FROM HOLLYWOOD TO HIMALAYAS – An account of a extraordinary spiritual journey

A mentally disturbed Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati (Sadhviji) herself a psychologist with PH D degree from United States came to India prodded by her husband since she loved Indian food in 1996. But after reaching Rishikesh at banks of Ganga she got the food for thought for rest of her life !

Now one of the preeminent female spiritual teachers in the world, Sadhvi recounts her journey with wit, honesty, and clarity and, along the way, offers teachings to help us all step onto our own path of awakening. She also tries how we discover the truth of who we really are— expansive love, perfection, and an embodiment of the Divine.

Born in an upper middle-class Jewish family and raised among the glitterati of Hollywood, the facade of Sadhviji’s glamorous upbringing hid dark secrets about sexual abuse, depression, anxiety and binge-eating syndrome. As expected of her, she excelled in her studies at Stanford University and had worked most of her way through a Ph.D. program in psychology. But one day her life unexpectedly changed forever.

Apprehending problems her husband brought her to India in quest of peace and spirituality. She was a non-seeker, reluctantly agreed as she loved Indian food. In Rishikesh, she had an unexpected, powerful, transformative experience standing on the banks of the sacred Ganga River, an experience of the Divine which brought her to tears.

In pursuit for her long stay at the banks of Ganga, she was drawn to the ashram of Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh and asked permission to stay there. She was told no—she was a woman and a foreigner. After a week of twice- daily inquiries, Sadhviji finally met the president, H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji (Pujya Swamiji), a world- renowned guru to whom she was deeply, unexpectedly, and instinctively drawn. He granted her permission to stay at the ashram as an exception.

Soon, Sadhvi admitted to Pujya Swamiji that she was filled with fear and anxiety due to her traumatic past. He asked her if she wanted to carry her pain all her life —or choose to let it go. He told her to enter the Ganga and give all her anger, pain, fear, and grudges to the river and let them be swept away. Though skeptical she stood in the sacred river, offering her pain and anger to the rushing cold waters. and finding deep forgiveness within herself, she was transformed, imbued with the unshakable belief she was destined to walk a new path in life. She was willing to give up everything she knew and commit herself to understanding the nature of the divine and the path to happiness and fullness! This soon led to being ordained into the monastic tradition of sanyas by Pujya Swamiji.

Now Sadhviji is a renowned, motivational speaker and best- selling author who gives keynote addresses at large fora, on a wide variety of topics ranging from conscious business to science and spirituality to sustainable development to the keys of happiness and peace in life to all aspects of yoga. Her talks blend the knowledge and logic of the West with the insights, spirituality and wisdom of the East, and she is renowned as a spiritual bridge between the two cultures. She has spoken at several United Nations events, including with the Secretary- General of the UN, and at many high-level international conferences and summits.

In recognition, Sadhviji has received numerous national and international awards and recognition for her work with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene as well as women’s upliftment and empowerment including from the Cabinet Minister of Water Resources, Government of India as well as from the Ambassador of the United States to India.

Sadhavi serves as on the United Nations Advisory Council on Religion and on the steering committees of the International Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) and the Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty, a campaign by the United Nations and World Bank. She is also the Secretary- General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, an international interfaith organization dedicated to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; president of Divine Shakti Foundation, a foundation that runs free schools, vocational training programs, and empowerment programs; and director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival at the Ashram.

Sadhvi has lived for the past 25 years at the ashram where she oversees a variety of humanitarian projects, teaches meditation, lectures, writes, counsels individuals and families and serves as a unique female voice of spiritual leadership throughout India and the world. The ashram in the lap of the lush Himalayas, along the banks of the Ganges. It was founded in 1942 by Pujya Swami Shukdevanandji Maharaj.

As the largest ashram in Rishikesh with over 1000 rooms, Parmarth Niketan provides a clean, pure, and sacred atmosphere as well as abundant, beautiful gardens to thousands of pilgrims, who come from all corners of the Earth. Most importantly the Parmarth Niketan is open to all visitors, with no discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, religion, caste or creed.

Sadhavi’s fantastic journey turbulences to spirituality has been captured in a new book “Hollywood to Himalayas.”

Source: Himalayan News Chronicle