DisruptHERs is a special series that celebrates women who have made a lasting impact and have been true disruptors. This week, we feature an exclusive interview with spiritual leader Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati. She came to India from Los Angeles at the age of 25 and based herself in the city of Rishikesh, located on the banks of the Ganges River. She is also the author of a memoir, From Hollywood to the Himalayas: A Journey of Healing and Transformation. Her teachings are a powerful blend of ancient wisdom and modern insights that resonate with people of all ages and genders.
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati
spiritual Leader, Motivational Speaker, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiis the voice of a visionary woman as a spiritual leader. She came to India on vacation from Los Angeles when she was 25. Thirty years later, Sadhvij came to India on pilgrimage. Rishikesh By the River Ganga Her house. She Parmarth Niketan Ashram She has dedicated her life to volunteer work in Rishikesh and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by US President Joe Biden.
“For me, it was a journey of grace. I came to India at the age of 25, on an adventurous journey with just a backpack. I never knew this would be my destination or that I would find something so profound. I knew nothing about India but I agreed to come because I was a strict vegetarian. I have travelled a lot in Europe, the UK, the US and South America. foolpure vegetarian food, matlab aaj bhi mushkil hai “It is difficult (to find pure vegetarian food) even today. It was really tough 30 years ago,” Sadhvi Ji told Times Now Digital in an exclusive interview.
When India was recommended to her, she decided to go there, thinking that at least there she would have pure vegetarian food and would be able to dine happily there.
“Then I came to Delhi. It was September 1996. We didn’t have Google to search where to go. But we had our Lonely Planet guidebook. So I opened my Lonely Planet guidebook and, having a coffee in Connaught Place, Delhi, I chose Rishikesh. So we came to Rishikesh. I didn’t know if Maa Ganga (Ganges) was a sacred or holy river. I just knew it was a river. I didn’t even know the Himalayas were sacred rivers. I just knew they were mountains. I was studying psychology and neurology. I wasn’t studying different countries, cultures, nations. Spiritualityor religion,” she said.
Her life changed forever after she first saw the holy river Ganga. Sadhvi Guru’s love for Maa Ganga is known to all her devotees.
“After I had a beautiful darshan (glimpse) of Ganga Maa, everything changed. In that moment, I witnessed the divine. In that moment, I saw the presence of God and realised that not only is God everywhere around me, but he is actually within me as well,” she says.
“And that was the first time in my life that I imagined myself as divine and one with God. When you grow up as a young woman, anywhere, but especially in California, Los Angeles, there are all these pressures to look and act, what to wear, what to do well in school, what parties to go to. All of these pressures tell you your worth as a person. Do I look right? Do I do the right things? Do I live in the right area of town? Do I go to the right vacation resort? That always seemed to be the measure of my worth. The idea that I could actually be divine and one with God was something that had never occurred to me,” she added.
On the banks of the Ganges, she experienced a sense of oneness with God, with her surroundings, with herself and with herself: “And I fell to the ground and cried. And I knew this was my place. This is my home. I had found my home. This is where I was meant to stay.”
Before coming to India, Sadhvi Ji had graduated from the prestigious Stanford University and was pursuing a PhD in Psychology, and a week after arriving in Rishikesh, she met her guru. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji.“I feel like my life has been deeply spiritually influenced. After the Ganges was my teacher, the holy Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji. I met him about a week after I had this incredible experience on the banks of the Ganges. I knew I was destined to stay there, but I didn’t know where, how, or what to do.”
“My brain kept saying, ‘OK, this is home. Yes, I should be here. But what am I going to do with all this education?’ Itna saara paisa kharcha kiya education ke upar par ab kya karogay “(You have spent so much on your education, what are you going to do with it now?) Am I just going to sit on the banks of the Ganges and shed tears of ecstasy? Yes, that is beautiful, but what else can I do?’ And then finally, when I met Pujya Swamiji and had darshan, he was like the glue that held the different parts of the experience together,” she says.
He told her about the various programs and projects he was doing for children, women, the environment, healthcare and many other important causes and projects for people in need. “And I thought, ‘Oh, this is why I’m getting an education.’ In addition to having all these sacred spiritual experiences and spiritual awakenings, I can also be a part of really making a difference in service. We’ve always been taught to ask ourselves, ‘What’s in it for me?’ Wherever we go, we ask, ‘What’s in it for me? What am I going to get out of it?’ But… Bharat mein aa ka, Rishikesh mein aa ka “(Since coming to India and Rishikesh) I have learned that the question of life is not, ‘What is in it for me?’ but, ‘What can they do through me?’ All I wanted to do was serve. Life changed from ‘What is in it for me?’ to ‘What can they do through me?'” Sadhvi says.
There is a mental health crisis happening among young people who are stressed out, so how can we address this situation as long as we are in a competitive society?
“We need to look at the source of this stress: why are we so obsessed with our success – school, college, job, bank account, social media presence -? We have defined success so wrong. We have given it a definition that is based on how much money you make, how big your house is, how big your car is, how much power, fame or popularity you have. But that is not success. And the way you know it’s not success is to talk to people who have all of those things,” she says.
“They are miserable. They suffer from depression and anxiety, they drink alcohol and they use drugs. I know a lot of people like that.Bahar toh lagta hai ki sab kuch bahaut badiya hai. (From the outside, everything looks great). Phir Darwaza Band, Ho Jata Hai, Bas Hum Akere Hai, Puja Swamiji Ke Saath, Unki Family Ke Saath, Phir Sabhi Ronai Laghtai Hai. (When the door closes and we are left alone with Pujya Swamiji and his family, they all begin to cry.) They are miserable. So, when you chase a vision of success, you give up everything that brings you happiness. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be successful in your job, in your career, financially. That’s fine. But don’t expect it. [your job] For your happiness, your joy, your peace in life,” she says.
Another reason she feels stressed is because her worth as a human being is determined by her actions, she explains. “For example, if you’re a little kid and you tidy your room, your mom says, ‘good boy, good girl,’ and hugs and kisses you. She says, ‘Your room is clean. You look so nice. I love you.’ And if your room is not clean, you’re considered naughty or bad or messy or lazy. Now, even if you imagine your parents don’t hit you, it’s even worse if they do. But even if they don’t hit you, your identity, good or bad, worthy or unworthy, is based on a simple thing: ‘Did you do your chores today?'” Sadhvi explains.
No wonder we get so stressed out because it’s not just about a raise or a promotion or a job. It’s about our whole worth as human beings. So, obviously, it’s stressful. And the only solution is to realize that you are not your job. You are not what you do or what you produce. Your grades are not you. Sadhvi ji says, “We have a great mantra.”
Om Purnam – Ada Purnam – Idam Purnath – Purnam – Udashiate |
Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate |
“And that reminds us, of course, that God is by definition infinite. Purna“, which is perfect, infinite, complete, perfect divine being. And not only was it made out of perfect, infinite, complete, but it was also made out of perfect, infinite, complete, perfect, which is also infinite, complete, perfect. It’s like Math 101, right? You divide infinity by eight billion and what do you get? It’s infinity. You divide infinity by a hundred billion and you get infinity.”
“Each of us, therefore our true essence, is infinite,” she emphasizes. “And getting in touch with that fullness, that wholeness, that perfection is the only way to break the cycle of stress deeply and completely. Then you get an A and it’s great. You realize, ‘Oh, maybe I didn’t study enough, or I misunderstood the material, or maybe I didn’t take it a little, I mean, as seriously as I should’. ‘Okay, I’ll try harder next time.’ But that doesn’t mean you’ve failed as a person, and it doesn’t mean you won’t jump off the roof of your college hostel and kill yourself. These suicides are a call to say, ‘Oh, this means my family is disgraced. I’m worthless. I’d rather be dead.'” Here we need to remember that you are not what you have done, you are not what you have earned, you are not what you have achieved. You are a divine soul. You are inseparable from God. You are light. You are loved. You may not know it, but that’s okay. You will know it. But for now, remember that,” says Sadhvi Ji.
Sadhvi Ji wrote his memoirs. From Hollywood to the Himalayas: A journey of healing and transformation It became a bestseller. One of her most important works for society is World Interfaith Water and Sanitation Alliance She serves as the executive director of the organization, GIWA, which brings together different religious leaders and their communities to protect water for hygiene and sanitation.
