Kailash Manasarovar

Most of the time we describe our feelings using our spoken language or body language.

There are times when the idea of time and space become irrelevant.

So irrelevant that you are aware you are existing on another planet altogether. Where the sound of air and wind is all you can hear and the silence is the most substantial force.

This force either pulls you towards it or keeps you at a safe distance with much resistance. Much like when you’re playing with a magnet.

I was finishing my last semester of school and coming back home. Little did I know this magnetic force was about to pull me to

experience its content silence. I did have an inclination to go to Kailash Mansarovar and I was about to be granted permission.

I had heard of the stairway to heaven and the mythological stories of Lord Shiva and Parvati. I had heard and read about the seven chakras of our human body correlating with the seven chakras of earth.

Just like us, earth is a living entity that has its own chakras.

The First energy chakra is the mooladhara, base or root which is located at Mount Shasta in California.

The second Chakra is the swadhisthana chakra which is located at Lake Titicaca Peru/Bolivia.

The third chakra is the Solar Plexus which is located at Uluru in Australia.

The fourth chakra is the heart chakra which is located at Glastonbury, Somerset, Shaftesbury, Dorset.

The fifth chakra is the throat chakra which is located at The Great Pyramid, Egypt.

The sixth chakra is the Pineal Gland chakra or the third eye. Ajna is located in western europe.

The seventh chakra which is the crown or Sahasrara or the Highest Energy Centre is The Mount Kailash.

And I was called upon to experience the divine.

Reaching this phenomena of pure nature meant living on the road for the next 20 days.

No roads, no civilization, no showers and if I have enough water then maybe I can brush my teeth.

I was ready for it in seconds.

Flying into the city of Kathmandu in Nepal. This modest country always has a dry happiness which the locals carry on them.

Their eastern yet traditional beliefs and attire and always active body language is a great sign of vigor.

As the tradition goes, before starting any auspicious deed we pray.

Does not matter to who in particular, as long as you do it in full faith.

Naturally, before starting our journey towards The Kailash Manasarovar, we go to pay our respects and gratitude to Lord Ganpati at Shree Pashupatinath Temple. Each place of worship is always intentionally made using the natural life force of the geographic location,

direction of the sun light, wind and water. These elements together create a concentrated energy that diminishes the negative vibration emanating from the surrounding and overpowering with the positivity. This helps the best of us to naturally succumb and have faith.

Pashupatinath is the lord of Animals. Animals in the wild are always living in a constant ecosystem that they evolve according to the survival of the fittest. The ones that are genetically inferior and expend their energy too soon are eliminated in the process while the fitter and more capable ones pass their genes on and live a longer life.

In the 4th Century approximately when the temple was built, this area of land had a lot of animals migrating from warmer to cooler temperatures. The sustenance was at a high rate and therefore creation was possible.

Kathmandu was a great start to our journey onwards to the idea of heaven we had in our minds. Before we begin any journey, the expectation and the image we carry in our minds is what keeps us going towards the destination. It makes our journey even more beautiful.

From Kathmandu we reach Lhasa in Tibet. The land of Buddhist monks was a real treat for us as soon as we landed. The immigration was strict and watched what we brought into their land. Once we got out of the airport, our route to the hotel was quite mesmerising.

We witnessed vast roads and impeccable infrastructure. The distribution of electrical power lines was neat and expansive.

The stores by the roads were functioning in full capacity with happy shiny people serving to sell their products. Sipping on hot water and laughing amongst themselves, these young populations seemed happy with what they had been provided with. I saw so many young kids with large sparkly eyes by the road who were playing within the proximity of their mothers. Their cheery smiles and diamond eyes were such a warm welcome.

Next morning we get a chance to see the Dalai Lama’s palace.

What a stunning sight of Faith and perseverance. Just like what we are used to seeing in our respective countries, the Grandma’s and Grandpa’s of Tibet come outside the palace every morning and pray for the longevity of a healthy life.

I get to climb the steep stairs of the palace made of a single block of stone and see the intricately detailed carvings on the walls.

The still preserved paper scrolls that have their prayers inscribed in beautiful calligraphy. The building and the interiors,

the places of worship in Tibet and the flags, the clothes of the people of this region also have the palette of earthy warm colors that have their continuation from Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal to Dalai Lama Palace in Lhasa.

A few years later when I visited Turpan and Ruoergai in Sichuan province of China on my way to London from India.I stayed at the Tibetan King’s palace that was converted into a hotel. There is a highway that connects Tibet to this part of the NorthWest frontier of China.

The colours, food, terrain and smell remains Tibetan.

Praying at these temples and seeking the Lord’s blessings made us believe in our journey even more.

Collecting these blessings not only for this trip but for our entire lifetime.

Next morning we come out of our hotels to find twenty five black Land Cruisers waiting for us. The stunning beauty.

I could not decide if the landscape was more exciting or these Land Cruisers. This sight that brought a rush of excitement in me was similar to when we see a shooting star. Except that I was able to drive this star all the way to heaven on earth.

Shigatse was our next stop en route to Lake Mansarovar. In 2005, It was a tiny little village.

We passed monasteries and stayed in a small guest house.

The air was thinner and we had to acclimatize ourselves to lack of oxygen in the air.

Eating fruit for breakfast, lunch and dinner was a good idea.

We walked around the village to find tents of all sizes. Some were homes of the villagers and the larger tents were restaurants and convenient stores.

We enter and sit on the charpoy. A metre wide round candle made of yak purified butter kept us warm. We tried yak milk and ate ramen. The smiles and look of wonder on the faces of the local people made us feel so welcomed.

Such simplicity in their demeanor.

Saga was a few hundred kilometres away from Shigatse.

We passed through many dozens of mountains that took us higher in elevation. The higher we went, the oxygen level felt lower.

This was my first experience and it literally took my breath away. The terrain was dry and with no trees or even shrubs.

Only pebbles and stones of various shapes that have been broken from the mountain because of wind erosion.

Because there was no barricade to stop the tunnel of wind, the terrain was extremely windy. During the day, the scene looks so calm and rugged. When day begins to turn into night, from around 5 pm, the temperature drops to 0 degrees celcius and the wind takes off at 65 - 70 kmph. We could feel the wind peeling the rocks and pebbles flying in the air. All day we drove through harsh heat and friendly twisters. Once we reached Saga, we got inside our tents to cover up in jackets and scarves. At 70 kmph the wind was throwing dust and we could see nothing. This was my first experience witnessing the drastic change of weather.

We could be standing at 45° bent forward and the wind would still be pushing us. What a brilliant experience.

The night was not quiet at all. The powerful wind against our tents, tents in the middle of a dry terrain and nothing around us for a few kilometres. This is pure play of nature.

Early in the morning we wake up into silence.

Fresh senses ready to reach our destination.

Lake Mansarovar

The pebbles at the beach were oval in shape and have a different temperature as the air.

The water pulls in the energy of the surrounding and has a glorified silence to it.

The waves are so soft and pleasant that the ducks swim over it peacefully.

The crows make this lake their home.

A beautiful soft light emanates from the lake like a Halo.

The circumference of the lake is lit in a white ring.

And I am standing besides in perfect silence.

This is the first time I had heard the beautiful silence and understood how impactful it really is.

The magnetic force of this lake and its surrounding is so immense that I can say,

There is life before visiting Lake Manasarovar and there is life after visiting this phenomenon.

For me, this is the biggest wonder of the world.