Amazing moments of silence in Alaksan cruise in June 2024, to explore a new dimension within.

Alaska!

In the last week of May 2024, As we landed in alaska, the snow capped mountains caught our attention immediately. There was something different in the air here, something peaceful, something which connected the self with nature.

Day 1:

A walk in the evening to the restaurant, jumping across streams, keeping an eye on the unlikely but unwanted moose and bear! Just breathing in the Alaskan air... And being there...

Day 2:

Matanusha glacier:

We had booked a private bus for us for a trip to matanushka glacier. The bus took us almost right to the glacier! With our shoe spike addons, and help of two guides, we were set. This was the first time for any of us on the glacier. The temptation to interpret this was Mata Anushka was high! Mind always relates to known patterns...so be aware! 

This is not a black and white picture! This is how it actually looks!

Like Himalayas

The Alaskan mountains are a fairly young mountain range, like the Himalayas, formed by the two plates colliding and folding into each other. This is not a volcanic mountain range, making it very similar to Himalayas. 

The only difference is the heights. While the Himalayas are much higher, the weather in alaskan mountains is much colder, even at lower heights. No crowds at these place, the peace at both the places is similar. 

At heights and near to the north pole, the state of mind is different, calmer, silent. No wonder, these places are sought after by the seekers, who wish to go inwards, exploring the five layers of the panchkoshas.

Wearing the spikes attachement to the shoes, we walked slowly towards the glacier, one step at a time. 

As i walked along, the distance seemed to be a lot. I remembered my friends words, who sumitted mount Kilimanjaro a few years back. "One step at a time". Focus only on that step. Which we all did.

As we made our way slowly to the matanushka glacier, we saw some amazing sights.

the group went ahead for another view of the ice fall, i located a rock and just sat there for a few minutes. Eyes closed, both hands on the rock, touching the ice cold surface, removing my gloves. 

I could feel the connection to the five elements slowly.

Earth:

The earth element was here in the form of rocks and soil. 

Water

The water element was here, part in ice form, part in the form of water, part mixed with soil. In fact the ice at places is a mile thick! Wow!

Air

I could feel the wind, that was around me, even when i was wearing ear muffs. This was the air element.

Space

Under the open sky, that streched high up, was the space element.. vast and empty. 

Fire

Where was the fire element or the heat element, i wondered..i realised, it as in all the friction around me, which was subtle, but going unnoticed. The water in contact with the soil. The air in contact with the water and soil, all the sounds created are by friction, impact. The other fire element was the sun light, the insignificant heat, was still enough to melt ice into water!

Inner sound

Connecting to the inner sound, in a thoughtless state, just being in the glacier which has been around for maybe millions of years, untouched by humans largely, but now feeling the impact of global warming and receding, was a unique experience. 

Uttarvahini (north flowing) rivers:

There are two main rivers in alaska which flow to the north side. Nenana and delta rivers. North flowing rivers are special..I wonder if the prosperity of United States was anything to do with taking alaska from Russia in 1867! 

Day 3:

The train ride and the trees:

In the train ride which was a part of our land cruise, i was just watching out of the window, the trees on the side of the tracks. Some were young, small, little, some broken, some dead, some thriving, green, waving at us.

Who creates these trees, who makes the rain, who destroys them? I could see the states of creation, growth and destruction all at the same time, happening without any effort from any of humans, on its own. The entire humanity is no match for the immense power of nature. This realisation brought forth the insignificance of both size and time frame of human life. We at 5 feet tall, and living for 7 decades on an average, are nothing compared to the size of nature spread of billions of light years and it's existence for billions of years. This thought itself was very humbling. The "i" in the self, has no separate existence. This is where one contemplates and realises that there is no "self" in the word "self realization".  Its only a realization! One only has to ponder in silence to realise this profound insight. Peaceful time with nature, un disturbed, thoughtless, gets these insights automatically. Reading about them is one thing, but experiencing it is another.

Another interesting fact about the trees is that it's under attack by a type of beetle. When that happens, the tree stops taking nutrients from the soil, making it available for other trees, and the tree dies. We saw hundreds of such dead trees, black in colour, lining the road.

It is only in humans that we try to prolong life to the maximum possible, even when it's a drain on the resources, even when there is no hope of recovery, even if the body of old and sick. Giving up on ones life voluntarily needs extreme clarity and courage, which is possible only with inner clarity. There are established processes of fasting and slowly reducing the body energy to the point, it can not sustain anymore. Veer sawarakar did it when he knew that he had nothing more to contribute.

"Savarkar was of the belief that an old aged body which was of no use to serve the nation or society must instead of prolonging bedridden life practice renunciation and slowly move towards Samadhi. Savarkar left his mortal body at age 83 when he was ill and old by step by step renouncing first medicines, then food and then water".

Taken from internet sources.

Day 4:

Bus ride:

The bus drivers here are very lively and they sure know how to keep someone listening with life stories, jokes, information, directions, safety guidelines and more. 

One of them Sarah is an artist and is here for 15 plus years... She has her own online presence.

https://www.rainingjoyarts.com/allcategories

Explore and order from her!

Some of the words of wisdom from them are

1. Alaska steals a part of you forever, when you come here.

2. In alaska, you don't see a painting. You are "in" the painting.

3. In alaska you discover things about yourself, which you otherwise would not have.

Most of the people who worked here, came here for some time, a while ago, some came decades back and just stayed over. 

One surprising thing here is to see people past 60 working, active, driving, full of life. Sometime to learn from. Age of just a number? Come and see them to believe them! They are absolutely enjoying their work, whether it is driving a bus or a business! 

Meeting Tony:

As i explored the various small shops in Denali lodge, i can across a nice shop with a gentleman, Tony who owned it. I found the articles, paintings, photographs etc in the shop very interesting. As we discussed, tony described his life prior to taking over this store, his plans for future and so on. He is visiting India next year and I am looking forward to his visit.

Tony suggested i get a small mammoth ivory pendant, something which is over 20,000 years old and a special object originating from alaska. After searching from a few, got one, with dark texture and irregular lines, (which would eventually match to the pattern left behind by the ship in the sea, as it sailed through!) Mammoth Ivory is related to elephants, which is symbol of lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. So it made even more sense to get the pendant. Instead of a white one, i chose a dark one, which has absorbed the soil, the earth element, related to the first - root chakra and lord Ganesha. 

By the river:

As I sat with my eyes open while others went away to the room, absorbing the sound of the river flowing next to our lodge (a serious understatement, this should actually be called a resort) we spotted a moose which was drinking water a few minutes back. Here is a video taken.

Meditation happens, it's not done:

My shakhnaad guru yogesh and many others had mentioned that meditation is not done. It happens. This is where it actually happens very easily as you are in the lap of pure and powerful nature. Just sitting, not focusing on anything, anyone, no chanting, no breath work, no mudras, no asanas, no bandhas, no focus on any chakra. Just sitting.. Just listening to anahata naada within. No thoughts, no mind, no time, no past, no future, just the present. 

To get to this state, you can use any of the 112 methods of bhairav tantra.

https://o-meditation.com/shivas-112-meditation-techniques-vigyan-bhairav-tantra/

There is no 113th one. The one I have anchored on is the anahata naada based om sound.

Day 5 onwards: 

Reaching the ship

The journey to Whittier goes through a single lane tunnel, something which I have never seen before. The tunnel is shared with a railway and a road traffic! A first of its kind. This time, we had a huge land mass above us! Not to worry, we were told.. Even in the biggest earthquake of alaska, this tunnel suffered only minor damages...hats off to the engineers. Here is a video of us traveling in the tunnel...i wonder if a baby before being born has a similar experience? Dark, dimly lit, connected, hopeful? 

On the princess cruise ship:

We start the cruise and wear a medallion. Its a all in one dongle that allows you to purchase, track locations, coupled with the dedicated princess app. Something that will trigger a new product idea soon for one of our businesses!

We have a cabin with a balcony facing the sea! An ideal place to just chill and relax. Away from land, this has the same effect as being at the height. Added effect of the subtle rocking motion, it is one of the methods of vigyan bhairav tantra, to realise the true self, beyond the (i) self... Will sit in the balcony and check this out.

Could not sit for long here due to the chill, wind and occasional rain! Finding another spot...

The cruise ship is a representation of life itself. Many levels, many packages, some free, some paid! Most of the people here on the cruise are old couples. Most of them will not be around after a decade or two. That is what life is about. Just observing people on the cruise, is an enriching experience on study of human behaviour.

Had a wonderful instrumental music session from musicians from ukraine...

The anahata naada provides the base on which the music plays. Blessed are those who understand, love and play music. Its the closest, one can get to the supreme consciousness.

Very quiet

The one thing I noticed in North America countryside is the absolute quiet. There are simply not enough people to create any external noise here. A trek, a walk in the woods, or simply staring at the river, Lake or the sea is sufficient. There is no other noise, making it very easy to connect to anahanta naada, and once you connect, the thoughts stop, a mindless state, leading to meditation, on it's own.

Had a majestic view of the special lounge on the uppermost deck. But too cold to sit here right now in the morning. 

To compensate for the over eating that's happening, settled for a fruit breakfast! 

Met Savio and Malik, both from Goa, who are taking care of the guests here at the bars and casino... Being greeted in Hindi, was a pleasant surprise. We even got masala chai! 

A walk on the outer part of the deck took us to the back side... What a view... Amazing. Endless water to the horizon... With a stream created by our ship. Just watching it... One can stand here for hours. 

We saw a few glaciers from the cruise, some being the largest in alaska and Canada. An amazing view with small ice blocks floating in the bay. There was a baby seal on one of them. With mama seal going to hunt for food around...a rare but interesting sight. 

The common point is glaciers are receding and water levels are rising. Some have receded by miles in the last two hundred years. Looking at the smaller time frame, it correlates to global warming. But looking at the larger times frame, sea levels are rising from thousands of years, without any global warming! This happens as the last ice age ends and temperatures slowly rise. The city of dwarka got submerged in a similar ocen rise event. Nilesh oak has correlated this in one of his videos. 

https://youtu.be/zi2Pz_ZsLnM?si=koHVzUrVMi6AUFV7

The animal life is all about eating, sleeping, mating and surviving!

We humans have the 4 parts of the mind, the identity, intellect, emotions and memory, to explore the self within by doing beyond the 4 basic instincts. Its time, we made the most of it! 

One of the most interesting cabin doors with many stickers on it...how creative and fun, and easy to recognise, especially when you are walking, passing many identical looking doors, looking for your cabin! 

An interesting and fun experience is a tub bath on the ship...the gentle rocking motion is something you will never get in a home or an hotel! The tiny shifts in the water level, the humming vibrations, make it unique experience.

Train ride in skagway:

A mini train took us all the way from the port to the top of the mountains! Amazing ride in the snow, waterfalls, greenery, the rocking motion of the train. Standing between two compartments was the best! A Freezing cold outside, a super cold railing to hold on to, cold air as i inhaled, Water vapour condensing while exhaling! 

Unlimited food and drinks:

On the ship, the food and drinks are unlimited. When you are in this situation, initially you indulge, usually beyond the limit, your body can take and then a realization comes, that it's so easily available and within reach, so automatically the desire to have, to consume, to over do, goes down. In fact after this trip, i am looking forward to intermittent fasting.

Rock and roll on the ship: 

We passed a storm for a day in the ship. The ship was moving from side to side with all open decks closed. This was a unique experience too with just 5 metre waves in the sea!

Call to action: 

Spend time in nature, away from the city, away from the crowd, if possible at a height in the mountains, or near the north pole, and just be with yourself.

Himalayas calling: 

Himalyas are calling and we are off to a trip by samyama foundation soon to Kashmir in July 24. There is a strong pull to be in Himalayas for longer time and more frequently. This year, being the start, with the retreat at kasauli which happened in April 24.