Pratishtha Divas at Kainchi Dham
June 15th holds religious significance for followers and believers of Neem Karoli Baba, a renowned Indian saint. It was he who laid down the foundation of the Kainchi Dham temple on 24th May, 1962. Every year, on June 15th, devotees from all over the country and across the world congregate to pay respect to what is recognized as an auspicious date, because way back in 1962, a deity of Lord Hanuman was installed in the ashram, and to commemorate this day, it was titled Pratishtha Divas. It is when the ashram was recognized as having being canonized by the deity’s presence. In other words, the holistic significance tied to this date was noted.
The devotees come for this one special day, and it is called as Kainchi Dham Mela or just Kainchi Mela. Food and prasad are served to the devotees and it is said that no matter how large the crowd of visiting pilgrims are, the food never runs out. That is how well organized the whole event is. Aside from this one special day, people visit Kainchi Dham ashram to meditate and participate in satsangs. There are sessions devoted to godly practices, yoga chants and doing seva, a form of karma yoga. This is a selfless service to God.
Kainchi Dham itself is a surreal sight and one can feel powerful energies and vibrations when visiting it. Ensconced by Himalayan mountains and sprawling, yet perfectly kept gardens – it is a striking location to visit. Why are we bringing this festival to your notice? Because, our hotel The Orchard, in Peora is the only luxury boutique hotel, close to Kainchi, Uttarakhand. The distance from the hotel to the temple is 40 km. Arrangements can be made to take you to Kainchi and bring you back to the comforts that you can expect from a luxury hotel.
Who is Neem Karoli Baba? He was believed to have a strong connection that goes beyond the physical realm with souls he had never chanced upon. The man was beloved, as he was unconditional in his love for whomever he did meet. His teachings were simplistic and could be applied universally. What he preached was that we are all one, and we must love and serve everyone. Be honest and to remember God. An important principle in his teachings was to feed everyone. And it is this belief that became the central theme of the Kainchi Dham Mela.
Revered by many, he was called ‘Miracle Baba’ as he had this ability to put believers in ‘Samadhi’ which is a state of intense concentration and meditation with just the touch of his finger. His teachings spread around the world and reached the ears of technology giants like Steve Jobs of Apple and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame. Both have descended down in a bid to seek insights of the spiritual kind at the Kainchi Dham Ashram.
If this is something you are interested in making a trip to, you can make a booking with us at The Orchard. While there is nothing too strenuous about this day, the car journey can take a while. So it is always better to plan ahead and take advantage of our hotel’s proximity, this way you can have a fulfilling day out at Kainchi Dham and when spiritually replenished come back to The Orchard to relax and enjoy the surreal Himalayan views.