Arun Sharma
Strikingly beautiful cover and captivating breathtaking pictures inside grabbed my attention to these short 126 pages book. The book is an account of adventurous hike to rugged and picturesque Mount Kailash and adjoining Lake Mansarovar in Tibet by wife and husband writers’ team, Monisha Bhardwaj and Nitish Bhardwaj. Profoundly a religious/ritualistic faith based devout Hindu’s vision and reflections, it infuses supreme spiritual experience with intense religious flavors and fervor.
Kailash-Mansarovar is a revered holy site for not only Hindus,but also Buddhists, Jains and Bön (Tibet’s ancient, pre-Buddhist era beliefs) followers and a flock of western seekers too. It symbolizes abode of Gods for ardent believers and the mountain peaks and the pristine Lake, also offer unparallel visual feast and adventures to the tourists. With unspoiled purity and serenity, the vistas offer profound spiritual experiences amidst stunning Himalayas and natural spring of waters. Along with breathtaking geography, it also is a source of major rivers nourishing several countries in the region.
The writers find supreme natural divine beauty, spiritual awakening and glorious vision of God: “There is a great mountain that stands apart from any other-dusted with snow, kissed by a strange sunlight, glowing silvery white. This is surely the world’s most spectacular and auspicious temple, the holy mount Kailash, adobe of Lord Shiva, Asia’s holiest mountain is in isolated corner of western Tibet soaring 6714m high, its peculiar pyramid shape gives it a unique identity and power.”
At its feet there is the breathtaking Lake Mansarovar, magically divine expanse of sparkling blue water, sprawling over miles. Ancient Tibetans too believed this land was home to gods and goddesses who governed earth, water, air, protected mountains and presided in every home.
“In the vastness of Tibet, the sheer expanse and quiet magic of Kailash-Mansarovar whisper the name of God and japa (chants) of devotion and homage that surrounds every pilgrim. This entire region echoes spiritual vibration beyond imagination.
As the evening melted into dusk, the sky turned from clean blue to red and gold. We sat enraptured under a watermelon sky as the descending sun set the horizon on fire. The gentle pure waters of lake Mansarovar encircled by a ring of blazing sunlight, Mount Kailash, enveloped in the evening mist, looking on. Surya the Sun god, made his exit like a true artist, the divine Himalaya his stage and we his appreciative audience.
Soon the horizon began to darken, the glowing embers heralding final good bye. We captured that magical scene in our hearts and still recall from time to time a much-cherished memory.”
Pilgrims have reported their godly visions: “the sign of ‘Om and ‘swastika, in innumerable geometrically perfect triangles, the eyes of Shiva and his ‘dhyan chaksu’ (the third eye) and “at times, we saw horizontal lines of ‘bhasma,’ holy ash, on the forehead. We saw his entire face, serene and smiling, a source of great joy that God speaks us in many ways. He shows his presence in every leaf, flower and star. He teaches us that relationship between man and nature is like a connection between the soul-which in itself is a sukshma-jagat, a minute world -and the Bramha or God. Nature creates favorable conditions for a seed to grow into a tree, then to bear flowers and fruits. Similarly, God creates and provides us with all circumstances through which we can see and reach Him.”
Further Nitish writes: “Next morning I woke up at 4 am. Kailash was beautifully lit in milky white in moonlight, and was covered with snow. The great Sanskrit poet-playwright Kalidas must have seen the same reflective aspect of Kailash to have termed it ‘the mirror of the apsaras. Clusters of clouds danced and swirled around the mountain, making it mystical and magical. I could see something like three eyes of Shiva on the face of Shiva. I stood in awe with Shiva’s eyes guarding us over us until the first golden ray of the Sun fell in the body of Kailash, illuminating it through the clouds. Beautiful cold wind started to blow the clouds away; now we could clearly see the tip of the pyramid-like peak-the Ishaan aspect, bestowing it’s blessing to us.”
Sheer magical power, vision (darshan) and beauty of God may very well be imagined and perceived by man based upon their deep faith in Him! Intense feelings of spirituality and a sense of joy is common to beholders of Beauty and mystical complexity of Nature, also has a healing effect on body, mind and psyche as devotees have deeply felt and expressed – the meeting point of religion and spirituality. A sense of joy and wonder, I too have felt while at Vatican, Buddhist Stupas, Hindu temples, Grand Canyon or a sunrise at Kanchenjunga admittedly without vision of Gods. A rose is still a Rose regardless the name/reason/belief one has chosen to call it. Indulge with deep introspection and feeling, it becomes not only magically meditative but also therapeutic- power of Faith! Is there a God with a face like Shiva, Vishnu, Mahesh or Ganesh could very well be human imagination, my take! A subject for another debate and introspection.
Essence here is the elixir of life: God and Nature become synonymous and provide joyous and refreshing energy to the beholder!
“It’s not merely passive belief, but an active force that inspires courageous action, sustains perseverance, and offers profound peace amid turmoil, turning aspirations into reality and shaping character.” Leap of Faith often serves as the foundational motivation and inner drive that compels people to pursue goals, make sacrifices, and persist even when intelligence reason alone isn’t enough to propel human individual or a collective action for greater causes.
From literary point of view, I the book an average work of art. It’s more an account of faith and religion-based vision of God. The profound symbol of supernatural power of cosmos, natural beauty and its profound impact on human psyche and spiritual forces that uplifts mind, propels sense of peace and body and spirit with or without God, my own view!
The power of faith has remarkable capacity to transform an individual’s inner landscape, providing the essential ingredients—hope, strength, and purpose—to navigate life’s complexities and achieve extraordinary feats, proving itself to be a vital force for human accomplishment and spirituality. I deeply observe!
William James, the brother of the novelist Henry James had the scientific mind of a physician and the restless soul of a mystic equally obsessed with the complexities of human consciousness, but he approached it through the lens of Pragmatism. He argued that “truth” is not a stagnant property of an idea but something that happens to an idea when it is put into practice. For James, the “truth” of a belief is its “cash value”—how well it works in the real world to help us navigate our lives. Psychological perspectives allowed him to be far more inclusive of the “irrational” parts of human existence, such as religious experiences and gut intuitions.
In his book, The Will to Believe, James offered a powerful counter-argument to the cold skepticism. He suggested that in matters of deep importance—like love, faith, or moral commitment—we often don’t have enough evidence to be 100% certain. In these cases, he argued that we have the right to take a “leap” (similar to Kierkegaard’s leap of faith) because the act of believing can actually help create vision as a fact. Faith has a unique power to create subjective reality and mind-altering transformations, I observe. Her subjective experiences are the becomes the most “real” thing and the individual has the power to shape their own reality through their choices and beliefs (William James). It may be based upon sheer imagination, dream state or even a hallucination in the judging mind of a sceptic or non-believer. Hence perception is her reality!
After all rose is still a rose regardless of its color, shade and fragrance it evokes! We can still relish and enjoy its beauty and inhale the scent and deep energetic waves it radiates! The essence, joy and brings peace and tranquility it provides is universal.
“Perfumes are the feelings of flowers.” (Heinrich Heine) and “… a ray of beauty out values all the utilities in the world.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). That value may very well be a unique subjective feeling based “reality.”
