Bhutan Diaries-1

A trip to Bhutan cleared up a lot of myths for me. This small Himalayan kingdom has made happiness a way of life. They are happy with the life they lead.  In our daily life, materialistic things, deadlines, the stress level, a desire to achieve, acquire, to attain and to covet more and more drive us. It is how we have become. However, the pace in this tiny country is driven by simple pleasure and contentment .Its amazing that how a country in the last thirty years has changed its thought process in unity to happiness; where the goal is to preserve its culture traditions, its roots and to replace the economic structure with happiness.

We these days use emoticons to denote, happiness and to show our pleasure all the time but we do we ever understand what it means? To transform oneself, de colonizes to change the mindset in such a way to completely then surrender to the way of life as said by the masters. For them, happiness is in every action, in every breath and the way they are humble to every living being, be it a human or nature.

It is this what makes them truly successful. The air is slow, serene and the pace is soothing taking us through its motions. We were a group of 13, an unlucky number for some but lucky for us and at the Cheri Monastery where when one prays and asks for a wish it is granted. But, the beauty was the way when the monk explained why we fold our hands, and bring them first to the forehead, then to our lips and then to the middle of our body, followed by prostrating on the floor with hands splashed wide open on the floor.

He said we first fold our hands to the middle of the forehead as we center our wish to the mind and focus on it clearly and succinctly. Then  we bring the folded hands to our lips, putting the wish into words and forming the sentences and lastly we draw our hands to the middle of our body , where lies the life force, the soul that resides in us.

I found this whole explanation so simple, so beautiful and it was as if all the pieces of the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle were falling in place. Why are we not ever taught this? Why is religion kept apart from us, to be in formal structure lines, to scare, to intimidate?

The inner secret is to have it a part of us in daily motion. And, it manifests in all big and small things.