Amarnath: Amarnath Journey Prompts Reflection  

By Ashok Parimoo  

Amarnath: Amarnath Journey Prompts Reflection  

I was on my way to the Amarnath cave in the upper reaches of Sonamarg. At a secluded spot, I stopped for a while to enjoy the beauty all around.

The winds, tall and green pines, the silvery peaks and the soft murmur of the Amrawati river below, cattle grazing - it was exhilarating. Why can't we experience this blissful feeling everyday?

Krishna talks about the immutable Ashvatta Tree whose roots are in the air and branches, touching the ground, symbolising the subtle truth that the world we observe is an inversion of the real.

We know that a reflection is always false, only the object is real. So, reality and perception are two different things.

Reality has been described as one without a second birth; changeless, immutable, ageless and deathless. However, we perceive the world of births and deaths to be real. Are there two worlds, one real and the other, a reflection?

At midnight, some drunkards started rowing a boat. The boat, however, was anchored. They rowed the whole night. In the morning, they realised that they had not moved even an inch.

Similarly, in life, our boat is anchored to our ego, name, fame, home, family and above all to an unending desire. Human desire is a bottomless pit.

We do make pilgrimages to holy spots. We perform sacred rituals and give to charity but still, our mind is restless.

We should have a positive desire to concentrate fully on the Godhead, sublimating our mind and controlling our senses.

To be able to enjoy the bliss of the sacred is a difficult task. Once, a man asked Sri Ramakrishna, "Have you seen God?" "Yes," the sage replied, "just as I see you." "Can you show me?" asked the seeker.

Paramhansa asked for a bucketful of water, and told the aspirant to keep his head in water. After a minute, he pulled his head out, gasping for breath. Later, Paramhansa asked him what his experience in water was.

"Sir, I was breathless and was about to die. In that state of helplessness, I applied all my physical and mental strength to save myself."

Swami Paramhansa said "The way you applied all your senses, mind and nerves for a breath, will you apply all those powers to see God? If you really strive even for a minute, the next minute God will come running to you with a ton-load of bliss.

We tend to pray to God only for our worldly needs, which are much more than our requirements. Krishna says in the Gita, "Four types of devotees worship me: the distressed ones, those seeking knowledge, those seeking wealth and others seeking wisdom. Of all such devotees, the one who seeks wisdom is dearest to me".

Shrishti or creation means projection and expansion coming out of One. That is the evolution of the world. Krishna also says that at the end of a Kalpa, the whole universe - all the souls, whether in the state of birth and death or in moksha, including Brahma - will dissolve within Me.

This will be followed with the evolution of a new Kalpa, a new Brahma will emerge who will manifest the new Shrishti.

We do remember the sacred One when we are in distress, and this is how the English saying goes: "Man's calamities and God's opportunities". We must never forget God.

He is always concerned about us but our worship lacks concentration and devotion. Unfortunately, we remember Him in sorrow for our selfish ends and not in moments of joy.

Once we experience the sacred, the secret of bliss will emerge within us and all the joys experienced through the senses will get overtaken by intense spiritual joy.

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See also: Amarnath, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)