RRDS

Pundit Samsundar Ramdeen was born in a little village in Central Trinidad, namely Perseverence Estate, Couva.

Pt. Ramdeen being a family man, father of two, government officer, astrologer, palmist, marriage officer and counselor, musician, teacher and vocalist, has proven himself to be an asset to his village, his country and the world over. He is also a director of the Trinidad Academy of Hinduism and the spiritual leader and founder of the Railway Road Dharam Sabha. He is also the Editor of the Dharma Karma, RRDS Publications

Tel: (868) 665-3739
Email: guruji100@yahoo.com
Facebook: Samsundar Ramdeen

Pilgrimage to India:
I always had a desire to go to India, but never wanted a 2 1-day visit JL as a tourist. I wanted to free lance, without any fixed schedule and having to run to catch a flight or bus. I also had a desire to get a “nadi” reading since I was 18 years old. My Guruji Swami Sadguru Sant Keshavadasji had told me about “nadi” readings in Madras (now Chennai)
This dream materialized when I left Trinidad on the 23rd August 2004 with my Dharam Patni.

On the 24th we had a stop over in London and this is where we got our induction into ashram life under the guidance of His Holiness Swami Nirliptananda, Spiritual Leader of the London Seva Ashram Sangha.

On the 25th we arrived at Delhi, India and checked into our hotel about 1:00 am. This hotel was arranged through the internet and I selected one that would be in the heart of the city. We had a little sleep and awoke before sunrise for my morning pooja (in my room).

We then left the hotel about 7:00 am to walk around, have coffee and get our bearings of Delhi.

Our first experience was a massive shock. The sight, smell, destitution and litter were unbearable. I began to pray. No coffee or food would have been able to restore my sanity. I asked God if this is what I came here for. We were in the middle of the Delhi SLUMS. We took an auto rickshaw and I asked the driver to go to the “sabsay baray” restaurant in Karol Barg (another part of Delhi). When I went to India I had full knowledge of what I wanted and where to go, thanks to one of our temple members who gave me the book “Lets go to India and Nepal”, and our Son who had visited India earlier. I was going to the restaurant but without an appetite. I did not know if I would have been able to drink even coffee (my favourite drink). We arrived at this restaurant - 99% less than my expectation. We had coffee and toast with butter and jam (first time in my life).

We then began to explore the city towards the shopping area of Karol Barg. Vagrants began to stalk us for money and food. We were dressed as Trinidadians and were easily identifiable as “foreigners”. A young man came up and advised us to take a rickshaw to avoid the hassling.

In the rickshaw I began to converse with the driver (with my little hindi) and he stopped in front of an office and said “wahan Puchay” (ask there).This was a tourist bureau. Everything changed immediately according to my wish (of course with a price). We were moved to a better hotel and then given a tour to some beautiful sight in Delhi, in air-conditioned comfort. We also visited two of Delhi’s most beautiful - The Lakshme Narayan and the Hare Krishna Temples, massive Divine structures.

Kashmir
The next day we were on a flight to Kashmir and then on to the Amarnath Cave Temple. Kashmir has been the cause of endless bloodshed between India and Pakistan amd so Security was very strict. The population is muslim majority. Hindus going on pilgrimage to Amarnath cannot do so without the support of the muslim population who provide hotels, cooks, dhobis, transport, tents, horses, guides etc. Knowing this was very comforting and consoling.

Amarnath Cave Temple
The distance from our camp to the Amarnath Temple was 28 km return trip. This area is called the land of glaciers. It was August 30th and there a lot of snow and ice. It was very cold. The trail is undulating and winding. There were thousands of Pilgrims of every age (even babies) walking. We would not have been able to make it on foot, so we used ponies. The Temple is above 20,000 feet high in the Himalayan Mountains. The water in the rivers was melting snow- ice cold. Inside the Temple (bare feet) was an experience out of this world - the pure energy of the place- make you are no longer tired from the trek and you no longer feel cold, even though there is melting snow on the rocky wet floor.

Golden Temple
We then had the blessings of visiting the Seik’s Golden Temple at Amritsar. Our timing coincided with the 400th birthday of Guru Nanak and was part of more than 1,000,000 pilgrims inside this spiritually uplifting Golden Temple.

Bhadrinath Temple
We were then blessed to drive 300 kms into the Mighty Himalayas to the Bhadrinath Temple which is just under the Neel Gin Mountain Feak of the Himalayas. Ice capped and ice cold. We visited most of the holy places including Bhagwan Satya Sai Baba’s ashram, Puttaparthy, and Swami Ganapathy’s ashram in Mysore.

Ashram - Sad Guru Sant Keshvadas
We then visited my guruji’s ashram in Tumkur Road, 43 km, Bangalore. This is the Vishwa Shanti Ashram. The entrance was about 100 ft wide and about 100 metres long and leading up to the main office. There were several Temples with the different Deities. In front of the main office was the majestic murtis of the seven devis of the seven holy rivers- Ganga, Jamuna,Godavari,Saraswatti, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri - towering above on a huge water fountain. Glancing to the left was the huge mandir that was being drawn by a chariot with four majestic horses.

The Bhagwad Gita Darshan Mandir had the entire Bhagwad Gita inscribed on the walls. Beneath this Mandir was the Serene Gayatri Devi Mandir. A visit to this mandir will remain with you for all your remaining life times.

Rameshwaram
God then sent us to the southern tip of India - Rameshwaram. During the Pitri Paksh period and we were permitted to do Pitr Pooja for all our ancestors as well as then Gow Daan.

I thought that Puja represented the end of my yaatra. But then I felt a strong compulsion to return to a place that I had been the day before - Dhanushkodi. This place was out on a sand bank about 10 to 15 km. We were required to take a 4x4 vehicle from here if you want to go further, which I did not want to do before, but today I felt compelled to go this additional 5 km. From there you can see the sand bank as far as the eye can see with the sea cutting several places. This was the remains of the bridge that was constructed by Lord Ram and others in Tretayuga, as recorded in Ramayan.

We were actually standing on the place where thousands of Divine souls came together and in service of LOVE FOR GOD, constructed the bridge to Lanka in order to sustain DHARMA.

Here, you also, can experience the ENERGY that is True Love. The energy of an age old, deep—seated overwhelming divinity. Thus ended our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Bharat (India).