Visit to Global Vipassana, Gorai on 03-Nov-2011

Global Vipassana Pagoda, Gorai, Mumbai is a Meditation Dome Hall with a capacity to seat around 8,000 mediators which is the largest such meditation hall in the worldIts traditional Burmese design is an expression of gratitude towards the country of Myanmar for preserving the practice of Vipassana. The shape of the pagoda is a copy of the Shwedagon Pagoda (Golden Pagoda) in Yangon, Myanmar. It was built combining ancient Indian and modern technology to enable it to last for a thousand years. Official web-site is Global Pagoda, Gorai

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is declared as one of the "Seven Wonders of Maharashtra" by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in partnership with ABP Majha, a Marathi news channel; after they reviewed 350 destinations. 

Visited the Pagoda for the third time with Sadhana and my close friend Uttam Panchal and enjoyed the visit once again because of nice climate, serenty and spiritual thoughts making to see into ourselves

Prof Uttam Panchal in front of the main gate

Visit to Braj Temple, Schuykill County, PA, USA on 06-Jul-2019

The Vraj Hindu Temple is located in Schuylkill County, in Pennsylvania, United States.  It is a multi-million-dollar temple or haveli covering 300 acres (1.2 km2) of the land. Vraj is also known as Noontan Nadalaya, and abode for God Shrinathji (a manifestation of Krishna). It is visited by an average of 100,000 Hindu pilgrims per year.  Nootan Nandalaya (Temple) is surrounded by hills and is situated on the bank of Chandra Sarovar (lake). The temple is having a very good canteen, gift shop and residence facilities. 

A very well developed complex which provides some peace of mind to the devotees and good to visit with family and friends. One can spend a day or two and lead a calm and peaceful life with dear ones.

Jay Shrikrishna ... !!!

Visit to Mercer County Park and Radha Krishna Temple, Princeton on 29-Jun-2019

Mercer County Park, is a recreational park The park encompasses over 2,500 acres (10 square kms). The National Softball Association honored the Mercer County Park Commission with its "Outstanding Parks Award" for the softball fields and facilities in Mercer County Park. The park is having many facilities such as golf course, Two cricket pitches, Seven basketball courts, Ice skating center, 24 Tennis Courts, Nature trails, Picnic areas and so on. Perfect place for a day out with family and friends. Besides, sport facilities in the park offers an golden opportunity for the sportsmen. The day was very hot and later on after 4 pm the climate changed. The rain and strong wind started and weather become pleasant in 15 minutes. 

Visit to the Aksharsham Temple, Robbinsville NJ on 27-May-2019

Visited the Swaminarayan Temple, Robbinsville Akshardham (Devnagari: स्वामिनारायण अक्षरधाम) in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu temple complex. The complex is very big and a lot work is still in progress though the temple is complete. The inspiration to construct this temple came from Pramukh Swami Maharaj President, BAPS.

Visited the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple with the Paliwals which  is built using Italian marble.  The marble is cut and designed by the Rajasthani artists in India and sent to USA with serial number to be directly used in the construction. Very beautiful and delicate design of the pillars, main hall,and passages out side the temple. The temple has Aksharpith Book  & Souvenir Shop  and Shayaona Sweet and Snacks Center. A nice place to spend a day or half with family peacefully. 

Holi Celeberations in Greater Baltimore Temple on 23-Mar-2019

Attended Holi Festival at Greater Baltimore Temple celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. Well-organized event which followed after the arati and refreshments. Reminded me the holi celebrations in very traditional way in Mahad 3-4 years before.

Visit to Junagadh, Girnar, Somnath and Dwaraka in Jan-2019

A visit to Guru Dattatreya Temple, Girnar and Somnath and Dwaraka was organized by Durg Malhar Treks and Tours from 5 Jan, 2019 to 8 Jan-19. The travel was done by railway, bus and auto-rikshaw. Sumant Kelkar, Sadhana and me extended this tour to Dwaraka from 5-Jan, 2019 to 11-Jan-19 and returned to Thane on 12-Jan-2019.

Visit to Dwaraka, Rukmani, Nagnath, Gopi and Bet Dwaraka from 09-Jan-19 to 11-Jan-19

On 09-Jan-2019, visited Dwaraka, Rukmini Temple, Nagnath Mandir, Gopi, Bhet Dwaraka. Krishna ruled from Dwaraka, spent time with Gopies at Gopi village and his residence was at Bhet Dwarka. Bhet Dwaraka is also known for the Sudama's - Krishna's childhood friend visit

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Selfie at Dwaraka Station : The steam-engine named as "Dwaraka"

Visit to Somnath on 08-Jan-2019

Visited Somnath Temple located at Prabhas Patan near Veralval in Saurashtra believed to be the first Jyotirlinga of Shiva. The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni Sangam (the confluence of three rivers: Kapila, Hiran and Sarasvati). The present temple is built in the Chaulukya style of temple architecture or "Kailash Mahameru Prasad" style.

The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in a straight line between Somnath seashore until Antarctica, such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Bāṇastambha (Sanskrit: बाणस्तम्भ, lit. arrow pillar) erected on the sea-protection wall. The Bāṇastambha mentions that it stands at a point on the Indian landmass that is the first point on land in the north to the South Pole at that particular longitude.

With Kelkar and Sadhana at Somnath Beach

Visit to Dattatreya Temple on Girnar Peak on 7 Jan-2019

A visit to Guru Dattatreya Temple, Girnar Peak was organized by Durg Malhar Treks and Tours in Jan, 2019. Girnar Mountain is older than Himalayas The temple of Guru Dattatreya is located on the top of holy mountain Girnar and takes a tough climb of 10,000 steps .On the way, the devotee passes Jain temples around 3,800 steps, Goddess Ambaji 5,000 steps and Gorakhnath around 7,000 steps. Gorakhnath is the highest peak in Gujarat. The climb is quite difficult and testing the mental and physical ability of the devotees.

Visit to Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Junagadh on 06-Jan-2019

 Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Junagadh 

A group of 60 tourist visited the temple in the evening. The climate was pleasant and with a lot of tourists around and the ambiance of the temple and surrounding was really enjoyable. in 1828, Swaminarayana himself  installed Shri Ranchhodrai and Trikamrai in the inner sanctum.

Day 18 - Visit to Chandwad, Saptashringi, Dindoshi on 02-Dec-2018

Chandwad Parashurama was asked by his father Jamadagnito kill his mother Renuka. Parashurama separated her head from body. The head landed in Chandwad while the body felled near Mahur. There is a scenic temple of Goddess Renuka on the outskirts of Chandwad.

Day 14 - Visit to Maihar Devi on 28-Nov-2018

Sharda Devi Maihar  is known for the Maa Sharda devi temple(around of 502 A.D.), set at the highest of Trikoota. There are 1063 steps to reach the top of the hill. But one can take vehicle and circle up the hill. View from the view is very scenic and one can see Maihar City and ranges of Satpura. The name Maihar is created from the conjunction of 2 words 'Mai'(Mother)+ 'Har'(Necklace).  It is also one of the 51 Shakti Peeths of goddess Parvati.

It takes about 2 hours to see this place and spend say about an hour in the temple. Very religious place and came as additional bonus as we had not planned to visit this but could take call last moment and visited this place afater visiting Bheda Ghat and our way towards Sanchi-Ujjain-Indore.

Day 13 - Visit to Varanasi and travel to Rewa on 27-Nov-2019

Sararam to Varanasi road was jam due to traffic of heavy vehicles and Varanasi roads were jammed with heavy vehicles making driving tricky.

Had fresh and delicious and breakfast (Sattu Paratha, Aluparatha, Mixed Pakoda) at LBS Food Plaza in the out skirts of Sasaram which was just opened by an MBA student Aminesh after spending a few years in Pune and then moving to the home town to start his own business near his hometown i.e. Sasaram. 

Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva on the western bank of the holy river Ganga, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. It was destroyed and re-constructed a number of times in history. The last structure was demolished by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. The current structure was built on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

View of famous and historical Ganga Ghat

Day 11- Visit to Konark, Pipli, Bhubaneshwar Dhauli Stupa, Simhachal on 24-Nov-2018

Reached Beach, Konark at Sunrise and surprised to see a few thousand tourists at the beach before 5 am to see the sunrise. The day was memorable because of the twilight of Moon, bath in the sea and observing the sunrise, offering prayers to the rising Sun. 

The beach in the twilight of the Moon just before Sunrise

Day 10- Visit to Puri and Konark as on 23-Nov-2019

Jagannath Temple Puri is one of four pithas (important place for Hindus) along with Dwaraka, Rameshwaram and Badrinath.  Spent about 3 hours in the premises of the Jaganath Temple and also had delicious prasadam in an earthen pot. The market is good but could spent about 30-45 minutes. Need to visit this place once again and move around in this holy city.

Day 07 - Visit to Mahanandi, Srisailya as on 21-Nov-2019

Mahanandi Temple, is located Nallamala Hills near Nandyal one of the Nava Nandis. The main temple is surrounded by three pools: two small pools at the entrance and one big pool inside the temple itself. Could spend 2 hours and it was a quick darshan before proceeding to Srisailya.

Mahanandi Temple

Day 06 - Visit to Kuravpur, Mantralaya as on 20-Nov-2018

SHRIKSHETRA KURAVPUR island is surrounded by holy waters of rivers Krishna. Temple is built as per Hemad Pandit Style. Old Banyan Tree, Audumbar, Gaytri Suryodasana and Cave where his holyness Sripad Srivallabh has done Dhyna. Now the cave has been refurnished and Nirgun Paduka (Foot Print) are kept for Darshan.

The place is not easily accessible and one has to go to Atkur from Raichur either by own vehicle or buses. Buses are very limited in the day and need to plan the visit as per the timetable of the buses.  Click here for the Map of Atkur and Agrahar to reach the temple by walk. 

Click here for Kuravpur History and its Importance ( Mahatmya).

Day 04 - Visit to Kudal, Aihole, Pattakadal, Banshankari, Hospete as on 18-Nov-2018

Day 04 proved to be very busy right from early morning to the late evening we were busy in visiting Kuadl, Aihole Pattakadal and Banshanakri. Actually, Aihole and Pattakadal requires more time to watch the monuments. But could spent very limited time these location. Thinking of visiting these places once again to get into the details.

Kudal Sangam  as the holy pilgrim and trenowned for temple of Sangameshwara  on the river bank, at the confluence (Triveni Sangam) of the Krishna, Ghatprabha and the Malaprabha rivers. The temple is build in Chalukya style. The tample campus is clean and maintained by Kudalsangama Development Board

Sangamanatha temple at Kudalasangama

Day 03- Visit on Ganagapur, Vijayapura, Almatti on 17-Nov-2019

Day 03 was marked by visiting Ganagapur, Vijaypura and Almatti. Visiting Vijayapura was in my mind for last many years. Although, it was very convinient to make a day visit from Solapur where I have been numerous number of time, but could not make it. I had been to Holy Ganagapur for three times earlier. Although, the importance of the place is immense, the overall management and administration has turned more than commercial and taking darshana has become difficult and embarrassing.

Apart from the main temple and the Sangam (confluence of Bhima and Amaraja), one can visit  Audumbar Tree at Sangam, Ash Hill (Bhasma Dongar) Shree Kalleshwar Mandir and other places.

Please click this link for Places to visit in Ganagapur .

Day 02 - Visit to Mhasvad, Velapur, Aran, Akkalkot on 16-Nov-2019

The day 02 started with visit to Siddhanath Temple,  Mhaswad. It was my second visit to the temple. Mhaswad is a historical town in Satara District. The place was ruled by Mane under Deccan Sultanates and Aurangzeb. We took a quick darshan and moved for the next place i.e. Velapur.

Sidhhanath and Jogeshwari