Himalayas, the Abode of Gods

Rarely has a subcontinent or a country's entire persona been defined by just one geological feature. I am , of course, referring to India and the way its history, cultures, religions, literature, arts, economics and the day to day life of its people, been determined by just one blessing of Nature - the Himalayas. This youngest and by far the highest of the mountain ranges on the globe, was formed some 40-50 million years ago, by the clash of two Titans - the Indian subcontinent moving northwards and colliding with the Tibetan Plateau, which was drifting southwards. The colliding edges of the two tectonic plates moved heavenwards and formed the Himalayas. This 2000 miles range cups the north of Pakistan, and skirts Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and right up to Myanmar (Burma). So what does it mean for India! For a start, the Himalayas prevent the cold dry winds from the Tibetan Plateau to blow into India. Had this not been so, then North India would have been an arid stretch, possibly extending the great Gobi desert into the heart of the country. Instead of this arid scenario, thanks to Himalayas, the region is blessed with two great river basins of the Indus River and the Ganga-Jamuna- Brahmputra basins.

The great Indus Valley Civilization was born along the lush banks of the gurgling river, Indus and its five tributaries. This was the precursor of the mankind's first lofty speculations , about the nature of our existence and the how and why of it - the very essence of Vedic thought , philosophy and a whole gamut of religions, philosophies and lifestyles, all under the banner of Hinduism. The Rig Veda speculates in 'The Hymn to Creation' and ends with a very bold conclusion:
'Whence this creation has come into being; whether it was made or not; he in the highest heaven is its surveyor. Surely he knows, or perhaps he knows not.'

Thanks to the Himalayan bounty of the lush Indo- Gangetic plains, this further gave rise to a very generous, hospitable and a tolerant culture. Naturally, this led to the leisurely pursuit of a cultivated lifestyle; the fine arts, rich poetry, drama, dance forms, sculptures and colorful festivals. No wonder Max Muller, Einstein, Will Durant, Mark Twain have called our land the 'cradle of mankind', 'mother of all civilizations', 'contributor to many scientific discoveries of today' and the 'best flowering of the human mind', etc.

On the other hand, it is the Himalayas, which again and again have repulsed hordes of invaders, or at least made invasion very difficult. Even bigger and more lasting, is the annual bounty from the Himalayas - the great Indian monsoon. This would not have been possible, had not the Himalayas caused the rich rain bearing clouds to rebound to the Indian plains. No wonder, that the monsoon with its rich harvests has been dubbed as the real finance minister of India!

So far, I have only dwelled on the material benefits which accrue to our country, courtesy the Himalayas. But there is an entirely different dimension, which Himalayas bring into our lives and of those seekers, who tread their way from over the world - the spiritual dimension. Both to the initiated and the uninitiated, to be in the Himalayas is to be in the presence of the Gods. Thus being face to face, with a lofty peak or trekking in the Valley of Flowers is to be lifted to a different level of awareness, which defies description. No wonder the sages of yore , sought to retreat into the recesses of Himalayas to meditate , and whose timeless wisdom has come down to inspire our prayers, lifestyles and our overwhelming awareness of the Manifest and the Unmanifest. The path of the cosmic seeker!

I invite you to share my slideshow, of just some of glimpses of the loftiness of the region, caught on camera during my repeated sojourns into The Abode of Gods:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/610185/india_the_enigma_of_arrival.html

At least, once in a life time you must come to the Himalayas, to experience the mysterious spell they cast over us!