The Magical Stone from Ghandi Tal and the Mysterious Monk

26.Sep.2007. Kedarnath, Uttarkhand, India


I clipped along up the rough path, higher above the already high Kedarnath. I practically ran. Rain started falling. I began to get wet and stopped to change from lungi to windpants and rainjacket. I debated turning back. But a group of young Indian men trudged past. So I decided to follow them. A couple of them were good at eeking out the shortcuts between the switchbacks. I was glad I perservered because in a few minutes we reached the lake. It lay about 30 feet below the path in a cloud bank. Moss green shown through from the rocks below the clear water. It was beautiful. I didn't dare photograph it in the thick rain/sleet for fear of my camera getting too wet. I made some prayers and tossed a piece of Bethlehem grid crystal into the beautiful abyss.

I barely finished my prayers and chants when a plastic covered figure came out of the mist. A monk from Bangledesh who had trekked over the glaciers from Gangotri greeted me. I glanced down to the ground and picked up a small stone that "spoke" to me, putting it my pocket. I continued with my "work" to visit a cairn that lay above me on glacial til. Not much to see there, I returned to find the monk waiting for me. I wondered where his guide and/or companions were. I learned he wanted to join me in the descent. I was a bit dismayed as I was happy alone, and was now bent on running down the mountain so I could get on to my other trekking destinations.

We made our way down to Kedarnath, where I visited the Temple and he continued downwards. The temple was anticlimatic. I managed to get through it with out buying a puja (ceremony) from the many priests. I then started jogging down the mountain. I was drenched. I was cold. I didn't fancy the clustered village of Kedarnath. And I was ready to head out to Hemkund the next day. Even in my jogging, I was passed by Nepali porters carrying the dandi's (chairs with passengers). I marveled at their synchronized steps and endurance. They jogged down the road with their loads. They seemed to dodge the raindrops while their passengers grew wet and cold. I marveled at their seeming comfort in simple cotton clothes that seemed to shed rain while I grew colder and wetter under my poly base layer and raincoat.

Just above Rambara I ran into my glacier trekking monk friend. I wasn't sure I wanted to end my solitude. We trod down into Rambara together. The rain kept us wet and cold while the lower elevation took a bit of the edge off the chill. In my mind, I mulled over the idea of staying in Rambara, but decided I wanted to head to Garikund so I could leave for Hemkund the next day. About 100 m past the guesthouse I'd stayed at in Rambara, I felt a twinge of pain in my left knee. Stupidly, I thought it silly to return up hill. Surely I'd cruise on down to Garikund in no time. Aches continued to spread through both legs with each of the 8 km. The monk tried to talk with me but my misery kept me removed. He shared some glucose powder with me, which I mixed with water. I began to realize I hadn't taken the best care of myself. Water and food I knew would go along way to rejuvenating me. I tried to drink more water. I felt a lack of time, in wanting to get to Garikund by dark.

We trudged onwards down the cobbled trail, stepping aside as ponies with cold wet riders clipped past us, sometimes nearly running us down. The monk went into a spontaneous spiel on the wonders of meditation and how if you meditate into pain it will go away. My ego made me feel talked down to... I knew all that from a Reiki perspective and wasn't sure I needed the free advertisement! Nonetheless, I tried to heed the advice... I don't think he realized how much pain I was in. I tried to meditate the pain away. Well, as well as one can when they are trekking down a mountain in cold wet rain. About as hard and fun as trying to do a sitting meditation in a room of mosquitoes! A few minutes later I grumbled to the monk that I was trying and the meditation thing wasn't working! He acknowledged the difficulty that we all face. He acknowledged his own challenges.

We trudged on through the rain and mud. I stepped off to pee a few times to let out all the water I was drinking in hopes of lubricating my knees. At one point, he asked if I wanted to stay with him in the ashram; he'd have to check with the manager of course. I never gave him a direct answer. The truth was I wasn't sure if it would be nurturing. Perhaps it would be better for me to take care of myself. Finally, he asked if I was going to answer his offer. I said I wanted to see how things went. He didn't know where the ashram was. I didn't want to walk any further than I had to.

About an hour after dark we finally reached Garikund. A hotelier asked me if I wanted a room as I went by... how much I asked? 100rs he replied. I was going to check it out, but the monk was upset that I wasn't going on to the ashram. He said it was near. I hobbled along like a spent race horse. The pain was unbearable as it had been for nearly 2 hours. We reached the ashram which was down by the hot spring. The manager did not permit me to stay. He told me to follow a boy, who led me to the hotel next door. The hotel didn't thrill me a bit. The manager led me all the way up the stairs to the fourth floor. I gimped up the stairs. He showed me the room. Grimy green walls and musty odor didn't impress me. He said it was 250rs. I told him I'd seen another for 100rs. He was shocked when I started following him back out. "Don't you want the room?" I said why should I pay 250rs for a room when I can get one for 100rs! He finally relented to 150rs. My legs were aching so much, I took it, top floor and all.

I gimped down to the hot springs 50 m around the corner, and found the "pool" emptied for cleaning. Uggh. I returned to my room for a cold bucket shower. I went for food. I risked ordering palak paneer (spinach cheese curry) from a priceless menu, thinking I'd treat myself to a favorite dish. It wasn't so good. Then I was charged 90rs which seemed outrageous. My feet hurt from rubbing on my sandal straps. My legs ached. I lay in bed. I went to a pharmacist for Tiger Balm. All he had was some chemical heating lotion. Not even anything like Ben Gay. I got some Vitamins C and B. He said I'd be fine after a day of rest. I wasn't so sure.

Miserable. I lay in bed. I yearned for home. "I want to go home!", I moaned to myself. A typical response to sickness in a foreign land. I tried to imagine home Images of the US flashed through my mind... my last domicile in San Francisco, my parents house, my Aunt and Uncle's house. But I couldn't really imagine going back and creating a home, setting up housekeeping, etc. And later sitting in the steaming waters of the public bath, a stone adorned tank similar to a swimming pool, I began to appreciate where I was. In India. In a public hot pool. Surrounded by men (women have a separate pool). It was comforting. And I began to see my confusion.

I want to go home. But where is my home? Fond images from all over the world popped into my head. Saunas of Thailand, and the familiar streets of Chiang Mai and Bangkok with their marvelous street food. The foggy hills of San Francisco and my faerie friends there. The stone lined streets of Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal, and the little disco that calls itself the Funky Buddha Bar. The hills of the Butternut Valley where my father grew up in upstate New York. The Clay Hotel Hostel and Washington Street in South Beach, Miami. The glowing energy of Joshua Tree in California. And my beloved Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The friendly people of Laos and tubing in Vang Viang.

I realized i have no place to call home anymore. My sense of place is shattered. I'm truly homeless. I've virtually shattered my identity. The only thing left to do is to be at home wherever I am. The only thing left to do is to be present with who I am in the moment.

I felt empty. I felt pain. I lay in my bed depressed. The pain and injury didn't fit into my plans. The balm from the pharmacist didn't seem to work. I was miserable. In 36 hours I'd gone from discovered my greatest joy... traipsing up the mountain... to loosing it. To top things off, I felt a cold coming on.

Then I picked up the stone I'd found by Ghandi Tal (the lake above Kedarnath). I felt the vibration and energy of the stone permeate my body. I grew excited. The "other" reality. The Reality of Reiki and metaphysics and energy healing was back! I thought to myself how years ago after getting into Reiki I had learned to disown the reality of having/catching colds. I had started viewing them as detox symptoms from my body clearing toxins. Why, that made sense now after my first big exercise in a month. Further I remembered how several years ago I had decided to quit having colds, and merely seen them as patterns of being that I could choose my way out of if I started to have symptoms. Then I realized my knees and legs were no different! Why was I projecting a self hypnotic future of not being able to continue on my treks? I started to remember my own magic. The power of empowerment I had shared with so many clients in my Reiki practice. I remembered how several years ago I would simply ask my body to release the pattern if I started to feel twinges of knee pain. And it would work. I remembered how one day riding my bike up a hill to work, I had felt a twinge of knee pain, and banished it off, saying "I don't have time for this now!"

I grew excited. I started setting intentions for healing for alignment. I started to envision myself going trekking at Hemkund. The next few days rained. I spent two days in that hotel room. I discovered the best sleep in months as the raging river made a beautiful melody that drifted in the bathroom window. I enjoyed dreamy sleeps that felt like streams of consciousness. Memories from my past bubbled through my minds eye as the rains bubbled through the hills. I felt the most relaxed I had in months. I felt good! I slept and napped and Reiki'd myself throughout the day. I found a dhaba that had the best all you can eat thali (only 35rs) ever! I ate there twice a day. The staff treated me like a king. In between I soaked in the hot sulphur waters of the public bath, enjoying the views of the other men. My pains indeed went away. And finally one evening I booked a ticket for the 6 am bus to Govindghat, the departure point for the Hemkund trek.

The magical monk from Bangladesh, who had popped out of the fogs at Ghandi Tal, I never saw again. I tried to find him the day after our descent, but he had left. I'll always wonder how he transversed the glaciers from Gangotri to Kedarnath, apparently alone in a lungi and a plastic raincoat. Like so many others we meet walking about the world, he flashed out of my life as quickly as he appeared.

Trading Glances, Trading Stones

THE MAGIC BUDDHA SCULPTURE

In Sarnath, a village near Varanasi where Buddha gave his first sermon, I wandered by a street vendor peddling souvenirs. He had a clay Buddha sculputure which I'd seen before. I'd been offered these sculptures for anywhere from 10rs to 10 US Dollars. The peddler offered me one at 5rs. Really unbelievably cheap. That's only about 0.40 USD. I purchased one. Then immediately wondered why I had purchased it. My bag is heavy enough. And this is a relatively heavy and bulky thing. I carried it back to my room. A day later I was playing mind games with myself stressing over the decision of going to Ladakh even though the season was late, or just going to Uttarkhand which was closer. Ladakh had been the reason I thought I was returning to India, and I had procrastinated the summer away. I found the Buddha scuplture in my bag and pulled it out to put it on my altar. As soon as I held it, I felt the energy of the Boddhi Tree in Bodhgaya! My body vibrated with energy. I was amazed as I hadn't consciously charged this cheap clay sculpture. But my Spirit had! It jarred me back to Reality and out of my headspin. I enjoyed some nice meditations with it! Even though it is heavy, I haven't parsed it out of my heavy backpack. I know I will at some point... it will have a better home with someone I meet. But for now, I'm savouring it!

TRADING GLANCES

On the train from Varanasi to Rishikesh about a month ago, the train car was virtually empty. An Isreali couple and I made up the foreign component. A swami sat in the next compartment within eyesight.

My journey to Rishikesh was to see about doing some Reiki with a student of mine. I hadn't done much Reiki in months. The Israeli lady came over and sat down and said she was ill... stomach cramps. I told her that I didn't have any medicines, but that I could do some Reiki. To my surprise, she said she was familiar with Reiki and would appreciate some. So I pulled out some of my stones and crystals and went to work on her for about 5-10 minutes. I had the white stone gifted to me in Sikkim that was supposed to be good for stomach pain. I had the woman hold it in her hand while I did Reiki on her. Her cramps went away. I loaned her the stone, a crystal, and the magic Buddha carving for the afternoon.

After I finished doing Reiki, I returned to my seat. I noticed the Swami looking over at me. I sensed that he had felt the energy moving around when I did the Reiki. Our eyes met and we held our gaze for several minutes and exchanged unconditional love. The Israeli couple and I ended up traveling with the Swami from Haridwar to Rishikesh together. I found the Swami to be one of the most centered loving beings I had ever met. He said he'd worked high up in the government until seven years ago. Then he became a Swami.. a Sadhu ... devoting his life to Spirit. He was slim and in good shape now. He said before he "dropped out" and started some kundalini yoga he was fat. He said the government still wanted him to come back to work. But he would not "go back". He said if we ever needed any help to call him... he still had valuable connections. It was a treat to meet such an amazing man.

THE BETHLEHEM GRID

As you may remember, one of the Bethehem Grid Crystals I carried from the US went to a fellow in Thailand. He'd given me some local Thai stones in return. The larger of these I charged with "the Grid" and figured I would anchor someplace in India. Turned out that Bodhgaya was where it wanted to call home. I put it in a small stupa at the Main Temple in view of the Boddhi Tree where Buddha became enlightened... to add the Christ consciousness of empowerment and unconditional love into the energy vortex there. I expect it will help the surrounding communities in Bihar as well as all the visitors to the Boddhi Tree.

I still had a large quartz crystal charged with "the Grid" that I knew would tell me where to anchor it. When I got to Rishikesh, I soon felt that the crystal wanted to be anchored in Shiva's Hump in Kedarnath... a Hindu pilgrimage site near one of the sources of the Holy Ganga. To my mind, putting the lingam shaped crystal in the hump made some sexual sense. I had visions of an ass shaped rock in Kedarnath where it would go. I blessed the crystal with my most sacred juices. Left handed Tantra, I suspect.

I set off to Kedarnath with this Holy purpose in mind, to plant the crystal there. Kedarnath is a healthy high altitude trek. I decided to rest one night part way up the climb. I settled into a dormitory by myself, only to be disturbed by a family caught in the rainy evening. I fell asleep nonetheless, only to be awakened by the son tapping on my shoulder to see if I knew how to give injections. I looked over and saw the father gasping into an oxygen mask. I soon learned that he was a kidney patient and his lungs were congested. I had no needle skills to offer but gave him Reiki, until a local doctor arrived and spent 1.5 hours trying to find a vein to inject... unsuccessfully. After he left, I gave the man some more Reiki and had him hold the crystal charged with "the Grid". He seemed to appreciate it and feel positive effects. I let him hold the crystal over night. In the morning I broke some small pieces off the crystal to use for anchors in my journeys and left the larger chunk with the man. Somehow the crystal was called to be with him. I'm curious to know what it will do for him and his life! But I expect I will never know what magic it had in store for him.

One of the pieces I discreetly dropped into the stone hump inside the Hindu temple atop Kedarnath while the Hindu priest looked longingly at me, wishing to sell me a ritual. It wasn't nearly as magical an experience as I expected. I later laughed at my expectations, and rejoiced in the magic of how the crystal tricked me to bringing it to the kidney patient!

GANDHI TAL

Above Kedarnath, which lays in a high valley (over 3000 m... 12,000 ft or so if I remember correctly), is a glacial lake where Ghandhi ashes were spread... or attempted to be spread. A traveller told me of a book about the matter written by a guy who was there witnessing the event. The wind kicked up and blew Gandhi's ashes in his face and created quite a stir in his life. It was funny to find myself at this lake above Kedarnath several months after hearing the story. Rain came down hard. Some sleet even at the high elevation. I nearly turned back before I reached the lake. A group of Indians trudged past me and so I perservered and followed them. To my glee, it turned out I only 10 minutes away from the lake. The fog, or rather cloud that was laying on the mountain was thick. And I could barely see a small portion of the greenish lake maybe 30 feet below me in glacial till. I made my prayers witha piece of the Grid Crystal and tossed it into the lake to charge the water/ley lines with The Grid.

Out of the fog came a Hindu monk from Bangledesh. He said he'd hiked over from Tapovan near Gangotri, the main source of the Ganga. I didn't think much of it. I'd met a fully loaded backpacker earlier that day who'd done the same thing. I'd also met a Sikh man, who had done the same with guide and porter. I figured the monks guides were somewhere in the mist. The monk waited as I visited a cairn and finished my business. I was a bit dismayed to have my enjoyable solitude disrupted, and my pace slowed down abit... I intended to get off the mountain quickly.

I picked up a stone that caught my eye... charged with Gandhi Tal Energy! And walked down the mountain with this monk. I ended up walking too much in fact... trying to get all the way down the mountain in one day, after week's of no hill climbing. By the time we reached Gaurikund my legs and knees especially were in pain. I wasn't very good company. The monk bent my ear telling me how wonderful meditation was... you could simply concentrate on a pain and it would go away. I tried. I couldn't do it. My knees screamed at me. The monk went to an ashram. I crashed in a guest house.

I lay down that night thoroughly depressed, in pain, wanting to go home wherever that was! I had just discovered the joy of hiking and walking barefoot and feeling "the Mother" under my feet, only to have my knees and their pain take it away from me. I tried to Reiki myself. My mind was focused on failure and thinking of how I'd have to abandon my other plans for treks in the region. I started to feel congestion and thought I was catching a cold. Then I had the remembrance of the "detox" paradigm... of course my body was shedding some toxins from my lungs and sinuses... it was the most excercise I'd gotten in a while. I didn't have to let my consciousness hypnotize me into a "cold". I picked up the stone from Ghandi Tal without much thought. The vibrations of the stone reverberated through my body! I soon started remembering the other times I had healed my knees through magic/intention/energywork!

I stayed there two days getting the best rest and sleep I've had in months... maybe years. Traveling can be hard for sleep. Different places, different energies, different noises. Staying with people can bring different expectations. I spent hours laying in my room both resting and being in some sort of trance state with past experiences from my life flashing through my mind's eye. I enjoyed the public hot springs. Within a day I was walking pretty well and feeling little pain.

Four days later I started my ascent to Hemkund (4340 m) and felt a vestige of pain in my left knee. I started chanting the Sikh chant "Ik Ongkar Sat Nam Siri Wahe Guru" and within two hours there was no longer a trace of pain. I spent 4 days trekking up that mountain and exploring the Valley of Flowers. The vibrations of joy from that valley and also the sacred lake of Hemkund (the 10th Sikh guru allegedly meditated there) were amazing!!!!