The dream of visiting Mahavatar Babaji’s Cave came true

By Karen Dabrowska, London, UK

Rishikesh Day Tour makes the dream of visiting Mahavatar Babaji’s Cave come true.

Have you ever dreamt of visiting Mahavatar Babaji’s Cave where the immortal yogi revived  the technique of Kriya Yoga  started around 5000 years ago and introduced to the West by Paramahansa  Yogananda author of Autobiography of a Yogi?

Dream no more. Uttarakhand-based Rishikesh Day Tour, specialists in spiritual  tourism,  have a variety of tours to the cave atop a hill amidst lush, green pine forests.

I chose the tour which started  from New Delhi with a 370km pleasant drive to Ranikhet Hill Station in the Kuimaon Hills. On route was the first Forest Healing  Centre  in India which covers around 13 acres and offers a unique meditation practice based on immersing oneself in the silence and ambience of the forest.

There was also a visit to the  8th century  Jhula Devi temple dedicated to the goddess  Druga protector of the people of the valley and famous for its cluster of thousands of elegantly designed bells. Legend tells us that whoever ties a bell to the temple wall is granted his or her wish. Leopards and tigers inhabit the dense pine forests and Marian my guide told me it is quite usual to see a leopard at night by the side of the road. Tigers hardly ever make an appearance as they are deep inside the forest. In Dwarahat on the way to the cave are 55 ancient temples: the Badinath Group of temples.

Joshi’s Guest House is the one and only place to stay close to the cave. It is an unassuming building, beautifully decorated with  lots of flowering pot plants. The rooms and cabins can only be reached by climbing some not very safe steps flanked by plants and shrubs.  Joshi welcomed guests from a bench outside the general store with a cup of tea. Life is slow in the mountains. Nobody hurries.  It is hard to imagine that a bus will ever stop at the bus stop. “Take what you want from the store, “ Joshi said  with a welcoming smile  and no worries about payment which I made of course.

For me this was the real India, the cow by the roadside, the village woman tending her vegetable garden,  the cool mountain air, the peace. My small cabin had three beds, a mirror and plenty of phone charging plugs. No WhatsApp.  The toilet and bathroom were outside with two buckets for the shower and hot water from a zip on the wall.

Night came slowly transforming the day into a  seemingly surreal world.  There were three lights on the hill outside my cabin. The same configuration of  lights I saw in my room when I was reading about Babaji in Autobiography of a Yogi.Babaji  was  here, welcoming me.

A very polite young man  with whom  I conversed with the assistance of google translate brought me dinner: rice, vegetables and chapatis.

Meditation hall enroute to Babaji's cave

 Then it was time to retreat into the  large meditation room  with pictures of

Yogananda and his masters. During my meditation I felt they were  there sitting  with me.

Trek to the cave.

The  2km trek to the cave began the next morning at sunrise. The plan was to reach the cave and spend some time there alone  before the devotees started arriving in large numbers.  Maniram  parked the car at the end of a dirt road and we  began the trek. He was happy to just be carrying two bottles of mineral water and some chocolate biscuits. When leading longer treks he  was given heavy packs but still managed to out pace the young Europeans.

The cave is 2000 meters above sea level and the walk at this altitude was difficult to start with. The stunning nature with a million shades of green, gently meandering streams  and welcome seats along the way soon made me forget about the initial discomfort.

Just before the cave was  a meditation hall  adorned, like all Self Realization Fellowship mediation halls,   with  a photo of Yogananda his masters, some mats on the floor and some welcome chairs at the back. I have yet to master the technique of sitting cross legged on the floor and meditating.

Outside Babaji's cave

A few minutes walk from the meditation hall the cave appeared all of a sudden. It was a lot

smaller than I imagined. Or maybe the pictures made it look bigger. I climbed  inside and sit looking out at the world. Times stood still. It was  just me looking out onto the world from the inside of  the cave.

Devotees and tourists started arriving after about half an hour and it felt as if it was time to leave. The downhill walk was a lot quicker and easier than the walk up the slight incline to the cave.

Time for a tea break

Maniram’s  friend who lived in a house off a path  at beginning of the trek offered me a cup of tea and a peach which he picked from a  tree in his garden. I had as much curiosity value for these people as they had for me.

Joshi welcomed me back to the guest house where I stocked up on mineral water and slept for three hours.  Another simple but delicious dinner of rice, vegetables and chapatis was served.  The moon with  its powerful energy told me  of world’s far beyond this earth.

“Babaji tests you sometimes.” Joshi said  when I told  him about the altitude sickness. He didn’t venture an opinion about whether or not I passed the test.

About the author:

Hindumitra Karen Dabrowska lives in London, UK. She first became interested in Sanatana Dharma in 2020 after reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. In 2022 she visited Babaji’s cave where Yogananda’s master was initiated into kriya yoga. She found India an enchanting, fascinating and welcoming country which she has been visiting twice a year since 2022. She then visited Rishikesh and in it the Vasishtha Cave home of Vasishtha one of the seven immortal saints. In February 2025 she felt it to be a great honor to go to the kumbh mela a very personal spiritual experience shared with millions of people. In her own words "I felt I was part of one gigantic family and we all embarked on a pilgrimage together."

In 2023 she listened to a talk at Laxmi Narayan Temple in West London by Hindumitra Dr Malladi Srinivasa Sastry, founder of Hindumitra Foundation, and was inspired by his clear presentation of the concepts of Sanatana Dharma. The talk was a condensed version of his ten-lesson course “Bring out the best in you – the Sanatana Dharma way” which she studied online. She kept in touch with Dr Malladi by email and WhatsApp and when he heard that she was planning to visit south India in January this year she was invited to Visakhapatnam to see the activities of Hindumitra. There was a fascinating visit to Dimili village where young people gave a performance of traditional dancing and art forms. Hindumitra is keen to promote the preservation of cultural traditions. She also took part in a major Hindumitra event with the theme the world is one family in Visakhapatnam public library where Hindumitra Karen ji spoke about her spiritual journey with Sanatana dharma. The programme attended by over 100 people was very full with a discussion about Hindu parenting and folk culture performances and demonstrations. Residing in UK, Hindumitra Karen ji actively contributes to the spiritual work of Hindumitra and is currently attending weekly classes on Bhagavatam by Hindumitra Dr. Malladi Srinivasa Sastry.