Delhi in that same June for a short while. The temperature was 46 degrees Celsius and took a huge toll from every body, even more from a body that, since a couple of decades, was used to the cold climate at the height of above 3000 meters.
“Death called him to Delhi”, a sadhu neighbour of BC said and thus put any speculation that there might have been some foul play into a different perspective. “His time had come.”

BC’s sons came to Gangotri and took the translation of the Yoga Vashishtha out of his hut. Their father had given his life to this work. The ash of BC was immersed in his beloved Ganga Ma – in Haridwar, where he had started his sadhu life. The circle had come full round – an inspiring life had ended…
By Maria Wirth

link to buy the book presently for Rs 349 instead of 499
https://garudalife.in/thank-you-india-by-maria-wirth
also available on Padhega India
https://www.padhegaindia.in/product/thank-you-india-a-german-womans-journey-to-the-wisdom-of-yoga/
and also on amazon for Rs 440

my latest book in English July 2025 by Vitasta, “Why Hindu Dharma is under attack by Muslims, Christians and the Left”

The post Insights from a VIP Sadhu in Gangotri first appeared on Maria Wirth.

Maria Wirth’s latest book is a guide in Shatrubodh
Communists, Christian Evangelists, and Islamists are at the forefront of defaming and demonizing Hindu Dharma. I would add HINOs (Hindus in Name only) to this Hindudveshi/Hinduphobic group. Maria’s latest book has 43 essays that answers several uncomfortable questions including the deliberate demonization of Hindu Dharma by the aforementioned forces. These essays also teach Hindus how to counter the hateful propaganda directed at us. I would call this a handbook in Swayambodh and Shatrubodh that every Hindu should read to deal effectively with the anti-Hindu propaganda and defeat the agenda of these inimical Hinduphobic forces.

Most hate directed against Bharatiya civilization comes from deep-rooted hatred for practices such as reverence for cows, murti Puja, and others that these groups term as ‘primitive’ and ‘irrational.’ This stems more from hatred that is instilled in Abrahamics along with a sense of superiority since the start. Maria brings out the difference between inclusive Hindu Dharma and exclusive dogma of Abrahamic faiths clearly in her essays.

Maria believes that Hindu Dharma’s openness makes it a threat for Abrahamic religions who believe that only their path is the right one. The biggest strength of Hindu Dharma is its resilience that has made it stand tall in the face of repeated invasions for centuries. Despite an overwhelming number of HINO Brown Sahibs, Hindu Dharma has managed to survive and thrive. Maria Wirth also highlights that these English educated Brown Sahibs are also the harshest critics of Hindu Dharma because they believe that anything associated with Bharatiya tradition is ‘backward’ and in contrast, anything western is ‘modern.’

Review of the book
In the 43 essays, Maria Wirth covers a variety of topics from Ram Mandir Struggle, Kanwar Mela to Vedic Wisdom and and Caste Questions. The book begins with the Bharatiya wisdom that anti-Hindu forces don’t want people to know. The chapter on Vedic wisdom along with the first chapter equips Hindus with the important knowledge about Hindu Dharma.

There are chapters explaining the ‘difference’ between Hindu Dharma & Hindutva, why Buddhism is readily acceptable & projected as ‘intellectual’ while Hindu Dharma is hated, if Germany is Christian why Bharat shouldn’t be Hindu, the letters to Pope and Zakir Naik and many others that keep you hooked. Maria has kept the language simple and the book has a smooth flow from start to end.

As someone who has been active on Social Media for more than a decade and has witnessed a lot of hatred towards Hindutva, both from within and outside Bharat, I found this book talking to me. Questions that I have often asked to myself, have been addressed by Maria Wirth with exceptional clarity and lucidity.

For example, a simple post celebrating the Ram Mandir verdict triggered many of my Christian and Muslim friends even though I had never been hostile to them or their religious beliefs. When you read this book, you’ll realise that Abrahamics are conditioned to see Hindu Dharma as something ‘evil’ and its followers who would receive hellfire for not believing the ‘one true God.’ Very few are able to move beyond this conditioning. Also, Hindus need to be thankful that we aren’t conditioned to hate irrationally.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to equip themselves to take on the anti-Hindu brigade, in addition to gaining clarity about their Dharma. Maria has explained various aspects of Hindu Dharma with extraordinary clarity. We must take pride in the fact that we belong to a Dharma that sees divinity in all things and motivates its adherents to discover the truth within themselves.
(end of review)

link
link: https://www.amazon.in/dp/8119670655
it’s also available abroad under amazon.com and is on Kindle

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If you have hundreds of millions of Indians who despise Hindus because according to their belief, Hindus commit a great sin against the ‘true one God”, whether called God or Allah, a harmonious society is tough to achieve and enemies of Bharat have a field day to instigate trouble and chaos.
IF Hindu clergy had explained the basics of the Vedas right after Independence in a big way, many of those who had converted to Islam and Christianity would have come back. Anyone who has common sense will come to the conclusion that Hindu Dharma is superior to all 3 Abrahamic religions.

It almost seems, as if the highest wisdom (Advaita Vedanta) is hidden even from Hindus. Great saints, like Ananadamayi Ma stressed it, but others mainly explain Dharma in Katha sessions. No doubt, this is also very important, but the foundation why a dharmic life is important, needs to be known.
Meanwhile Westerners make videos on this highest wisdom which in its purest form has been preserved in India. but they don’t mention or hardly mention India.

Today I saw the start of a video called “the Monad – the true God hidden from us”. It talks about the ‘highest God who is hidden from us’ and starts with a quote “There is One, eternal perfect… the source of all that appears.” It is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Google says, he is a “legendary personification of ancient knowledge rather than a historical individual.”
There is no mention that this quote is pure Advaita, still known in India, though less and less known by the youth due to the education system which focuses only on material success.

It would be good, if Hindus would propagate the profound insights of the Rishis about what is really true, about the absolute Oneness (Brahman) and the apparent world of plurality (Maya). Without this knowledge, Hindus don’t know what makes Hindu Dharma stand above the Abrahamic religions.
by Maria Wirth

if you haven’t seen my new book, “Why Hindu dharma is under Attack by Muslims, Christians and the Left”, check it out. it is good and helpful for all, not only Hindus.
it’s on amazon.in and com (abroad more expensive) and on PadhegaIndia. in
right now a big discount is on offer due to Dassehra (Amazon for Rs 279 and PadhegaIndia for Rs 248)

Why Hindu Dharma is Under Attack by Muslims, Christians and the Left: A Collection of Essays

The post It would be good if Hindus propagated their faith first appeared on Maria Wirth.

Yet fortunately, the New Education Policy with its inclusion of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS), makes Indians again familiar with their profound and vast heritage which encompasses all fields – from philosophy, science, arts, music, economy, medicine, architecture, metallurgy, astronomy and down to food and even warfare.

I consider India’s Vedic philosophy, Advaita Vedanta, as the foundation of it all, because it is about our eternal Self from where true love and inspiration come. The other aspects of Indian knowledge are meant to help us during our lifespan in this world, which is of course also important, but ultimately this lifespan is more like a dream or Maya.

A lot of Indian knowledge (we don’t even know how much and what knowledge) has reached the West, often by looting, and it inspired science and philosophy in a big way. Many foreigners also have discovered Advaita Vedanta. There are now numerous videos on the net which claim that “the basis of everything is consciousness”. This claim has its origin in ancient Indian texts, but they usually do not mention it.

Also, the theory, that our universe is not real, but a kind of simulation, is now taken seriously in the West, since Elon Musk also stated it. The Rishis called this simulation ‘Maya’.

I wished, those foreigners would acknowledge that the ancient Indian Rishis had handed this knowledge down…

Here is an example from a ‘political’ German podcast where spiritual topics arose:

Before the German election on 23. February 2025, I watched an interview with a popular radio journalist and podcaster Kayvan Soufi Siavash (Ken Jebsen). He has a German mother and an Iranian father. Kayvan had become ‘controversial’, because he now endorsed the ‘right-wing’ AfD party. Earlier, he had supported the Left, and the interviewer wanted to know what made him change his views.

I had expected that he talks about politics. But surprisingly, he talked a lot about philosophy, more precisely, about Indian philosophy. He said that he believes we are like actors on a stage and, like Elon Musk, he also feels that our world is not the real thing.

He further said, the most important thing is to find out ‘who am I?’ and this cannot be done by thinking.

He said, like most journalists, he is thinking a lot, but he wants to give up thinking and explains: “for example, when I read something, afterwards, I try to forget it. But the knowledge is there of course. Now, when I speak on a podcast, I consciously take the risk to let my words flow without thinking. Then something higher takes over and I am myself surprised “did I really say this?” He stressed that there is something, which looks after us and which “stands behind you when nobody else stands behind you.”

“What do you mean? Do you mean God?” the interviewer asked. Kayvan replied, “You can call it God or Shiva. It is a higher level of consciousness, and it supports you, when nobody else stands by you.”

Kayvan is clearly familiar with Indian philosophy. And if it needed a proof, the fact that he mentioned Shiva is proof. He also mentioned that he is very intense on his yoga mat. This interview confirmed what I had noticed earlier: many are in search for the Truth also in the West. Many go back to Christianity, because they don’t know anything else, but many also discover India’s wisdom, like this podcaster, even though Hindus do not make much effort to spread this valuable knowledge.

But this interview also gave me pain. Because many Indian youths may not even understand what Kayvan was talking about, for example, when he said, that the most important thing in life is to find out “Who am I?”

Even today many Indians don’t know, that it is the knowledge of their Rishis when foreigners talk about ‘all is consciousness’ or ‘the world is Maya”. Many have never heard: ‘Brahman Satya Jagat Mithya’, which means Brahman is real and the world is an illusion. It is the core of Advaita Vedanta.

There is hope that the inclusion of this knowledge into the curriculum, will make Indians again familiar with their precious heritage and inspire them to do sadhana. The Bhagavad Gita gives many helpful tips regarding Jnana Yoga (yoga of knowledge), Bhakti Yoga (yoga of devotion) and Karma Yoga (yoga of action). A guru is also helpful. Bhakti surely is very helpful – to hold tight to one’s Ishta Deva for example with the help of a mantra. The different Devas are representations of the one Brahman within Maya.

Only intellectual knowledge of what we really are, is not enough. To lift our life to a higher level, we need to connect with our true Self. Then there is not only confidence in oneself as a person but, more importantly, confidence in one’s true Self which is always present and ‘stands behind us, when nobody else stands behind us’.

By Maria Wirth

if you like my writing, consider getting my books “Why Hindu Dharma is under attack by Muslims, Christians and the Left” (also available in Hindi and on kindle, also abroad)
and Thank you India (from a personal angel)

https://www.amazon.in/s?k=maria+wirth

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