“Capture these moments”, exclaimed my wife, as we moved through Suru Valley in our journey towards Padum.
I could sense the moment of disappointment when I chose not to pick the camera. I had a vision to showcase the beauty of Suru, not directly but through reflections in the still water clusters. That would mean, photographing the valley would have to be put on hold till the stillness of the morning hours.
If we peel the Subtle human body, it is found to comprise of four faculties, each divested with unique responsibilities.
CONSCIOUSNESS (चित, ਚਿਤ) : It is the Observer “I”, born ‘unconditioned’ and remains unconditioned throughout life.
MIND (मन, ਮਨ) : It is analogous to a Mirror, in which reflect the experiences of the world. While it is a thinking faculty but is ascribed with the characteristic to always move towards the ‘path of least resistance’.
INTELLIGENCE (मत, ਮਤ) : This is the faculty that provides the power of discrimination to the MIND. The ability to distinguish ‘right versus wrong’. This is where judgment happens.
EGO (अहंकार, ਅਹੰਕਾਰ) : It is this faculty that is ascribed with the job to create an ‘uneven surface’ over the INTELLIGENCE so the discriminatory power becomes biased, thus helping the MIND achieve it’s objective to move towards the ‘path of least resistance’.
The collective functioning of these subtle faculties, create impressions and lasting memories that form human personalities. In essence, other than pure unconditioned Consciousness, we are just an amalgamation of worldly experiences, cluttered by Ego, that distorts the moment through its uneven surface. It is just as we stand in front of a mirror, the following will happen : if the mirror is even, we will see an undistorted image in the reflection, however, if the surface is uneven, we will see a distorted image.
Photographing reflections of Suru Valley in the pools of water in the early morning hours, I could understand why the Indian spiritual masters have commonly leveraged the analogy of mirror and image to explain it’s association with Ego and Mind. The moment the heat of Sun starts creating convection currents, the surface of water pools start becoming uneven, reflecting distorted images.
That’s the reason, I chose to photograph the valley in the stillness of the morning.
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Reflection of Suru Valley
Comments(28)
Geetali says:
August 14, 2014 at 2:54 PMVery tranquil sights. Thank you for sharing the beauty of the mountain lake. Where is it located?
Amarjeet says:
August 14, 2014 at 3:17 PMIncredible.
Harbans Singh Khakh says:
August 14, 2014 at 3:27 PMOh my God! Unbelievable beauty! You are so lucky Amardeep! Wish could have gone along!
Karaka Singh says:
August 14, 2014 at 3:41 PMSpeechless!
Paramjit says:
August 14, 2014 at 3:48 PMThe photos are a class by themselves.
And the definitions of Chit (or Surat) Mun, Mut and Budh are very revealing also.
Kunwar says:
August 14, 2014 at 3:55 PMVery nice.
Vikas Attri says:
August 14, 2014 at 4:00 PMoutstanding stuff
Sree says:
August 14, 2014 at 4:52 PMWhich of these is more outstanding?? Quality of the your pictures or the content in your script? I would say, both are (un)paralleled. And yes, you are undeniably correct. Still water reflects back whatever is in front of it. That’s so much like our mind. Besides, very much like still water, our mind also understands only pictorial language. Want to try if this is true? “Dont think of a grey colour elephant wearing purple socks!!”
Mohindra Chadha says:
August 14, 2014 at 5:21 PMSuperb stuff, Amardeep!
The photographs as well as your philosophical and thoughtful narration!
Ravinderpal says:
August 14, 2014 at 6:25 PMAwesome photography. Am glad to read about ur journeys.
Isha says:
August 14, 2014 at 6:39 PMGreat job uncle…….beautiful pictures, and the explanations are very helpful…thank you!!!
Ritu Sahney says:
August 14, 2014 at 9:25 PMIncredibly beautiful and tranquil!
Raj Mehta says:
August 15, 2014 at 8:14 AMPretty near the best work so far and in the Natgeo class if not even better.
dr.jyoti parkash says:
August 15, 2014 at 9:11 AMvery happy to see.beautiful an adorable place.
Vineet says:
August 15, 2014 at 9:40 AMThe mind is conscious of The mirrors it sees yet chooses the illusion of what is beyond… I see what you see through a mind influenced by The thoughts you percieve.. Beautiful..
Rohit says:
August 15, 2014 at 1:43 PMOnly u can do it!
Splendidly done.
Proud of you!
Surupa Chatterjee says:
August 15, 2014 at 5:15 PMHow wonderfully you have explained the spirit and soul through the powerful imagery of your photographic eye…Loved it and felt so connected more so as Suru Valley sounds familiar…My name in short is Suru…Thank you for enriching us….
Capt Suresh Sharma says:
August 15, 2014 at 5:40 PMMiraculous work…
Awadh says:
August 15, 2014 at 6:01 PMBeautiful!!!!
Karamjeet Singh says:
August 15, 2014 at 7:34 PMNice reflections of mind and crystal clear waters of Suru valley.Nice work!!!
Karamjeet says:
August 15, 2014 at 9:50 PMYour lens captures everything,which, we as humans may ignore at times,plus our ego does not reflect on those subtle moments which a photographer of your stature finds a meaning in it. Nice job!
kishore kumar biswas says:
August 16, 2014 at 1:55 AMWhen we can come out of our ” self ” , our ” ego “, then the waves of the world we can feel. We cannot see ” reflections ” on a mirror if we hold it too near the eye , a distance is needed for it. The universe reflects on our sense , on our soul. We can see the ” true ” reflection if we can detach ourselves from our ” self ” .
Here Amardeep presented the ” views ” he saw from a ” distance “. He enjoyed those beauty being detached from it but at the same time he felt himself a ” part ” of it. His limited identity was with harmony with a sublime identity.
Dipika Sen says:
August 19, 2014 at 6:15 PMbest one…reflection of Suru valley with black-grey cloud at the back sky….
kishore says:
August 20, 2014 at 7:40 AMThis captured a ” reflection ” which reflected within us and stirred some feelings inexplicable , a feeling which takes us form our monotonous daily life for a moment. That is the success of Amardeep.
amarjeet kaur says:
August 23, 2014 at 2:38 PMAmardeep,your photos of suru valley are amazing.the crystal clarity of images are unbelievable,that these places are in this world(in India). Specially your thinking of CHITT, MANN, MATT, AHANKAAR…………philosophy…o…wow
Jeremy Whigham says:
August 23, 2014 at 11:03 PMLovely reflections, so well captured. I shall be there in 4 weeks, journeying from Shimla to Manali, to Leh, to Karkil, to Srinagar. The scenery looks just wonderful but the roads a bit scary!.
Jeremy
Ajay Tripathi says:
July 25, 2017 at 4:59 PMAmazing photos and reflection and serene reflection of nature! I have made second last photo as my desktop background just!!
Rajinder Singh says:
July 25, 2017 at 7:26 PMWah Wah , “kudrat disay kudrat suniay kudrat bhao sukh sar ll kudrat Patali akasi kudrat Sarab Akaar ll
Wonderful theme