There comes a moment in every return journey when the surrounding scenery becomes increasingly recognisable. The streets and buildings look familiar, and you start moving forward instinctively, without having to rely on navigation. This is the point where you feel you have reached home, even though “home” is technically still some distance ahead. On 4th and 5th November, everyone connected with SRM and Sri Guru reached this metaphorical turning point of their spiritual journey, with the most-awaited inauguration of Shrimad Rajchandra Self-Realisation Centre.
As a popular saying warns – “The danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” With the dream of building a meditation centre in the tallest mountain range on earth – a place for seekers to finally find their true Home – Sri Guru set the bar as high as possible, both literally and figuratively. After all, what could be a bigger dream than awakening humanity from lifetimes of dreams? What could be a higher goal than bringing the experience of the infinite to the finite world, and making the invisible visible in every heart that longs for truth and love?
The foundation of this dream was laid four years ago, in November 2021. After months of searching during the pandemic, the team earmarked a 4-acre area of land in Natadol, Uttarakhand as the place that would become SRM’s home. Nestled between lush-green mountains and guarded by towering snow-capped Himalayas, it was a picturesque landscape back then, too. But fast forward to November 2025, and the dream has evolved into a beautiful reality that looks no less than a paradise, and feels much more like home than any of the houses we have become used to inhabiting.
A simple Havan was organised to initiate the inauguration, two days prior to the main event. The Havan Kund served as a symbol of the SRSRC land being consecrated by Sri Guru’s Sadhana energies, with every ahuti an offering of love that longs to dissolve in the sacred union. Like Shams of Tabriz in ‘The Forty Rules of Love’, Sri Guru was securing a final official permit from the saints of this region. Naturally, the permit was granted instantly.
On the morning of 4th November, the seekers invited for the inauguration streamed through the gates to be welcomed by the Himalayan vista that has become an iconic part of SRSRC. Some paused to take a pic, some continued to walk with eagerness in their strides, and some stood still for a few moments to let that exhilarating feeling of being ‘home’ sink in.
As the event proceedings on Day 1 began, Ritesh Gandhi Prabhu’s Bhakti set the celebrations to a devotional simmer. But, as expected, it was Sri Guru’s Satsang that amped up the atmosphere to a blazing fire of joy and anticipation. A few years ago, Sri Guru had promised that the topic of the inaugural Satsang at SRSRC would be Shrimad Rajchandra Ji’s magnum opus – Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra. So while the subject of the Satsang was predictable, the contents were anything but expected. What we had always worshipped as the Ganges of philosophical wisdom, actually turned out to be an ocean of the purest love story between a Guru and a disciple! This love story seamlessly transitioned to two book launches – ‘Pukaar’ and ‘Flames of Grace’ – the latter being a present-day love story between a Guru and her ‘Lights’. The stage couldn’t get any brighter when Sri Guru introduced her new ‘Lights’ and shared an unforgettable moment as they all held hands and gracefully grooved to ‘Teri Roshni Mein’. An award ceremony followed, honouring the team that has worked relentlessly behind the scenes to turn Sri Guru’s vision of SRSRC into reality. And with that, it was finally the muhurta that everyone had been waiting for – the inauguration of the Meditation Hall.
In regular meditation, guided or otherwise, the onus is on the meditator to concentrate and meditate. But the meditation hall at SRSRC, a perfect blend of minimalistic design and state-of-the-art acoustics, has been built in a way that the meditator is engulfed in an impenetrable bubble of meditation. And it felt as if Sri Guru was sculpting this bubble with her very hands (and energies) through the sacred consecration rituals. It would be folly on our part to think that words can express what the seekers experienced during the consecration, so we’ll leave that enviable task to the images captured by our photography seva team. Right after the inauguration, seekers were invited inside the hall to practice a new technique that Sri Guru had saved for years just for this auspicious day – Prana-Trayi Kriya – a meditation practice designed to carry seekers into the experience that SRSRC promises to deliver.
A place. A presence. A pause. That is all one needs to return Home. While day 1 of the inauguration prepared the place for the pause, day 2 was all about firmly establishing the presence that energises the place and turns the pause into vedan of homecoming. It started with another magnificent tribute to Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra. In a puja ceremony, 12 couples offered their reverence to the scripture in sync with Bhakti Team’s presentation – an incredibly moving and never-before heard rendition of its 142 verses. The ceremony was interspersed with a play that portrayed the mystical creation of the scripture and how it played a life-altering role in the lives of Shrimad Ji and His Bhakta Ratnas. The most famous image of Shri Atmasiddhi, Ambalal Bhai holding the lantern for Shrimad Ji as He wrote the verses, is not something new for the seasoned seekers of SRM. Yet, seeing it live on stage sent a collective goosebumps throughout the audience – a depiction that is sure to go down as one of the classics to be recorded in SRM’s digital archives. The interweaving of the play, the puja, and the recital transported everyone to the blessed era of Param Krupadu Dev’s presence on earth, giving us a quite staggering and overwhelming experience of witnessing His golden history unfold right before our eyes – a history that most definitely prepared the groundwork for this glorious present.
The end of the puja signalled that it was time for a new beginning. The procession of seekers that marched towards the Meditation Hall on day 1 was joyous, but the procession on day 2 was dancing on the edge of euphoria. The resounding rhythm of the drums acted as an invitation to the Presence, as the idol representing Guru Tattva was carried in royal fashion to the Temple. Made of pure quartz, the idol symbolises the pristine nature of Guru Tattva, and signifies the fact that every Sadguru’s physical form is the final boundary separating the visible duality from the invisible and formless oneness. As on Day 1, Sri Guru appeared less like a person and more like a bundle of unbridled joy. The first-of-its-kind Temple was consecrated amidst scenes of jubilation – the kind of jubilation that does not belong to this world, yet can be experienced on some rare occasions that are the epicentre of a revolution. The weather remained pleasant throughout the inauguration, although a few drops of rainfall on the second day confirmed that such history-making and future-defining events are not only celebrated on the land of mortals, but also in the skies of the Immortal. Obviously, when God Himself joins in, a Garba becomes a compulsory final act of the festivities. All the seekers were given a beautiful and thoughtful parting gift – a kalash containing the sacred soil of SRSRC, a soil that is now a frozen form of the ever-present and ever-flowing Yogbal, the Grace of all Enlightened Masters of the past, present and future.
“Liberation is inside, so is the path. We are on the return journey.” This tagline has carried the essence of SRM’s journey and philosophy over the last 15 years. But it feels a little past its “best-before” date. Because, with the inauguration of SRSRC, this journey has turned a pivotal corner, where the scenery is beginning to feel familiar, the breeze is getting a little salty, and the silence is deep enough to hear the waves of the ocean. So perhaps, we should start this new era with some fresh words – “Beloved is our Home Ocean, and we have reached the shore. Now it’s time for the final plunge.”
We have send code on +91 9876543210. Change Number
We have send code on +91 9876543210. Change Number
Already have an account? Log In
