There was a time not many years ago when I never stopped to consider how blessed I was, even when an endeavour that involved tremendous risks with possibilities of things getting fouled up, did indeed turn out very well. Now I am not so callous. I fully recognise the number of ways in which things could have gone wrong and bad weather is not the least of them.
We were really blessed to have excellent weather right when it really mattered - at Manasarovar and even more importantly during the trek up to Dirapuk and back to Shershong. Due to severe space and weight constraints I had failed to equip myself with a proper rain gear and I only had a rough plastic sheet type of raincoat that I had bought the previous year at Kedarnath for Rs 15. To my consternation the damn thing had torn at the shoulders and the hood was leaking too. If it had indeed turned out that the weather had gone drastically bad I would have been in a miserable state.
As we sat at the Tea shop midway to Dirapuk, the weather had shown signs of deteriorating and a strong wind was blowing up-valley. Luckily good weather conditions held out and but for a very, very feeble drizzle that lasted barely for two minutes, we were spared of all danger.As I think about this I reflect on the bad-luck of the B3 Group which faced terrible weather at Manasarovar with all the attendant problems.
Then there was the clear and present danger of our convoy getting delayed by the Chinese road authorities. Luckily we made it all through without major hold-ups and delays. At one stage on our return journey from Paryang to Saga, I recollect how the whole lot of drivers ran back excitedly to their cars after being let-off easily in a short duration at a check point. Further there were no major landslides or other type of delays that are so common in the Himalayan terrain.
Further, the entire group had excellent health except for a minor hiccup at the very beginning of our trip to one of our young members of the team - Mr. Krishna Kishore. As luck would have it, all the elderly members were in fine fettle and the entire group had a very pleasant experience.
For all of this I pay special thanks to Shirdi Sai Baba whose blessings I ardently sought before I left on this trip. I had also made respectful salutations to Lord Ganesh, Lord Ranganatha, Lord Venkateshwara and Lord Shiva.
I am extremely thankful to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev who blessed us on the journey by tying an Abhaya Sutra and am doubly thankful for him being so considerate to ensure that many like us get the Mt. Kailash - Manasarovar experience. I thank him for personally meeting us on the trip and affirm that we thoroughly enjoyed the various DVDs that were played to us on the many satsangs organised at various stages of the trip.
I also thank Swami Prabodha, Ma Gambhiri, Ma Gurudasi and various other staff of Isha foundation for all the trouble they took on our behalf to ensure that we had a comfortable and safe trip. I thank all my B4 Group mates for the excellent company and camaraderie that they provided in making the tedious journeys enjoyable. Finally I thank Balamurugan, Ramesh Perumal and Mahesh for the consideration they showed to me as an older fellow-traveller in this journey that was adventurous, exciting and spiritually revealing.
My sincere thanks to all once again.
Best wishes.
Deepak
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