Being alone has the greatest joys that life has to offer. We feel our most essential elements and understand the self only when we spend time with ourselves and train the mind to agree. Sometimes all one needs is to close their eyes and-- to let a certain calmness and stillness descend starting with the head, ears down to the tip of the toe.
When I think of the cold Serene landscape of a hill, the gentle rumble of the river right behind my green garden, I sit there quiet and still on this one o' blessed morning-- sunny and bright sun that set me up with fire and blessed my chilly bones with fire.
I don't know how to define a meditative state, but I have learnt over the years, to channelise my energy and dissolve my thoughts by focusing on the breath, the only key to that eternal truth. The only bodily process that connects us from the time we are born to the time we pass on, above and beyond.
To meditate, is to focus on the breadth and experience that stillness of the mind, body and soul. It starts with the body and sets with the temple of dusk.Then when the morning light hits my wooden doors, it awakens me from the dangerous dungeons of darkness and fills my day with a blissful shine.
Meditation in the hills is Serene. The call of the birds, perched atop a hill dotted with pines and a variety of twigs and wood. To cross over to the inner realms is made easy by the perfect gateway to escape-- the vibrations and energy of a magical mystical mountain.
In the ancient land of mountains, abode of gods and goddesses, sheltered and preserved is a way of life. To really feel and internalize this is to train the ear to hear natures call. It is something like the gentle whisper of trees to one another or the far heard cries of villagers who sound like a pack of soulful youth, calm and at ease with their sensibilities and the environment around them. It is that state of perfect harmony that is present in nature, Shakti that one can feel because of the eternal element in certain places which one can feel, but not often explain.
I was once in Himachal in a part of Kullu where there was a hot spring and glaciers as it was a watershed region. I woke up in the morning and went to take a 'dupki', following which I sat on the soft green slopes outside the 'kund'. I saw the mountain tops and the peaks, scattered here and there and engulfed in ice along different rock formations. I closed my eyes and sat there. Still. Quiet. Appreciating the cold breeze lapping against my face and the sound of someone tapping my shoulder woke me up. I was surprised to see my friends had come to look for me after 10. I realised that 4 hours had gone by and they had been looking for me for quite some time.
We then walked into the woods where we befriended a woodcutter who took us for a little tour of the jungle, only to find a peaceful spot where we lit a fire and enjoyed the company of those around us.
Such is the power of the meditative state. To be happy in every bit of life. To enjoy every moment and smile, and yet being aware that happiness and joy will come and go. But all that remains is the mountains, grand and majestic and unmoved by the forces of man. To live in the universal respect of nature, is what man needs to learn and practice. For a day will come...
P.S.- Raghav is an avid traveller, a storyteller and yogi who picks his bags up and dissapears more often than not. He vociferously advocates sustainability and can meditate for hours on end during his travels. Political Science from Hindu College and an MBA are not the only feathers in his cap many will agree, as he quickly rustles up food to die for!
