Temples of Bhimtal

Bhimtal is an ancient location named after Bhima who  visited the area. Bhima was a key warrior and strongest  of all characters in the Mahabharata epic, where the yogic knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita was given.

Bhimeshwar Mahadev Temple

There is captivating legend connected to the temple's  creation, involving Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers  from the epic Mahabharata. According to this legend,  while Bhima was in exile, he encountered a divine  message directing him to build a Shiva temple at that  location. Following this instruction, Bhima erected the  temple, contributing to its establishment and subsequent significance.

The story goes further, stating that Bhima, with his  immense strength, struck the mountain with his mace,  causing the emergence of the Ganga River, forming what is now known as Bhimtal Lake.

 

Mauni Ma Ashram

The Shree Bhakti Dham Ashram (or Mauni Ma Ashram) is situated by the lake Naukuchiatal and was founded by Saint Muni Ma (or Mauni Ma). Her devotees revere her as an incarnation of Ma Durga. A murti of Durga is enshrined in the ashram. Additionally, Hanuman and Muni Ma herself are worshipped there.

In the Museum of Saints at Shree Peetha Nilaya in Germany, her shawl and the bag in which she carried her Krishna are preserved.

Muni Ma was born on 25 December 1922 and lived a long life filled with devotion, love and service to God. As a child, she was obedient and quiet. She did not enjoy spending time with her peers, and her only friends, with whom she would play for hours, were the murtis of Radha and Krishna.

The deities that Mauni Ma worshipped

At the age of 15, she was married. She led a peaceful family life and had four children. Today, her ashram is managed by one of her sons, Gajendra.

From a young age, she would often enter deep meditation, samadhi. While engaged in household chores, she frequently sang verses from the Ramayana or the Hanuman Chalisa. Due to financial difficulties, Muni Ma began working as a teacher. She taught children not only worldly knowledge but also spiritual wisdom.

Ma prayed to Krishna for a guru, wishing for her teacher to come to her. One day, an extraordinary master, Neeb Karori Baba (also known as Neem Karoli Baba), arrived in 
Kainchi. An ashram and a Hanuman temple were established there. Hearing about this from her neighbours, she began visiting the temple daily, cleaning its floors, yet Baba ignored her.

Neeb Karori Baba (read more about the master here)

At the ashram of Neem Karoli Baba, there is a tradition of reading the Ramayana and the Hanuman Chalisa every day. Muni Ma loved to listen or sing along with the devotees of Neeb Karori Baba, but he continued to disregard her.

At one point, Neeb Karori Baba instructed his disciple to expel her from the ashram. Obediently, Muni Ma stood around the corner, continuing to observe her teacher. Eventually, Neeb Karori Baba gave her the name Bhakti Ma (Muni Ma) and once stated that she was the true embodiment of devotion.

One day, her teacher told Muni Ma that she must lock herself in her room and not leave it, instructing his disciples not to bring her any food or prasad. However, the prasad offered daily at the temple would miraculously appear in her room immediately after being presented to the deities.

Neeb Karori Baba asked her to enter into silence, which she did, and for the remaining 62 years of her life, no one heard Muni Ma’s voice again. She entered maha-samadhi at the age of 91 on 8 November 2013. Ma’s devotees wrote a book about her titled ‘The Power of Divine Silence’.

Mauni Ma's footprints

 

Our group visiting the ashram