Ranga or "Bairagi" as he was now called, kept walking and walking and walking and walking. He was headed north and was just about nearer to the temple at Gangotri. He had been walking forever, he thought. It seemed like he had been walking forever over the past seven years. It had never crossed his mind to take a bus or hitch a lift on the many hundreds of taxis that took people from Barkot towards Gangotri.
He had started from Srivilliputtur, near Kanya Kumari and had determined that he would reach Gangotri. It had just struck him one day. He left behind his successful business, his family, home, vehicles and tremendous finances. He knew that his people would keep working, his family would never change and that his money would not be touched.
It had just been a thought that led to an idea and grew into something like a travel plan and suddenly became what it did... a determined intention to start walking. He had wondered about the destination and went to seek guidance at Mahadeva's temple. A week went by and he sat there, content with 2-3 bananas that were given to him by the priest. There was no clarity. And one day, there was this aged woman, dressed in a simple white saree, who stood before him and looked at him with fiery eyes.
Startled, Ranga whispered, "Amma! Do you need anything? You look very angry. Did I do you wrong?"
The lady raised her hand and slapped him strongly. "I do not need anything. It is you who keep sitting here waiting for Mahadeva. He who waits for him will wait. He who goes in search of him meets him a million times. Go! Go north. Do not stop until you reach Gangotri."
She had walked away after having spoken. Ranga sat there, silent, happy, feeling victorious. He spoke out loudly. "Mahadeva! Thank you. We will meet again, in Gangotri then. Om Namah Shivaya!"
It was seven years hence. He was at Gangotri. He had waited for Mahadeva at Srivilliputtur. And now, he looked at the temple as he walked past. He said to himself, "I know now! You would not wait for me inside the temple. You would be at the river's edge. The first person I meet... I know... he would be Mahadeva. We will meet again, Mahadeva! Om Namah Shivaya! Sohum!!!"
He had started from Srivilliputtur, near Kanya Kumari and had determined that he would reach Gangotri. It had just struck him one day. He left behind his successful business, his family, home, vehicles and tremendous finances. He knew that his people would keep working, his family would never change and that his money would not be touched.
It had just been a thought that led to an idea and grew into something like a travel plan and suddenly became what it did... a determined intention to start walking. He had wondered about the destination and went to seek guidance at Mahadeva's temple. A week went by and he sat there, content with 2-3 bananas that were given to him by the priest. There was no clarity. And one day, there was this aged woman, dressed in a simple white saree, who stood before him and looked at him with fiery eyes.
Startled, Ranga whispered, "Amma! Do you need anything? You look very angry. Did I do you wrong?"
The lady raised her hand and slapped him strongly. "I do not need anything. It is you who keep sitting here waiting for Mahadeva. He who waits for him will wait. He who goes in search of him meets him a million times. Go! Go north. Do not stop until you reach Gangotri."
She had walked away after having spoken. Ranga sat there, silent, happy, feeling victorious. He spoke out loudly. "Mahadeva! Thank you. We will meet again, in Gangotri then. Om Namah Shivaya!"
It was seven years hence. He was at Gangotri. He had waited for Mahadeva at Srivilliputtur. And now, he looked at the temple as he walked past. He said to himself, "I know now! You would not wait for me inside the temple. You would be at the river's edge. The first person I meet... I know... he would be Mahadeva. We will meet again, Mahadeva! Om Namah Shivaya! Sohum!!!"
[photo sourced from the net. Copyright of original photographer]
Ranga "Bairagi" walked past the Gangotri temple. He did not enter the premises to offer his prayers as did the many other pilgrims gathered outside the Char Dham temple. Ranga spotted three monks, dressed in saffron robes, also walk past the waiting pilgrims in a determined manner.
'They must be on a similar mission," thought Ranga happily. 'The journey matters and not the destination. The long walk would have been over if he would have entered the Gangotri temple in triumph.'
"I should just keep walking," he told himself. "North! North is my direction and I cannot be diverted by a temple, even if it be Gangotri. Maybe, just maybe, if I return on this very path. Perhaps."
There were very few pilgrims, mostly monks, walking quietly and alone, stubbornly, away from the temple area and along the Bhagirathi river. One could just about hear the bells ringing inside the temple. The roar of the Bhagirathi river was not as strong as it would be in the rapids further north.
He saw the three monks sitting on a low parapet wall on the banks of the river. Ranga bowed low and offered his greetings. One of the monks, perhaps their senior, smiled at Ranga and asked, "You do not go inside the temple, then? Much as we and are you also wanting to go up to the Gomukh and beyond?"
"Prabhuji, if I could and if I would, beyond the Gomukh I will. I am told that one can walk further, perhaps seven kilometers. The glacier is not so inhospitable nowadays."
"Yes. The glacier has withdrawn further. In earlier years, as did I, one could only walk to Gomukh. Now, it is easy to walk through the earlier hidden trails to the few deep caves that are in the area. We go to meet our fellow brother. He is there, alone, for the past two years."
"Two years?" Ranga asked. "How come that he was so blessed? What did he do that Mahadeva permitted him to reside within himself thus?"
"We do not know," the senior monk replied. "He came from somewhere, walking like you, wanting to go north. He joined our group and walked with us to the caves. He stayed back. Just like that. Now it is we who are blessed to be of service to him. We visit him, every two months, with some stuff and food, mainly fruits, for his needs."
"You do not know him at all?" Ranga asked, amazed. "And yet you are in service to him for the past two years?"
"What can we do? He met us here, much like you, and kept asking questions. We did wonder as to why Mahadeva summoned us here, then, and today. How can we step away from the duty assigned to us, to be in service to one who is thus blessed and in the divine embrace of Kailasapati himself?"
'They must be on a similar mission," thought Ranga happily. 'The journey matters and not the destination. The long walk would have been over if he would have entered the Gangotri temple in triumph.'
"I should just keep walking," he told himself. "North! North is my direction and I cannot be diverted by a temple, even if it be Gangotri. Maybe, just maybe, if I return on this very path. Perhaps."
There were very few pilgrims, mostly monks, walking quietly and alone, stubbornly, away from the temple area and along the Bhagirathi river. One could just about hear the bells ringing inside the temple. The roar of the Bhagirathi river was not as strong as it would be in the rapids further north.
He saw the three monks sitting on a low parapet wall on the banks of the river. Ranga bowed low and offered his greetings. One of the monks, perhaps their senior, smiled at Ranga and asked, "You do not go inside the temple, then? Much as we and are you also wanting to go up to the Gomukh and beyond?"
"Prabhuji, if I could and if I would, beyond the Gomukh I will. I am told that one can walk further, perhaps seven kilometers. The glacier is not so inhospitable nowadays."
"Yes. The glacier has withdrawn further. In earlier years, as did I, one could only walk to Gomukh. Now, it is easy to walk through the earlier hidden trails to the few deep caves that are in the area. We go to meet our fellow brother. He is there, alone, for the past two years."
"Two years?" Ranga asked. "How come that he was so blessed? What did he do that Mahadeva permitted him to reside within himself thus?"
"We do not know," the senior monk replied. "He came from somewhere, walking like you, wanting to go north. He joined our group and walked with us to the caves. He stayed back. Just like that. Now it is we who are blessed to be of service to him. We visit him, every two months, with some stuff and food, mainly fruits, for his needs."
"You do not know him at all?" Ranga asked, amazed. "And yet you are in service to him for the past two years?"
"What can we do? He met us here, much like you, and kept asking questions. We did wonder as to why Mahadeva summoned us here, then, and today. How can we step away from the duty assigned to us, to be in service to one who is thus blessed and in the divine embrace of Kailasapati himself?"
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