A Land of Seva, Nature, and Spiritual Awakening
By Dr. Seema Khaire (Seema Tai)
Head of Family, Mahavatar Babaji TadEkam Foundation
Kangundi Bouldering Festival, January 2026
A Longing Answered
When the seva at Kangundi began, I was not even in Bharat. I was in the United States, receiving beautiful stories from our sevaks about this blessed land — stories that arrived like letters from a place I had not yet seen but somehow already loved. Every story deepened my longing. Every description of the Living Shivling, of the ancient temples, of the warmth of the villagers and the courage of the climbers, left me with one simple thought: I must go there.
By Guruji Naushir’s grace, the opportunity came. And once it came, I did not return quickly. I spent nearly a month immersed in the beauty, culture, and spirituality of this extraordinary village that Babaji and Guruji had chosen for TadEkam’s most visible and joyful act of seva to date.
Kangundi is not merely a village in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. It is, I discovered, the living heart of real Bharat.
Atithi Devo Bhava — The Guest Is God
As I began to know Kangundi — not merely as a location but as a living community — what overwhelmed me first was not the sacred rocks or the ancient temples. It was the people.
Every household lovingly invited us for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, eager to share whatever they had. If we could not accept an invitation, they would express their disappointment with such genuine affection that one almost felt guilty for having other plans. They did not treat us as guests. They treated us as family who had been away too long and had finally come home.
This is not a cultural performance for tourists. This is simply who the people of Kangundi are. And it is, I believe, the fruit of TadEkam’s two years of quiet, patient, loving seva in this village — the kind of work that does not just build infrastructure but transforms the quality of a community’s heart and its relationship with the wider world.
Guruji Naushir taught us always: ‘The guest is God.’ In Kangundi, the villagers taught us that they had always known this. We were the ones who needed reminding.
Dhanurmas: When a Village Wakes Before the Sun
I had arrived during the sacred month of Dhanurmas — the auspicious winter period in the Telugu Sanatani calendar dedicated to Lord Vishnu, observed from mid-December to mid-January. Every morning, long before sunrise, despite the dense fog and the biting winter chill of the Chittoor hills, the villagers would wake, bathe in cold water, light their diyas, and gather for the Dhanurmas procession.
Men, women, elders, and children — every generation walking together through the village in the pre-dawn darkness, visiting every temple before concluding at the Sri Ram Temple with soulful bhajans and lovingly prepared prasad, sponsored each day by a different family. The village moved as one organism, pulsing with devotion.
Walking through those mist-covered mornings was one of the most mesmerising experiences of my life. Visibility was low. The world was soft and grey and cold. But the light of devotion shone through every face with extraordinary clarity. I felt deeply blessed to walk alongside them and to briefly touch these timeless spiritual practices that have survived centuries without interruption — practices perfectly aligned with nature, with the changing seasons, and with the deeper rhythm of a life lived in awareness of the divine.
“In Kangundi, I did not find a village that had preserved its traditions despite the modern world. I found a village that had never needed to fight for them — because they had never let go.”
Guruji’s New Year Message: 31 December 2025
We were blessed beyond measure that all sevaks received Guruji Naushir’s New Year message at 7 pm on 31 December 2025, gathered together in the ancient Sri Venugopal Swami Temple in Kangundi. As the old year gave way to the new, Guruji spoke to us about the spiritual significance of Kangundi itself — its temples, its sacred rocks, its hidden energies, and the importance of what TadEkam was building here. He explained to us why Babaji had chosen this village. He invited all his sadhaks and channels to visit Kangundi — not merely as a tourist destination, but as a place of sadhna, of inner seeking, of genuine spiritual renewal.
To receive the Guru’s blessing in this way — standing in a thousand-year-old temple at the threshold of a new year, in a village that the Universe had been preparing for this moment — is not something that can be described. It can only be carried.
Bouldering: The First Time I Understood Courage in Stone
One of the most thrilling discoveries of my stay was witnessing the sport of bouldering for the very first time. Until Kangundi, I had only ever read about it or seen photographs. Nothing prepares you for the reality.
Watching these incredibly fit athletes — young men and women from across Bharat and beyond — scale massive natural rocks with courage, balance, and complete focus, using nothing but their own bodies and their own will, was absolutely exhilarating. There is something deeply dharmic about bouldering. It asks you to be fully present. It asks you to solve problems with patience and creativity. It asks you to fail, and try again, and fail differently, and try again. It is sadhna in physical form.
That the boulders of Kangundi are not merely magnificent granite formations but a Living Shivling — as Swami Dattapadanandji declared in November 2025, its vibrations akin to Mount Kailash itself — made every climb feel like a form of offering. Lord Shiva, the great Mahadeva, inviting his children to climb on Him, to surrender their weight and their burdens to His ancient stone. That is why #ClimbInCulture.
The Festivals: When Culture Becomes Celebration
Alongside the Bouldering Championship, we celebrated the Valmiki Tribal Festival at Motla Chenu village, the Coconut Festival at Peddavanka village, the Marigold Festival at Kathimanapalle, and the main Bouldering Festival in Kangundi itself. Each event beautifully showcased the richness of the region — its traditional cuisine, its marigold landscapes, its local crafts, its breathtaking natural beauty, and above all, its unmatched hospitality.
I especially loved the time spent with the children of Kangundi — encouraging them, dancing with them, watching them perform before international visitors with a confidence and joy that would put many professional performers to shame. They had no stage fright. They had only delight.
The Village Haat was a revelation. Local women displayed beautiful handmade bags, bangles, crochet items, paintings, herbal products, and freshly prepared delicacies. One remarkable woman (Vani Instagram @vanivnai8394) shared her extraordinary knowledge of Ayurvedic herbs and medicinal plants growing right in her own garden — a living encyclopaedia of ancient healing wisdom, offered with the casual generosity of someone who does not yet know how precious she is.
The tribal communities enriched the experience even further. They introduced us to their forest treasures — pure wild honey, soap-nuts, wild turmeric, and other natural products rarely seen in cities. The Tribal Food Competition was a particular joy; I had the privilege of serving as one of the judges, and the specially prepared vegetarian dishes — simple, pure, deeply nourishing — reflected the extraordinary wisdom embedded in tribal living.
MLC Shri Srikanth dressed as Bheemadu (Bheem) — mission accomplished
To promote the living culture of Mahabharata Natakam — one of Kangundi’s most ancient and extraordinary folk traditions — I dressed up as Draupadi at the Haat. The response was wonderful. But the truly gratifying moment came the very next day: Member of Legislative Council Shri Srikanth, inspired by what he had seen, asked the make-up artists to dress him up as Bheemadu — the great Bheem of the Mahabharata. When a public representative is moved to step into the costume of dharma alongside us, we know that the mission of #ClimbInCulture has taken root in the right soil. Our aim was achieved.
The Spiritual Heart of Kangundi
Yet beyond all these wonderful experiences — the bouldering, the festivals, the food, the friendships — what touched me most deeply was the spiritual energy of Kangundi itself.
The entire Inselberg region was declared a Living Shivling by our revered Swami Dattapadanandji during his visit in November 2025 — a sacred formation carrying vibrations comparable to Mount Kailash. Climbing the hill, sitting in meditation on its boulders, or simply sitting in the presence of that ancient stone brought an indescribable peace. After my long journey from the United States, this sacred land did not merely welcome me. It rejuvenated me. My mind became still, tranquil, and filled with a renewed energy I had not felt in months.
One of my most cherished memories is performing parikrama — the sacred circumambulation — around the Shivling hill at night with the TadEkam sevaks. Walking beneath a sky dense with stars, surrounded by the cool mountain air of Chittoor, sometimes in silence and sometimes in the warmth of gentle conversation, created moments I will carry for the rest of my life. There are no words for what a group of sadhaks walking together under the stars around a three-hundred meters tall Living Shivling Hill at night feels like. There are only tears and gratitude.
Meditating at the Kali Mata Temple was another profound experience. It felt as though the Divine Mother herself was embracing and protecting the sacred Shiva energy within her womb. Guruji Nausher later told us that this temple is a natural spiritual yantra — a sacred geometric configuration of energy — where sincere meditation in the presence of Devi Maa can awaken the inner spiritual Kundalini energy through her grace.
Kangundi Bouldering Cup prize distribution ceremony — a moment that captured the festival’s spirit of celebrating courage, athleticism, and the dharmic adventure of climbing Kangundi Shivling.
The Ancient Temples: Where Time Stands Still
The ancient Sri Venugopal Swami Temple, believed to be over a thousand years old, radiates extraordinary healing vibrations despite the years of neglect it has endured. Sitting quietly before the Lord in this temple — where Guruji Naushir blessed us with his New Year message — fills the heart with peace, hope, and a quality of divine grace that is not metaphorical. It is felt in the body.
Equally powerful is the ancient Virupaksha Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, whose timeless presence continues to inspire devotion and inner transformation in all who enter with an open heart.
Kangundi is a hidden spiritual treasury. It offers breathtaking natural beauty, adventure sports for the body, rich cultural traditions for the heart, ancient temples for the soul, and powerful spiritual energies for the sadhak. It is rare to find all of this in one place. It is rarer still when the place is a living, breathing community whose daily life is itself an act of worship.
Seva and Sadhna: The Two Wings of One Bird
During my stay in Kangundi, I experienced something that Guruji Naushir had been teaching for years in the abstract. I experienced it in the concrete, in the body, in the daily reality of being both a sevak and a sadhak simultaneously.
Seva taught me humility. Every task — every coordination meeting, every stall to be arranged, every child to be encouraged, every visitor to be welcomed — reminded me that I am an instrument, not the author. Sadhna filled me with the inner peace and spaciousness to keep giving without feeling depleted. Together, they created something I can only call grace: a state in which the work and the worship become indistinguishable from each other.
This is what Guruji meant when he said: “Seva Bhi Sadhna. Sadhna Hi Shakti.” Service is spiritual practice. Spiritual practice is power. I thought I knew what these words meant. Kangundi showed me that I had only begun.
“Kangundi is not merely a destination. It is an experience. It is where seva, culture, adventure, nature, and spirituality merge into one divine journey.”
An Invitation from the Heart
My heartfelt wish is that every sincere seeker, every lover of nature, every adventurer, and every spiritual aspirant visits Kangundi at least once. Stay with the local families. Experience their extraordinary hospitality. Walk amidst the pristine hills at dawn. Meditate in these sacred temples. Climb the Living Shivling and feel Lord Shiva absorb your burdens as a father absorbs the weight of a child climbing into his lap. Sit beneath the stars during parikrama and let the silence of Kangundi do what all our practices have been trying to do — bring you home to yourself.
Kangundi is ready for you. It has been waiting, it seems, for a very long time.May this sacred land continue to inspire, heal, and awaken every soul that arrives with an open heart.
Hari Om Tat Sat. Om Namo Brahmane.
Dr. Seema Khaire (Seema Tai)
Head of Family, Mahavatar Babaji TadEkam Foundation
Disciple of Guruji Naushir • Sadhak of Mahavatar Babaji
Kangundi Bouldering Festival, January 2026 • kangundiboulder.com
सेवा भी साधना • साधना ही शक्ती • तद् एकम्
Sewa Bhi Sadhna | Sadhna Hi Shakti | Tad Ekam
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