Jambudweepe, Dakshina Parve, Bharatha Khande, Bharath Varshe
Our Sankalpa Mantra offers clear evidence of India - this sacred subcontinent’s presence in ancient Vedic consciousness. India's landscape has always been interwoven with energy and spirituality. We worship everything that has form and also the formless. This land has always been sacred, featured prominently in our ancient texts. The mountains, the rivers, deserts, and oceans each holding significant sanctity and corresponding ritual of worship and reverence. What’s fascinating is that, it doesn't end with landscapes alone. The factors that shape them - climate, tides, eclipses are equally revered. The confluence of landscape and season manifests as festivals, pilgrimages, and congregations of spiritual study. Mountains as sites of penance and pilgrimage; rivers embody flow and compassion , honoured during the monsoon; a distant forest illuminated by a single flame in winter, all carry a story. As you ready this, each likely reminds you of a particular place - Kedar Badri Yatra, Aadi Perukku, or the Sabarimala Makara Jyothi. Across this land, the cycles of nature and devotion make India perpetually festive.

Reading the land as scripture - the essence of Vedanta.
We do not separate Bhu (the Earth, the form) from Brahman (the cosmos, the formless). India’s natural and cultural geography reveals the eternal Vedantic truth - the union of the form and the formless. Through this series, let us explore the sacred geography of festive India. Let us journey together into these landscapes: physical, mythical, and inner , to understand how the land itself teaches Vedanta.

Mountains
When we think of spiritual India, we cannot help but think of the Himalayas - The stillness, the majesty, beauty of this mystic landform. It towers tall yet holds the deepest truths that invite us to look inward. From my many Himalayan trekking experiences, I've learned that the Himalayas are not just mountains - they are a profound journey of humility and gratitude. Not a tourist spot, but a reward for those who attempt the climb. With every ascending step, we detach something thats binding. It’s a journey from longing to embracing. What you believed was important begins to seem insignificant. It is no wonder that sages sought liberation here. And it's not just the Himalayas, there are sacred mountains across India: Tirumala, Tiruvannamalai, Sabarimala. These mountains are profound lessons in letting go. Whether it's the climb at Tirupathi, the Girivalam at Tiruvannamalai, or the treacherous climb to Sabarimala ; each journey tests endurance only to elevate consciousness. These mountains teach us to slowly untie the threads that bind us to this material world. We feel truly rewarded at the end of the journey. The physical reward mirrors a spiritual awakening.

Harvest
This mountain journey mirrors the symbolism of Makar Sankranti. Marked as a harvest festival and celebrated across India. Throughout the year, farmers toil the soil. Immense physical and mental labour goes into agriculture in this country, a deeply sacred activity. The seeds are worshiped, as is the water nourishing them, the cattle plowing and enriching the soil, and the soil itself as Bhumi Mata.

The Mountain and the Harvest: Parallel Paths
Just as the mountain rewards endurance, the land rewards effort. “You reap what you sow”, not only in fields but in consciousness. Every human being who takes the path of self-awareness is always rewarded. If you thought climbing mountains and growing crops were mere worldly activities, think again. These are fruits of your mind's work. They may manifest as physical activities, but both are journeys of self-realization To climb, to cultivate, to awaken - these are all one movement toward Sat Chit Ananda. You are not separate from the mountain or the crop.

You are the mountain. You are the crop.

Ayam Ātmā Brahma.

In the next part of this series, we will explore rivers as pathways of flow and compassion.
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