Journey to the Himalayas – an elevating experience

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Take up the journey…and discover yourself.

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Day 6: Meghalaya Diaries – Hike to Rainbow falls

Double Decker Root bridge is located in a small hamlet called Nongriat which has just 35-40 houses. Byron Sing, the owner of Serene homestay where we had stayed, has written an informative booklet about the history and culture of Nongriat. It says that the ancestors of present residents of Nongriat were earlier living in the neighbouring village who had a reputation of being experts in roots and trees. They were also experts in bamboo work and realised the difficulty in maintaining bridges made out of bamboo and wood especially during torrential rains. Necessity is the mother of invention. About 250-300 years ago, this thought made the natives of the land to conceive of the genius idea of making a Living Root Bridge that would be self sustaining. What an idea, sirjee!

We started our trek to Rainbow Falls from the Double Decker Root bridge after munching some sandwiches. The plan was to reach Rainbow Falls and go to a water body on the way back in the same route. Some travelers do the trek down to Double Decker, go all the way further up to Rainbow Falls and then come back the same day. We had opted to take it slow and easy, and as a result we were staying at Serene homestay near DDR bridge for two nights.

As we crossed the DDR, it was a beautiful forest through which we started our walk to Rainbow Falls. There was not a single hut after a few metres and both sides had shrubs and tall trees that did not allow the sun rays to reach the ground. We could see insects if all kinds and we also got bitten by Godzilla-sized mosquitoes if we stayed at one place for a long time. The trek was uphill on stoned paths, crossing streams through Root Bridges and other bridges. Not a single other soul in sight and with the sounds of insects in the background, walking through the forest was an experience in itself!

The path was not a smooth one. In many places there were stones of all sizes that we had to surmount to march ahead. It was a good followup after the hikes in the previous days. When we were tired, we took a halt until we could breathe normally and that’s when we could see all the beauty around. Even while walking through a forest as beautiful as this, if one is so occupied with their pursuits that there’s no time to pause and look around, then one will miss all the beauty around. While I am writing this, I hope all of us will remember to take pauses and look at the beauty around as we get busy in our daily life struggles and pursuits.

After a climb of about 2.5 hours (at the pace of our slowest member), we reached Rainbow falls. And it was a dazzling beauty worth the trek! One can watch Rainbow falls from a 150 metre distance, but cannot go to the falls. We sat there and enjoyed watching the water gush down from a height of 300 m or so. It was then time to turn back. There was a small ascent and then a descent to the water body that we had planned to visit on the way to Double Decker Bridge. But before we would go there, we had to satisfy our growling stomachs. We had noodles at a stall next to the entrance of the pool before we walked down to the pool. It was again a beautiful blue and green pool with crystal clear water made by a waterfall. There were life jackets provided if one wanted to go for a swim. We spent about 30-40 minutes in the water until my daughter started shivering. Still the kids didn’t want to get out of it.

Rainbow falls

By this time, the mind was used to trek and hence the body had to follow. It didn’t seem difficult at all to get back to the DDR bridge. As we reached our homestay, we had some yummy bread pakodas and again headed for the DDR bridge for the fish spa. It was 4:15 pm by then and there was still energy left in everyone.

We retired to the bed early. To sing a lullaby we had the rain gods shower some rains. Sleep came in no time.

Day 8: Meghalaya Diaries (the final part): The People

During our stay in Meghalaya, we had the opportunity to interact with some locals. Sharing the interactions with some of them in particular and some in general.

The owner of our homestay at Double Decker Root Bridge was a very cheerful and short statured man in his late 40’s. He could be seen smoking for most of the times but not eating betel nut or tobacco like almost every other person we met irrespective of gender in Meghalaya. From our interactions, I got to understand that most kids here pick up the habit of eating betel nut during their school days. When a guest comes home here, they are offered betel nut by the host just like tea or coffee. I was wondering how irrespective of heavy consumption of tobacco along with betel nut, cigarettes or bidis, how do they manage their health. The answer that I got from the owner was – ‘we consume fresh tobacco, fresh vegetables, fruits and pure air. And most of all, we are extremely satisfied and contented people which makes us happy and healthy. On top of that, we have traditional medicines and herbs that take care of our health. That’s the secret of our health.

Baron

The owner of the homestay was telling me his story one of the days. He had 11 siblings but 4 of them died young due to poverty. He lost his father at a young age and all the children had to work hard and earn from a young age. He himself started going to kindergarten only when he was 9. That’s because he had started earning an amount that can support his education ‘only’ when he was 9. He never took money from his parents even when he was as young as 9 and supported himself all the way until he completed his undergrad. He told me that working and growing up was hard and he had received bad treatment from some of his employers. So he ensured that he would never do the same to the people who were working under him. He gave them a lot of flexibility to work and kept the dining hall timings fixed so that the kitchen staff are not stretched beyond a certain time. For him, it was his team that came first than the customers. I could see so many management techniques he followed without having any sort of formal degree in managing people or business. All of it came through good thinking and good nature.

Another girl we met was one of the kitchen in-charge at the Serene homestay at DDR bridge. We had checked in on a Monday and I had called her to help me out with one of the bathroom bolts which was made of iron and was stuck. I had tried hard but couldn’t move it. She just came and using her index finger and thumb, she easily fixed it. I can only imagine the force that she could apply using her fingers and one can never imagine that such a short thin girl would be able so strong. She was telling me that her legs are aching because the previous day being a Sunday (and hence a holiday for the homestay…thanks to the policies by the owner to give a day off to the employees) there were no guests at the homestay. And she went off for a trek to the top of a mountain from where one can get an aerial view. That mountain top was nowhere close to where we were staying and it would easily take 4-5 hours to get there. When I asked her how much time did she take to get there she said, “Because I walked in normal speed, it took me two hours.” I was completely floored! When I told her that we were planning to go to the Rainbow falls she said that she loved going there because water inspires her a lot. She said, “Water is very pure. One should also be like water. I sometimes feel too much negativity around and I feel I should throw it away and just be like water – pure and peaceful.”

At the DDR bridge, on the second day we saw three local girls below 8-9 years playing at the waterfalls. The were continuously jumping into the water, diving, walking, nay running, on the slippery rocks for more than an hour. They were so lively and lovely bunch to watch and one could just be in awe of their energy levels. There was no single adult supervising them. They were as though being raised by nature and they were one with the nature. These kids are bound to grow up to be tough and hardworking. The only question I had was – what was the intellectual stimulation they were receiving in their early years and if the intellectual stimulation and curiosity was less at a young age, how would it be impacting them in the long run.

The other locals whom we met shared a lot of local stories and legends. There were strong faith and belief systems amongst the natives. There were certain pockets in the forests which were considered very sacred where animal or bird sacrifices were made to please their Gods or nature. Entry to most of these places were restricted to outsiders. These are places where they invoke spirits and are very pure for them to be touched and polluted by non-believers. In one of these Sacred Forests we visited, our guide explained how they perform the rituals. They would sacrifice bulls earlier (now roosters) and wait for a ‘sign’ from the Gods to see whether they were pleased or not. If the Gods were pleased, leopard would arrive and if the Gods were not pleased snake would arrive. A snake sighting after a sacrifice would mean another bull to be killed. This Sacred Forest that we visited was opened for outsiders because they had shifted their sacrificial grounds to a different place. Yet, nothing should be plucked and taken from these places (like leaves, berries, fruits, nuts or even twigs) outside of this place, nor should anything be brought into this place. They didn’t have these restrictions to preserve the nature but also because of some mystical elements involved.

Sacred Forest

Rudraksha seeds below its tree

Sacred Forest

Children more or less seemed to be happy. I couldn’t find much advertisements about coaching centres nor did I see students going out with a small bag for tuitions. Time outside of school hours were meant for playing. Many preferred to stay in Meghalaya and not go outside. For instance, I met a young fellow who was collecting money at the entrance of a toilet at the Sacred Forest. When I asked him in which all places he has been, he said that he had been to different places in Meghalaya but no place outside of Meghalaya…not even Assam which was 3 hours drive from there. He was happy and content in Meghalaya and said that he doesn’t feel like leaving the place.

An interesting social norm that I understood was that the youngest girl in the family inherits the property. The elder members are expected to take care of themselves and the youngest one is supposed to be the weakest link who will need support. Another reason is that the youngest child will live longer than her older siblings and because of the usual custom that the husband would come to the wife’s place, the ancestral property doesn’t go outside of the family if it is given to the youngest girl. But it was not compulsory for the husband to come to the wife’s place. If he has a better job, then the wife would shift to the husband’s place. Rules were flexible and not rigid. Another interesting aspect was the aspect of marriage. There is no concept of arranged marriage. One has to find their own partner. And a boy cannot propose a girl twice. If she says, ‘No’, it is definitely a No. Then he better look for another girl.

Until recent times the marriages have been happening within the communities. But with modernisation, things are slowly changing. There is also a lot of influence of the church in the tribal belts. So, even if the natives are following their rituals, a vast majority of them have accepted Christianity as their faith.

That brings an end to the travel diaries of our trip to Meghalaya. There were some more places that we covered but I couldn’t write about them – like the Airforce museum, boating at Dawki, visiting the India-Bangladesh border, visiting Kalakshetra in Guwahati, etc. I wanted to write these experiences for myself so that I and my kids could revisit them in the form of words and experiences and not just photos or videos. I am extremely thankful to my friends Shreeyesh, Aparna, Smruthy and Prashant for sharing some of the amazing places to visit in Meghalaya, and to Sridhar Lakshmanan who gave some last minute tips and helped us with the car for our travel, to my friend Sriram for connecting me to Sridhar, and lastly to the amazing people from Assam and Meghalaya whom we met at our places of stay and during the course of our travel…without them, the experience would have never been the same.

Umngot river

To all those who haven’t been to the North East, it’s a different world out there – both culturally and in its natural beauty. The scenic beauty I had seen in Meghalaya was nothing less than a Scotland or Switzerland that I have seen in videos. A dip into this place will transport us to a different world which we never knew existed in our own country.

Keep travelling! Keep learning!

Day 7: Meghalaya Diaries – Mind over matter: Climbing uphill

Morning woke us up around 4:45 am without any alarm. We sat in the terrace enjoying the nature. The DDR bridge where we stayed is at the foot of many hills which gives a picturesque view when we look around. The sun had rose but it was yet to be seen thanks to the mountains that were hiding it. One of the things that hits you in Meghalaya especially if you are from the west of India is the early sunrise. We could see a couple of the giant Himalayan squirrels jumping from a branch to the other, colourful butterflies and very interesting insects. Mornings in the mountains are indeed indescribable!

We had breakfast at 6 am and started our trek up to the starting point where our cab would be waiting. While walking down to the double decker root bridge the biggest worry for anyone is – how would they climb back up? As I had mentioned in one of my earlier post on ‘infinite descent’, there are some 1000+ steps at one go that one has to walk down on a steep slope while coming down to the Double Decker Root Bridge. How to climb these back scares some people and they just return back without pursuing the trek down to the DDR bridge. When we started our climb back, we had estimated our time to hike up as 4.5 hours instead of 3 hours that we took to come down. But to our utter surprise, we did it in the same time as our trek down. Initially it might look like we defied the laws of physics but then we realise that it the psychological barrier that one breaks after doing a few hikes. The mind doesn’t think that the body can do it and underestimates the capacity of the body. It is later that one realises that it is not much of the fitness of the body, not much of how much exercise you are use to or what’s your body weight…it’s more about what your mind tells you and how’s your self-esteem. If one thinks more about their body pain, about how incapable they are to do the trek, it is definitely going to be challenging. That is what we realised after we trekked back. None of us were mentally tired and exhausted. Yes, it was physically tiring but not as much as when we had climbed down. While climbing down, our minds were also very anxious, it didn’t know how much further does one have to go, whether it can complete it or not. One can see their own earlier versions in people who are hiking down when one is going up the steps. If the attitude is – one step at a time…not worrying about whether one can do the full trek or not, but just thinking about the next right move, then most treks are doable. As they say, it’s all in the mind.

We reached up with a feeling of accomplishment and we celebrated by treating ourselves with fresh pineapples. It was then time to bid goodbye to the beautiful world down below at Double Decker Root Bridge and the beautiful people down there. To anyone who wishes to come to DDR bridge and would want to explore trekking, I would recommend what we did – stay for a couple of nights and do Rainbow falls as well. If one has the bandwidth, one can also do a couple of more longer hikes from DDR Bridge. For those interested in knowing more about the culture of the natives there, staying for more days is also worth it. As things are dynamically changing in the world and people resorting to comforts, I am not sure whether the natives of this place may also resort to it and may bring more comfortable modes of transportation to the place which will change the landscape and other dynamics. I really hope that everyone gets to see what we saw and experience what we experienced with the amazing little people of Nongriat.

Day 4: Meghalaya Diaries – Being a Caveman!

We had thought that today would be the most relaxing day amidst the days so far especially given that tomorrow is a big day for us. How little did we know that sightseeing in Meghalaya invites free trekking, hiking or atleast climbing many steps up and down!

It started with Elephant Falls for which we climbed down about 5-6 floors height and watching two beautiful waterfalls. We didn’t mind because we thought the next spots would be just sightseeing and no trekking. We left Elephant Falls and drove through patches which was nothing less than Scotland or Switzerland on either sides. To add to the beauty, there were clouds that would flow in from nowhere. In fact, half our journey has been through clouds!

We reached a spot on the main road with no signboard where our driver told us that we need to walk down to go to Wei Sawdong Falls. Seeing the almost steep climb down, two of them in our group frowned but the waterfall was really tempting to say No to the climb. The trek down was serene! Surrounded by green thick forest, the sounds of insects and birds make us forget where we are. Enjoying the beauty around, we trekked down but the path became narrower and narrower. At one point the path was wooden logs and a bit of land barely sufficient to put two feet together. At some patches, it was wet round stones on which water dripped from the rocks above and at some places it was 70 degree inclination that we had to descend. The path was fun to tread on for those who love treks. After walking down around 500 steps, we reached the bottom side of the waterfall. The entire picture was extremely captivating. On one side there were huge rocks with natural holes in them enough for bats and birds to build their homes. On another side, there were tall thick trees. Below were huge rocks with holes in them and at the backdrop was the majestic waterfall. Wow! What an experience it was to watch the waterfall and of course, put your feet in the water.

After having a great time there, it was now time to gather our spirits and walk back up. As we reached up, the two members in our group told us that they are not going to trek any more. We then had lunch and headed for Mawsmai Caves. Mawsmai caves would be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. My imagination of a cave was a hollow place inside a rock where one can go in and come back. But this cave was nowhere close to that. It had one entry and an exit. Most people went to the entry, walked a few steps and came back. The idea of going through a dark poorly lit underground tunnel called ‘cave’, without knowing which would be the next turn to take or how long is the cave, was definitely not a great idea for many. But that was not us. We walked into the cave at right after we got inside it for 50 metres, I could sense the lack of oxygen owing to a closed place and many people inside the cave. Some where coming back, some standing still figuring out whether to go ahead or return and the others walking ahead. We made a human chain in pairs and walked. There were places where the roof of the cave was very high, but at some places even my 6 year old daughter had to bend down to save her head hitting a rock above. All the while water was dripping down from different places in the cave. At many places we had to squeeze our bodies through gaps or crawl out of a small area. But it was all great fun figuring out whether the light that we saw ahead was coming from an opening above or the end of the cave. The whole experience gave nothing a Hollywood feel. We got out of the caves with a big smile on our faces and a badge of pride that we all put up on us. But then, we saw another board – Mawsmai Caves 2!

Inside Mawsmai Caves

There was no way that we would have missed the adventure for the second time. So we bought the tickets for the dads and kids, and happily went towards the second cave. It was atleast as much enthralling as the previous one, if not more. The closed environment with dim light, walls designed to bruise your body and head, water tripping down on you and you having to sweat like anything while you are hiking, all this gives a creepy feel and fear at times. But the adrenaline rush is worth it. In fact, this was the most thrilling adventure we had with a ₹20 entry ticket!

After doing this adventure, my respect for ‘Cave men’ has grown in leaps and bounds! On a serious note, if you plan to visit Meghalaya, you should definitely miss visiting Mawsmai caves. If it scares you, then you should definitely do it.

Finally, got out of the second cave and we headed for the Garden of Caves. Garden of caves is a must see place which goes by its name. One will get a Jungle Book experience as one treads through the hour long journey through less scary caves and waterfalls. More of it through pictures.

Day 5: Meghalaya Diaries – The Infinite Descent

One of the greatest mathematicians Langrange had proved a certain theorem in Pell’s equation using a method that he called as the ‘infinite descent’. I think he got inspired from the trek to the Double Decker Root bridge and named it the ‘infinite descent’.

Our next stop was a halt for two nights at the Double Decker Root Bridge which was a loooonnnnngggg trek down. There are just steps, Steps and STEPS that go down almost vertically at many places. This was pretty scary while getting down because the vertical look down can make one feel giddy. It is natural for someone to turn back when their fellow traveller is calling them from behind but this can cause giddiness due to sudden turning of one’s head and one fall is just going to make the person roll atleast 20-30 steps. Thankfully, I was saved once from a fall because I had a walking stick that we had bought for ₹20 when we started our (infinite) descent.

To cover 3600+ steps (and some flat land) down, it took us 2.5 hours as a group of two families. The climate was very much tropical – hot and humid. Some of them who were climbing down were cribbing and some turn back and discontinued their trek. We had two nights booked at a place near the Double Decker Bridge and we were in no mood to turn back.

Whenever we felt tired, we immediately sat down so that we won’t feel giddy and watched the scenic beauty around. The view was somewhat like Simba watching from the cliff in the Lion King. On either sides were tall trees…ahead of us down below was the village where we had to reach…at our eye level were huge mountains. There was so beautiful views all the time…but as much as one may want to enjoy that, there was a task that we had to complete – reach our homestay before lunch time.

With tummy full of breakfast and a good porter who helped us with our luggage, it wasn’t hard to trek down except for the usual challenges that come on the way. We left our car at the drop spot and our driver agreed to come by noon on 7th June when we would return back from the DDR bridge.

By taking enough halts, we crossed a couple of bridges before we reached our homestay. We were drenched in sweat and it was hot like hell. To add to the bodily discomfort, there was no electricity. All the places at the DDR are simple accommodation almost like hostel rooms. Hence, no AC. One who is not used to such environments or the ones who have pampered their bodies with comforts will find it difficult to stay at such places. But the rooms were clean and so were the common toilets. We checked in, hand lunch and tried to sleep. Thanks to our fully charged kids and the noise around of people talking and walking, we couldn’t sleep more than 10 minutes. But then, such trips is not about comforts and pampering, but enjoying nature and the stretch of our body and mind.

We soon left the homestay and left for the Double Decker Root Bridge. The bridge is a wonder to see. There was just one tree whose roots were used to form two bridges one above the other and to be used as a Double Decker bridge. It was early evening and people were about to leave. There were some youngsters swimming in the water at the falls below the DDR. We went close to the waterfall and sat down with legs immersed in the water. The monsoon was supposed to start but has got delayed this year and hence the water was less, but enough for kids to have fun. The water had fishes and it was our first experience in a fish spa – just that this one was a free spa for us. The water being crystal clear, we could see the fishes clearly and so could they. A slight movement of hand would scare the school of fish who would change their direction. The small fishes came first to nibble on our legs and slowly the medium sized fishes. It was fun to be in the natural pool and later sip tea while we we’re enjoying the fish spa.

While coming down, there were members in our team who were finding the climb down extremely difficult but their faces were completely changed when they spent time here. The trek down to DDR looks intimidating with over 3500 steps, but once the mind crossed the barrier of how long the trek is or is my body tired, almost every trek is achievable.

We retired after a traditional meal for dinner. Before hitting the bed, the homestay’s terrace which was surrounded by mountains, gave us a beautiful view of the moonrise from behind a mountain. Fireflies sprinkled some more excitement in the air. It was time to hit the bed before a long day’s trek (again) tomorrow to Rainbow falls.

Day 3: Meghalaya Diaries – And it’s a different world out there!

What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘tribals’? Long earrings? People who hunt and eat? Tattooed faces and almost naked people? Not to blame anyone, but we judge books by their covers. A visit to the Don Bosco Museum and Root Bridges in Meghalaya would change this perspective completely.

We visited the spectacular Single Root Bridge at Riwai today and I can only say that it’s one of the most ingenious bio-engineering project that I have ever seen! The Root Bridges are actual ‘living’ bridges man-made by connecting roots of living trees. In a place like Meghalaya, where monsoon is very heavy, bridges become very important to connect land that is separated by rivers. The root bridges are made by growing multiple trees (mainly fig and banyan) on either banks of the river. Over a period of 15 years, the roots of these trees are connected using various techniques which makes them intertwined thus making the bridge really strong and sturdy. So sturdy that it can even hold elephants if they walk on the bridges. And who makes all these bridges? Not the Govt., not engineers, but the tribals! The tribals have some really mind boggling systems to make these bridges. The root bridges do not disturb the ecosystem, rather they are one of the sustainable ways of solving real-life problems.

To make such an masterpiece, what kind of educational degree do the tribals possess? What would be the level of unification with nature that the tribals would be having to make something of this sort? And what kind of outlook would they be having towards their community and life in general that make them work on a project that will come to life only after 15 years? It’s a different world out there in the tribal community which we cannot gauge through our lens especially when we view from the standpoint of all-knowing educated citizens. The world of tribals evolved in their own ways. The Don Bosco museum displayed various types of beautiful houses designed to suit the terrains of the north east, fishing nets that use valves, amazing musical instruments like xylophones, flutes with 2-6 holes, stringed instruments, hollow tree trunks to produce melodious sounds and not to forget, amazing drums. All these just show that the way music developed in the rest of India, music did not shy away from the north east amongst the tribal regions. They found their own instruments to be one with music. They have been living a hard life and a different culture untouched by the ‘civilised man’. I truly felt ashamed that I don’t know even a bit about these indigenous cultures of the north east as much as I know of the other states of India.

When we saw the Riwai root bridge, I was reminded of the Hollywood movie – Avatar. Riwai was no less beautiful than the planet in Avatar and the geniuses in the tribes were no lesser than the natives of Pandora. While all the changes that are happening in this dynamic world, what we don’t realise is – there exists this world in the north east part of India that is filled with geniuses of a different kind.

With a tribal lady who was keeping the toilets clean

PS: Places visited today:

Mawlynnong – Asia’s cleanest village

India-Bangladesh border

Riwai Single Root bridge

Day 2: Meghalaya Diaries – Laitlum (Cloud no.9)

What does it mean to be on Cloud no.9? As the name of Meghalaya goes, Laitlum did not disappoint us with the clouds gushing towards us as we entered Laitlum Canyon. There was hardly anyone there when we reached. So we had some quick breakfast and started walking towards the start of the trekking point. Most people who come to Laitlum just visit the top, get mesmerised by seeing the clouds cover the entire place within a few seconds, and they head back. But we had decided that we will do the trek down and way up.

Laitlum trek goes down probably around 2500 stones (steps) into a village that is accessible only by the trek. The villagers use a rope way to transport groceries but the cart cannot carry humans. So, if they have any work in the outside world, they just climb up – as simple as that!

We started the trek down. Initially my daughter was a little scared by seeing down when nothing much can be seen due to the clouds and the stones being huge, it was scary for her. But she had no other choice than to trek down.

As we started the trek, we saw two people walking up with fire woods. One of them was in his pre-teens (see the video) and on top of that they were doing it without any footwear! We could see women, women with infants, walking up as we usually climb one or two storied places.

The whole way down is majestic. Filled with clouds in seconds and seconds later they are gone giving us a short glimpse of the village below…a place where people are probably oblivious of the outside world! The way down is not easy for non-trekkers. There is no hand rail for protection. However, if one is sensible and knows how far to go and not to, then it’s not a risky one. We took a lot of stops to enjoy the beauty around and sometimes to decide where to stop and turn back because the hike up wasn’t cake walk.

We climbed down a little more than 1100 steps and decided to rest there. My daughter was now a bit settled and after an hour of trek down, we decided to trek up. Trek up was a cake walk for kids and challenging for us adults (watch videos).

All the enthusiastic ones had to face it – my body doesn’t not listen to my mind and vice versa. Whenever I feel completely exhausted or am on the way of giving up, I just think of some verse like Nirvana Shatkam to motivate myself with the quote – I am not the body nor am I the mind. So don’t listen to both of them when they say they are tired. Because if you listen, you won’t be able to do a lot of things. But do listen to them when it asks for a rest.

We paced up very slow with enough rests and I was just amazed by how our 6.5 year old daughter walked up in full vigour without holding anyone’s hand. It is then you realise, how much one can underestimate one’s kids.

Walking up was both knee and backbreaking with moderate bearable pain for me. For others also it was a similar experience. But amidst the small treks I had done, this one definitely earns the top position for the food it provides to our eyes while doing the trek. At the end of it, when you reach the top, a big green plateau awaits you to stretch your back on it. We adults lied down on the grass while the ever energetic children ran and played on the plateau.

By all means, this is a place not to be missed out if one wants to experience ‘trekking through the clouds’.

Meghalaya Diaries: Day 1 – Entry to the abode of clouds

From the scorching heat of Chennai and then to Mumbai, our bodies were warmed a little less by Guwahati when we landed there. The weather became more and more pleasant, as though God was turning a weather regulator, when we proceeded towards Meghalaya. With lush green view on either sides of the road and small hillock here and there, the journey was a treat as we entered Meghalaya. One interesting aspect was that there was no ‘state borders’ between Assam and Meghalaya. Our driver told us that the road itself was a divider between two states for a long patch. In our car, some of us were gazing out and seeing Meghalaya and the others were seeing Assam at the same time.

We halted at Jiva restaurant which is a famous known veg restaurant. The food was delicious and the bathrooms were cleaner than the airports. With a full belly and no sleep at night, nidra-devi was successful in dissuading us from the picturesque view outside at multiple times.

On the way, we could see many women wearing their traditional dress (a dress inside covered by a full body dupatta kind of wear) and almost everyone could be seeing some form of tobacco. The women’s lips were red with the stuff that they were chewing. It was as powerful as a lipstick.

We diverted our roads to Shillong (the place that were were heading to) and we could see roads going to Mizoram and Tripura on the way. Our driver told us that in Meghalaya, men get married and go to the women’s home for staying (probably the only state where things are the other way around than what we usually see in the rest of India), and men take care of household chores while women go and work. Our driver told us that in Mizoram, women are allowed to choose any other man outside of their wedlock and go with them. My friend (who’s family and mine are travelling together) looked at each other and told each other that we may want to come without our families while visiting Mizoram so that we don’t lose our wives.

We soon reached our homestay – a beautiful enchanting plot of land with three self contained rooms. It’s pretty much in the town (not central town place though) and not an isolated place which made me wonder if I have chosen a wrong place to stay and whether it will be a hustling place. However, evenings proved me wrong. The place becomes silent very early in the evening and all we could hear were different sounds of crickets and other insects.

Every house here has a wide variety of plants and flowers. Just like a young village girl would like to wear ornaments and flowers, the people here also love to decorate their houses with flowers and plants. We had some good play time with the three doggies in the property before we went out for a stroll. The temperature started dropping calling the need of a mild sweater, but we decided to enjoy the cool weather and chilled. Had simple home made dinner before we retired to the rooms by 9:15 pm. Didn’t realise when I fell asleep until I woke up at 5 am with bright sunlight outside the windows. A beautiful day calling ahead! Eagerly waiting to explore a bit of wilderness and an adventure.

Upadesa Sara | Talk #3

Upadesa Sara

Notes from talks by Swami Advayananda, Chinmaya International Foundation

Talk 3: 22^nd May, 2022

‘What is the need to pray, go to a temple or remember Bhagavan? All that matters is to do good work and make the world a better place to live. All well-intended actions will give the right results.’ Often we hear such statements especially from people who are involved in a lot of good work like working for social causes. In the first verse of Upadesa Sara, Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi explains, why it is not sufficient to do good work to achieve the Supreme. In this talk, Swami Advayananda ji unpacks the arguments and thoughts about action, results, doership and the laws that govern them.

In the last talk we saw that even though the Purva Mimamsakas were following the Vedic rituals and actions sincerely, they didn’t have the means to come out to achieve the final goal – moksha. The reason was that in their entire scheme of action and result, they didn’t have Ishwara in it. The sequence was Karma – Apurva – Apurvaphala/Karmaphala with no place of Ishwara.

There is a relationship between KArya and KAraNa which is explained as: kArya niyata pUrva vritti kAraNa. Meaning: That which necessarily precedes action (karma/karmaphala/result) is cause. As seen in the earlier talk, Jyothisthoma yaga performed accurately results in attainment of swargaloka. A question that arises is that when the Jyothisthoma yAga has ended, how is it that the yajaman is not attaining swarga immediately? How is it that the Shastras say that the Jyothisthoma yAga give the result (the effect) when the yAgas (the cause) have ceased to exist? It is here that the Purva Mimamsakas introduce the concept of ‘Apurva’ which means ‘unique effect’ which functions as the ‘preceding cause’. Since the Apurva has been generated by a certain action, the action becomes the distant cause and Apurva (can be equated to ‘punya’) becomes the immediate effect that precedes the action. But in this law of cause-effect, when the Lord is out, there is no concept of moksha (liberation from bondage). In other words, the maximum that one can aim for is swarga (a certain type of state to revel in for some time) and not moksha.

Lord Shiva thought that there was essential goodness in the Tapasvis because they were performing the actions with utmost sincerity and their goals were noble. It was only that they had gone astray which is why they had become egoistic. Since there was an essential goodness in them they could be helped. Their focus had changed from moksha to attaining siddhis. Here, Swamiji takes a moment to explain Siddhis as exceptional accomplishments gained in the course of actions. Vedas being the storehouse of all types of knowledge, if we don’t have the right goal, we maybe misled into aiming for something that is not necessarily the best thing or maybe even wrong things to aim for. Here, one may feel why Vedas would give knowledge about wrong practices as well. We need to understand that knowledge is of all sorts. And Vedas being apaurusheya (that which has not been written by someone) but something that the rishis ‘saw’ (not necessarily through their eyes), it is doesn’t contain only the knowledge that a preceptor may preach.

The tapasvis of Darukavana were seeking pleasurable states (like swargaloka) by means of action but forgot that the pleasures in any loka would end because it has been created. These results cannot lead to fulfillment. When Lord Shiva demonstrated that by their actions they cannot achieve certain things, the Tapasvis realized their mistake. Here, Swami Advayananda ji says, “Action is not meant for bondage. Action is a stepping stone for liberation. Purpose of action is not just for fulfillment; it is meant for ‘chittashuddhi’. It is this guidance that the Tapasvis had lost. In order to give them (us) the direction to move forward in the process of evolution (which was their original goal), Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi brings Bhagavan into the picture of action.”

कर्तुराज्ञया प्राप्यते फलम् । कर्म किं परं कर्म तज्जडम् ॥ १॥

We perform an action to get Apuva. But who decides that? Did karma (action) decide that? Action is not sentient. It has been created by an individual. It can utmost be a support but not the master of the individual. Neither you, nor the action, can decide what the Apurva is. Then how can the action be supreme (as the Purva Mimasakas think) if it cannot decide what its result is? It is here that Bhagavan Ramana asks – Karma kim param: How is action the ultimate/supreme (when it cannot decide what its fruits should be)? Karma tajjadam: Action has no power to think, it is not sentient. How can such a thing decide the result of action?

Looking at the cycle of action, we see: Karta-Karma-Apurva-Phala-Karta. The karta (doer) performs karma (action) which gives a unique effect that acts as the preceding cause for the phala (result) that will be enjoyed by the karta (doer). But the karta in the first verse of Upadesa Sara under whose ajna (command) only the phalam is received is not the doer-karta. It is the Karta because of whom all these laws exist, the Creator of all these laws in whom these laws exist. But often, we forget about the Karta (with a capital K) and think that it is the karta (with a small k) who does all the amazing things. Here’s an anecdote from Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda ji’s life when he took the opportunity to drive this message to one of his devotees. Once Gurudev was invited to a devotee’s home for a bhiksha. The hostess offered him a sandwich and said that it’s an Italian sandwich she made. She probably wanted Gurudev to make note that she made something very special, so she repeated it 3-4 times. On that Gurudev exclaimed, “Oh wow! It was so good. What did you make in this sandwich? Was it the bread?”. She replied, “No, Swamiji. I bought the bread from a bakery.” “Then was it these vegetables?”, he asked. “No, Swamiji. I bought those from a vegetable vendor.” “Was it the butter or the sauces?”, And he continued with each and every ingredient of the sandwich to which she regretfully said ‘No’. “Then what exactly did ‘you make’ in this sandwich?”, Gurudev asked.

How many times do we get into this notion of ‘I being the doer’? How close are we to the Tapasvis of Darukavana? Bhagavan, with all his karuNa, keeps coming in different forms to remind us of this first verse of Upadesa Sara so that we get back on track and don’t forget about Ishwara in the scheme of things. Let us all see Bhagavan through all the actions that we do.

Image Source: http://www.mooji.org

Upadesa Sara | Talk #2

Upadesa Sara
Notes from talks by Swami Advayananda, #ChinmayaInternationalFoundation
Talk 2: 17th May, 2022

‘For every effect there is a cause. To get a desired result, an appropriate action needs to be performed. In this law of action and result or cause and effect, is there any place for Ishwara (God)?’ Scientifically viewed, this is a very valid question. The answer to this question by a certain school of thought (Purva Mimamsa) is that there is no place for God and what exists is only the cause-effect relationship.
In different Puranas, we see a story of the tapasvis of Darukavanam, who were staunch believers of this thought, and how Lord Shiva corrects their thought through an Upadesa (advice). However, what was that advice is not mentioned in the puranas. It is only when Muruganar requests Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi that he gives out the advice that Shiva had given to the tapasvis. This talk brings us to the context of the origin of Upadesa Sara and what it has in store for us.

“Switching on the switch, a bulb is lit. To get the desired effect in a light bulb, the action of switching on the bulb is sufficient. But can any switch light a bulb by itself? Unless there is someone who wired the bulb to the switch, how can the switch light the bulb? Can the laws exist on its own without someone putting them in place?”
~ Swami Advayananda

The work Ramana Sannidhi Murai (Homage to the presence of Sri Ramana) that Murugana was composing was in a Puranic style spread in 1852 verses. In the entire work we see Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi doing actions that Lord Shiva had performed and which is stated in Shiva Purana and other places. Murugana imagined Bhagavan Ramana doing those actions. He writes the text meticulously but at one place, he is stuck. He surrenders to Bhagavan Ramana and requests to write that part. The story goes like this…

In a place called Darukavanam, there lived tapasvis who were very pious and performed the Vedic rituals in the most appropriate ways. However, over a period, their focus had shifted so much on the actions (karma) that they had forgotten and ignored the presence of Ishwara (God). One of the possible reasons could be that the part of the Vedas (Purva Mimamsa) composed by Jaimini (who was one of the direct disciples of Veda Vyasa) doesn’t refer to Ishwara. The commentators of Jaimini sutras also don’t write about Ishwara. So, it is quite possible that the idea of Ishwara was thus completely missed by some of the followers. Probably, the tapasvis of Darukavanam also forgot about Ishwara in a similar fashion.
Feeling sorry for the tapasvis, Lord Shiva decides to correct them and bring them back to track. He takes the form of a handsome mendicant and goes to Darukavanam. Seeing him go, Lord Vishnu also decides to go with him, and he takes his avatar of Goddess Mohini. As we know, there could be no one as enchanting as Mohini who can madden anyone with love. Both Mohini and Shiva (in the form of the handsome mendicant) reach Darukavanam. While the men of Darukavanam were busy with the rituals, their wives go awestruck by the vision of the attractive mendicant. They forgot everything that they were doing and started gathering around the mendicant. The men get mesmerized by the beauty of Mohini and start following her. Mohini charms the men and leads them to a forest only to disappear and leave the men in utter confusion. Soon, the men realise that something is not right and return home.

As they reach Darukavanam, to their utter shock they see all their women sitting around this handsome young man. One important point to mention here is that like the men of Darukavanam, the women were also proud about their righteous actions and ways of living. They were proud that they were performing karmas in the best possible ways. Seeing their women who they considered to be so pious but now falling for a mesmerizing mendicant, the men flamed in fury. They decide to teach the mendicant a lesson. They perform black magic to invoke creatures that would destroy the mendicant. Out of their sacrificial fire first came a tiger. It roared and jumped on the mendicant. But the mendicant killed it with bare hands and used its skin as a cloth for himself. Stunned by this sight, the men go back and perform another black magic and an elephant comes out of the fire. No sooner it tries to attack the mendicant, it gets killed by him and its skin is used by a cloth by the mendicant. The men are appalled and they send fire to destroy the mendicant. The mendicant holds fire in his hand showing that he is not affected by the fire. Lastly, the men bring out a trishul (trident) from the fire and even that doesn’t harm the mendicant. The men are dumbfounded and realise that this mendicant is no ordinary mortal. They go and surrender at his feet seeking mercy. Here, the Puranas say, that Lord Shiva empathises them and gives them an advice.

This is the part where Muruganar is stuck because, what was the advice given by Shiva is not given in the Purana. It just says that Shiva gave the advice and they were all back on track. But what is that advice? Muruganar thought, what best way than asking Bhagavan Ramana who, for him, was none other than Lord Shiva himself, speak about what the Upadesa (advice) was. Upon requesting Bhagavan Ramana to kindly bless with the advice, Ramana Maharshi agreed. He gave out the Upadesa in 30 verses.

The original text by Murugana was written in Tamil in Undipara metre. Bhagavan Ramana gave the Upadesa in Tamil in the same metre. In Tamil, these 30 verses came to be known as Upadesa Undiyaar. This was later translated into Malayalam, Telugu and Sanskrit by Ramana Maharshi. The Sanskrit one is called Upadesa Sara.

Before closing the session, Swami Advayananda ji takes us through an argument given towards why the Purva Mimamsa philosophy (that doesn’t have a place for Ishwara and only has ‘action and result’) holds no ground. He explains using an example of Jyotishtoma yaga that is performed for the attainment of heaven. The belief is that by performing the yaga in the most righteous manner, heaven is sure to be attained. However, heaven is not attained immediately at the completion of the yaga (else, no one will perform the yaga) but only after the person dies. But if that is so, isn’t there a disconnect between the action and the result? The action is completed but the result hasn’t come. To explain this, the Purva Mimamsakas introduce a law called as ‘Apurva’ which is ‘result accrued’ and will be manifest when it is due (just like Punya and Paapa are also accrued but not always enjoyed instantly). But then, who made these laws, is the argument by the Vedantin to Purva Mimasakas? It is true that the laws result in getting fruits of the action, but shouldn’t there be some cause (creator) for the laws to exist?

कर्तुराज्ञया प्राप्यते फलम् । कर्म किं परं कर्म तज्जडम् ॥ १॥

The first line of Upadesa Sara says, ‘It is the Karta on whose command one gets the desired result’. Who is the karta? Are we (who do actions) the karta or is Ishwara the karta? Can a switch light a bulb on its own?

(…to be continued)

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Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons