Uttarkashi

Uh, if I look at the kind of sewage treatment systems we have in rural areas, they're contaminating your wells, they're contaminating your tube wells, which is causing a lot of problem in public health.

For example, I l- I was in the Himalayas in t- 2023 in near, uh, Uttarkashi, and the woman, women out there are very educated, all BA with Sanskrit and so on and so forth, but they said that, you know, "We have a problem with our stomach." And it was very clear that they didn't know that sewage water was getting mixed with their drinking water, and that was causing your problem of giardia, et cetera.

So that is one thing.

Second thing, if you look at it, is the societies in your urban areas are asked to treat their sewage and reuse and recycle, mandated by law anything above 100,000 square feet.

One of the things that I learned in Mount Kailash was, and I learned it twice because I've been there twice.

I've been to Uttarkashi once where I was involved in a flood.

I've been to India many times.

I've been in the jungles of Peru.

In Jnana yoga, and this scripture you can say is a scripture of Jnana yoga, study is standing at the top.

I live, uh, here in Uttarkashi.

I'm right here in Uttarkashi in India, and Uttarkashi is a well-known study center in India.

Okay? There is a sadhu community.

There is a community of sadhus, and here it is a lot, not all, but it is a lot about study.

"Do you see?" Pujya Gurudev once asked, "You know, how can this object that, you know, how can we remain happy forever? What do you mean by, you know, happiness always remains ins-outside?" It's not that, that it's any object has entered inside.

So Pujya Gurudev asked, asked his, uh, guru, Para- our Param Guru, Swami Tapovanji, "What do you mean, like, mean by objectless happiness?" So Swami Tapovanji took Pujya Gurudev and he wa- they were-- Pujya Gurudev was studying in, in, uh, Uttarkashi under Swami Tapovanji.

So Swami Tapovanji took Pujya Gurudev outside and said, "Do you see these Himalayas?" Said, uh, Pujya Gurudev said, "Yes, I do see Himalayas." "Are you happy seeing them?" "Yes, I, I do feel happy seeing them." "Do you own them?" Pujya Gurudev went thinking, "No, I don't own them." You don't necessarily need to own something to be happy.

Himalayas are there.

And that's why this date is very significant, very important.

Here in Uttarkashi, they celebrate...

this day according to the Titi.

Titi is the Hindu calendar, the date on the Hindu calendar, which every year is coming in a little different date.

So that one day, somebody came to see Swamiji.

He was a doctor.

He was serving in Uttarkashi and he used to come about once a month and spend an afternoon evening with Swamiji sitting and talking for some time.

And that time this doctor came and we were sitting, the three of us.