A few thoughts popped into my mind at Lha Tse……

61 co-yatris, all from diverse backgrounds spanning the country from E to W and N to S, Some young and some old, some beautiful and some beastly with overgrown facial hair, some management professionals and some business folk, some trading in acids and food additives and some others as consultants, Some working with the Guj Govt and some working in Africa at the World Bank,  some homemakers and some full time Isha volunteers…….all however tied together with one purpose… Seeking shambho!! Or offering to shambho!!! 

Slowly getting to know each other and appreciating that it really takes all kinds of people to make the world a lively place, enjoying the diversity in cultures and personalities, united by a common purpose.

Life as the Tibetans know it, is immersed in nature and that too raw, harsh nature. Bare minimum comforts, yet life is lived to its fullest. A simple roof over their heads, electric power, precious little water, but with wifi and internet!! Living off the land with basic farming of barley (tsampa) and mustard, livestock rearing : some cows, sheep, goats in the plains/valley and only yaks in the higher altitudes.  Hardly any vegetables / greens to eat. So the livestock provides milk, meat , fat/lard, skin and fur for clothing. The barley (tsampa)   http://simplytibetan.com/2014/03/19/tsampa/   as a staple provides flour, much needed nutrition and is used for noodles and also for a type of porridge. Also used for making alcoholic beer by fermenting the barley.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Tibet. How challenging yet peaceful the Tibetan existence in the Roof of the World!!!

Why the Kailash Manasarovar trip.. some fundamental thoughts …Do I want to get something out of it OR  do I want to give something?

Why the fascination with hills and mountains?  As I gaze at the myriad hills / mountains along the route to Saga, I wonder why this fascination? Is it because of the primordial quality of Stillness : Nischala as mentioned in the cover of my Isha notepad? I guess so because is that not what I was seeking? To ‘still” my mind and breath and be in union with the cosmos, breaking away from the self and merging with the larger self : truly yoga. Possibly so.

Nischala !!!

Constantly reminding myself of Sadhguru’s prompting to travel not as a tourist but as a true devotee. Keeping the faith and being immensely open to all possibilities.. with a firm belief that the answers will come in due course…………Shambho !!!