Soul Searching?

Two months of hibernation later, its time I just give a doze of wats been happening. Simple pleasures of life, a well deserved break from things, even friends to a certain extent. A month in kodaikanal with three kids. Adorable is not the word to describe them. Their language, so simple, not the usual words that we use to make our point, but in their own special way, so innocent and so clear.

A prayer that had to be completed. A Padayathrai (religious walk) from coimbatore to Palani. A distance of about 120 kms in two days. A walk that was made so memorable thanks only to my brother who walked with us. A walk that was loaded with religious principles, stories, chanting mantras, bhajans, a walk that was for one purpose alone, to redefine our lives to be able to explore the inner depths of our spiritual mind and soul. To realize the importance of our birth and to juxtapose all this with the world around us. Slept on the floor of a tea shop on the first day and then on a roadside temple on the second night. The mind was so full of thoughts. The body gave way from time to time. The aches all over the body and excruciating pain in the heels and boils in the foot were all forgotten when we saw the temple in the distance. The focus was to complete the walk and to see the kids and other members of the family who joined us there. It felt so COMPLETE when we did actually walk up to the gates of the temple and saw the lord sitting there with all his usual decorations, clad in sandal wood paste and vibhoothi, like he was sitting there waiting for us- smiling.

A month in kodaikanal, totally cut off from civilization, from telephone towers, from work and from a whole lot of other things, life was phenomenal. Went off to coimbatore after packing our bags. The warmth of my home. The happiness that was engulfing all of us. There is no place like home. There is no joy like sitting with your parents, talking bout life, talking bout family gossips and talking nothing. I would give anything in life to have a complete meal with my family. You have to be there to feel the energy. A blissful week at home and I was back traveling again. Like I haven’t done enough in the last two months. In b’lore this time around, to see the world of a difference. The fast cars and the rich spoilt brats, the pubs and the parties, the coffee shops and the maddening streets. To think of it all, I like this tension around me in a way. I like this city and this city has given me so much in a way, that am still tryin to figure out what that is. The fashion capital of the south, the various lifestyles of the rich and famous, the cultured and the oh-I- Think am cultured clan. Not to forget the abundance of the most gorgeous women. In plain simple words, I love this city like I love my cup of cappuccino.

Not in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought that just an overnight train journey from B’lore would transport you back in time so much that you are warped totally. Civilization is of that of the 1800s. Hampi is a world that would take everyone by storm. So full of wonder and so full of mystic energy in that place. Anywhere you look there are huge rocks and boulders. Temples and houses look ethereal. The place was once vijayanagara before it was unearthed in 1810 and named Hampi. Even to this date, there are unbelievable number of temples and pots of gold under the earth that are waiting to be unearthed. The Thungabadra river flows through this mystic town, dividing the town into Hampi and Gangavathy. According to the Ramayana, this place is Kishkintha, the place where Lord Rama came looking for Sita and met up with Hanuman. The silence of the town is so breathtaking. Sitting on top of a huge boulder and watching the sun set behind the rocky mountains, overlooking the Virupaksha temple has left me mesmerized. Cycling through the little town, observing the architecture of the place, the culture of the place, the amount of backpackers from distant lands across oceans, the vegetation, the food, and the energy of the place, makes me understand the importance of my life, makes me aware of who I am and my purpose in this world. Anybody who is born in this world, has been blessed. This is the world where even gods come to cleanse their soul, the world where there are so many truths. The world that has witnessed so many events, the world where myths, Vedas, Upanishads, religion, gods, rishis are all intricate and make up our everyday life. I have never ever been so overwhelmed in any place to such a huge extent before. I have never been so quiet in my entire life. I have never been so quiet and still ended up finding so many answers before. You have so many thoughts in your head, at the same time feel so light and blissful. The trip to Hampi was a journey of sorts for me. It has made me a better human than I ever was. Everyone should go there atleast once in their life. Coz once you go there, you wouldn’t feel like coming back. There is so much to the place, that one can never grow tired of .One will only grow to a better level from there. When you do end up going there, close your eyes and say my name once, the energy am sure would reach me.

I am back in the concrete city now. Life is no different than what it was. People are no different from who they were. The same fast cars, the busy roads, the endless traffic, the maddening streets, the money, mobile phones, coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, movie halls, and they ask me what more does one want in life. I look at them, and I can only smile.