Ocean in the mind beckons
a white village in the mountain.
Driving from Leh to Lamayuru, we diverted on a road less travelled and found ourselves in the cradle of a valley with snow capped peaks, nestled above us a village painted in white. It was beckoning us to walk its alleys.
As I made photos of the white village, my thoughts ran wild, thinking about intellect and mind.
“Whiteness” of mind is a metaphor for the highest level of spiritual attainment and for me the color of this village became the catalyst for my thoughts to evolve.
Intellect is a thorny problem for spiritual aspirants. One cannot do without intellect but at the same time it cannot be allowed to dominate. Intellect is required for right discrimination but beyond a certain point, it becomes a hurdle. The crutches of intellect have to be abandoned when the spiritual journey starts providing a glimpse of the “Whiteness” of mind.
Within the “Whitness”, or clarity of mind, the intellect has a potency to create black spots. Kabir in Adi Granth says,
Says Kabir! As is the intellect within (one’s) mind, so does (he) come to understand. (Adi Granth, Page 325)
Is this the reason why this village is painted entirely in white, or was it just me and my thoughts?
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Photo : Village in Ladakh.
Comments(10)
Dhruv Jolly says:
June 16, 2014 at 7:15 PMMindboggling … _/\_ …. 😀
Rahul Deshpande says:
June 16, 2014 at 8:16 PMLovely. Looks remarkably like “Ki” village, between Tabo and Kunzum in Spiti. Do try and see the interiors of Lahaul-Spiti as well if you get a chance. Fortunately it’s still relatively unspoilt by the hordes or tourists that Leh is subject to.
Surupa Chatterjee says:
June 16, 2014 at 10:47 PMWhat do I say to this one…..just a silent sigh…where and when the mind just wants to stop pondering and just revel in the beauty of these mystical structures nestled almost in the lap of god and head sincerely bowed in admiration for the gifted eyes and hands that captured them for us ,a far away audience to give them that magical high to feel almost transported there….
Satinder Rekhi says:
June 17, 2014 at 2:13 AMThe white buildings is probably a trigger for your white thoughts! 🙂
Moninder Singh Modgil says:
June 17, 2014 at 9:50 PMBeautiful commentary and photographs.
Karamjeet Singh says:
June 22, 2014 at 10:37 PMThanks Amardeep for the Nice pictures.I am wonderstuck how men and matrials could reach this height of habitat.Looking at your pictures it shows how robust is the Tibetian Architecture.Tibetians had established a distinct identity in contrast to Chinese or any other denomination.Your earlier coverage on Sikh General Zorawar Singh,on his Tibetian forays gives a vivid account of these people.Nice anthropology study in depth.Nice work.
Kishore kumar Biswas says:
June 22, 2014 at 10:55 PMIntellect is necessary to judge or analyse things. Feelings is necessary to enjoy. To enjoy the beauty one does not need to be ” intellectual “.Beauty is something beyond intellect . We do not be expert in botany to be mesmerized by a ” rose “. it on seeing a rose we began to analyse in terms of botany then the rose ceased to be a ” rose ” , it becomes a mere lifeless object of theory. It then loses it beauty.
Amardeep brings the true beauty of nature or the material world through his photograph as he takes a snap with feelings , with soul , He leads us to the world of ” joy ” instead of the world of ” analysis “.
With him we reach the world of ” beauty “.
Jasmeet says:
July 8, 2014 at 8:50 PMYour words have engrossed me more than those striking pictures. I do not know whether to gaze at the photography or to ponder on the words, esp. the paragraph where you talk of intellect….too deep and so so true
Satsangi N P says:
August 4, 2014 at 10:04 AMDear Amardeep I agree with your thought about whiteness of the village
Nice write up and amazing pictures
Kacho Manzoor says:
January 14, 2015 at 10:53 PMBeautiful Nice