A trip to mount kailas is a mix of NCC camps when one is woken at predawn to ready the duffel bags with your head torch .
Use toilet available ,in places luxurious with warm closet covers, in others hole in the ground ,or cold mountain sides in still others ,neat but indian toilets
Bathing after reaching Tibet was only where hot water existed ,which was not in all places.
Food wasnt bad at all with excellent caterers from Rajasthan and mallu crowd were happy to tuck in kanji or porridge , to me rice with rasam was a better option
At some places like Drachen shopping was a great pastime so it was in keywrung where even beuaty parlours and bars were open but in Manasarovar on the banks of the lapping blue lake it was nature with its golden swans to keep us immersed and the etheral mount kailas standing in solitary serenity.
Kailas parikrama or circumambulation
Whats it that makes one complete the circumambulation of the most sacred mount Kailas ?
Its 52 km over rugged plains ,steep stoned elevations ,up mountains to reach Dolma pass ,approximately 18600 ft ASL .
Jets fly in those altitudes upto 30000 ft and we are in pressurised cabins in them , but here exposed to the elements , the harsh winds ,the biting cold ,the icy glaciers ,the huge stones, the thin air ,where every movement is an effort .
Even horses used for climbing up to the pass are at a 45 degree incline and falling down was not at all uncommon.
Though I wasnt man enough to go after day one in Dera pukh where we halted a cold breathless night in a lodge ,with the majesty of the north face of Mount Kailas looming at us deceptively close ,but far enough for a steep walk to reach its foot .
But my wife premila was determined to do it ,not as a challenge ,but as a surrender to the supreme .
76 year old jayachechi of our group did it, all by walk which was a stunning feat of total faith .
12 year old Ivan ,and 82 yr old Clara chechi too completed it .
They are superhumans .
So are the other 36 of the 52 who completed the parikrama .
Our swamiji did it again the 18th time !
His feat is not only that ,but having taken so many yatris to holy kailas over the years safely .
We are indebted to him for this .
After reaching Dolma pass one needs to climb down steeply on foot as horseback would be perilious .
One would see the crystal clear Gowrikund lake from the pass where Godess Parvati was said to have had her bath gaurded bu son Ganesha .
After about 4 hrs one could go in horse back till second day night to rest in Zuthulpukh .
The third day was an easy trek back to Drachen but to me after day one its all hearsay .
Kailas parikrama is not anything physical though physical fitness helps a lot .
Its the mental trust ,faith ,determination and something beyond description .
Hindu philosophy says every human being does things when his destiny is ripe for him to do it .
I think its just that too.
Your time has to come
Like in the famous malayalam film actor Sreenivasan tells his friend Mohanlal
Everything has its time Daasa
(Daasa oraninnum adhindaathaya samayam undu monne )
Everything has its time.
The people who completed parikrama had it in thier time they would complete it .
Thats the Hindu belief in karma not fatality or belief in futility .
Its exotic ,a truth difficult to accept for the west where hard work achieves anything .
Of course hard work and determination are essential for this magic to work too.
The magic of maya
The ultimate trek
The Parikrama of Mount Kailas
Use toilet available ,in places luxurious with warm closet covers, in others hole in the ground ,or cold mountain sides in still others ,neat but indian toilets
Bathing after reaching Tibet was only where hot water existed ,which was not in all places.
Food wasnt bad at all with excellent caterers from Rajasthan and mallu crowd were happy to tuck in kanji or porridge , to me rice with rasam was a better option
At some places like Drachen shopping was a great pastime so it was in keywrung where even beuaty parlours and bars were open but in Manasarovar on the banks of the lapping blue lake it was nature with its golden swans to keep us immersed and the etheral mount kailas standing in solitary serenity.
Kailas parikrama or circumambulation
Whats it that makes one complete the circumambulation of the most sacred mount Kailas ?
Its 52 km over rugged plains ,steep stoned elevations ,up mountains to reach Dolma pass ,approximately 18600 ft ASL .
Jets fly in those altitudes upto 30000 ft and we are in pressurised cabins in them , but here exposed to the elements , the harsh winds ,the biting cold ,the icy glaciers ,the huge stones, the thin air ,where every movement is an effort .
Even horses used for climbing up to the pass are at a 45 degree incline and falling down was not at all uncommon.
Though I wasnt man enough to go after day one in Dera pukh where we halted a cold breathless night in a lodge ,with the majesty of the north face of Mount Kailas looming at us deceptively close ,but far enough for a steep walk to reach its foot .
But my wife premila was determined to do it ,not as a challenge ,but as a surrender to the supreme .
76 year old jayachechi of our group did it, all by walk which was a stunning feat of total faith .
12 year old Ivan ,and 82 yr old Clara chechi too completed it .
They are superhumans .
So are the other 36 of the 52 who completed the parikrama .
Our swamiji did it again the 18th time !
His feat is not only that ,but having taken so many yatris to holy kailas over the years safely .
We are indebted to him for this .
After reaching Dolma pass one needs to climb down steeply on foot as horseback would be perilious .
One would see the crystal clear Gowrikund lake from the pass where Godess Parvati was said to have had her bath gaurded bu son Ganesha .
After about 4 hrs one could go in horse back till second day night to rest in Zuthulpukh .
The third day was an easy trek back to Drachen but to me after day one its all hearsay .
Kailas parikrama is not anything physical though physical fitness helps a lot .
Its the mental trust ,faith ,determination and something beyond description .
Hindu philosophy says every human being does things when his destiny is ripe for him to do it .
I think its just that too.
Your time has to come
Like in the famous malayalam film actor Sreenivasan tells his friend Mohanlal
Everything has its time Daasa
(Daasa oraninnum adhindaathaya samayam undu monne )
Everything has its time.
The people who completed parikrama had it in thier time they would complete it .
Thats the Hindu belief in karma not fatality or belief in futility .
Its exotic ,a truth difficult to accept for the west where hard work achieves anything .
Of course hard work and determination are essential for this magic to work too.
The magic of maya
The ultimate trek
The Parikrama of Mount Kailas
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