Beas Kund – The Sacred Pool

After a relaxing trip to East Himachal I headed up North to Solang Nala, and I knew at once I had found my home. The epic Himalayan snowcapped mountains I had been looking for were right in front of my eyes. Khema, the owner of the guest house, told me about a trek to Beas Kund, the sacred pool where Rishi Vyasa had bathed in and done his meditation everyday. Through the shakti of his practice, from the pool emerged the sacred river Beas which now enervates Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Beas is thought to be a corruption of the older name Vipasa in Sanskrit. The river got this name, Vi-pasa, the one who removed the bondage or pasa in Sanskrit), according to a myth related to sage Vasistha. Vasistha, tried to commit suicide due to the death of his son, Sakthi, by jumping into this river after tying himself with knots. But as soon as the sage fell into the river, all the knots got untied and he could not die. So suffice to say, that this river is full of blessings from the rishis themselves. 

 

Ready for my trek! The way to Beas Kund is long and tiring. And like any good trekker I made sure to leave bright and early…by 9am haha! We were told it would take us a total of 7-8 hours, depending on our speed. Tired to begin with, I knew I had to muster an enormous amount of strength to get to Beas Kund, and of course to find my way back!

And yes, I am wearing a ski jacket. Although warm that day, being up in the mountains I often donned my thermals!

My trekking partner Bani, leading the way through the meadows. Even though we left fairly late for such a trek, we still managed to make excellent time.

Met some nice folks along the way….

The animals relaxing in the meadow…I swear that guy winked at me. The bovines and sheep in the Himalayas are cut from a different cloth. Peaceful creatures, they teach us how to simply be with nature. And when you are in nature that is purely mythic, you cannot help be humbled!

 

This picture up top is in my Top 3 – It literally looks like I am photoshopped in. And yes, those are real mountains – trust me, they are a lot bigger than even that. Most of the mountains around here are above 20,ooo feet. Surprisingly my lungs felt better in this air, and my stamina astounded even me! Trekking here allowed me to pay even more homage to the diaphragmatic breath – best thing you could ever learn in yoga!

We had to traverse some unsteady boulders to get to our destination….rather a whole field of boulders!! And the paths here aren’t like the U.S., nicely marked with white diamonds on trees….you have to use a little more of your brain than that! Good thing I had Bani with me, I was seriously considering going alone!

Even in June, there are large glaciers, stoic in the mountain-scape… We had to cross this huge one to get closer to our destination

 

 

Bani taking a well-deserved rest amidst the gorgeous landscape. Huge boulders flanked by sharp cutting mountains – now I think I have a better understanding of what nature truly was before we came and ruined Her.

 

 

 

 

Ah yes – here in the Himalayas, these are the trail markers…small rocks piled on top of each other, waiting for the trained eye to pick them out amongst 1000s of rocks…

 

 

 

 

We had to climb this huge steep ridge to get to the other side, by Beas Kund. Here we are at the top, if there was sound you could hear us trying to catch our breath as we take in the majesty. A small flag waves in the wind, marking a small accomplishment…

 

 

 

 

Here are my feet, frozen and purple…after trekking for three hours, we came across a large barren field covered with rocks and tiny tributaries that would eventually form the Beas River. Not tiny enough, however, to skip across. After removing my shoes and socks, I walked across freezing cold waters to get closer to my destination. And just imagine – water just melted from the snow tops of the mountains, the first source – that is how cold it was.

 

  

 

Now this waterfall was very close to the ridge I climbed, and I thought YAY!! we have reached Beas Kund…but no, we still had to traverse the entire valley across to get there, far off in the distance, another waterfall…I was ready to pass out from hunger (no i didn’t eat) so I ravenously inhaled one of my cucumber  and tomato sandwiches, and i told myself, just a little bit more…strength comes easy in the Himalayas, harder to muster that here in the world as we know it

 

 

 

 

What would a pilgrimage to a sacred site be without one of Shiva’s protectors looking over us?! He came and lounged as we fell asleep, letting the earth and this spiritual space give us more energy for the way back! OK maybe he was there for the sandwiches…

 

 

 

 

This is the view looking from Beas Kund across that barren field to the mountain range on the other side…I wish I could convey to you the absolute HUGE-ness of it all…

 

 

Here is this beautiful range, placed up against the snowy peaks…I found myself squinting at all the little dots on the mountain, so I zoomed in with my new digital cam…

 

 

SHEEP!! THAT is how big…now do you have an idea of the scale? I felt like I needed proof to convey to those back home…

 

 

There I am!! Don’t I look like a serious mountaineer? Ok maybe not yet, but I still felt pretty damn good. Bani and I didn’t want to leave this spot it was so magical…

 

 

Now here is the view on the other side…Beas Kund…the water was a crystalline blue and there was such a sense of stillness and peace here. While we rested at our destination, many pilgrims came to give their blessings to the sages and Hanumanji, who is also connected with this special place…

 

 

On our way back now…

I LOVE this picture…human and the grandeur of nature…some of these pictures bring me directly back to the very feeling i felt when i was there…

 

 

Mmmm  gorgeous greens of the meadow – I am humbled…

 

 

Sigh

 

 

 

 

So I tried to capture all of the seven sister peaks here, but I think I may only have 5 1/2!! Seven is a very auspicious number and although I don’t quite know the story behind these sister peaks, I can only conjecture that they are somehow related to the Saptarishi, the seven all-knowing all-pervading sages that govern the balance of the world…any other ideas are welcome!

 

 

Mountains, clouds, all that good stuff…

 

 

The perfect return to the perfect day – beauty and bliss in nature, coupled with the setting sun in the meadow…

 

 

Hey! we just saw your origin!! Nothing like seeing the seed and its fruit…

 

 

No wonder the people in Himachal are peaceful and happy…it is so easy to be spiritual here, try taking that back to the streets of the dirty city…that is why practice is so important!

 

 

The sun is setting and everything is right in the world…that is how you feel when you are in a place like this, experiencing the fruition of something so much bigger than your tiny little self and ego…but at the same time, your higher Self is nourished and expanded by the beauty, the breath, and the essence of this place…

You know, every time I was belittled by the beauty of nature, I was blessed to see and experience something so exquisitely beautiful in an whole another realm – from here follows Spiti…truly an alien planet