The talisman

The Talisman

Bijli baba temple of Mahadev,a Shiva Linga is theree

The ATR was full, though being a no frill flight but a complimentary breakfast was served, a cold sandwich, no hot coffee. I had to get up early in the morning to catch this 6.30 morning flight from Delhi. I was feeling sleepy but the beauty of the hills kept me awake. The plane landed on time in Bhuntar airport of Kullu.

I picked up my rucksack and walked out of the airport. I had no previous booking but could get a cheap hotel easily by the side of the airport, it was lean tourist season. After freshening up ordered breakfast and took a quick power nap after the breakfast. It was November and winter was setting in. I took out a pullover, went to the reception and requested for a taxi for the whole day.

I prefer to travel by SUVs in hilly areas, requested for a Qualis.

Kullu, once known as Kulanthpitha - "the end of the habitable world",, a picturesque town on the banks of Beas river. On the east of Kullu lies a broad mountainous ridge having the village-temples of Bijli Mahadev,

I had no fixed plan excepting to enjoy the beauty of the hill range. Ramesh the driver of the Quails suggested Hidamba temple in Manali,yes it is the same Hidamba wife of Bheem and mother of Ghatotkach. So we proceeded towards Manali. We finished our aloo paratha lunch midway. We were at the temple by noon. It is a wooden structure made like pagoda and cached in the forest of Deodars.The wet smell of the Deodar and the chimes of the temple transported me to another world. I was mesmerized by the beauty, smell and the sound. The bench by the side of the temple was quite inviting. I sat down and took a few snaps of the temple. The plaque indicated that the temple was built in 1553.

Our next stop was Bijli Mahadeva temple.. The surprising thing about Bijli Mahadev temple is that the dhwaza sthupa of the temple will attract lightening and thunder some days and at that time the main shiv ling will be broken into pieces by the lightening. The priest will reconstruct the shiv ling by using butter. The temple is perched on a hill on the way back to Kullu from Manali. We came out of Manali by another road running parallel to Beas River. I asked the driver to leave me midway to the temple so that I could trek. I never realized that during that journey the visit to that temple was not destined for me. After walking up for about one hour I was resting on a stone by the side of the hilly road. I was enjoying the beauty of Beas flowing below.

Suddenly I heard a groaning sound from the shrubs behind me. I got up and started walking towards the the source of the sound. After a few meters I found a small hut, there were two occupants, a young Lama and an old man of undetermined age. It is common knowledge that Tibetans have their base in Dharamsala in Himachal, so I was not surprised in seeing those Tibetans. Seeing me approaching, the young Lama was perplexed. I could feel that they were in a dire strait but at the same time they were quite suspicious about me. I addressed them in Hindi, "Can I help you?"

The old man was in some deep physical pain but he was the one who replied, "This is my hut and my friend Dhargey has recently come from Tibet. He could trace me through our center in Dharamsala. You can see that I am seriously ill."

I was quite surprised when he told me that the young man who had recently come from Tibet was his friend. Also I had doubt about that Lama, he could be a fugitive from China. The old man could sense my doubt and said, "Yes he has escaped from Tibet and he is not that young as he looks. The place from where he comes people don't age at the same pace as they do in the planes. Look at me, I have aged faster because I came here long back with Dalai Lama. The air there is pure and rarified."

"Is it Shangri-La the illusive place of James Hilton."

The old man smiled, "I have heard about that novel, The Lost Horizon."

I offered them coffee from the flask which I was carrying with me. While they were relishing the hot coffee I called Ramesh by my mobile.

'Can I take you to a doctor? I have conveyance with me."

"No please don't do that. We don't want to put you in trouble."

"Ok,then tell me where I can drop you, certainly this place is not conducive enough for you to stay , I can see you are quite weak and also you got to eat. You are not in a position to cook."

"I will like to go to Malana ,where some people of my clan are there, but that is about 60 kilometers from here."

"I know Malana, lot of backpackers from various countries camp there. There is a permanent establishment of Israelis and I understand they grow illegal Hashhish .I am also informed that foreign currencies and foreign goods are easily available there. I think you can get good doctor too."

"Yes i also know there is a good doctor. It will be a big trouble for you.'

"No ,please don't bother we will drop you and then stay in Manali, will not go back to Kullu."

I heard the voice of Ramesh outside the hut. We helped the old man through the forest to our Qualis and proceeded for Malana.The sun had just set, it was dark and chilly. I advised Ramesh to drive cautiously in the hilly road.

I kept looking at the Lama and wondered about the miracle of nature. He was smiling warmly at me and I could feel positive energy flowing from him to me.

He said something in a sing song voice to me, he spoke in Tibetan language , I could not follow him.

The old man who was lying with his head on the lap of Lama was dosing but he was alert.

He told me in Hindi, " Dhagey is describing the place from where he has come. He is quite nostalgic about that. The place is verdant, it is a kind of paradise and it is hidden deep in Tibet's Himalayas in a gorge. Tucked beneath a mountain spur at sharp bend of Tsangpo river gorge. It is in the forbidden region of Pemako.Once a group of American explorer stumbled on our lonely monastery."

I took out my Black Berry and Googled for Sagrilah,I could get a site which reproduced a newspaper account of a 1999 expedition done by explorers to a similar place as described by Dhagey..

I knew that there have been many attempts by explorers to search for the illusive Shangri-La, the place described by Dhagey could be one such place. There is lot of mysticism linked with Tibet. I recalled the vivid description of Tibet in the book "Seven Years in Tibet" by Heinrich Harrer.

The young monk looked serene and kept smiling at me and watched with curiosity my action with my Black Berry. I too smiled back at him and started thinking about the place described by him.

The young monk touched my hand ,something strange happened, I was magically transported to the place described by him.

We were standing on the mouth of the gorge in the monastery, I was in heavy sheepskin dress of a gown and body hugging pant, Dhagey was standing next to me. The mountain peaks were covered with snow, the river below was frozen in November. A deep sound of group chanting of hymns was wafting from the main hall of the monastery, the giant Dharmachakra was just at the entrance of the monastery. Dhagey smiled at me and nudged me to look around. At this high altitude tall trees were rare but there were patches of garden around.I inhaled the fresh unpolluted air and felt rejuvenated. My tiredness vanished, I felt fresh. Strangely I was not able to move around but I could see, feel and smell the surrounding. All my senses of enjoying beauty were working sharply . I did not see any other monk coming out of the monastery, it was as though I was a spectator of the scenes unfolding before me without me being a part of the divine show. I was suspended between dream and reality. I could not keep track of time as the canvas was frozen in time. Dhagey smiled mysteriously and plucked a leaf from a tree and put that in my hand.

With a start my stance was broken; the young Lama Dhagey was rubbing the forehead of the old man and nodded at me, as though welcoming me back to the real world. I was clutching a leaf. I was fresh like I never felt in years; it reminded me of my younger days when we used to get ready for a football match, eager and fresh. I put the leaf in my pocket with reverence.

We reached Malana valley in three hours. There were scattered light in the valley, a heavy fog had descended could see shadowy figures moving around, the old man asked us to stop near a shop. Inspite of my protest they got down there and assured me that they would be fine.

Somehow an invisible bond had developed between me and Dhagey because of that astral travel. Dhagey came forward to shake my hand and pressed a Talisman in my palm. He said something in Tibetan.

The old man translated, "Go in peace, whenever you are sad the Talisman will give you solace. With a clear mind you can experience astral travel with the help of the Talisman."

I watched them slowly melting in the dark hill side. I could feel the temperature had dropped below ten degrees. I felt sad, holding the Talisman tight I got in to the Qualis. We headed for Manali.

I have the Talisman now, but could never experience the Astral travel as my mind has been always full of conflicting thoughts. I suppose I have to focus my mind on one object like one does for meditation and then the Talisman can help me through. So many times after reading a travel book I tried to transport myself to those exotic places but failed to utilize the power of the Talisman. Now I must search for a real guru like Dhagey to guide me through my Astral travel or else master the meditation techniques to reach the higher level of mind control.