A Wanderer’s Sermon – Words of Wisdom at Unlikeliest of Places
As it is said, “A man gains no wisdom before he is dealt his winters in the world“.
I was touring Kanatal, a high-altitude village in Uttarakhand when this happened.
Kanatal is a quaint hill station surrounded by apple orchards and has several homestays that offer organic food and a glimpse of rustic life.
Walk along narrow and serpentine roads amidst fragrant pine, deodar and rhododendron forests, as you bond with nature.
I chanced upon a man – a wanderer whose name I do not know because I didn’t ask and he never told me. He was crouched on the roadside where I was attempting to park my car.
He ignored us who arrived in a fancy car, and sat in his meditation, or he was maybe chanting his mantras quietly.
Sadhu, or such holy men, survive in the Himalayas through a combination of spiritual practices, resourcefulness, and the support of local communities.
They often rely on alms given by local villagers, forage for food in the wild, and practice meditation and yoga to maintain mental and physical strength.
So I was encouraged to buy him some tea and bread and he gladly accepted and started savouring them in peace.
He appeared to be an itinerant, someone who wanders from place to place with no permanent home.
Worn out with age and perhaps doped on sage (metaphorically said, I meant cannabis), he sat on the highway with a chillum in his hand.
His worldly possessions were limited to a small bag (potli), the chillum and a walking stick. His most prized possession seemed to be his little chillum (a pipe) and his sadhu-like hair – something like the Naga sadhus wear on their heads.
As I got along talking to the wanderer, it was amazing to see how simple life can be explained to be.
Practising it is where the challenge is. The old gent summarised life’s entire lesson in a few minutes. The moot point is that “humans can do what they want” but “they should not do wrong“.
During the chat, a piece that wasn’t recorded was his self-proclamation that he was well educated – M.Com & MBA.
Maybe he was seeking peace, perhaps he was seeking a destination – that is something I’ll never know of.
I am sure he had his share of complaints too. To become a wanderer like that must have had its serious reasons.
Because, as I moved away he started grunting in anger as if he didn’t get a fair chance at life. I got him some tea and refreshments from Rana’s store in Kanatal with which he seemed a little contended.
I never saw the man again during my short stay there. However, I did wonder where the winds of change drifted him to.
Having said this, I am sure that the wanderer in him continues to wander. In the meantime, you have a look at what he had to say.
