Visual storytelling
Meditation at Mount Kailash
Mt. Kailash is the ultimate pilgrimage for the Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. Few moments close to the mountain are the spiritual epitome of anyone’s life.
How often you wake up late at night and yell in anger and pain? Your past keeps haunting you. You cannot concentrate on doing anything. You are trying hard to overcome your past, but your mind keeps returning to it. I went through rough times at the end of my PhD. Things were out of control. Though I had worked hard and smart throughout my PhD, that was not reflected in my publications. I was fanatically searching for a postdoctoral position. It was hard to find one. During this time, I was mentally exhausted, and it was affecting my physical health. I was gaining a lot of weight.
This was the time, I read about Kailash Mansarover Yatra (Pilgrimage) on a social media site. Being engrossed in scientific research (in Israel) for the last five years, I had grown aloof from religion. I had my formal education was from an ashrama school. I used to meditate and pray twice a day. But over the course of my PhD, I began to distance myself from religion. Someone has rightly said that bad things happen to make you aware of yourself and a spirit (say, God). A spirit that is more powerful than anything and awe-inspiring. I applied for a lottery system to take part in the annual pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarover. Luckily, I was selected, and I decided to take part in the pilgrimage.
I returned to India and joined the fellow pilgrims in New Delhi. We followed a long bus ride and then trekked across the Indian Himalayas. The path was treacherous, and we wound up watching some breathless scenes. Finally, we crossed a high mountain pass (Lipulekh 5200 mts) to enter Tibet. It was a real test of willpower and faith. The whole batch of pilgrims made it smoothly by encouraging each other and praying to Lord Shiva. It was 25 days long yatra and too many stories to tell on other posts. But for now, I will stick to a particular day. The day I hiked from Derapuk to Charansparsh (literal meaning is to touch feet).
About Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash (Kang Rinpoche in Tibetan, the precious jewel of the snow) finds equal reverence in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and the Bon (a Buddhist sect). It is located to the north of the Great Himalayas, within Tibet (the roof of the world). Mt. Kailash is 6,740 mts high. This isolation of Mt. Kailash makes a parikrama (circumambulation) possible around it. Four sacred rivers — Ganga, Brahmaputra, Sutlej, and Indus originate from around Mt. Kailash. These rivers drain thousands of kilometers apart in the oceans. Yet, they all have their source within hundred kilometers of Mt. Kailash. These rivers provide a lifeline to millions and are revered by millions of devotees. For Hindus and Buddhists, Mount Kailash is the physical embodiment of the Axis Mundi (the cosmic axis). It is believed that foundations and peak of the mountain lies in the deepest hell and heaven, respectively. Due to its religious stature, scaling the mountain is not permitted. No individual has scaled this mountain to this day.
Parikrama or Kora of Mt. Kailash
Mount Kailash is the ultimate pilgrimage site on earth for the Hindus. According to Indian mythology, Kailash is the abode of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati. It is considered most auspicious to make a religious pilgrimage by Parikrama (circumambulation) around its fifty-three kilometers circuit known as Kailash Parikrama. Buddhist pilgrims perform the Parikrama (or Kora in Tibetan) perambulating clockwise around the mountain. This has the greatest spiritual significance for the Buddhists. Tibetans believe that a single Kora washes the sins of whole life. Performing 108 Kora’s brings Nirvana (state of bliss). Once one had performed 21 Kora, she/he is eligible to do the inner Kora on the higher reaches of Kailash. Often Buddhist pilgrims start the journey from their home and perform Kora by prostration. To prostrate one drop to their knees and laying their body forward, stretch it to full length. Arms are outstretched above the head. They move once they are about to stand and keep repeating through the whole Kora.
The day I reached nearest to Mt. Kailash
We were all very enthused to finally be near Mt. Kailash and have darshan. We did the first 8 km of the parikrama by bus. The bus left us at Tarboche (Yam Dwar) and from there on we trekked 12 km to Derapuk Monastery. The route is a gradual ascend with ups and downs along the Lham Chu River. We saw several Buddhists performing parikrama by prostration. We took around 4 hours to reach our camp opposite the Derapuk Monastery.
Ascent to Charansparsh
There was no time for rest. I emptied most of my bag and took my camera with a tripod and almost ran towards Charansparsh. The climb was not easy. Derapuk is already at 5056 mts and I had to climb another 400 mts (took almost an hour) to reach Charansparsh. I trekked along a stream of cold water running down from the ice melt of Mt. Kailash. Soon, my breaths became heavy. I was panting. I drank the water with reverence. It was cold. I sat a few minutes and looked around the beauty, Mt. Kailash was magnetic. I again trekked up jumping over water streams and then small glaciers. The path was tough, but I do not recall anything but the imposing Mt. Kailash. The weather so far was fine. Partial clouds and strong winds soothed me. After an hour, I reached a place where I got a clear view of Mt. Kailash. It seemed as if divine magic pulled me there.
Meditation on Mount Kailash
I had heard stories where people feel a supernatural presence near Mt. Kailash. At that point, I felt like I was losing my senses. I put on my tripod and started shooting a video. I, myself, sat down in a samadhi. I started a visual exploration of the mountain. I could envision that Lord Shiva and Goddess parvati living in the top of the mountain and the steps like extrude on the top of mountain was used by Lord Shiva took to go to Lake Mansarover for a bath. The more keenly I explored I started to visualize Mt. Kailash as a grand palace. The palace had so many levels. Each level with a grand courtyard and windows. I slowly went into deep meditation. The experience thereafter was personal and difficult to share. But, I had grand visions of Mt. Kailash that felt alive. I had meditated before during my school days. Back then it was difficult to focus for long durations. But meditating at Kailasha was effortless. The ambiance is such that it takes you to trance. The strong wind blowing the snow from Mt. Kailash create a mystical feeling. I do not know how long I was in trance. Hereafter, whenever I do meditation, Kailash has become my mind palace. Even as I share my experiences here, the thoughts of Mt. Kailash bring calm and coolness to my mind.
As I started to wake up from my trance and open my eyes. I could feel the light feather-like snow falling on my face. I opened my eyes to face the dark clouds on the top of Mt. Kailash and a light snow falling. The feeling still brings tears of joy in my eyes.
Soon, the snowfall became strong and brought hail. I could not see anyone around. I wrapped up my camera and bid adieu to Mt. Kailash and ran down. Well, I am never good at descending a mountain and as night was falling fast, I ran down, wet and muddy. My fellow pilgrims helped me get back to the camp. The whole night I felt as if I was in trance.
The next day we proceeded to proceeded on continuing the Parikrama and later two days of worship at Lake Mansarover. I will describe that in the next posts.
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