A trip to the hills is always refreshing.I was lucky for the third time in my life for being able to visit the inner himalayas,to be with them for some time and to know them better.To reach there you always have to meet some common points and pass places that come your way irrespective of the place you start your journey.One of them is haridwar,one of the famous places where the Ganga plays.I reached there at night and we decided to stay there for a day before we proceeded.I was suffering from acute stomach infection,carrying a wide variety of pain killers and antibiotics and my brother was having slight fever which he believed he could handle.Everybody had decided that if I did not feel okay by the next day we would stay in haridwar for a day or two and cancel our trip.Before you think of it as idiotic to think of a such trip when one is feeling so down physically,I would like to tell you that a person,no matter how he feels,who knows the beauty of such places,tries his level best to make sure that such a trip happens at any cost.We woke up early in the morning,sometime around 4 a.m.We went to Harki-podi,a famous bathing point of Ganga in haridwar.The water always remains ice-cold and you too,always feel very afraid to step in that water.The interesting thing is that once you get into it and remain in that water for more than 25 seconds,you never feel like coming out.The water of the Ganges to it's very water molecule contains too much energy.You can feel the same water flowing within you,passing through you and changing you with it's power.It's magically refreshing.You have to feel it yourself to know it.It seemed to contain a lot of spiritual energy.I stayed in it for more than 10 minutues.I never pray but I always make an exception whenever I bathe in the Ganga.It happens naturally and I do it as if it is my very nature to do so.
My stomach felt alright but I had no idea that I would never need any pain killer again on my whole trip and I would look for answers that could help me know how a acute infection just dissapeared.
My parents did not exactly believe me when I told them that I felt well enough to continue with the trip,but they had to listen to me.Just after half an hour the mountains appeared and I smiled for no reason with a deep breath.Our destination was Gaurikund for which we would have to cover 235 kilometres on road and that is a very big deal when it comes to cover such a distance in mountains.A few kilometres here seem like 10 kilometres of what we travel in plains.
And mind you,the roads get very dangerous at points.The rainy season had just ended here and this year it rained more than usual,the result of which was that there were many landslides and most of the times,the width of road was half of that what is really there,leaving space for one car to barely pass at a time.On our way to Gaurikund there came dense forest's where you could hear the sounds of animals and insects at night although the the forests were down below as the roads were constructed on mountains at some certain heights.It always seemed as if the rocks were conversing when all the mountains,busy talking,seemed to create some kind orchestra with deep meanings and stirring effects about thier dreams.
The 'car' game was pretty interesting though.It becomes really important when to travel at such places that you have a very good driver with you.We luckily had one.There is no place for rash drivers.You have to be really careful while you drive.In life,our mind is the instrument,the driver.Our thoughts create worlds.Some take us to heights high in the sky and some keep us low.One has try to be in a state of relaxed concentration when doing any task.Importance has to be given to the Now.The Now is the present.This all is related to the inner game.I came across a very interesting thing in a book - "The Inner Game Of Tennis",and unsuprisingly,it was very true.Right now your consciousness is aware through your eyes of the words in the sentence.But other things are also happening which are in the range on your consciousness.If you try to listen closely,you can hear sounds which you werent aware of moments before,like sound of the fan or anything.If you concentrate on the sounds,you can know them better.Probably you are not aware of how your tounge feels in your mouth-but it's likely that you have that after reading these words,you are.Consciousness is the power of knowing.Everything is within our hold,we have it,we have to just initiate the process of knowing ourselves.As one's ability to focus the light energy of consciousness increases,the effective range of his vision increases.Interesting,right?.But yet so simple.Higher consciousness is more of what is already there.Consciousness is like pure light energy whose power is so make events knowable,just like electric bulb makes objects visible.Consciousness could be called the lights of lights because it is by its light that everything that is there is known.The car in life should be driven in such a way that it takes us to the best destination and should stop at the most beautiful mountain,the one with the maximum light on it,which mesmerises us the most and gives us nothing but pure joy,love and happiness.
During the whole way to our destination which was Gaurikund,a river flowed,getting more pure and joyful with each passing kilometre.It was too deep,strong and I,too weak to jump in it for now.
The next day we had to trek 14 kilometres to reach kedarnath where a temple exists which is believed to be built by the Pandavas of Mahabhartha.All the five brother's came here to attain moksha and built this temple in one night before attaining samadhis deep in the himalayas.
A big mountain stood,in clear view,from the place we stayed at night.I sat outside my room as I watched the gigantic mountain using it's power to take hold of me.It was not more than 200 metres away from me and it was so big and near that I could feel it showcasing it's attributes.I felt so small and powerless for the first time in my life.My range to create was nothing comparable to that of the mountain which was eternally beautiful and was a home of more than a thousands of trees.Millions of thoughts ran in my head.One witnesses beauty he can never possibly imagine.You wonder and admire the source from where it derived so much energy to create it.It opens your eyes to new possibilities,horizons and scopes.It's interesting observing yourself in a whirl of change.It's a way of exploring yourself,of knowing what more thoughts you can produce and how many more boundaries you can cross.I looked behind and found all was right when my deepest sorrows had a soul of light.
We all woke up at 5.All the things we did started so early because nature showcases all it's power at full strength early in the morning.After it's tresses pass into the doors of the darkness to rest for the night,early in the morning,it starts doing what it does the best,shower beauty and answers.It's interesting to note the cycle of nature which happens in too much detail.The sun rises and light falls on thousands of mountains of different kinds,transferring energy from one place to another,light deffracting and reflecting,passing into the depths of the forest to the peak of a snowy mountain.When sunlight falls on the snow peaks which are visible,you can see the colour of the peaks changing seven times of a wide variety of colours ranging from red to golden,but to watch this thing happen you have to get up at 4 in the morning.The best thing about the whole nature process is that everything happens in unity.Each mountain and every mood narrated a different story,but the Beautous earth,the glorious sun and the sprangled sky taught me how they live in bonds and in bonds they die.
There was a hot water kund near the hotel where there was a temple dedicated to a deity Gauri Ma who had meditated for 5,000 years to attain Lord Shiva.We bathed in it for 10 minutes and nobody felt like getting out of the hot water.Once we got out,nobody felt uncomfortable anymore due to the cold weather which was suprising.Moreover,just a few metres away flowed the ganga whose water was ice-cold.We started for Kedar Nath at around 6.We took a few khacchars(animals who look like a hybrid of a horse and a donkey)so that anyone who felt tired could use them to travel.The owners came along and all had named thier animals.The owner of the khacchar I used,Pradeep,had named her Pinky.The all had funny names and in most of the cases,they were named after famous bollywood actresses.To travel on them was very exciting.They would jump on steps and sometimes they slipped which used to scare the hell out of me.I feared that they could attempt suicide by jumping in those deep valleys if they got fed up carrying a burden like me.The amount of oxygen decreased as we went up and soon,one had to take in giant panicked breaths,everything turning kind of europic and docile.At such a time,oxygen gives you can high.On our way up to the temple,more than a hundred waterfalls of varying sizes met us on our way.We were now near to the snow laden mountain peaks and the water that flowed came directly from the mountains just a few kilometres away.I,for the first time,really came across water.It literally quenched my thirst and it was satisying more than any other liquid.I met someone named Haridas who was sitting outside his small hut and was singing and playing the harmonium.I soon realised that he was blind.He was singing in his native language and I had no idea about what he was singing about.Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think he was singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away.
I will be talking about my trip to the himalayas which happened a few years back.There were few places that I simply loved more than the others.One of them was Gangotri,the name meaning the place where the Ganga originates.
There were just a few motels by the river that provided accomodation though I think they were really beautiful.A lot of wooden work had been done and the rooms had pure small wooden doors and to pass through them you virtually had to bend down ninety degrees.This particular style was so to keep the rooms warm.The special thing about the place were the big stones inside the river,half visible,and of sizes greater than that of mini buses.The outcome was a tremendous deafening noise created by the clash of the river and the stones.The river originating at the source is believed to travel more than a speed of 100 Kms/hour also because of the water-stone clashes.The effect was that a person's shouting in the ear of the other seemed to be a wisper.
I kept standing outside my room,watching the river for hours.It took me around 3 hours to get accustomed to the mood of the river which made me re-think and realise that it was no noise, but the river singing a varied music.There was no clash, but talks going on.There were around 60 big stones in that visible strech of 2 kilometres and water played around them without a break making it extremely difficult to distinguish the origin of so many sounds.And I bet there was no repitition.I had never heard such music before.Undescribable.When I learned to hear the music my soul moved in entire harmony with the enviroment.It had a special power to grip you and make you lost in its beauty.The sound still rings in my head anytime I want to hear it.Every second,a new symphony was created out of the river.I could hear the sound of more than hundred large waterfalls falling at a time difference almost incalculable.The river was too pure to be called matter.It had entered a world where a lot of things happen.It was watched.It was played with and sometimes dirtied with the unstoppable effects of globalisation.It was the major source of drinking water and it quenched the thirst of sadhus who were in search of truth and even a terrorist.It was partial to nobody.It was clearly announcing its entry and sang its arrival in the world,in a world where a lot of things happen.She was ready and had started off its journey in style.At night,I felt peaceful.The music helped me sleep and I found it very gentle now.Now I understood why the localites were never interested in buying apple I-pods and Mp3 players with enhanced voice quality and bass not compromising on ear comfort.The river played Rock 'n' roll,instrumental and classical ragas by your choice and demand.All you had to do was to make your peace with it become friends.It always accepted your offers made in peaceful and friendly manner.I liked that.
When I woke up in the morning I found myself feeling magically better and my light head was ready to take in more thoughts and beauty.Maybe it was the river that took my pains and carried it with it on its journey.I went down to visit the bank of the snowy stream and looked at the ripples kicking each other as they moved forward.The music created by the stream seemed to be quite exhilarating in the morning.I compared the stream of life with these ever flowing streams.The sun shone brightly and illuminated thousands of peaks all over the himalayas.We decided to visit the source of the river.We walked for a few hours on the path surrounded by long beautiful trees before reaching the source of the river.I started listening to the music coming from the blooming flowers,from the songs of the birds,and even from the smallest blade of grass and thorn of the bush.I was able to distinguish every sound,or was that too from the river?I will be never sure of that.I realised that nature was very peaceful.She only disturbed only those who disturbed themselves,but she teaches wisdom to those who admire and appreciate her beauty.I realised that there was no mood of the river other than that of peace and truth,but it was my mood which interpreted it.I thought about my interpretation of life on my temporary moods which prevented me from listening the real music being played within.
The scene of the source cannot be put into words.I can just attempt to do that.The water was purer,clearer and highly optimistic than any other fluid I had even seen.The irony was that after being at the source it was puzzling to figure out where the source was.There was so much beauty around that the mind could not be put to work.In the roaring whirling wind more than a million lunatics were freed from prison and sang the song of freedom.In that ocean of desire limitless appeared shining waves,countless and infinite,taking birth at that very place.The sun hung high in the sky,with a force of thousands rays concentrating,pouring floods of light and knowledge from peak to peak.The arms of nature travelled in the air,tuning into the dance of ecstacy.
For perfect memory of a perfect scene was to watch it with open eyes and listen with open ears.Just when I thought I had used my intelligent brain for the first time in my life,I failed myself soon enough after I decided to play a game.The game was simple but highly idiotic in nature.What I had to do was to close my eyes and ears by turn while one of them were put to use.I put my hands on the ears and tried to cover and press them in the best possible way and the scene changed completely in 2 seconds.I could feel my heart beating very fast with the intense activity going on outside and the magnitude changed with the increasing and deepening of beauty I felt each passing moment.I,for the first time in my life,thanked god for giving me a heart.I usually dislike it's technical functions.Just when my eyes could take no more beauty,I closed them to carefully hear the beautiful music.My ears were trying to connect and explore the scene which my eyes tried to do a few moments ago.Just try to imagine this sequence,how large the change and how little energy used to create the difference.I understood why I hated physics so much.Very dumb and no regards for human values.Traitor.I did this thing 10-15 times and that was enough for my cousin to make out that I really had gone mad.I decided to stop that for a moment,but my cousin could not fail to notice my ever widening smile,and he smiled too,that soon turned into laughter,adding to the music.
The vast expanse of mountains gave me an idea of a land full of huge red apples and a large variety of flowers on them.Dont think I love apples very much but the thing is that they appeal to me physically more than they do organically.I was so near to all of them,but still light years away in terms of really knowing them in thier pure form.Maybe it was not about time but how deep your friendship with them was.
The wind was very strong.I could feel the water droplets travelling in the wind hitting my body so strongly that I felt no longer different or seperate.I floated when time stood still.I could feel myself being dragged into the river of bliss and flying over the idea of boundaries into the mountains,strolling and sometimes running with the speed of wind to reach those apple orchids and taste them to keep the doctor away for the day.That moment I realised what freedom was when the bee of my mind became freedom itself.I was neither mind,nor intellect,nor ego,nor senses.I was neither earth,nor water,nor fire,but my true nature was absolute existence,knowledge and bliss.
Going to places, inside and the outside,does make you feel very good,but they just change you,make you feel renewed,kind of ready to face the world again,so that u can try to live in a new way after you have explored so many things about yourself.A time does come when such places call you back to them as you have realised that so much beauty exists but we have to travel a lot to reach there,then the beauty gets visible,more clearer than ever.Similarly,it is with us.We contain so much beauty and it reminds us that we too are good,but for that we have to travel a lot inside ourselves-introspect,connect,understand a lot to make that beauty visible.
That river was much more than the idea of water flowing through our cities.A river is what flows freely,unbound and uncontrolled,else it does not remain a river,but a mere canal.There was so much more to the nature of one single river than I ever expected.It was a stream,a stream more than of water,fun-filled and of child-like nature,one that carried it with so much that found itself lost somewhere due to some reason,got controlled and lost it's direction.
It reminded me of us.There was so much more in us to be heard,to be laughed at,to be smiled upon,to discover,to understand,to know and to realise so that we too can become the River at it's Source.
