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Category: Spiritual Journey
Tags: HimalayasMeditationPhotographySpiritualityWisdom
Entities: AlapandiaAtal Bihari VajpayeeSir Edmund HillarySwami SundaranandSwami Tapovanam MaharajTenzing Nor
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What if I told you a sadu lived in a Himalayan cave for 70 years, completely off-grid? And when I met him, what he shared felt like a direct transmission of
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ancient wisdom to my mind. It literally shook me.
Stay with me. This moment will change how you see life.
I'm Alapandia and this is the conscious mic. Let me take you
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there. And sometimes these moments return not just as memories but as sacred reminders, reminders of stillness, of nature, of the truth that lies beyond words. Sadly, this luminous figure transitioned into what we call a samadhi at the age of 94.
But before
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he left this realm, I had the honor of sitting with him and learning and this is what unfolded. Known affectionately as the Sadhu Hul clicks due to his passion for photography.
He was
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also celebrated as a seasoned mountaineer conquering over 25 Himalayan peaks and even sharing expeditions with legends like Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Nor. In fact, Sir Edmund Hillary himself paid homage to this extraordinary yogi during the 1980s at his tapoan
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kir in Gangodri. Now any guesses as to whom I'm referring to?
Well, if you're well-versed in the law of the Himalayas and the mirage of sages and yogis who have graced its slopes, then the name
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Swami Sundur Anand is likely to bear to you. He stands as a reverred figure among the enlightened beings of that sacred realm.
A name that resonates with seekers of truth and wisdom. Here
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main power mul 32 bones inner working that sushuna no attachment
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you any food eat only body health Power which feed wind inner power. See here this is name sambi mudra.
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You see wind inner power. I am god.
I am everything.
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[Music] power that spin not anybody not collect only yogi real yogi as only show
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3 Our as we our prana be our sirasam all as king sirasam I practice I am now I am very fully happy
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no any plan also finished cut only One plant my art gallery why my work all
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people see you study this book everything available clear writing no misguidance is for dasha means nature god's Supreme power nature super teaching
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my life I know any school college study only master blessing my practice now also alone also alone my master also alone I am also alone your power also alone
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That power Lord Vishnu one name your mind give Lord Shiva three shy Brahma Vishnu Mah shaki means a ma a first
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That one sound your inner always working. No realization.
Ohi
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gave inner state water river that realization. Oh.
In 1949 when Swami Sundaranandan first saw the Golmuk glacia he said I first saw this
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glacia I felt as if all my sins were washed away and I had truly attained rebirth but now it is impossible to experience that Gunga of the past.
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Swami Sundaranand had a strong connection with the Himalayas that few others have. He has climbed dozens of its peaks, several of them over 21,000 ft above sea level and has lectured at Tenzing Norway's Himalayan institute, a famous mountaineering school.
He was also a skilled
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naturalist who was familiar with thousands of Himalayan plants and he knew the law and medicinal uses of these species. At first glance Swami Sundaranand appears to be simply a saffron clad sadhu.
Actually he was a yogi, aesthetic, trekker, mountaineer, photographer, naturalist
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and ecoolologist all rolled into one. He took the vow of renunciation back in 1948.
Since then he had lived at Gangotri which is 10,300 ft above sea level in the Gwal Himalaya in a
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small cottage which was bequest to him by his guru Swami Tapovanam Maharaj a very learned poet author traveler and a recluse in the solitude of the towering mountains he has spent a major part of
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his life engaged in meditation where he meditated for three long plus hours every day without fail. The beauty and splendor of the Himalayas in all its dimensions appealed to his artistic
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inclinations and his love for nature induced him to pick up something very unusual for a sadhu, a camera. He began taking photographs of Himalayan peaks, valleys, alpine meadows, glacias, lakes,
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flora and fauna and the cultural life of the people inhabiting the Himalayas. Capturing them in different seasons, different stages and different moods.
Free from the fear of death, he took hairraising risks and ventured with his camera where few people had
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ever stepped [Music] and in the process became known as the clicking swami. Over the years, he took more than 50,000 photographs and added to his stock of rare transparencies.
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Sadly he was swindled out of many of them by unscrululous men. You may ask why the Himalayas?
Well the Himalayas as you know are the highest mountains in the world but for Indians they symbolize a spiritual eternity a precious link with the ancient ages and the
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history of the Himalayas. For many Hindus, the Himalayas constitute the ultimate destination, a repository of our deep religious faith.
We see the Himalayas as the abode of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god known as Adi Yogi. Shiva is known as the destroyer within the three morti, the Hindu
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trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. Shiva is the supreme lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. Swami Sundaranand is a fountain of knowledge.
He quotes extensively
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from the scriptures in pure Sanskrit when he was presenting at university lectures. He has held several one-man exhibitions of his photographs and innumerable slideshows in many cities. He has been captured on TV stations like National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel and over the
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years he got rave reviews both in India and of course overseas. As I've mentioned earlier in this video, Swami Sundar Anan was a man of many skills and deep knowledge.
He was not only a yogi,
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mountaineer, naturalist, climate activist, a well-known photographer, but he was also an author of an amazing book titled Himalaya through the lens of a sadhu with over 425 photographs
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spanning over 60 years of his work. This book also contains a letter of endorsement from the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajay.
He sought to capture the eternal in nature and to document
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the region as it once was with a special emphasis on planting the seeds of hope and inspiration to solve the everchanging environmental concerns of the landscape of the Himalayas.
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I was fortunate to meet this great sage and yogi in 2015. He was 89 years of age when my own spiritual journey began.
I spent one month in the Himalayas trekking and searching for
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answers to many unanswered questions I had about life, human beings, spiritualism, God and what we are all doing on this planet. I received some answers when I met Swami Sundaranand.
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[Music] In a world filled with noise and chaos, there are those who choose a different path. And when I met Swami Sundaranand, I could see his life was a testament to the power of simplicity, wisdom
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and profound connection with nature. [Music] Born in April 1926 in Uttar Pradesh, Swami Sundaran's early life was marked by a deep love for nature and a thirst for spiritual understanding.
[Music]
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In his youth he was drawn to the teachings of Swami Tapovan Maharaj. It was in the pristine surroundings of the Himalayas that Swami Sundaran found his true calling.
For over seven decades he has lived in harmony with nature practicing meditation,
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yoga and photography. His passion for photography not only captures the breathtaking landscapes as we've seen but also serves as a medium to awaken people to the profound beauty and fragility of our
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natural world. When I met Swami Sundaranand he told me through my lens I strive to convey the message of environmental conservation and the urgent need to protect our planet for future generations.
Beyond his solitary pursuits, Swami Sundaranand is deeply involved in social work,
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providing education and health care to the people of the Himalayan region. His teachings emphasize the importance of inner peace, self-realization, and living in harmony with nature.
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As I bring this video to an end, I have to confess on my very first meeting with Swami Sundar Aland, he was able to tell me so much about myself, I was absolutely amazed and shocked at the same time. I'm not normally someone who falls for these babas or gurus or swamies. But now after having met him,
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I can honestly say that I have met someone who truly is very different from some of those hoax swamies that we hear of who give the real ones a bad name. There's certain meditation techniques that I have learned from him.
I have had many gurus, my first one being Bob Proctctor.
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I think my second has to be Swami Sundaranand. I have found that meditation has helped me in many ways.
I have become very calm. I'm no longer flippant which was something I always wanted to change about myself.
Meditation enables one to think clearly, make the right choices and become
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in tune with your intuitive factor. Meditation draws this quality from within us and brings it to the surface.
Meditation process is so simple yet we over complicate things. And the benefits of it are endless and hugely powerful for those who are taking the journey to a more fulfilled
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and abundant life. If you have enjoyed watching this video, I would recommend a great book by Swami G which I have mentioned in this video if you would like to learn more about the magic and the majestic Himalayas.
His book Himalayas through the lens of a sadu. It will capsulate your mind
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with some truly beautiful pictures of the depths and breadths of the mountain range which was taken by Swami G himself. I bought my copy from Swami G when I met him and he wrote such a beautiful message in this book which I will cherish for the rest of my life.
[Music] And as I bring this video
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to an end and as our journey together comes to a close, I just want to say let us carry the light of awareness and compassion within our heart. Remembering the mountains teach us patience, the rivers teach us flow and the trees teach us resilience. So let us embrace these lessons and
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walk with the path of love and harmony which is what Swami Sundaranand was all about. He left behind a legacy of inspiration and enlightenment. And for those of you who are interested in seeing more of the artwork and the photographs that this amazing legend has left behind, then I'm pleased
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to let you know that there is an art gallery that has been dedicated to the memory of Sri Tapavanam Maharaj, the Guruji of Swami Sundar Ananji. It's called the tapam hanya kala and it's built with
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the purpose of preserving and presenting the life and works of swami sundur an is the gallery. It's the largest of its kind in the Himalayan region which exhibits rare and unique photographs of the Gangotri region and the Gwal Himalayas which have been taken over a period of four decades by
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Swami Sundar Ananji. So these are all on display at the Tapovanam Hiranyagarbha Art Gallery which is located in the Gangotri region at the Gowal Himalayas in Uttarakhand India.
And of course
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if you have enjoyed this video please meet again. Let me know if you had the experience of meeting light and whether you have actually been to the Himalayas, whether you've seen Gaumukh, whether you've been to Gangotri, whether you've visited the many sacred places that are in the
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Himalayan range. Uh do put in the comments and don't forget to like, share and subscribe.