Mystic Mountain, Mystery Lake!
Trave(b)log on Swamy’s Kailash-Manasarovar yatra through Isha Sacred Walks!
Episode 1 – The Seeker’s Tale!
A gentle, cold breeze caressed the tired body. The sky was clear and there was still ample sunlight. The only sounds that were audible were the steady stream flowing below the small wooden bridge and heavy breath that was trying to suck in as much oxygen – a rare commodity at 17500 ft. – as possible into the overworked lungs. It was 7.20 pm CST on 22nd August, 2013. Among the range of gray mountains that were silently watching the lean figure clad in 7 layers of clothing stood the majestic granite monolith, clad in pristine white snow. The Mystic Mountain that is worshipped as Lord Shiva’s abode – Kailash Parvat (Mount Kailash)!
After a nine hour trek (time taken by Swamy, not necessarily all yatris, many of whom were much better accomplished to do it in half that time) over 15 kilometers, on a 1500 feet incline, Swamy looked up and gasped. Words that are usually his friends (he is a writer, after all) deserted him and lay around like the innumerable pebbles that were almost everywhere on the path. He quickly stepped across the bridge and stood on a smooth rock that waited for the inevitable to happen. Like a million times before. Swamy quietly prostrated on that stone, facing Kailash. And then the floodgates blasted open to let Joy Drops stream down from his eyes, uncontrolled, like the many waterfalls seen all along the path.
After months of planning, preparing, wondering, praying, practicing, imagining and of course packing (more about them in later episodes), it was an incredible feeling to be actually there in that sacred space. Swamy stood there silently, wondering if this was the culmination of the journey of a lifetime or a beginning of a new one that will be as marvelous as the path paved by nature for the 115 yatris who trekked along with him, ably, gently and kindly led by the exceptionally capable Isha Sacred Walks crew!
Making the Kailash-Manasarovar yatra (pilgrimage) is a lifetime ambition for not just Hindus but for seekers from as many as four other religions. It is not easy for any but has been made possible for many with better infrastructure that takes one closer to the Mystic Mountain. But the last mile (pun intended) – not just one or two, about nine or so – still has to be made by foot – either the yatri’s two or the pony’s four, on which (s)he rides. And nothing prepares one for the experience of the mountain itself and the path leading to it (or the totally enchanting Yaks and Sherpas that tread it like free spirits), which probably remain as raw and pristine as they were when Lord Shiva himself must have roamed the space in physical form!
Kailash can do many things to a yatri. But the first (and probably only, for the devout ones at least) thing it does is to make one feel utterly, helplessly and honestly humble. As Swamy’s Master Sadhguru says, in the cosmic scale of things, we are so insignificant that we’re not even the equivalent of a speck of dust on Earth. And Life the way it is, is nothing but the Cosmic Dance of Shiva, the Lord of the cosmos. So it is but natural for a seeker to feel absolutely humbled in the Lord’s abode. Upon its darshan, all one can do is to remain awestruck, unable to peel one’s eyes from its magnificence. All the pervasive but pointless thoughts about I, my & mine will melt away like the snow that covers the sacred peak, leaving one feeling stark naked – not in the pervert sense, but in a more subtle, subconscious way – getting exposed in all one’s gory (sorry, any sense of glory must have already gone with the remaining I (non)sense)!
True to being the most mystic of all places sacred, where the Lord, his first disciple (and significant half), their wards and scores of his ganas, gods, yogis, saints, monks and seekers have resided and roamed around, Kailash will play hide and seek with the seekers through mist and snow, like the younger child of the Adi Yogi, Lord Karthikeya would have with his elder brother Lord Ganesh, his foster mothers – the six apsaras known as Karthigaip pengal – and maybe even the ganas. Now you see it and now you don’t. The whole place seems to change so dramatically within minutes that you’re left feeling vulnerable with all your defenses down, because this doesn’t fit into the image of any defined places that are confined by boundaries, known to you. It doesn’t matter who you’re or how high and mighty you’re in the social hierarchy in the material life. Out here, everything, including the terrain, weather and all beings including those who made the effort to be here, will have to play by the Lord’s rules, which naturally amplifies the mystic quotient of the nature of the place itself.
As one settles down in the humble place called hotel (remember, everything around here, except the Mystic Mountain, is humble), with the omnipresent gaze of Kailash’s North face piercing through the glass window round the clock (it’s funny to talk about time in a space that has practically remained timeless, from time immemorial), the reality slowly dawns upon the self. Despite one’s heroic or superhuman (depends on what genre’ of movies one prefers to watch or kind of books one reads) effort in actually making it this far (irrespective of what the pony or porter would think about it), there is surprisingly no sense of accomplishment or achievement within. Instead, one starts feeling a deeper sense of fulfillment. And that feeling starts growing with every passing minute, relentlessly, until it becomes all encompassing. One just can’t feel like one’s normal self anymore. The realization of what Sadhguru meant when he said, “Just Be!” suddenly dawns upon the self, leaving the already breathless one speechless!
Now that you’re sufficient mystified about the Mystic Mountain, Swamy will try and take you through his life-altering journey to Kailash-Manasarovar, organized by Isha Sacred Walks (A1 group, 2013), through many an enchanting tale, told from the viewpoint of a multitude of companions (not just his ilk) on this possibly once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage. Shambho!
Next: Episode 2 – The Kingdom’s Tale!
Note: All the photographs – except Sadhguru’s & Lord Shiva’s – have been taken by @PrakashSwamy (or by another yatri using Swamy’s camera) during the yatra. You may view more memorable pics taken at mesmerizing locales in, around and en route to Mystic Mountain, Mystery Lake here!
Swamystery 
I relived the
I relived my yatra experience with Sadhguru 🙂 Thanks so much for posting it…