Uttarakhand - “Ancient Haven for Pandvas, Poets and Pilgrims”

The Pandvas, wearied by the years of struggle against their wicked brothers, came here to rest and the Tibetan Poet – saint Milerapa listened to the echoes of nature and voice from beyond. Buddhist books are replete of instances where the Lama hermit travels in response to his guru’s summons – his sojourn on earth is coming to an end and he has sent for his disciple – who hears his guru’s voice from one thousand miles away. Mysteries still live along the Himalayas slopes – ever present for those who search with an open heart for those who search for the truth, sublime beyond all conflict – beyond all destruction.

Overcoming all strife, the spirit of the Himalayas distils its influence in the world’s philosophy, poetry, music, painting, sculpture and architecture. The birth place of immortal thought and concepts that hover over its peaks – Shambhala, the Holy Grail and the Heavenly Jersusalem are the symbols of the hope and aspirations of horrified mankind. The quest of the spirit forever remains the supreme end of a mankind looking beyond the emptiness of present existence. This life is only the means for the spirit to gain experience when the material existence is over – the real man comes into his own and continues in a different state and sphere. We cannot accept that fact that the creators of the world’s masterpieces of art and literature, that have survived for centuries, have disappeared and exist no more – beyond all destruction stands the eternal concept of spirit. These thoughts fill the mind in the pure and rarified atmosphere of this “Abode of the Gods”.

This is the land where the Ganga, Yamuna, Alaknanda and the Mandakini are born and can be seen in their pure blissful infancy, which sent the late Prime Minister Pandit Nehru into raptures during his visit in the youthful years in 1938. Here the Himalayas appear in varying and fascinating hues depicting, sometimes, their rugged grandeur and at others, the beauty of their softness in the symmetry of careless abandon, “Among mountains, I am the Himalayas”, says Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. An endless source, in fact a cornucopia of material prosperity, as well as bringing spiritual peace to India’s culture, the Himalayas are both mighty and humble.

Here in the land where India’s holiest rivers begin and pilgrimages and the temples of the Lord soar into the cosmic blue, yonder man and surrounded by the dizzy beauty of eternally frozen lakes, majestic waterfalls, meandering rivers, undulating meadows, incredible lush green mountain valleys and a large variety of exotic flora and fauna willingly surrenders his soul to the Absolute Being.