From Tracks to Temples: A Faithful Traveller’s Diary

When I was a kid, I always wondered—who the hell made these traditions, and why are we blindly following them?

It was my personal million-dollar question. No one ever gave me a satisfying answer. Not my family, not my teachers—not even Google (and that's saying something). But over time, I found the answer myself… not in books, but in trains, temples, and tiny acts of kindness. For the past 25 years, our family has been visiting a Goddess Durga temple in Bhiwani during Navratras. No matter what storm is hitting our lives—exams, jobs, breakups, promotions, or pandemics—someone from the family shows up to light the Akhand Jyot.

It’s more than a ritual—it’s our emotional GPS.

Similarly, I’ve been doing an annual pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi for the last 10 years.

And now when I look back, these are not just trips. They’ve become our traditions. My firm belief? Maa Durga is my invisible Wi-Fi—strong signal, zero lag, all blessings.

Whether my next generation will follow these traditions or start their own TV show on “Why Not to Believe?”—only time will tell. But I’m glad I chose this path.

Let me take you through my recent journey to Vaishno Devi, filled with divine darshan, accidental adventures, and stories that make you smile (and sometimes shake your head). 

The Train Chronicles: From Dilli to Divinity

I boarded the train from Delhi and noticed a young mother sitting opposite me with her 1-year-old daughter, Divyanshi. She was travelling alone from Mumbai to Ludhiana to meet her in-laws—on a train with no pantry and barely any halts. She hadn’t eaten in 5+ hours. At the next stop—Ambala—I grabbed some food for her and took care of her little one while she ate. She looked at me with pure gratitude. I waved goodbye to little Divyanshi at Ludhiana.

Lesson? Small act, big smile..

Enter the B.Ed Bahu & Her Mom

From Ambala, two more passengers joined—another mother-daughter duo. The daughter was studying B.Ed near Katra and was also pregnant with her second child. So the mother decided to stay with her in the hostel. It turns out, trains are great for parenting podcasts!

I smiled and thought—this is the real multitasking: degrees + diapers and only women’s can do it. 

Faith Has No Eyes – Just Vision

At Katra, I saw a blind man from Alwar (Rajasthan) who had come alone for darshan. My first instinctive (and admittedly foolish) thought was—“What will he even see?” But then it hit me—darshan is not about sight, it’s about insight. I helped him get his yatra slip. Later, I found out a family had adopted him for the entire journey.

Faith really does find its way.

Mr. Dubey & The Kolkatta Chapter

While climbing up, I met an elderly couple—Mr. and Mrs. Dubey from Kolkata. He’s a Physics professor, retiring in July’13, and wanted to bring his wife for darshan. Since I had nothing better to do (and was unofficially training for the Vaishno Devi Olympics), I became their guide till Bhairon Baba. We spent 6 hours together, clicked photos, shared stories, and exchanged numbers. I became their local Google Maps with voiceover. I basically became their honorary third child.

Free prasad + emotional bonding = spiritual combo pack.

The Ardhkunwari Confusion

At Ardhkunwari, a group from Bihar looked lost. They didn’t know about the Yatra slip requirement. I guided them through the process, shared some tips, and we parted ways.

Note to first-time travelers: Google Maps doesn’t help with spiritual queues.

The Sleeper Class Saga

Now the funny part—my return train was at 5:00 AM. I reached the station at 12:00 AM (classic overplanning). The debate began: hotel for 4 hours or railway station lounge luxury? By 2:00 AM, saw my train already parked. With the attendant’s nod, I boarded early and dozed off like a budget yogi. Slept. At 3:00 AM, train started moving! I panicked—was this divine mischief? Turned out it was going to the yard for cleaning. So yes, I technically took a joyride at 3:00 AM before the actual journey. My train finally left Jammu at 8:00 am.

Indian Railways: Where suspense meets spirituality.

The Man Forgotten by His Family

On the way back, I met a 75-year-old man with cataract and vitiligo. He was travelling alone to meet some relatives because his own son had stopped caring for him. He looked tired… not just physically, but emotionally. His story stung. How do people forget the hands that once fed them? Made me want to hug my parents tighter.

Reminder for all of us: Karma has a longer memory than Facebook.

The Call That Keeps Ringing

Throughout my 3-day journey, my family kept calling: “Are you coming back or planning to become a priest?”  Jokes apart, no matter how old you get—even at 31, you’re still the little kid of the family.

But the truth is—Maa Durga made sure I never felt alone. Strangers became stories. Moments became memories. And somehow, even chaos found purpose. Because as I’ve learned:

• Traditions aren’t always forced.

• Sometimes, they grow on you… like chai, or kindness, or the chants of “Jai Mata Di.”

Next year, same journey. New stories. Same faith.

यमराज की परेशानी

आज कल हम सभी यही कहते हैं की दुनिया में इतना पाप और समस्याए बढ़ गयी हैं, पता नहीं आगे क्या होगा। मैंने सोचा अगर हमारा यह हाल हैं  तो सोचिये "यमराज" का क्या हाल होगा जिनको हम सभी मनुष्य के कर्म के हिसाब से फल देना होता है। इसी विषय पर मैंने कुछ पंक्तिया लिखने की कोशिश करी है।

यमराज एक दिन हुए बड़े परेशान,
एक अकेला चित्रगुप्त कैसे करेगा काम।

दुनिया की आबादी, गरीबी और पाप से  वो परेशान,
ऐसे तो पापियों का लग जायेगा यमलोक में जाम।

धरती पर मनुष्य ही बन बेठा शैतान,
नेता, पुलिस, साधू, परिवार किसी का नहीं कोई इमान।

मंदिर में लोग दे तो रहे बहुत दान,
पर मन में छल-कपट ने ले रखा हैं स्थान।

खुनी, चोर, झूठे को कर रहे सलाम,
सच्चे को हर कोई दे रहा दुःख और करे परेशान।

किसी को नहीं हैं पाप और कर्मो का ध्यान,
दुनिया में अब रह गए नाम के भगवान्।

दुनिया में फेला हैं हर तरफ सिर्फ अज्ञान,
ऐसे मैं कौन रखेगा का बेचारे यमराज का मान।

 

"God Is One" — A Traveller's Reflection

I often wonder—why do people keep fighting in the name of religion?

Even after all these years, I still don't understand the stimulus behind it.

Maybe the problem lies in my upbringing—or perhaps, the blessing. I was born in an Aggarwal family, raised in an Aggarwal-Jain culture, drawn towards Sikhism, surrounded by wonderful Muslim friends, and always curious about Christianity. My father never stopped me from exploring. He was a rebel in his own way—believing deeply in humanity. His simple belief was this:

All religions teach good things. It’s humans who interpret them as per their convenience.

He never cared for society’s orthodox expectations—and thanks to him, I was given the freedom to experience all religions with an open heart and mind.

Over time, I’ve visited sacred places across India and found his words to be true.

Hemkund Sahib – A Journey of Faith

Sikhism always had a magnetic pull on me. I still don’t know why. Between 2008 and 2010, I visited almost all the prominent Sikh spiritual sites. It all began at the Golden Temple (Amritsar)—a place where I first understood the profound meaning of Seva (selfless service). The peace I felt there was indescribable.

Then came Hemkund Sahib, tucked away at 14,200 feet in the Himalayas. Accessible only on foot, it taught me what true devotion and commitment feel like. There were no distractions—just pure reverence for the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and the other Gurus.

My journey didn’t stop there—Dukh Nivaran Sahib (Patiala), Bangla Sahib (Delhi), and more followed. Each visit deepened my faith.

"Satnam Waheguru."

The Beauty of Islam – Through Friendship

I was blessed with friends who opened doors to their world—especially those who followed Islam. They introduced me to the values of the Quran, the principles of equality and devotion, and the beauty of Ramadan.

I visited mosques with them, including Jama Masjid, and finally understood the deeper meaning of Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and the rituals of Iftar.

Although I missed out on many delicacies due to my vegetarian preferences, the warmth, love, and unity I witnessed during those moments nourished me far more.

No Labels. Just Humanity.

I won’t elaborate much on Hinduism or Jainism here—not because they’re less important—but because the intent of this post is to reaffirm one truth: “God is One.”

When you begin to explore with curiosity and humility, every path leads to the same source. You don’t need external approval to connect with the divine—your inner voice is enough.

Life is short. And none of us knows what comes next. So why wait? Be an ambassador of humanity—not of division.

You will feel the magic of God when you let go of the labels, the fear, and the noise. Just walk the path, heart open, with faith.

Let me end with two beautiful lines by Satinder Sartaj:

“Sai ve saadi fariyaad tere taai, sai ve bahon farh beera bane laai

Sai ve meriyan gunaha nu lukaai, sai ve hakk vich faisle sunaai.”

God is One. God is All. Walk in Love.

Stigmatized Mistakes & Beliefs

The current education system is designed to build army of rooks, bishops and pawns where each of them has limited role and option to move on the chessboard. Our system and families define the goal of their children which is to chase the race. If any of them refuse to take part or run slower than others then our society treat them like a discarded product. I was lucky that my parents never forced me to run in 90%-95% marks race. I got decent scores &  participated in every possible sports, art competitions, quiz, camps, trekking etc, luckily got prizes whatever I did. I think we lived a better life than studious students. They must be earning few millions but at what cost?

Most of the schools have one session/class for sports and co-curricular activities which are mandatory for students but students are rated/evaluated on the basis of their academic records not sports/extra activities. The problem is we under-evaluates our kids and doesn’t spend time in nurturing the talent. Imagine, if we give them enough space and options they can change the world.

Few of the well renowned personalities like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani etc. are role model for millions but do we know that all of the aforesaid personalities are either college or school drop outs. I am sure there journey was very tough and difficult for them to convince families or friends about their “i-m-possible” ideas.

A week ago, I was watching a video of 2 young school kids who have started their own company and they are the youngest CEO’s of the company. Now imagine, if their parents had demotivated them and told them to focus on their education. We could have lost 2 intelligent minds.

Few weeks ago, I saw a presentation by Sugat Mitra which he gave in TED conference. I was highly impressed with his research and the concept “Beyond the Hole in the Wall”. His book is an eye opener, he has challenged the current education system of India. How he has experimented with poor kids across the globe and find out the learning trend is same. It clearly shows that if we provide enough arms & ammunitions to even a poor kid, they can learn their own (without any guide). The power of self-organized learning is better than a forced learning.

Ken Robinson who is working in education industry feels that schools are killing creativity of the students. One of the important point he raised was kids who are in school are prepared for future but the fact is world is unpredictable and we don’t know what will be the scenario after 5 years. We are living in an era of “education inflation” which means 50 years ago a candidate with normal graduation degree used to get a job but now even a PHD holder won’t get it. The challenge is if we don’t encourage creativity of any kid at a younger age, it would impact them in future. The older you grow people are scared to be wrong.

One of the key messages from all these initiatives & research by different scholars or physicist is that we need to look things differently if we really want to add any value. Society will always oppose you whenever you come-up with an idea or if your thought process/believes are not in-line with their expectation. They will come-up with their silly reasons and every possible thing to become hurdle in your success or life. It is very tough to fight with them but if parents or system show the confidence and prepare them for the bigger challenges as well as failures. Ken Robinson said in one of the TED conference that “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

All creative and genius person are insane and passionate about their work. People should change their attitude and thought process towards them, most importantly stop stigmatizing mistakes and beliefs of others. Everyone has a talent to create a history, now it’s upto you whether you would like to be known for good or bad side. I think giving a shot to your idea or following your beliefs is a better choice than doing some non-interesting job.  

We are not born to live and die. We all are born with a purpose and contribute to the society and humanity. Think about it……

मोहमाया

मृत्युलोक के राजनीति के वैभव को देख,
ब्रह्मा जी ने एक दिन किया निर्णय,

स्वर्गलोक में भी आधुनिक लोकतंत्र अपनाया जाए,
पांच साल बाद सिंघासन का अधिकारी चुना जाए।

वरुण, अग्नि, कामदेव आदि देवताओ ने किया प्रस्ताव पास,
बेचारे इंद्र की टूट गयी रही सही आस। ।

स्वर्ग नर्क में हुआ चुनाव का जोर शोर से प्रचार,
देवता, राक्षस सारे पहुचे ताकि हमारा हो अधिकार।

स्वर्गलोक में जाग उठी सत्ता की जो प्यास,
इसीलिए गरीबी, अन्याय, बेरोजगारी का हैं वहा निवास  ।

जब जब पैसो का लालच आएगा,
तब तब देश भी बिक जायेग  ।।

आजादी के ५० साल

हमारे देश ने १५ अगस्त १९९७ को आजादी के ५० साल पुरे किये थे। उस समय मैंने एक कविता लिखी थी, उसकी पंक्तिया इस प्रकार हैं:

आजाद परिंदा हुआ पचास का,
जिसका हमने इतिहास सुना था।

अंग्रेजो ने था बाण चलाया,
फिर २०० साल तक कैद में तडपाया।

नेहरु, गाँधी, सुभाष ने उससे मरहम लगाया,
फिर उससे कैद से मुक्त करवाया।

कैद से निकल वो चहचाया,
पर उसने सर, पीठ पर बार बार घाव खाया

फिर भी उसने शान्ति का मार्ग दिखाया,
तभी तो मेरा प्यार भारत कहलाया।।


अब जब भी मैं अपने बचपन में लिखी कविताएं पढता हु तो मुझे अक्सर लगता हैं की हम बचपन में जो कुछ भी करते हैं वो हमे बड़े होने के बाद बहुत ही अजीब लगता है।। बचपन में हमे यह परवाह नहीं होती की हमारी कविता या कोई रचना किसी को पसंद आ रही हैं या नही, शायद इसी लिए बचपन को सुन्हेरे पल कहा जाता है।।
 

जनता की लाचारी

आज मैं आप सब के साथ एक कविता प्रस्तुत कर रहा हु जो मैंने ४ दिसम्बर १९९५ को लिखी थी।। 


जनता हुई हैं बड़ी लाचार,
सारी पार्टिया फैलाती भष्टाचार।।
ऐसे संकट में कौन करेगा उधार,
नेताओ को तो सिर्फ धन से प्यार।।
इसलिए हवाला और लाखुभई ठगी काण्ड होते हर साल,
डबवाली काण्ड भी  होते क्यों हर साल,
क्योंकि अस्पताल खुलते होने के बाद नरसंघार।।
जनता की सबसे बड़ी यह हैं लाचारी,
बड़ी पार्टिया के चलते आपस में तीर कटारी।।
वह खून खराबा खुद करवाते,
नाम जनता का हैं लगाते,
वोट मांगने के समय मस्का लगाते।।
ऐसे संकट में कौन लेगा अवतार,
जिससे देश का हो सिर्फ उद्ह्हार।।