By Rishi Aditya
Traveling always brought me joy. I spent years traveling around in an old car, and later flying around the world with a backpack and pocket money from my businesses. Yet traveling for years only to admire landscapes, explore cultures, or take in the sights eventually led to boredom and nonsense.
In 2017, a friend and I wanted to start a very cool project: Travel with Meaning. The idea was to meet people who are making a positive impact in the world and share their stories on a vlog, but a few months later I met Guruji, Satguru Paramahamsa Vishwananda.
The first thing Guruji asked me was, “What are you doing?” I told Him about our plan, but shortly after meeting Him, I realized He was the only one who was meant to be found and interviewed :)
Fast Forward 8 Years
My godbrother, and senior monk, Swami Aniruddha, has always loved traveling and sharing Guruji’s love wherever he goes. When it became clear that he would be spending time in America in 2025, the seed of a Sangha Tour naturally began to form.
Ask any traveler—the planning is as much a part of the journey as the road itself. During Soul Awakening last fall, we spent long hours in Guruji’s house, exploring maps and possibilities. Guruji, while painting or quietly absorbed in His own activities, would glance over at us, smile, and laugh, often asking, “How’s it going?” His enthusiasm made us wonder if everything might eventually fall apart! You know after all, His specialty is removing desires and attachments from His devotees. But instead, He was fully supportive.
From there, the plan unfolded almost effortlessly. Doors opened for us to connect with existing sanghas and participants of Guruji’s online Soul Awakening Program. What began as an idea, took shape as a living journey filled with Atma Kriya Yoga classes, Shaktipat initiations, satsangs, and kirtan, often spontaneously manifesting as we traveled along.
Special Guests
During the events, we felt something was missing, so we started doing abhishekam to our deities during the public events. Their sacred presence became our main attraction and constant companion throughout the tour.
Long ago, when Swami Aniruddha started traveling through Europe and India, Guruji asked, “What do you want?” He replied, “I would like something to awaken love in others, like You have done for me.” Guruji immediately manifested a murti of Ranganath (Narayanaya on Adishesh) from His heart and told Swami Aniruddha he could bless people with It.
Swami carries five manifested deities—four from Guruji, and one from a disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. Along with my deities, it was one big happy family—no one stayed behind.
Over our eight-week tour through 20 cities in the US and Mexico, more than 500 people received blessings as the deity was placed on their heads. People’s lives were positively transformed; the experience literally left a footprint on them—Vamana style!
The Magic Unfolded
The more we brought Guruji and the deities to the forefront, the more He enacted His divine lila in front of us. The feeling was, “Let’s just stay out of His way.” It was very important to read the “flow” of when and how He wanted things to happen. When we did, He literally paved the road for us to follow. Our part was to stay positive, flexible, and open to the adventure.
Divine “coincidences” redirected us to remarkable golden moments. One hotel guest followed a sign reading “Bhakti Marga monks doing a yajna”—after years of following Guruji online, she discovered she lived near our Bhakti Marga Toronto center without knowing it. Another urgent request for devotee initiation even resulted in a miracle: Guruji’s grace freed her brother from a dangerous kidnapping in Mexico (Instagram story link below).
Every story, every encounter, every transformation can be traced back to Guruji’s grace. His miracles were around every corner. He really is the best planner, and following His path is so much more exciting than anything we could do on our own.
With this tour, He manifested my original project of Traveling With Meaning, just tailoring it to what I really want to do now—share the Love for God with people as much as I can.
The Next Adventure: Bhakti Roadtrip
Swami Aniruddha and I are hitting the road again, full blast, on a Bhakti Roadtrip, with an RV loaded with instruments, deities, Satyanarayana Puja elements, flyers for Guruji’s events, and a lot of ‘Buena Onda’ (good vibes).
Please, come and meet us along the way!
We will visit many cities, in many states. Everyone is welcome to join any of these events, so invite your friends and family. We want to prepare for the bhakti-tsunami when Guruji returns to America in May.
Our message: “Return to Love”—a journey back to who you truly are by the grace of Satguru Paramahamsa Vishwananda, who will be back in America April 29–May 26. He is coming to bless us all during His events in Elmira, Miami, New Orleans, Long Beach, and New York City.
Help us prepare a warm welcome for Him.
See you on the road! 🚐✨
FOLLOW OUR BHAKTI ROADTRIP
https://community.bhaktimarga.us/sangha-tour
A MIRACLE IN MEXICO
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ3eZr8gKiG/