Someone once asked me, “What is the most supernatural experience you’ve had at a temple?” Here’s my answer:
It was at the Badrinath Temple in Uttarakhand, India. First of all, two days in a row in that temple I sat down alone, with no one around, closed my eyes in meditation, and immediately experienced a timeless state of inner awareness with no idea of my external surroundings or how much time might be passing; indeed I had no concept of time at all. The next thing of which I was conscious was a feeling that I should ‘wake up’, so to speak. I did so and found that several hours had passed, a crowd of fellow devotees was literally physically pressed up against me without my notice, and a woman was tapping me (and everyone else) on the shoulder and saying it was time to go outside so the pujaris could prepare for upcoming ceremonies.
Later, while attending evening Arati to Vishnu in the temple, during the loud and fast ringing of the bells and the waving of flames in ritual patterns before the Swayambhu Murti of Badri Narayana, I saw a vision in the flickering firelight. This was a vivid apparition overriding my physical sight, not something subtle. I saw faces of Vishnu – living, real faces, not carven or painted depictions, and not just one, but another and another, flashing in rapid succession.
A palpable energy shot up my spine like a spike, the most powerfully I had ever felt. I was definitely gasping and crying, mostly in a very good way, though it wasn’t entirely comfortable. My vision of the faces coalesced such that I saw all the faces at once, outspread in a sweeping gallery almost, though they were all atop one vast body. Many of them were beautiful, smiling, some feminine (possibly as many as were masculine), shining with light; but many others were quite monstrous in appearance, glaring fiercely (not necessarily at me, but in various directions) and spitting sickly-looking fire or gnashing meat between their fangs. It felt in a way that they were more than faces, that they somehow encapsulated the phenomena of the universe.
That vision ended as the pujaris carried the Arati flames over to the devotees (including me), and we took blessings from them. Just as I was finishing doing so, Vishnu laid His hand on my right shoulder. I’m not claiming objective reality of this; certainly the people sitting right next to me didn’t seem to see anything; but it was my experience. I felt it at least as physically as any other sensation. His hand was so hot that any more heat would’ve burned me; it felt like it should’ve scorched my clothes, yet it felt extremely pleasurable. His heat spread through my body in a kind of wave, like a thick, steaming, brothy nectar that tasted like Home.
Then the pujaris performed Vishnu Sahasranama and Sahasranamavali. During that long chant (maybe half an hour or so) I actually had one of the most privately meaningful spiritual experiences of my life, but I think I should keep that part to myself for now.
Here’s a link to the original posting. Some other people shared beautiful experiences and questions (which I answered) in the comments.