Our particular interest in going to Nepal is to connect and work with others that have a special interest in the teachings of the Shivapuri Baba.
In 2004 we met with Giridhar Lal Manandhar the son of Thakur Lal Manandhar the co-author of the book; Long Pilgrimage: The Life and Teachings of the Shivapuri Baba. Giri expressed to us, (Ben and Cindy Bennett) that he would very much like to promote the teachings to a wider audience, and that he would very much like for us to bring people from the west to Kathmandu, Nepal to connect with those at the Ashram of the Shivapuri Baba. Unfortunately, we never got around to planning this until it was to late. Giridhar passed away in February 2015.
Giridhar Lal’s interest in protecting Shivapuri Baba’s Samadhi at Dhruvasthali was instrumental in preserving this sanctuary. His cremation took place on the banks of the Bagmati river near Pashupati temple in Kathmandu, close to the Ashram of the Shivapuri Baba.
Govindananda Bharati, also known as Shivapuri Baba, was born in Akkikkavu, near Guruvayoor, Kerala state in A.D.1826. He travelled around the world on foot and ship for forty years and met great personalities like Sri Ramakrishna and Maharshi Arabindo in India and Queen Victoria, Albert Einstein, Madam Curie, etc. in Europe. He attained Samadhi in Dhruvasthali, near Pashupatinath Temple in Gaushala, Kathmandu.
Govindananda reached Kathmandu in the second decade of the 20th century. Many great personalities, both foreign and local, including the King of Nepal, came to meet him many times in his ashram at Shivapuri and Dhruvasthali. From there, Thakur Lal Manandhar met him and became a disciple of Govindananda Bharati. With Thakur Lal’s help, a British man John Godolphin Bennett wrote a manuscript on the life and messages of this great saint.
Bennett sent the manuscript to Thakur Lal in 1962. Govindananda never said yes or no to print the manuscript as a book due to the inclusion of the first chapter on his life. Soon after the Samadhi of Govindananda in February 1963, Thakur Lal sent his son Giridhar Lal to Bombay to meet the publisher, Orient Longman. Apparently, they refused it due to some technical issues. Thakur Lal then sent the manuscript back to England, and later, with the consent of Bennett’s estate, Hodder and Stoughton, published this manuscript in 1965, titled Long Pilgrimage. This book is now considered to be one of the classics in spiritual Indian philosophy.