Continuing to talk about ‘Blast from the Past’ from my last post, here’s one I wrote way back in Novemeber’2008 just after my first Vipassna experience. Original post is here via Nomadic Monologue.
Blissful and High
Its sheer bliss, truly!
Picture this: 3000 meters above sea level, 0-5 degC, amidst tall pine trees, monks and monkeys (no joking). Its peaceful and amazingly quiet. And I was blissfully disconnected: no mobile, no wi-fi, no Internet connection on my laptop (Indian telecom network has spared this village), no cameras, and no writing materials (these were intentional…hmm…what?). My wrist watch was the ‘only’ thing which told me the time and the date and somewhat kept me oriented.
I was with my body and my mind, truly. Just the way I am to the core.
Yes, I just returned from a fabulous trip from the foothills of the Himalayas. It was planned just so when the time was perfect: winter is slowly setting in and when my mind was in the verge of a ‘shut-down’ and such a ‘me-time’ was the need of the hour.
Hmmm..that was it and I found myself in that dreamy village.
Really a dream come true and this nomad never had such an exotic experience ever in her life. She stayed in a little asbestos-roofed hut with just a cot with a thin mattress and a few sheets of blankets and quilts; where she ate one meal a day, bathed and washed in water, just water and not hot water. And most importantly, she spent all these days only hearing sounds from the nature. It was complete silence for her.
First, I had no one to speak to. No chatting with neighbors. I could hear bells ringing in a nearby school at some time of the day; some times I would hear sound of drums from distance presumably from a marriage procession from the nearby village; or some sudden chaos from the monkey family which also lived with me on that hilly terrain; or some random drops on the asbestos when those pine cones fell on my roof which I collected dutifully at the day break (such collections!). Few other sounds I got familiar with were of a hoarsely croaking crow and barks of a very strange looking dog (he looked diseased for some reason; his color looked abnormal and so was his snout).
I was so connected with myself that I knew how it feels when I breathe in and whats the sensation like. Spending time on the lap of nature rejuvenated me, brought some divine serenity around me, in my steps, the way I walked, went about trekking up and down five hours a day. And at the end I only feel blessed.
I was so much in love with my ‘holy-day’ that I almost felt like extending my stay. I was not missing anything in particular – I only felt the need to know about Obama and a family thing which was planned at the last minute when I was all set for this exotic trip. I remember chalking out how to spend the last day in the hills before I started my descent: which food I will have; Tibetan or Israeli. And after descending down from the hills on my way to the next town I knew my brother is a happy man and Obama got his chair!! Wow…I say: a double wow!!
And ever since I am back I have been ‘prescribing’ this holy-day to all my friends and family. And I am waiting for my turn next year.
