50 YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015
OM NAMO NARAYANAYA MANTRA BANK Going up to Vishnu Peak “Om Namo Narayanaya” By Swami Shivabhaktananda In a natural rock cave, on the summit <strong>of</strong> Vishnu Peak in the Himalayas, is the ‘Om Namo Narayanaya Mantra Bank’, a repository for thousands <strong>of</strong> sheets <strong>of</strong> “Om Namo Narayanaya” mantras written by peace-loving devotees from around the world. It was established by Swami Vishnudevananda in 1987 as part <strong>of</strong> his ongoing mission for World Peace. A large crystal stored with the mantras transmits this powerful peace thought-energy like radio waves throughout the world. In May 2015, an expedition set out from Gangotri to make a new bank deposit. Our expedition party consisted <strong>of</strong>: Ivan, Ishwara, Swami Shivabhaktananda, Vyasa, Vinod, Krishna, and Prema, accompanied by a guide, and two porters to carry the mantras. <strong>The</strong> expedition to ascend Vishnu Peak proved to be intense and much harder than any <strong>of</strong> us imagined. Early in the morning, we set <strong>of</strong>f towards the peak; the beginning <strong>of</strong> the trail was pleasant, meandering through forest. However, that did not last for long, and soon we were faced with what was really ahead <strong>of</strong> us – climbing! It soon became apparent that the journey was not going to be suitable for Vyasa, and we encouraged him not to pursue going forward as things were getting harder by the minute. He acknowledged our concerns and carefully made his way back. Those <strong>of</strong> us who remained then continued on our way up, crossing small glaciers, forests, and thick shrubs. After five hours <strong>of</strong> climbing, we could finally see the Vishnu Peak more clearly ahead and above us. At this point we decided to leave all <strong>of</strong> our things behind and tackle the last part <strong>of</strong> our journey carrying as little as possible to speed up a bit – time was pressing, especially as we knew the way down would not be easy either. Prema and Vinod were tired and decided not to proceed any further, which enabled the rest <strong>of</strong> us to move a bit faster. Not only were the sun and hunger proving to be obstacles by this point, but mainly the lack <strong>of</strong> oxygen, as we were already over 4,000 metres high. Headaches and nausea kept cropping up and made things even harder. After another two hours, we finally got to the upper part <strong>of</strong> the mountain. Our happiness was soon to be checked, however, when we asked the guide where the cave with the mantras was: he did not know. We walked around for the next few hours, searching for the cave with the little energy we had left, but could not find the right place. Our guide had been to the top <strong>of</strong> the mountain a few days before our expedition set out, with Deepak, the owner <strong>of</strong> an adventure shop in Gangotri, who has been staff in New Delhi for a few months. <strong>The</strong> team ready for the climb <strong>The</strong>y had reached the top <strong>of</strong> the mountain and had found something like a shrine, so we were confident that they had found the cave. Sadly, though, for our expedition it was to remain elusive. We all sat together and came to the con - clusion that it would be best to find another safe place and leave the mantras there on the peak. Chanting Om Namo Narayanaya with the last <strong>of</strong> our breath and mixed feelings <strong>of</strong> accomplishment and failure towards our initial intention, we deposited the mantras under a beautiful square rock that looked like a hut, installed a small Vishnu statue that we had brought from Gangotri and had used to do Pujas in Swamiji’s cave, did arati, and started making our way down the mountain. It took us another seven hours to get down, testing the patience, endurance and faith <strong>of</strong> everyone, including the guide and porters. When night fell we were on our last stretch and by nine in the evening we found ourselves safely back in the Guha, having bid farewell to Krishna, Prema, the guide, and the porters. It had been a strenuous day and all we wanted was to sleep and overcome the pain in the body and the discomfort <strong>of</strong> having been at altitude. <strong>The</strong> next day was Mother Ganga’s birthday, an auspicious day <strong>of</strong> rest and festivity which we all enjoyed. For the occasion, we <strong>of</strong>fered a special Sivananda Guha, the starting point for the ascent “<strong>The</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> the trail was pleasant in the forest but that did not last too long!” bandhara in the name <strong>of</strong> the organisation at the Krishna annakshetra, where we were taking biksha daily for the Sadhus. We were blessed with the presence <strong>of</strong> more than 100 sadhus that came to partake <strong>of</strong> homemade samosas, gulab jamun, paneer pakoras, fresh mangoes and some other treats prepared by the kshetra. After our adventure to the peak, we spoke to Swami Hariomanandaji who was in Gangotri for the festivities, and he gave us better inform - ation about the cave and its location. He also mentioned a guide that had been there with him. Within the coming year, Deepak has been tasked with finding out exactly where the cave is so that, when we attempt this trip again in the future, our goal will be successfully accomplished.n In May 2016, Swami Shivabhaktananda will be leading a Himalayan Pilgrimage to Chardham Yatra and Vishnu Peak. Dates to be announced. Swami Shivabhaktananda is the director <strong>of</strong> the Sivananda Ashram <strong>Yoga</strong> Camp, Val Morin, Canada email: swamishivabhaktananda@sivananda.org YOGALife |Autumn/Winter 2015 51
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