Are you joining him in his Himalayan journey?

 

Are you joining him in his Himalayan journey?

Frustration was oozing out of his every word when my friend spoke to me few days back.

“Enough of everything”, he bellowed,” I am thinking of leaving everything and going to Himalayas”.

Though the discussion was very serious, I almost laughed. My laughter was not a sign of sarcasm, rather it was one of deep understanding. In fact, off late, most of my friends talk about leaving everything and going to Himalayas. May be you are one among them.

Is  the Himalaya he is referring  that snowclad mountains so far away from the hustle and bustle of life?  What he really meant was to cut himself off from the vagaries of life. Away from that business which is struggling; the team which is not performing; client who is not paying; the wife who is after that diamond ring; son who has not got through the competitive exam; the ailing parents; self-centered friends; a gloomy socio-political ecosystem; a ravaging pandemic ; and much more

 In his mind ,on one of those mountain peaks he will built a small hermitage, give away all his worldly possessions, will survive by partaking frugal food, satisfy himself with a pair of cheap clothes and with lot of determination will start that enchanting inward journey.

He will be all to himself. Slowly he will close the doors of his yester years; sever all relations; control the physical and mental cravings; realise the stupidity of this rat race; and then attain that blissful state which will enlighten the soul. That rendezvous with your pure soul. From those peaks everything in the plane will look silly and stupid.

So what is there to laugh about it? I laughed because of three reasons.  Firstly, there is no such place as he has imagined in those mountain peaks. Secondly, even though he will have the wish, he will not have the courage to take the first step towards that Himalaya. Thirdly, I, personally am a person who started my journey towards that “ Himalaya” and I know where I have reached so far. I am not being sarcastic, but just realistic.

 Deep within, most of us have this dreamy place. A safe haven which will protect us from all hazards of life. A place to which we can run away whenever we are fed up with the present life. In that imaginary place everything is peaceful and luminous. There, none of the concerns of life can effect us. We are frustrated of our present life that we constantly listen to the silent invitation of that enchanting shelter. We believe that it will accept us warmly and protect us from all dangers like our mothers womb.

The question is ,does such a place really exist? Is there really a Himalaya? I am not talking about the real Himalayas. It is there for all of us to see. However, are those snow clad mountain ranges  the Himalaya to which you are trying to retreat? Is it not just a fantasy for you yet? Apart from having those surreal thoughts have you ever seriously sat down to trace where your dream Himalaya is?

There lies the irony. We have this Himalaya inside us. But we, like most other things in life, have never been serious about it. When our  deep frustrations  churn our inside, then this Himalaya emerges to the surface like the elixir of life. Once the churning stops the Himalaya also fades.

I can confidently tell you this because a couple of years back I  got into the bus whose destination is the so called” Himalaya". In another blog I will also share my experiences of my journey so far.“ Another one” ? you may ask. I cant help but add to the hassles of your life.