Shambhala, the etheric helipad🔗

Tapovan is a location at about 15,000 feet altitude in the Himalayas, above Gangotri and Gomukh, where Ganga appears. Even today both Gomukh and especially Tapovan are difficult to reach. They have only trekking paths and hardly any accommodation to speak of. Ten years ago when Nithyananda visited and stayed in these places there were far fewer visitors.

Nithyananda told us that to go up to Tapovan and stay there as he did for many months, it requires acclimatization at the Gangotri altitude for many months. Air is very thin at such high altitudes and this can be fatal for some. We asked him how he survived in Tapovan. He said he lived in caves, covered himself with some jute material and newspapers left behind by other sadhus and survived on fruits, berries and roots that he picked from the plants and trees. He stayed for about six months at Tapovan.

Nithyananda talks with deep passion about Tapovan. The Himalayas are a living entity to him, but Tapovan is very special. He calls this the fabled Shambhala, where the energy of the Universe resides. The Sapta Rishis, the seven sages, who are talked about in the Hindu scriptures reside here. Nithyananda says that the Sapta Rishis are not physical entities but the combined energy of enlightened beings that decide on the operation of the Universe. He told us that a being could only be enlightened as a human from planet earth. Other planets have living beings but not at the same level of consciousness of humans that can elevate into super consciousness. One needs to be born as a human to be enlightened. The launch pad of the enlightened being is located in Tapovan in the etheric plane. He also said that the banyan tree at Bidadi and the banyan tree that he visited with Arunagiri Yogiswara in Thiruvannamalai too are in the same etheric plane.

On his way down from Tapovan to the plains Nithyananda was offered a lift in an Indian Army truck. This truck had crude metal benches to sit on at the rear and these benches had metal bolts to locate weapons. At some point when the truck traversed a ditch, Nithyananda was thrown up with force and landed on a steel bolt. This bolt pierced through and fractured his spine. He was taken to the nearest Army Hospital where he was bandaged and told to rest for a few weeks to allow the fracture to heal. On the way to the Hospital Nithyananda kept his hand where the fracture had occurred and where the pain was intense. He found that even before he reached the Hospital that the pain had reduced a lot. After the doctors gave him some first aid Nithyananda walked out of the Hospital against the advice of the doctors and continued to heal himself with his hand on the bottom of he spine. Within a few days he was completely free of any discomfort.

This was the first time that Nithyananda discovered that he could heal himself. After this event he continued to heal himself whenever he had an ailment. From this self-healing to healing others was a small step for him. In the initial stages and to an extent even now it is Nithyananda's extraordinary powers of healing that drew people to him like a magnet. He has called his healing power his visiting card. It is no longer merely Nithyananda's calling card but his mission's since there are many thousand Nithya Healers ordained by him in various parts of the world.