ALLAHABAD: Clad in white with a swastika on her shaved head, Canadian citizen Veronique does stand apart from the saffron robed seers that frequent the Kumbh Mela However, it is the calm on her face as her 'guru maa' whispers the guru mantra in her ear that makes her one of the hundreds of pilgrims who flock to Kumbh Mela to seek salvation. Veronique is among the 82 foreigners who attained 'diksha' and took a vow to lead the life of a 'brahmachari' (celibate) at the camp of Shaktidham at sector number 14 of the Kumbh Mela ground on Saturday. The group of foreigners included 79 Japanese citizens and, one each from the US, Ireland and Canada.Shaktidham's Jagatguru Sai Maa administered the oath of 'ajeevan brahmacharya vrat' (lifelong celibacy) to these foreigners during a ceremony.A yoga teacher by profession, Veronique, said, " I came in contact with Sai Maa in Canada, four years back. After after meeting her, I decided to divert my energy towards attaining knowledge about Sanatan Dharm, meditation and salvation." She said, "I started reading about Sanatan Dharm and was so impressed with its principles that I decided to follow the path of brahmacharya."She added that knowledge and meditation were the key to seek salvation from the cycle of life. Once a person opts for brhamacharya, they have abstain from sexual pleasure in word, thought and deed to achieve 'brahmagyan'.Before attaining diksha, the disciples got their heads shaved and also wore white-coloured clothes as per the tradition of Shaktidham.They also got a 'swastika' made on their shaved heads and then Jagatguru Sai Maa whispered the 'guru mantra' in their ears. Briefing disciples about the importance of attaining attaining diksha, Sai Maa said, "Understanding the value of life is the key to success for human beings. There is a need to identify the God within. One should also understand the importance of service to mankind."Another foreign citizen who attained the diksha, David, said"I was in regular touch with Sai Maa and was able to attain gyan (knowledge) through meditation. After deciding to follow the path of spiritualism, I also made up my mind to attain bhramacharya," he added.

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