Girnar - The Way to Heaven

"Heard many a times people saying about Girnarji and Neminath dada,

But never got a chance to visit and feel the purity of this tirth. 

Every single person verbalized that 2020 was the worst year to be alive,

But Nemjikaparivar and Hardik Bhaiya made the last month of this year remarkable for me by organizing Girnar Jaatra.

Girnar- It is part of Junagadh town and district in south-western Gujarat, India. The 22nd Tirthankara Neminath attained nirvana at Girnar and Lord Dattatreya performed penance at the top of the hill. 

We began our journey from Mumbai on 12th December 2020 at 9.05pm and arrived Rajkot at 9.30am, 

From there we went to Nageshwar Dham, seeked Lord Parshwanath's blessings and finally at 3pm we reached Girnar.

From here the excitement doubled, we all gathered in the hall for Bhavyatra and Paras Gada's melodious voice got our spirituality into limelight,

The line, 'Rome rome giranar gunje shvase shvase, Shvase shvase neminath biraje rome rome' filled our souls with positive vibes.

It is next to impossible to lay out the greatness and glory of Girnar Tirth- the most ancient and sacred pilgrimage of Jains and all those who value the life of every living organism.

Many sadhus, kings, people and jinshasan followers sacrificed their life for the up-liftment and protection of Girnar in order to partially repay the debt of such benevolence of this shrine.

After hearing all this from Hardik Bhaiya I was very excited to climb the Girnar hill and feel the aura of purity, 

Because we all are always in search of a place where we can get lost into a positive atmosphere.

I woke up at 4am in the morning and by 5am we all started our Jaatra from Taleti- the starting point of Jaatra,

Start was a bit difficult because we had to climb 3800 steps but cheering, 'Jai Jai Shree Neminath' boosted everyone's energy.

As the distance between me and my Neminath Dada was getting shorter, my speed was getting faster,

Finally by 7am I reached Dada's Darbar and looking at his mesmerizing face all my exhaustion vanished off.

We all settled down, sung Bhakti songs and after a few minutes Neminath Dada's abhishek began,

My eyes were constant and I felt like I was in heaven.

From there we strided to Sheshavan, did darshan, pooja and chaityavandan, 

And went to visit the temple where Neminath dada attained Moksha.

Then we all climbed back to the main Girnar temple to see Neminath Dada's Bhakti and bhavya aarti,

I fasted for the whole day but not even once I felt like I was hungry or tired because I knew my dada was with me all the time.

This time when I reached darbar I was very very happy because this was my first Jaatra and I got a chance to see Neminath Dada's aarti, which is performed daily but very few lucky ones get to be a part of it.

Dada's darbar was decorated with diyas all around and looking at him I felt like he's present here live,

Aarti started with pleasant sound of dhol and nagada.

The surrounding was filled with positivity which gave me the feeling of eternal peace, 

And now it was the time to leave, tears rolled down my cheeks and I felt as if I am leaving someone who's very dear to me, 

But then I said myself, 'Neminath Dada is mine and he will always be there with me.'

My experience was very amazing and I am eager to go back again, 

And if you want to feel these heavenly vibes then you should definitely visit Girnar Tirth,

Because not everything can be explained into words."

'JAY GIRNAR, JAY NEMINATH'