Wander

We took some time to do some exploring in the small city where we are staying. It began with something really crazy. A drive to the top of one of the mountains that surrounds Surkhet valley where we are staying. 

To the Right is the mountain we drove up. The picture is taken from the roof of the small hotel /hostel we are staying in.

At first the road was they typical bad road that I have come to expect in this rural western Nepali region but as we went further and further up the mountain the road went from typical bad to unbelievably bad to "are we sure this is even meant for a car?" kind of bad. 

When we finally arrived at the summit, I took a minute to get my stomach out of my throat, then proceeded to hike around and see the sights. There were some small shops, and by shops I mean small huts with a few things for sale in them. 

It is a sheer drop from the top of this part of the mountain to the valley floor. When the updrafts are right thrill seeking hang gliders will launch from up here.

A short trail around the top gave us great views of Surkhet Valley which has become the new district and provincial capital so there have been a lot of construction and improvement projects in the works which means the roads are a mess, only short sections are paved.

We explored around the summit area for a while and began the stomach wrenching drive 

back down to the base of the mountain. After a short drive and time for recovery we made to a Hindu temple and worship area. The Deuti Bajai Mandir is the most well known Temple in Surkhet. There is a specially dedicated area for offerings to be made by the foot impressions of Shiva on a rock. 

This Shrine complex to Shiva (inside) is a hub of Hindu worship and religious activity at certain times of the year.

I am not sure what people offer to Shiva but I can tell you the flies really appreciated the offerings.There was one priestess there helping people with their offerings. There were also to women who were washing out one of the shrines. I suppose even the gods need baths 

once in a while. It is interesting that there are candles lit on the side of the shrine symbolic of prayers like Catholics do, and there are bells towards the front for prayers like the Buddhists. It seems that religious activity is religious activity no matter where you go. It is like... pick a religion, light a candle, say the right words and hope someone is listening.

After the Hindu temple we took a stroll through a park which was really a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the dusty roads and angry horns of vehicles trying to tell you to get out of the way so they could get by. It was about as close to zen as I have come on this trip.

Bulbul Lake is one of the bright spots in this dusty city. It was recently cleaned and renovated and now seems to be a hub for teens to hang out.

We walked around appreciated a few moments of quiet and serenity and headed out for the last part of our excursion. The site we were headed to next is perhaps one of the oldest if not thee oldest touristy site in Surkhet. A little slice of history is what I really love.

This Buddhist temple or perhaps shrine is better is called Kakre Bihar. It is a Hindu-Buddhist Temple Near Birendranagar city where we are staying. Kakre Bihar has a shaped like the seed of a cucumber so it is called Kakre bihar. The Nepali word 

for cucumber is Kakro. The stones of what remains are strewn around the site and you can see by walking around that they are recreating the intricate designs of the broken stones so that each piece can be replicated and replaced.

This temple is believed to be built on 12th century by a famous king who fell in love with the Surkhet Valley. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1866. Form what I can tell reconstruction this has been a very long process beginning back in the 1980s.

There is a somber beauty that surrounds this place. Almost like walking through a graveyard that even though it looks like it is falling apart you know there is some very old even ancient significance and presence to it. I wonder what it was like 500 years ago to walk the steps to this temple. I wonder how people felt as they approached its imposing size. Perhaps like the Europeans as they approach the Gothic Cathedrals of the middle ages - and still today. 

I suppose this is what religions do. They build massive and impressive structures hoping these structures will impress the God or gods they revere and honor. Religion wants to remind you how small you are compared to the greatness of the deity to which it points. They tell you this is where you have to go to worship your god so that when you get there you can't help but think how small you are when thinking about this god.

What would be really impressive is if one of those gods or God lived as a human so that they knew what it was like to suffer and experience pain and loss rather than just imposing their will all the time. Is that too much to ask? Hmmmm

Just a Meandering Thought...

SUMMIT

About a Week ago I hiked up my favorite mountain in the North East, Mount Adams. It is not high compared to the mountains you read about in magazines, or see in news reports but it is an intense mountain. The reason I like it is because along with being the second highest peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and part of the Presidential Range it is the only one that comes to a "pointy" summit. At 5,799 feet it peaks about 1,200 feet above treeline which means that the last mile or so of the hike is very exposed to the elements. As we approached the summit my comrades and I experienced winds sustained at about 60 to 70 miles per hour. What added a mystical element to our experience was that once we emerged from the trees we were above the clouds... yeah the skies were "under-cast" where we were. As the sun set it lit up the clouds. It was beautiful. What some people don't realize is that these mountains are some of the most dangerous in the U.S. The reason is because many people under estimate the conditions there in the Whites. Until a recent cyclone off the coast of Australia, the fastest wind speeds in the surface of the earth had been recorded in the Presidential Range.

As I stood there braced against the wind and biting cold on the "Airline" ridge I thought for a moment that there have been very few people who have stood where I was standing and have seen the view that I was seeing. Then I looked at a sign post and was reminded why so few people make that hike in the middle of winter to experience was I was experiencing. The high winds and extreme cold temperatures create ice formations like this one. What does it take to have experiences like this one. What does it take to have an experience that so few people have? The Answer is quite simple, by going where so few people go. By being willing to do what so few others are willing to do. By doing something difficult, that takes some effort, perhaps to the point of exhaustion.

One of the writers of the New Testament, Paul, writes about how perseverance will bring about character. "...we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4. So few people are interested in Character these days so few people persevere. Anything that involves our own sweat or effort or sacrifice is the sort of thing we put effort into avoiding. We would rather have someone else do it for us. The only draw back to that approach is that whoever does the work eventually gets to enjoy reward, or in my case the view at the top. Whoever perseveres gets the character growth. Not always right away but in the end your efforts catch up with you. No one can grow your relationship with God other than you. No one can put in the effort and get results for you other than you.

I could have sent some one else to the summit of Mount Adams and had them take pictures all the way, but I would not have seen it for myself, I would not have felt the wind on my face, or touched the snow laden branches with my own hands. I would have to settle for pictures. The real thing is so much better yet many times we settle for a two dimensional experience rather than a four dimensional experience. It is four dimensions because the real thing involves time and space, whereas three dimensions only involve space. The real thing with God is the kind of thing that can only really be experienced in person; temporally and specially. We cannot do it through someone else, not even our parents our friends, our religious leaders, or anyone else. Doing that takes personal character, to get character we must learn from and work through difficult circumstances. In order to learn and grow we must experience difficult circumstances... kind of like trying to stand up straight in 60 to 70 mile an hour winds.

So if you find yourself there, in difficult circumstances, and wishing you were somewhere else, like anyone would, hang in there, keep going, persevere. The view farther ahead is most certainly worth it.

Just a thought...