Divine Fragrance
As I was reading the Bhagavad Gita, my heart began to open in a new way. I share more about this in my previous blog. The words felt not only like ancient teachings, but as living truth speaking directly into my innermost being. They awakened in me a longing to understand more deeply what bhakti truly is, and what its secret, its heart, might be.
At that very time, I came across a video of Paramahamsa Vishwananda. I had never heard his name before, I knew nothing about him. But as he began to speak, it felt as if he was speaking directly to my heart. His voice was soft and warm, and his words flowed like a spring of love. Each sentence made my soul vibrate, as if I was remembering something that had always been true.
Slowly, I started to watch more of his videos and read his teachings. I discovered that he is a living master, a Satguru. In the bhakti tradition, the Satguru is the guide of the soul, who not only shows the way but also transmits God’s grace to the disciple. Paramahamsa Vishwananda is called an avatar, a divine incarnation whose purpose is to bring love into this world. He is not only a teacher, but the embodiment of love itself, walking on earth.
I also learned that Guruji Paramahamsa Vishwananda received the teaching of Atma Kriya Yoga directly from Mahavatar Babaji. Mahavatar Babaji is the timeless yogi said to live in the Himalayas, guiding humanity from the unseen realms. He asked Paramahamsa Vishwananda to teach Kriya Yoga to people, and Guruji, with Babaji’s blessing, brought bhakti, the love of God into this practice.
This is how Atma Kriya Yoga was born: a practice that unites Kriya Yoga with bhakti, guiding the heart into love and deepening the connection with God. When I read about it, my heart immediately knew: this is my path of love.
My journey led me to Mäntsälä, to Bhakti Marga’s home temple, for an Atma Kriya Yoga course. From the moment I entered the house, I felt a deep sense of coming home. It wasn’t only the beautiful space or the warm welcome, it was a memory of the soul. Later I found out that Guruji himself had stayed in this house the previous spring. It is said that he always leaves something behind in the places where he stays. This time, he had left his slippers, and they still carried his energy.
When I approached the slippers, I stopped as if enchanted. From them came a divine fragrance, so sweet, deep and sacred that it brought me to my knees. I had never smelled anything like it. It was as if heaven itself had descended to earth, as if an invisible garden had opened before me. The fragrance filled my whole being and made my heart tremble. It was not just a smell in my nose, but an experience that touched my soul. In the bhakti tradition, the Guru’s feet, the lotus feet are the holiest. There his grace resides, and the disciple bows before them in love.
Later I learned that this fragrance is called the Divine Fragrance, in Sanskrit Divya Gandha. It is not an ordinary smell, but a sign of the master’s grace and presence. It is said that saints leave this fragrance behind, and that it can remain in places and objects for years. In bhakti, Divya Gandha is seen as the touch of God’s love, a reminder that the divine can truly fill even the material world. When I smelled the fragrance of the slippers, I understood that it was not just symbolic, his presence was still real. The scent awakened something so deep in me that my soul remembered an eternal home where I had always belonged.
During the course I also received shaktipat, the transmission of the master’s grace. It means that the master awakens divine energy in the disciple, something that cannot be achieved by practice alone. In that moment I felt a current flowing into my heart and my whole being, and I knew this was a gift, not something of my own making. The next day I cried endlessly, tears of gratitude but also of a deep longing for home. In the bhakti tradition, it is said that when the heart opens to the Guru’s grace, the soul begins to long for its source. This longing was not sadness, but a sweet recognition: my heart had finally found what it had always been searching for.
Now, as I look ahead to next month, my heart beats with expectation. Then I will meet Guruji for the first time. I will travel to his ashram in Germany and receive his darshan. Darshan literally means “seeing” the moment when a disciple meets the master face to face. In the bhakti tradition, it is said that darshan is not only the disciple looking at the master, but also the master looking into the soul. Paramahamsa Vishwananda sees directly into the soul, and his gaze can remove the obstacles that block our connection to God’s love. It is a meeting where God looks back at us, and the heart tastes deep liberation.
It feels both exciting and wondrous that next month I will stand before him and receive darshan. I see it as the greatest gift, the gift of grace, given without my deserving. My heart is full of gratitude and gentle anticipation. After the journey, I will give words to what my heart has been blessed to experience.
