I became ‘one’ Lifeschool Message

PUNE, India - May 21, 2013 - PRLog -- Dearest Darling Readers,

It was a dream come true. I decided to go to Rishikesh for river water rafting. The glorious 26 km journey traverses one of the most beautiful and breathtaking landscapes in the Himalayas. I registered for two expeditions with a gap of three days between them.

The first expedition was led by “Col Ranjeet”, an ex-army man with fantastic rafting experience. He had many stories to tell of testing times and stellar courage in his experiences covering 15 + years on this very mighty Ganges. Listening to how he had ‘tamed’ ferocious rapids was very comforting.

The day of my arrival was ‘invested’ in getting to know fellow team members. We did warm up exercises and mock paddle strokes. We played some games for co-ordination to develop a sense of team.

Strokes had to be mastered. Discipline of following commands without question was essential. We were told, this discipline could be the difference between life and death.

In the boiling fury of the roaring river, there would be no room for any mistake.

Next day, we began slowly, co-coordinating our raft with the romantic pace of the river. In the face of an unexpected twirl or sudden surprise, Col Ranjeet’s voice thundered above the roar of the water. Instant reactions followed. Failing to do so, we were severely reprimanded.

Our minds were convinced that we had to ‘tame’ the wild Ganges. We had to triumph the’ face-off’.

In every rapid, in every challenge, in every surprise, in every damning situation, we fought against the Ganges and we defeated it. The screamed commands of Col Ranjeet were matched by the power of our paddles, as we took the raft exactly where Col Ranjeet wanted it to go, the way he wanted it to go. Nothing less than this was acceptable.

At the end of the journey, our bodies were tired, our spirits were on a high. I do not know about the others but I felt like a gladiator who has defeated his ferocious enemy. I had won.

We proved that we were superior. We felt powerful and good. I had this incredible feeling of mystery and majesty that is normally associated to royalty. I felt like one.

After three days, I again went for wild water rafting. That day, in my walk, there was a little arrogance. The leader on this journey was a very serene, soft spoken young lad called Jai.

The noise of the rapids will drown his voice, I thought. I was already missing Col Ranjeet.

As we approached the first rapid, Jai did not even attempt to raise his voice. He did not attempt to bulldoze us or to pump us up. I was confused and concerned. I was beginning to believe, this will be a waste of an experience….

Jai did not attempt to command us or the river. Gently and quietly he understood the mood of river Ganges. He watched the ‘cannot be missed’ big rapids and every little whirlpool. He watched them with ‘respect’. He ‘felt’ the river Ganges. There was no melodrama, no shouting, no iron discipline, no chest thumping. There was no contest to be won. There was no one to defeat. Jai was in love with river Ganges.

We maneuvered through rapids with grace and delight, feeling heart throbbing beauty. After a few hours, every rapid was an invitation to friendship and the river had become our friend. I cannot say I ‘won’ Ganges, but, I can certainly say I became ‘one’ with Ganges.

A feeling of completeness replaced the earlier tension of winning and defeating. Laughter and jokes flowed freely. Naughtiness and twinkle in the eyes made us more alive.

Soon the serene Jai was allowing interested rafters to take turns as raft leaders. A quiet nod from Jai was enough to draw attention to things and sights our lack of experience prevented us from seeing.

When we made mistakes, we saw it as an addition to the collection of heroics. Then, it was the next person’s turn to make a fool of themselves.

At the end of the experience, each one of us had overcome something within ourselves.

It is so ironical, the external circumstances of the two journeys were identical. The difference was in the outlook and the purpose.

Isn’t the story of life, similar?

With loads of love, prayers and best wishes,

Narendra Goidani

As I Live, I learn.