"The increasing obsessiveness with traveling abroad and finding oneself has been flooding my Facebook feed for the last few years now. People visiting the farthest corners of the planet, crossing half the globe and exhausting more than half their savings, often claim to have found peace, contentment, and some even bliss in a foreign land!
But does bliss without guarantee peace within?
When pondering over such metaphysical matters, I often ask myself the true essence of what Steve Jobs meant when he claimed- The journey is the reward and often conclude that he would not have meant to hint at journeys that involved 10-hour layovers or an expensive yacht ride with a few sparkling glasses of rose wine. If that isn’t the concept of the journey (which we happily swallow to show off our passports rugged from overuse) that is to bring us the reward, then what is?
The true journey, and the one truly replete with rewards, is the inward journey into yourself. The journey within- to your mind, to your thoughts, to your spirit. And guess what, since you are unique, your journey is too and nobody else can dirty that beautiful destination. (If your memory supports it, try remembering your last tragically polluted and painfully populated trip to the much sought after tourist destination and how you wished you were the only one there) Let me take you through my tete-a-tete with the aforementioned true journey.
The coronavirus pandemic made us house-bound with more than bearable free time at hand. Like all fellow countrymen, I too devoted my time to the embers of the summer kitchen. Out came exotically pronounced and uncharacteristically global dishes that really made us question why we ever went out eating. Also like all fellow countrymen, I wallowed in the praises pouring from social media till I was sodden with a deep sense of vanity and purposelessness. I was really beginning to feel a silent nudge, a call from somewhere, a deeply acute sense of dissatisfaction. I felt something lacking. For the past 6 years, I have had a hobby that I would pursue whenever I felt up to it. Its nature bends slightly towards spirituality and requires one to be relatively grounded in their head. I sought to fill the gaping void in my being by vowing to dedicate myself to this hobby in a more wholesome manner than I had done before. And here starts my inward journey.
This required me to be in tune with my conscience. The inner voices that guide you when you truly listen, for they are so mutable that merely thinking and rationality can stifle them. As part of attaining this level of quietude, I decided to do something I didn’t think I would or even could ever do- mauna vrat. If I am not wrong, it loosely translates to fast of silence and requires every ounce of it. It was decided to be a 2-day cycle. I was faced with a few challenges, not altogether insurmountable but not completely dismissible either. The silence or mauna is two way - the external noises and the thoughts in ones mind. With the deliberate support of my lovable family, the former came easy. I had liberated myself from all types of outwardly interaction- no social media, no TV, no texting etc. The true challenge was to mute my otherwise usually taciturn mind. It required me to remain alert at all times- firstly, not to speak out of impulse/habit, but more importantly to observe the kind of thoughts flowing in and out of my head. It was a period of complete and thought-invoking silence.
It was a window into who I was- what I think, how I come to it, why are some thoughts predominant and what makes up my conscience. I discovered quirks and habits that needed to go. There were certain thoughts that needed to be cultivated more consciously. I even jotted them down so I can reap the rewards of this inward journey for longer than the average lifespan of the memories of your recent holiday. When I finally spoke, out aloud, I realised what a gift speech is. And how thoughtlessly we squander this important medium that shapes and projects us in front of the world. This was truly a trip to the inside of my being. I would really recommend that everyone should take some time out of their now-not-so-busy lives and reflect upon what constitutes their soul. Take the journey within and relish the discoveries it leads to.
And guess what, you don’t even have to worry about social distancing!!"
