LETTERS FROM THE HIMALAYAS – July, 1906
So far aloft, amid Himalayan steeps
Couched on the tranquil pool the lotus sleeps |
That the bright Seven who star the northern sky Cull
|the fair blossoms from their seats on high; And when the
sun pours forth his morning glow
In streams of glory from his path below,
They gain new beauty as his kisses break
His darling’s slumber on the mountain lake.
TO travel on almost heaven-high ridges for miles and miles, viewing the waving forests of birch and juniper spreading far below, flowery precipices lying on the right as well as on the left hand side; to walk bare-footed on extensive fields covered with soft velvety grass where loving dainty flowers cling to your feet getting entangled in the toes; to enjoy the silvery eights of the rushing waterfalls on distant Kailas cliffs; to watch clever little musk deer springing at lightning speed before you -well might the moon ride such a beautiful runner; to be startled now and then by Garuras (royal eagles) fluttering their painted large wings now on this side, then on the other; to stoop to pick every now and then Kailas lotuses Brahma Kamalas which in their lovely petals combine gold and fragrance; to be amused at the coolies outdoing each other in digging Masi, Lesar, Guggal, the different kinds of incense which abound here in charming plenty; and to sing hymns and chant OM, engaged our time. Far, far above the din and bustle of worldly life; deep and vast blue lakes in their crystalline expanse, rippling under the pure and free Eailas air, surrounded by chaste, virgin snows hold a mirror up to the very face of the blooming, blushing Sun. In such lofty solitude serenely does the Sun enjoy his charming glory. On such heights, no hamlet or hut could be expected; the nights were passed in caves where breezes sleep.
O! The joy of leaving behind the prosaic plains of parching body-consciousness! O! The joy of mingling with the sun and breezes! O! The joy of roaming in the heavenly infinite forest deeps of Ekamevadvitiyam (One without a second)!