Around 1 in the morning, we walked towards the lake. Dressed in 4-5 layers, armed with a comforter and blankets to lie on and cover ourselves with, we were dressed to witness the subtle elements that any of us may be able to perceive.
The night sky was full of stars. With the dense darkness at Manas Sarovar, that needs a headlight to see where one is going, and the unchartered land making it essential to look at the ground as one walks to avoid stones and rocks and boulders and puddles of water and little pits, it does take a while once one is settled on the ground, to look up and adjust to the magnificence of the sky. The sky above looked like a brilliant source of light, covered with a black sheet through whose pores, light would twinkle out as a million stars. There were shooting stars - the sky was active with movement. And yet, once the eyes adjusted, it was easy to separate out the distractions from the divine lights. One, in particular, was moving about quite a bit, from side to side and towards us and back again. A couple of times, I felt there were lights near the surface of the water, but it may have been my exhausted brain. There were a couple of others in the sky above, but they did not appear to be as active. By 3 in the morning, I could barely keep my eyes awake, and there were so far 3-4 sources of light that I wanted to know about. The one most active identified himself as I humbly requested him. My respects and prostrations to energies that I do not recognize or understand, I know they exist. And if there is a productive need, I will learn to communicate with them.
A two hour nap later, I was brushing my teeth for the start of the new day. The Sherpas who would have woken up an hour earlier, provided warm water and plastic mugs to rinse the mouth and brush teeth with. I think back on Tapovan Maharaj's description of his Kailash yatra, walking through forest and thorns and leeches, bleeding and cut feet, hungry and sick and tired, not knowing when the next meal will come and what it will be. At times, people would respect him as a Lama, and at times, he would not have a covered place to lie down. He recognized that his body was frail for the tapas required of a sanyasi, and yet he would go through it as the prarabdha of this lifetime. He had come till Manas Sarovar - the gompas were different then, he does not describe them, maybe he came up to Chiu Gompa too, which is a Shakti sthal. He may have watched the night sky too, he has not described those experiences. But he did make a decision not to undertake the parikrama of Kailash, and he returned to Taklakot from Manas. The adiguru, Shankaracharya, whose footsteps I see in every spot I visit, was much more aggressive in his self-denial, had traveled to Kailash and written a most beautiful and deep composition that I hope to understand somewhat in this lifetime.
Our yatra, in comparison to these great personages, is a luxury trek. We gathered again at 7 in the same room that we had performed the pooja yesterday. This morning, Kailash is under clouds, but I have the confidence from previous yatras, that with the effect of the Swamijis praying for the grace of Kailash, he will make himself visible after this morning yagna.
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| morning yagna |
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| full-fledged chanting at Manas Sarovar, a first |
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| the yagna kunda |
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| towards the lake |
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| Chiu Gompa monastery on the hill behind the Chiu Gompa guesthouse |
We did not get a chance in the short visit to climb up to the monastery. It is a short ascent, the monastery is literally built into the cliffs, and it has a clear view of Kailash all year long. Only a handful of monks live here, the monastery contains Buddhist scriptures and has daily ritual worship that other visitors have witnessed. In my three visits, I have yet to offer my respects - maybe this is what I come for the next time. Chiu Gompa means the Little Bird Monastery - named so for its position on the mountain and the view.
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| As we drive, we see Kailash in the distance |
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| Many photographs and gasps later, we settle to having the south view of Kailash on the right side of the bus |
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| the bus stopped, unbelievable that we have this vast expanse to worship the south view |
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| the road with the view of Ashtapada on the right side, where we sit to pray now |
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| Trinetra on the left (southwest), the steps for the flow for Ganga in the middle, the devoted Nandi to the right |
The clouds meander on, casting light shadows on the back of my father's head. We spent a good time here - there was a bright sun, a light breeze, vast open land across which the south face of Kailash could be seen, Ashtapada to the right - sacred to the Jains. It was a tableaux to bring devotees to their knees in gratitude. This was a beautiful gift from the Karnali team to our group. We had known we would be able to see the south face of Kailash as we traveled towards Darchen, but none of us had imagined spending more than an hour in his presence, some of us chanting the Rudram and other chants, praying to him, thanking him for all he has given us including the opportunity to thank him.
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| Anish prostrating himself before the south face |
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| prayer flags to mark the Shakti sthal with Kailash, Nandi and Ashtapada from left to right |
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| I have seen the southeast and the south face so far |
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| view from the hotel in Darchen, unbeatable |
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| our hotel in Darchen |
We were in Darchen in time for lunch at 1. The Himalaya Kailash hotel in Darchen is on the market street, and many from the group left to do some shopping of Tibetan articles after lunch. Many of the vendors have brought in jewelry in little bedsheets that they have spread out in the hotel passage. The negotiations bring home Mussoorie and Ahmedabad and Delhi - wherever one has visited a Tibetan market. Suddenly, all the sympathy for the challenges of a hard life in Tibet are forgotten, and people who spend $5 for a small latte are bickering for 15 Yuan in the land of Shiva. Such is the delusion of devotion that people tear up at seeing a mountain or are overwhelmed with gratitude after dipping in a lake, but they have already lost sight that all names and forms are manifestations of the same substratum. While it is true that one should not pay 300 Yuan to a vendor selling "coral", one should also not gloat over paying just 50 Yuan - that is less than $10, certainly far less than what would pay for this shiny bauble in Dallas. One needs to find a healthy medium where one pays more than what I would pay in Dallas but less than the extreme first price quoted by the vendor. If I am the one collecting shiny baubles like a robin, at least I should not steal them like a robin. Please ensure the people of Tibet have enough in their pantry to last the cold winter.
Tomorrow, we will go by bus to Tarboche, and then take ponies to Deraphuk.
AUM Namaha Shivaya
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