Char Dham means Four Abodes.

These four abodes are places related to Vishnu and four of his reincarnations on Earth.

They represent the four ages of humanity and the four principal directions, that’s why they are situated at the four corners of India.  It’s one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hindu practice and if you complete it you are certain to attain moksha, to be free from the circle of rebirth.

I followed this pilgrimage for four and a half months. The four abodes are:

Badrinath in the North where Vishnu meditated for a million years to regain his spiritual strength -he had lost his power living in comfort with his wife Lakshmi for millions of years.

During the first age of humanity, human spirit was so strong that people lived for thousands of years and they were ethereal spiritual beings capable of space travel with their thoughts across the universe.

Rameswaram in the South where Vishnu, born as Rama as described in the Ramayana, arrived back from Sri Lanka with his wife Sita after killing Ravana, and she made a Shiva lingam from the sand at the beach so they could thank Shiva.

Dwarka in the West, the city of Krishna, who as described in the Mahabharata, was Vishnu’s incarnation on Earth with the purpose to bring forth the battle of Kurukshetra where all the kings of that time died as a sacrifice to purify the Earth from their corruption.

Puri, in the East, Vishnu is born in our time as Jagannath, and with his brother and sister they live in the most corrupt temple of India surrounded of rakshash Hindu demons born as priests.

I miraculously managed to pull the chariot of Lord Jagannath during the summer festival, when they exits the temple in their tall wooden chariots and pulled by thousands of pilgrims they go to their summer palace, that is the only time a foreigner can see -have “darshan”- of the statue.