Himalayan yogi's

[sky95]

Hi. I was just curious about the himalayas & yogi's in the modern age. I don't really have a specific question, but just more of a general inquiry. Are there a lot of yogi's practicing there still? How are they able to survive in such high elevations given the temperatures and I would assume scarcity of food higher up? Are there not many dangers, such as tigers and bears? Anything you could tell me about Himalayan yogi's in these days would be excellent.

thanks

[rkshiva27]

from whatever i know many yogis still live in the himalayas, in caves and similar places. the yogis through their regular yog pranayam are able to sustain cold conditions and i have heard there is a strange fruit found in the himalayas that can remove hunger for a few days. these may seem absurd but yogis have been living there for centuries.

[ShivaFan]

Namaste sky95

Yes sadhus, including those who live and meditate in the Himalayas, still exist.

As a way of learning of them, you might consider an inquiry of Juna Akhara.

Om Namah Sivaya.

[smaranam]

Namaste

There are austere yogis living in the open in Kedarnath (quite a bit in the Himalayas) and Badrinath (at the foothills of Himalayas). Also at Gangotri, Yamunotri (at a much greater height) and western Himalayas where there is the famous Shiv Mandir.
(In Badrinath - just be careful, not all may be saints or genuine.)

At MAnA (a small village) next to Badrinath, which makes the border between India and Tibet, is an ancient cave which has very mystically taken the shape of a grantha (pothi, scripture book / pages).
Inside it , in 'gupta rUpa' unseen to the eye, lives MahaRshi KRshNa DwAipAyana Veda Vyas (our current VyAsDev) who divided the Vedas into 4 and wrote the Bramha-sUtra, purAN and itihAs.

How can He be alive ? Because He is one of the few Chiranjeevis (exceptionally long life -across the yuga). Other examples of Chiranjeevis who are seen by a few even today, are Hanuman (visiting devotees and Ram katha), AshvatthAmA (on the banks of NarmadA).

So, VedaVyAs is one yogi we know who lives in the Himalayas till date, in that same sacred cave.

Picture of the Vyas GufA (cave, VyAs Pothi)

Inside Vyas Gufa (That is a relatively modern vigraha (mUrti) of Veda Vyas, with Vallabhacharya to His left).

ShankarAchArya, MadhvAchArya, VallabhAchArya went to visit Vyasdev to take His blessings. Madhva did so before he started preaching.

Inside Ganesh Gufa (Shri Ganesh's cave at a short distance from Vyas Gufa, where Shri GaNesh, who became Vyas's scribe, wrote everything down as Vyasdev spoke. His condition: that Vyasdev may not stop at any point. This way Vyasdev's vANI (speech) was divine, transcendental.



Jai Badri VishAl!