PERSONAL PASSION: Journey to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar Lake by Alok Sekhsaria
Sadhguru’s insistence that everyone should do Kailash Mansarovar at least once in their lifetime, planted the urge in Mayuri to visit it. As her 40th birthday gift she asked me to accompany her. There we were on a flight to Kathmandu to join one of the last Isha groups in 2017 for a 13 day trip to Kailash. While we were well packed to face the cold, I don’t think we were prepared for what this trip would mean for the both of us.
The 13 days spanned over 2 flights from Kathmandu to Nepalganj and Simikot and then a helicopter ride to Hilsa. Here we walked across the bridge to the Chinese border to enter into Tibet. After a night halt we spent 2 days at the Mansarovar lake and 2 days at Mt. Kailash. Then of course the same route back.
I must say that Isha foundation has really mastered this tour. We started the tour in a luxurious forest resort in Kathmandu. With every passing day the accomodations became more and more basic and our toilets more beautiful and scenic. The daily routine was packed with freshening up every morning, 2 medical screenings, 4 delicious meals, one walk and the highlight of the day was a daily satsang by Sadhguru on a projector and a short guru puja. However even this activity became quite a challenge at higher altitudes up to 17000 ft and dropping temperatures all the way till -10 degrees at Mt Kailash. Since I am not an Isha follower like Mayuri and most of the other 35 participants, I started the trip as a tourist and converted to a pilgrim on day 1 when we were iniatiated with a Abhay Sutra and the first satsang when Sadhguru said that we should “Send our hearts to Kailash and our bodies would follow.” In fact after that, the entire tour transformed into a memorable spiritual sojourn. It seemed there was a certain grace with us as we got impeccable weather and didn’t miss a single flight.
The 2 days at Mansarovar, the dip and in the lake and the Purnima moonlit night was a magical experience for us. The 2 days by the majestic snow clad Kailash, standing amidst the mountains all by itself was an experience that cannot be described in words. All we can say that, as a pilgrimage should be – a very humbling experience. The journey was about “leaving a part of ourselves in Kailash and bringing back a tiny part of kailash back with us in our hearts.” We are most fortunate to be able to visit Kailash. We both feel that our journey has only just begun.
