Why do we trek into wilderness ?

himalayan_monk

The grandest mountain range on our "only planet" has drawn travellers for a multitude of reasons .

For me it is for adventure , excitement and subtle experiences I cannot get in the urban world and ofcource to witness and be humbled by cloud-piercing summits !


I wanted to put this poem on the board :

Some words of wisdom ( does trekking into wilderness lead the mind to experiences that probably cannot be gained in urban life ? )


Aspire to know the Eternal;
Therein is thy real happiness.
Waste not thy life in strivings vain;Life is short.
The wonderland where peace reigns supreme
Is within thee . Enter .
A drop carries the taste of ocean
so does every passing moment spent below the Peaks
is a taste of eternity !

joemondal

Beautiful.

AvidTrekker

mmmmmmmm..... subtle and divine....

advaita darshana with mountain trekking....

Excellent!!!

gimmee more !!!
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The Universe is an ellipsoid?... or a Spheroid?? If the sphere smiles... it becomes an ellipse. This IS Creation.

Nick-H

Certainly is, wherever we are. But the right environment helps it to to emerge from the depths.

And when it does it heals us and can touch and inspire others too.

I may not be a mountain man, but thanks, guys, for your love of the mountains

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IndiaMike Mod Team (The Grumpy One)

AndreasW

"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges — Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. GO!"

—Rudyard Kipling from "The Explorer"

That's my motto...

AndreasW

himalayan_monk

A rare film shown on National Geographic Channel on Roald Amundsen who made extreme difficulty treks through Antarctica's Queen Maud Range in 1911 summarises the legendary explorer's reason for venturing into wilderness as follows :

" Endless trekking into Antarctica's extreme isolation and the suffering therefrom, made us reveal the naked soul of man ...in the deafening silence of this icy world we could hear ourselves think ...our inner voice revealed that human possibility is limited unless we give up the little "self" and embrace the "life universal"...the wild mountains raised the essence of my existence to uncommon heights..."

These were words from a man whose spirit of exploration is probably unparalled !

mridula

Much appreciated. As a trekking fan myself, the reason is being close to nature, in our city lives we are so far away from the nature.

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mridula

http://www.gonomad.com/traveltalesfromindia/

navinkurian2002

To feel alive....

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It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare dream of meeting your heart's longing. Budget Hotels ]

himalayan_monk

Indeed incredible thoughts while trekking into the Himalayas :
( I try to mix music and mountains and the result is an overwhelming glimpse of reality ...what may shake the human spirit from its sleep of ignorance ...through introspection probably )

Here's what a wise man had to say about the reality of human life , the journey that all of us are experiencing in myriad ways and in varied situations :

" We do not exaggerate when we say that our life is a mere bubble . What are a hundred years in Eternity ? To feel that we are something , is to set up a barrier between the powers beyond us and ourselves, to cease feeling that we are something is a rare commingling with those powers of the universe ..."

mridula

Much less elegantly put but in a Calvin and Hobbes script, Calvin is standing out hands outstretched and sky let with stars and he screams "I am significant." In the next frame against the same landscape he adds, "said the speck of dust."

I love that one and identify with it,

pranavganesh

I underwent a beautiful experience , while trekking alone in the SINAI mountains.....(I have extensively trekked in the Himalayas and Sahyadris, but seldom alone)

While trekking there comes a point when all your thoughts blank out, all the beauty sorrounding you ceases to matter, when even time ceases to matter......and you are concentrating on your next step...ONLY THE NEXT STEP.....

I realized that was a strange moment....(and this realization came only in hindsight and yet I could not remember the exact state of mind I was is at that moment)

I realized it was a very potent form of meditation....(solitude ends the concept of relativity in oneself, while trekking)

No wonder Moses found the knowledge in these environs....or many of our sages have acheived salvation in while trekking the himalayas

fear_beag

Besides the obvious scenic attractions, trekking can bring you into contact with remote villages and people whose way of life has changed little in centuries. A mountain backdrop is a beautiful thing, made more so when shared with a smiling local and some chai!

himadventures

Everyone has different reasons to come to mountains. In ancient times himalayas were visited for..
1. Pilgrimage [ If we takeout religious touch out-pilgrimage was great opportunity for family outing and socializing with other communities ]
2. Meditation: This is escapism. Should not be read with negative feel- but people used to go in jungles and glaciers for meditation and there are million of stories in himalayas about these sages and yogis.

3. Medication: Source of herbs and shrubs..people used to visit regions of deep mountains in search of these.

-------------This was ancient time visit to himalayas by Indians ---

Now a days when society has become ' civilized ' - still everyone has different reason to visit himalayas. But yes- someone says," Mountain calls you back ."
It calls....it is a urge to 'be there'...it makes you restless..until you are below those peaks...sitting on a stone..only sound of wind and water...and this where a heart wants to live !

Sadanand Kamath

Some time, one needs to have some diversion from the homly comforts. I go for trekking in Himalayas to enjoy the discomforts amidst divine nature.

Sadanand

rvdh

Wilderness is what people seek as a refuge from their civilisations.....

expressed best in this piece by byron

PERILS HE SOUGHT NOT, BUT NEVER SHRANK TO MEET;
THE SCENE WAS SAVAGE, BUT THE SCENE WAS NEW;
THIS MADE THE CEASLESS TOIL OF TRAVEL SWEET,
BEAT BACK KEEN WINTER'S BLAST, AND WELCOMED SUMMER HEAT.