Dear Reader,

              I recently found an account of a pilgrim’s journey in Garhwal Uttarakhand undertaken more than a century ago. The pilgrim describes the splendour of nature that spreads its magic tapestry over the hills as the manifestation of the Mahamaya - the Divine! the Supreme! the Cosmic Will. Not all travelers on the pilgrims’ route, that lead to glaciers from where originates the Ganga in the Himalaya describe their sense of wonder and awe in such terms but their elation is unmistakable. Many receive such bounty of nature in utter silence. There are others who have been changed forever after such an experience of nature.

     I started telling you about my journeys but know very well by now that my experience  cannot become your experience. Do you really think that if we together set out on a journey, finish it at the same destination, share experiences along the way and meet the same set of people then we would have lived, in essence, one common journey? If there is a commonality in our journey it still begets different lessons for us. Yet there is something to be said about how we are always open to other people’s account of their experiences and even take inspiration from them.

     My travel lead me to a state of mind that belong to me alone. Yet I find a deep resonance within me from the account of the anonymous traveler who left a record of his journey undertaken more than a century ago. Today when I stand near the bank of the river on the road leading to Rishikesh from Dehradun I am in the grip of a strange feeling. The river changed its course decades ago and now flows on the other side. The pebbles below me form a bed-rock that is left as a reminder of the faith that once was full and flowing.

    The mood shifts while close to the river on the path that still guides devout but the strange feeling lasts. How strange it is to stand where many have stood from a time that can not be recounted. The number of travelers can only be guessed at. Many were driven to find out the mysteries of existence, the meaning of religion and faith. Many were earnest seekers who on their own gave up the comforts of the world. There have been others whose pilgrimage was more out of a sense of disillusionment with the world . Some were even misled by a gullible belief. They all have stood on the river shore and walked along its flow.

      The river guides all. In the same manner that it accepts the pious intents and holy rituals performed on its bank along with the filth and refuse that is strewn along its length. But it urges, if one listens, to shed bitterness and seek in earnest. When the heart and mind are surrendered to its cadence that the eyes can see how what has brought millions to the Ganga is the eternal flow of love.

     The river has brought millions to its bank. Countless have come here before us. Many assemble here with me. Many more will come even when I am not here. The eternal river of compassion flows on.

    What I write is just a scrible on the sand of time.

arun pant