deeps of the Himalayas = Pujya Gurudev

Companions in Solitude-2:

 Entrance into the deeps of the Himalayas

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

The Fatal Narrow Path Today I had to walk along a very treacherous trail. There was the Ganga flowing below and the mountain standing high above. By the foot of the hill, there was a very narrow footpath. It was hardly 3 ft. wide. We had to go along this path. Even a slight faltering step could result in hurtling down and getting lost in the roaring rapids of the Ganga hundreds of feet below. If you thought of avoiding it and walk away safely, there stood the high mountain almost vertically rising hundreds of feet above refusing to budge an inch. On this narrow and difficult path, every step had to be taken with utmost caution - the distance between life and death was hardly a foot and a half long. For the first time in life I experienced the fear of death.

Long time back, in my childhood, I had heard this epic story. Once sage Shukdev visited King Janak and asked the latter as to how he remained unperturbed like a Yogi while attending to his multifarious duties as a king. To explain the point Janak handed to Shukdev a bowl filled with oil and asked him to make a round of the town and come back without spilling a drop of oil, the punishment for failure being severing of the head. Out of fear of death Shukdev, made the round as ordered, concentrating all his attention on the oil-filled bowl, totally unaware of things and people that he came across during his round of the town. King Janak then explained to him that as he (Shukdev) had concentrated only on the oil and nothing else out of the fear of losing his life, he too always remembered death while going about his duties and this helped him in putting his best in the performance of his duties and daily routines - every moment of life with a totally focused mind.

The moral of this story was acutely experienced by me while negotiating that narrow path. There were a number of other pilgrims traveling with me. All the way we had been talking and laughing when the path was smooth and safe, but no sooner did we reach this narrow footpath, than all the conversations ceased and everybody became pensively and attentively silent. Nobody thought of one�s home or of any other subject. Mind and soul were fully concentrated on only one thing - keep the next step at the proper place. With one hand we were trying to clutch at the mountain wall, though there was hardly anything to clutch at.

The only solace in doing so was that it might help maintain the body balance in case it tended to tilt towards precipice falling down to the bed of the Ganga. This distance of about 1.5 miles was passed with great difficulty. The heart was kept throbbing violently throughout. We learnt a great practical lesson today. How careful we have to be in order to protect our lives from getting sniffed out. The tortuous and dangerous patch of the trail was at last over; but its memory brings forth a train of thoughts. If we always remember that death could pounce upon us any moment, we may not indulge in chasing illusory pleasures.

The journey of life is like the just concluded journey of today, which called for the need of keeping every step consciously, cautiously and correctly. If a single step was taken wrongly or carelessly, it might mean our straying away from the true aim of life and falling down to abysmal depths of inconscience. If life is dear to us, in order to make it worthwhile, it is necessary that we are ever alert and conscious every step of the path. Life is full of responsibilities like that of the travelers walking along the narrow path alongside the edge of the Ganga. Only after negotiating it successfully, can we have hope of reaching our cherished goal of self-fulfillment. The path of duty is narrow like the footpath described above. Carelessness will make you slip and fall into a bottomless pit of darkness, thus depriving of the chance of achieving the true aim of life in this incarnation. Clutching to the wall of righteousness will help maintain the balance and help minimize the fear of leaning toward the edge of the abysmal depths. In difficult times this wall is our solace and support.

[Poojya Gurudev’s Travelogue of the Pilgrimage to the Himalayas - Continued]

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru,
Shiv Sharma