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FOREWORD
Throughout the ages, spiritual people, often referred to as yogis or sadhus, have ventured into the Himalayas alone in search of true freedom and enlightenment. They first usually seek out a deserted cave that will serve as their abode for the duration of their spiritual retreat, which could last from a couple of months, to even many years. They come to the Himalayas seeking both solitude and a pure natural environment in which to conduct their spiritual practice and training, but they also come to the Himalayas because of the ancient spiritual and magical power that is said to dwell in these mountains. For all who come to this very special location on planet Earth, all experience feelings of wonderment and amazement at the sheer beauty and immense scale of the Himalayas.
The Himalayas draw all kinds of people from all kinds of places located all over the world, and for thousands of years it has been a magnet for those with a spirit of adventure, and those with a desire for spiritual attainment and enlightenment.
INTRODUCTION
This book contains part of a diary or journal written by a Himalayan yogi who spent much time alone deep in the snow-covered mountains of the Himalayas.
This yogi appeared to have been on a meditation retreat, and spent two years in solitude in various locations around the Himalayan region. This is an excerpt from his diary, and these are the last remaining pages of his diary, which was found by a hiking expedition on a trail into the foothills of the Himalayas. The diary was very old and worn when discovered, the binding very weak, and it appeared as though all the previous pages had fallen out, lost in the mountains, leaving only the last remaining 30 pages intact inside the small leather-bound book.
There were no dates found in what remained of the diary, but from the numbered days, in the entries, we can see that he had been recording his writings in this diary for a period of two years, and the pages still remaining in the diary show the last 30 days of a total of 730 days, which makes exactly two years, and explains why this remaining part of the dairy starts at day 701. No names are mentioned in the dairy at all, so there is no way to discover the identity of the yogi who wrote these words. We can, however, ascertain that this yogi was Indian, because the script in the diary is written in Sanskrit.
We do not know if the yogi had accidentally dropped and lost this diary on the way back down the mountain, or whether he had cast the diary aside on purpose, not wanting to be attached to this physical object, and in the process, proving to himself that he held no worldly attachments, and that he had no wish to be recognized for the writings in his diary.
Here, presented in the exact and precise translation from Indian Sanskrit to English, are the 30 remaining diary pages of this unknown, mysterious and mystical yogi, who spent two years in the Himalayas dedicating himself to spiritual enlightenment. Whether or not he has now attained full and permanent enlightenment is of course unknown, but we are grateful to him for taking the time to record his thoughts and experiences, so that we can now perhaps learn a little wisdom from an advanced yogi of the Himalayas.
WRITINGS OF A HIMALAYAN MYSTIC
Day 701
I am sitting in my little cave, which is situated in the Himalayan region of Nepal. It is early morning, dark, about 5am. I slept well last night. Within an hour or two, the sunlight will be striking the mountain peaks surrounding me, and I will be witness to some of the most amazing natural beauty on the face of this planet. I am not concerned as to how today will play out, whether I will have food or not, whether there will be sunshine or rain, or even fierce storms. These things do not affect me. Yes, they may have a slight physical effect on my body, but they do not touch my mind, which is like the crystal clear and still waters of an expansive lake.
For most people, my current lifestyle would be one of hardship, pain and suffering, but for me it is pure bliss. I am as content now as I have ever been in my life, and waves of pleasure and happiness radiate out from my being, in gratitude for just being alive to witness the amazing and spectacular world that lays before my eyes, gifted to me by the great Creator being. The same Creator who created all the planets, stars, and galaxies that exist throughout the entire universe and beyond. I am witness to the beauty of the Creator, and I feel most fortunate to be alive this day to partake in this life that we call human existence.
Of course, I do not see myself as human, for I am not the body, nor am I the species that is called humankind. That is a part of me, but it is not who I truly am. I am everything, in all places at all times. I am the nothingness, but at the same time I am everything. There is nothing that exists outside of me, for I am the created and the creator. I permeate all physical matter and phenomena, and I also exist in all spiritual matter, and all dimensions in between. I am the sun, the stars, and the moon, and the very moonlight itself. There is nothing that exists without me. All is one. This is true. You may call me a man. You may even call me by the name given to me by my parents, and I will play your little game and answer you, but make no mistake, for a name is just a name, and really has no real value or meaning to me. Why do I write these words? To offend? Certainly not. To enlighten? Certainly, yes. Truly, who am I? Who are you?
These are questions that need to be put forth and contemplated upon, not just for a few minutes or a few hours, but for many years, and in a very deep and insightful way too. So, I urge you to discover who or what you truly are, and when you have achieved that, then the journey of true self-discovery can begin.
Day 702
Another beautiful morning as I awaken to the sight of soft cotton clouds drifting atop the peaks of the great mountains that surround me, up here in the Himalayas. I feel honored and humbled to be alive at this moment in time, as I do at every moment of my existence in this physical form we call a body. I slept very well, as I always do, for there are no burdens on my mind, and nothing in the world for me to worry about. I had a most interesting and entertaining dream, of which I shall relate to you here, as briefly as I can.
In my dream, I was sailing in a little boat on the ocean, suddenly a storm came out of nowhere, and large waves crashed against my boat, until my boat was flipped over and I was dumped into the wild ocean water. There was lightning and thunder above, and so I dived down under the surface and swam deep down into the ocean, away from the storm and tumult happening above the surface. As I dived deeper and deeper, a great peace swept over me, and a great feeling of understanding, as I realized that I was not the reality above the ocean. The storms and big rolling waves above the surface were happening, but they were not me, they were only happening to me. When I dived down into the depths of the ocean, I had made a choice that I was something more than the changeable reality above the ocean’s surface. I understood that I was the ocean itself, and deep down, my true reality was peaceful and unmoving.
Then I awoke from the dream, and found that I had a warm blissful feeling radiating out from my heart. Of course, my dream was reflecting and confirming my waking reality, which is that I, my true self, is also peaceful and unmoving, just as the ocean’s depths. Of course, I have had this realization for a very long time, but I feel it wise to share my dream with you. The dream was not one hundred percent correct, but the important thing is that it illustrates that we can choose to have stressful tumultuous lives, full of pain and suffering, and also happiness (let us not forget the positive emotions), or we can choose to live a life of peace and harmony, just as the great Buddha himself was trying to teach us.
Day 703
This morning, upon waking, I felt very light, both physically and mentally. The mountains here have been working their ancient magic on me, it seems, and I now feel almost lighter than air. The golden sun has just risen, the air is fresh and pure. I am lying on a great slab of rock that is jutting out of a mountain hillside. Staring up at the vast sky, with a slight chill running through my body, I feel as though at any moment I might just float upwards into the sky above me. Just continue floating up until I reach the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, and then maybe just continue drifting off into space. But I am space. I am the air and the sky. Perhaps I am one thought away from levitating up into the air, off this granite rock that I now lay upon. What if I think of floating now? Will it happen? Because I feel I am at that place where it will happen.
Isn’t this one of the many siddhis that visit the one who walks the path towards enlightenment? I am not afraid. Should I be? What if my body just drifts away, never to be seen again? Lost forever. Do I really care? For I am not my body anyway. My spirit is everlasting and eternal, so I need not have concerns or worries about my physical being. We all pass from this physical existence at some point. I do not feel that it is my time though. I have already come far along the path, but my intuition tells me that I have more time in this Earthly existence as a so-called human being. Ah! That is so laughable. We fall into the belief that we are this body, with these seemingly restricted ideas about ourselves. Heavens, if they only knew who they truly were, they would surrender everything in an instant, and bow down to the great Creator. The one who gave life to the universe and everything in it, and who continues to give life to its creations. We are those creations too. The Supreme One has breathed light and life into these physical vessels in which we inhabit. We carry the spark of the Creator within ourselves. And in some real sense, we are a part of the great Creator, for it exists and shines out from within each and every one of us, until the time comes for us to depart from the physical realm, give up our dense physical bodies, and return once again to the light, which is the light of all creation. The light is also pure love, which is why there should be no fear of dying a physical death.
So even though, lying here on my back, staring up at the wispy white clouds drifting lazily across the crisp blue morning sky, I choose not to levitate, I choose not to fly at this time. I will remain here on this rock, enjoying the sensations of both weight and weightlessness, playing between the two polarities. No, I am not dreaming. This is a real experience I am having, but it is a totally abstract and unreal experience at the same time. I feel as though I am in my body, but at the same time, my consciousness has expanded so that I have become everything. Life has no meaning, but at the same time life is all there is, and it is a truly precious thing to be alive in this physical world, experiencing the wonders of nature that the great Creator has bestowed upon this planet, for us, me and you, to enjoy to our hearts content.
I will continue to lay upon this rock all day. I feel I require neither food nor drink. This day, the very elements themselves seem to be nourishing me with their essential natural energy. So let me rest here and drift away on these heavenly sensations.
Day 704
Yesterday was unreal. I felt as though I had travelled to a totally different plane of existence, somewhere between the physical and the spiritual planes. This morning however, I am fully back in my physical body, and my surroundings are very real and vivid, with particular clarity and sharpness. There was a snow storm last night, and the winds were howling. I had to go deeper into my cave to escape the freezing cold weather. Luckily the cave I have chosen as my abode has a small opening half-way up a steep mountain hillside. It is large enough for a human to enter when crouched down, but at the same time, it gives excellent protection and shelter from the treacherous snow storms that sometimes rage up here in these mountains.
The cave goes quite deep back into the mountain a good ten meters. The opening of the cave is about one meter high. About five meters into the cave, it opens into a kind of chamber, where you can actually stand up, as the rocky ceiling is around two meters high at some points. This chamber is circular and is about four meters wide. Whoever made this cave, excavating all this rock and forming this chamber, is really amazing.
The sleeping bag I use at night is very thick and warm, and even during sub-temperatures it keeps me adequately warm so that I may have a good night’s sleep. In the milder weather, I often sit and meditate through the whole night. There is still a chill in the air even on the mildest nights, because of course, these are the Himalayan mountains that I am living in. At this stage in my meditation and training, I am able to ward off the cold chill of the nights during long meditation sessions, by using certain mind techniques that I have developed over many years.
This is one of the reasons that I am able to live out here amongst the peaks of the Himalayas without dying from pneumonia or other such cold-related illnesses. When the mind is strong enough, it can overcome almost anything, including extreme temperature of heat and cold. On the nights when I don’t meditate however, I do like to get a good night’s sleep. Which is why I have my sleeping bag, and also an extra blanket made of goat’s wool, which was given to me by a very kind old village woman who saw that I was hiking into the Himalayas, and she seemed to know that I would be staying there for a very long time. She seemed wise, with the eyes of a seer, and I know that she had much wisdom to teach. Our meeting on a narrow path leading up a steep valley, was just a few minutes, and in that time, she intuited that I was some kind of yogi on a path towards spiritual enlightenment. After she gave me the thick blanket, she said a few quick prayers in her native tongue, and then she was gone, and I was once again alone.
After a few minutes of her departing, the skies began to grow dark and ominous, and I knew a snowstorm was likely on its way. The old woman must have known the storm was coming, which was why she had departed so hurriedly. Within the hour it would be getting dark, and so I had taken shelter for the night in an old abandoned little hut, once used probably for storing grain or supplies of some sort. That little wooden hut took a real battering that night during the storm, but it had done its job of protecting me from the harsh elements, and I had survived to see another day.
The morning after, I poked my head out of the hut, to find the bright morning sun shining down upon a deep and fresh new layer of snow about two feet deep. It would be hard-going for me, but I knew that I had no choice but to plough on. A few days more hiking after that, was when I discovered this cave hewn deep into the rock of a mountainside, which is where I live now, and where I am relating this story to you from.
Day 705
This morning as I was sitting outside the entrance to my cave, while doing deep rhythmic breathing exercises, whereby I breathe in the very elements, and digest the natural energy that permeates my surroundings. I could taste a distinct tang of spring freshness in the air, and I knew that over the coming weeks, some of the snow would slowly begin to melt away, giving way to new life, fresh grasses, the mountain hares, mountain goats, and perhaps the odd hawk or vulture here or there, seeking out a warm fresh meal promised by the coming milder spring months.
I will take the time today to relate how I am able to digest the elements, and sustain myself on water, which I get from the snow, the fresh pure air, and also nourishment from the sun. You already know by now that I have been living up here in the Himalayan mountains with no food with which to sustain my physical body, and you may be wondering how it is possible for me to do so. This is one of the mysteries of our world, and of the human species.
We must remember that everything is essentially consciousness at the basic level, and so it is consciousness that creates our reality and what we believe may be possible for us in our lives. If a person doesn’t believe that they can live without physical food, then of course, that will become their reality, and they would most likely end up dying if they ever tried such a lifestyle devoid of physical food and nourishment. However, another person, who may hold a completely different perspective of life, may hold the belief that humans absolutely and positivity can live with no food, taking nourishment from natural clean water in their environment, and also absorbing nourishment in the form of pure energy from the rays of the sun, and the clean pure air around them. These two different people are existing in two completely different realities, even though they are sharing the same physical plane of existence, and they share the same essential consciousness, but their perception is colored differently due to conditioning and belief structures.
So it is, I live on water from the snow, and energy from the elements. Many of you already know what I am speaking about, and even though you may not live this reality in your own life, you do hold beliefs similar to mine on what the human being is capable of, which is far more than normal society dictates to us. These things we have to discover alone, through our own personal practice and research. Until you have gone for a long period of time without physical food, you cannot pass judgment on those beings who have gone through such experiences without physical food but are still able to sustain their physical bodies. I will not go in depth here on this topic, but I just wanted to touch on it briefly because it is a relevant subject considering I am living in a remote location far from civilization in the Himalayan mountains, where conditions are harsh at the best of times.