Des Drishti Yog (Meditating on your homeland) Religion Author : Shail Gulhati

Where pines stand in families
and sing and dance and kiss the breeze,
and ponies graze on pastures green,
and laze and laze and dream and dream,
and whispers the cool wind through the woods,
and sheep frolic whilst the shepherd broods,
and woodpeckers peck wood all the day,
and all the day the woods are gay,
and ravens black span the skies,
and up above them, the eagle flies,
and down below, the Lidder flows,
and rugged rocks stand in pose,
and in the river rest the trout,
and tadpoles locked in friendly bout,
and pony paths wind up and down,
and down and up and round and round,
and cottages quaint, on meadows stand,
and chimneys smoke their fire brand
and butterflies on flowers dance,
and little children play and prance,
and the cricket sings his chirpy song,
and the humming bee hums along,
and the gods descend and sit in calm,
ah! Nature! Thou art Pahalgam.

These were lines written by me as an Ode to Pahalgam, way back in 1983.
I am aware that this is a very 'physical' poem in its form.
At the time of writing it, I was perhaps only trying to transport myself to the famous shepherd's valley by visualization.

I have always had a great love for Pahalgam, having spent a month of my life there, every summer, for many happy summers. I used to think of it as homeland, with myself as much part of it, as the mountains, trees and river.
I loved its mysterious essence that mingled freely with the smoke emanating from the shepherd's hearths, and Sadhu's dhunis.

It is a fact that even the mention of its name could send me into a state of happiness, And every year as we used to visit, my hair used to stand aroused at first sight of Pahalgam. It would be fair to say that not only was I part of Pahalgam, so also, Pahalgam is an indelible part of me.

And what would such externalization have to do with yoga and dhyana? A lot, as, much later, with the grace (Anugraha) of God, I realized. The culminating state of dhyana, is always the same, but there are various different methods,” yoga dharanas" to reach this state.

Herein, lays the beauty of the most esoteric Kashmir shaiv text, Vijnanbhairava, in which Lord Shiva gives us multitudes of methods to reach the state of turiya, or self revelation. So each person may choose, or his Guru may guide him to follow what suits his current mood, and then that intensifies into a bhava.

Because as everything, say the rishis, comes from within, there are, of course, a lot of methods, yoga dharanas, which begin directly with internalization. And such methods may be termed as "classic" meditations, where one has to sit in asana, and introvert the eyes, in a bid to still the mind, and open the gyan chakshu, popularly called Shiva's third eye.

But luckily for us, Lord Shiva understood the value of the imprint external forms had on our minds, and devised methods of reaching the inner by the outer itself. It is, in fact, this respect for outer world, which stands Kashmir Shaiv Darsana apart from all other spiritual visions and theologies of mankind.

So, what exactly is Des Drishti Yog?
Shiva says,"When, at the mere seeing of a manifest land, one feels so thrilled that one's mind just merges into that happiness, and when such person loses even the thought of his small, individual being, knowing only this thrill, knowing only that all pervasive, divine happiness, then he knows that this divine joy, is the true essence of his own self, it is his own Nature.

It follows, that even if such a land is remembered, it gives the same thrill, again showing that the divine self is the basis of the divine thrill, and that amazingly, the thrill remains always the same, even though the land may not be physically before your eyes.

So, it is the experience of the thrill which is to be centered on. This is meditation. With constant practice, this meditation will enable the mediator to re-create the experience and understand clearly that the divine self, is also the very basis of the land itself,

Or, in other words, the meditated, is the mediator! This is the goal of all meditations.
So, when the Shiva within us thrills himself by looking at a land, he realizes, he is the land!
When Shiva thrills himself by mere memory of the land, he is the memory...

A summary translation of this meditation would be something like this:

"At the sight of a land, whether it be a new environment, or a familiar old favorite, when one feels the ecstasy of divine thrill, all other objects having dropped, even one's own body forgotten, one’s small individuality transcended in ecstasy;

Then, the Lord, who was the experience itself, and is the basis of the thrilling memory of this land, simply re appears!" (In accuracy, he actually re-cognizes himself, as having always been full of Shiva consciousness, and this is called pratyabijna.

In the same way, Shiva expounds to Devi in another dharana,"Para patre chintana" “Mindfulness of an excellent person, say our Guru, a teacher, an elder, or even a favorite child, can lead itself to the state where you realize that the same essence is the basis of both of you. For it is the basis of all"

This same essence is the Shiva consciousness residing in you both, the indwelling God."

So the object of Des has been substituted by a Para patra, and from here one can understand how satsang, the association of pious people serves in quickening our self realization. What is important to note, is that only the external object has been changed in this dharana, the subject, of course, never changes, but is the universal witness.

In this way, the magnificently mystic Shiva goes on giving the Devi dharanas, in which the object keeps getting replaced, by say good food, good music(geet vishaya svad), and so on, it is the thrill one gets while enjoying the outer world which needs to be wisely understood as shiva's joy of creation, and matured into Shiva bhava thusly.

Isn’t it beautiful to know that love really is God, provided we are always mindful of the sacred essence that is enshrined, in that person or land we love? This is how easy Shiva made enlightenment for us. This is why legendary lovers and legendary Nationalists are spontaneously spiritually awake! And that's why their names are not only established in our earthly archives but also in god's own firmament. It is no wonder then, that we can all know our Kashmir as the paradise on earth. But let’s always be mindful of the sanctity and sacredness of this land and its people, and to do this we can get a lot of guidance from Kashmir Shaiv Darsana.

Aum Namah Shivaya!

You may also read: AMARNATH - Where The Nath is forever- by Shail Gulhati in the May Issue of Shehjar

Shail Gulhati

The yogi and the snake", a parable set in a mystical dialogue format between a seeker whose self esteem is low and the supreme spiritual master Shiva, who unfolds the secrets of spiritual pluralism that bridge the gap between ancient mystic wisdom and contemporary spiritual understanding, thus restoring his esteem for him by transforming his perception.
And more recently ,"NAAMROOP-A Tribute to the divine" a book of verses and paintings to the divine, with celebrated Delhi based artist, Arpana Caur.

Shail Gulhati has participated in the third international seminar on Kashmir Shaivism, and also the 19th SAARC writer’s summit, with poems. He writes spiritual articles regularly for newspapers. You can find reference for his Kashmir Shaiv Darsana at Facebook.