This recording (below) was from 2012. Vishwanatha Baba lived in the most remote area along the Salandi river. No vehicles could reach his small mud hut, and you had to walk for many hours through the forest to reach his ashram. He went to this remote area to be away from all the materialistic people who had started flooding into the holy places on the edges of the forest, like at Chakratirtha where he stayed before this.

Part of the long journey to visit Vishwanath Baba’s hut.

On this occasion we were sent along with other sadhus such as Dayalu Baba to try to convince Vishwanath Baba to come back to Chakratirtha Ashram. We eventually convinced Vishwanatha Baba to return to Chakratirtha Ashram, but it took us around a year and several visits before he gave in.

Dayalu Baba standing in front of Vishwanatha Baba’s hut.

There was no electricity in this area, nor any humans around, so in the evening you had the beautiful darkness and silence of nature. It was located on the banks of the Salandi river, so in the morning you could go outside and take your morning bath in the pristine waters. The waters flowed direct from the mountains past you, with no human settlements polluting it.

In the evening, as the sun began to set, Vishwanath Baba wanted to engage in harinama sankirtana, as is the custom of sadhus from these areas. I had no video camera as this was when mobile phones were still primitive, but I was able to record the sound of the kirtan, which you can hear below.

Those days were the peak of my life. We lived surrounded by the most amazing sadhus, and served them with new adventures opening up spontaneously every day. When we were around the sadhus we had no plans, we just waited for them to instruct us what was the next mission to engage in.

Everything would unfold on its own, and we were ready to go anywhere and do anything knowing it would please the sadhus. They had inner vision and could receive guidance from higher authorities, and our duty was to assist them in whatever small way we could.

One day we would be on a mission to perform a yajna on a mountain peak deep in the forest, the next day we may be sent to meet with another rare sadhu hidden in the forest. The sadhus always knew who was waiting to be met before we even got there. They had inner communication between each other, which us common people did not possess.

Bhagavat Das with Vishwanatha Baba.

The following video is a recording of the evening kirtan from our first visit to Vishwanatha Baba’s hut in the Salandi Reserve Forest, on October 9th, 2012. Present for the kirtan were Vishwanatha Baba, Dayalu Baba, Damodar Baba, Bhagavat Das and myself. The first three kirtans were led by Damodar Baba, and the rest by Vishwanatha Baba. The audio is not that good, because it is from 2012 and we didn’t have a good recording device.

This is the pure kirtan of authentic sadhus living in the remote forest away from people, electricity and modern life. In the evening as the sun sets and everywhere becomes dark they light the kerosene lantern and sit around singing bhajans about Bhagavan.

On this particular trip I had no extra clothes to wear, because we had not made any plan to come there and were suddenly instructed to do it. In the morning I took bath in the Salandi river and washed my only dhoti, and had no towel to dry off with. I went back to baba’s ashram and sat in my kaupinam while the wet dhoti dried in the sun. Vishwanath Baba saw us in this state and took his harinama chadar and told me to wear it as a dhoti so we would not be cold.

Vishwanath Baba cooking for us in the morning. At this time he was over 80 years old.

Normally I would not wear a harinama chadar in this manner, but when instructed by a sadhu I will listen. To Baba the primary importance was that the devotee should not be cold or uncomfortable, and I listened to him and sat wearing his harinama chaddar until my dhoti finished drying in the sun. I would also never think to wear a sadhu’s personal clothes, but when they are insisting you have to comply.

Despite being over 80 years old at this time, in the morning Baba proceeded to cook for us on his simple mud stove. Even in this harsh remote location he was personally taking care of a mother cow and her calf, as he wanted to perform daily goseva. The baby bull calf in the photo above (Vasu) was later given to us by Vishwanatha Baba, and he continues to live in our goshala.

Every cow and calf at our sanctuary has a story of rescue, healing, and hope. Your generous support provides them with food, shelter, medical care, and a lifetime of protection. Together, we can give these sacred animals the love and safety they deserve.