Hemkunt Sahib : He's actually there..

Hemkunt Sahib a Sikh Gurudwara, located in Chamoli district of Uttar Pradesh, is dedicated to the tenth Guru of Sikh religion, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Ji..

I have visited many religious places but my experience of Hemkunt Sahib is very unique and at the same time strangest too.. It is “UNIQUE” because first time I was allowed to go out alone just with my friends and without any family member.. now why am I calling it strangest?? because I have had no idea about its location, popularity and the religious relevance.. To be very honest that mad group of my friends were just excited with the idea of getting “FREEDOM” from all the dictators of family and school.... It was a ten days trip.. We were dreaming about mountains covered with silver shine snow, the greenery, exotic nature scenes total masti, dhamal blah, blah.. par ye kya the moment we entered in our tourist luxury bus, we got the first shock as to many of our other companions were old people with a particular religious mind set.. Oh GOD save us.. and actually God saved us because in that bus few young, good looking guys were also travelling with us.. later on we all became good friends and they used to visit our homes too.. It's been many years now but really I would like to visit this place again and again..

So let’s come to the main point.. “GURUDWARA HEMKUNT SAHIB”..
It is a unique star shaped Gurudwara.. and is situated on the bank of a holy-sweet-chilled-water lake called “Amrit Sarowar”.. The place is a narrow valley surrounded by seven peaks (Saptashring).. Like other hilly pilgrimages this place is also inaccessible during the winter season.. Even in summers it is visited only during the day time, because lack of enough oxygen at that height all the pilgrims including the Granthis (Priests) have to come back to another Gurdwara Gobind Dham..
Till 20th century, this place was completely out of reach from the people..

The autobiography of Gobind Singhji has clearly mentioned in a verse about Hemkunt Sahib..
Hemkunt Parbat hai jahaan, Sapt sring sobhit hai tahaan
but people did not believe this as there was no sign of such place.. then Pandit Tara Singh Narotam, a nineteenth century Nirmala scholar (an old form of an academic degree) got inspired by his dream and became the first person to trace the geographical location of Hemkunt Parbat (The Mountain)..
Later on Sant Sohan Singh of tehri Garhval actually did a survey of this area and found the place in, and with the financial assistance and encouragement from Bhai Vir Singh, he constructed a 3-metre square shrine..

As I have mentioned earlier that there is a small lake near the Gurudwara, called Amrit Sarovar, is considered as very holy and there is a ritual to take a bath in this lake.. Though the lake remains frozen for almost entire year, but it doesn't stop the devotees to take a dip in the freezing water of this lake.. It was an unforgettable Experience.. and one must visit this place if you actually want to feel the peace, the nature’s beauty and above all “HIS PRESENCE”..