In my ongoing ‘decluttering’ journey, I have decided to clean my blog as well. I have started a process of sorting through old blogs and will be keeping only those pieces which speak something significant to me. There is a lot of stuff in this space that I am no longer able to connect with or really care for. Life has moved on in the past 6 years since I started this blog, and my writing too has changed – or rather the need to write or express has also undergone a shift.
In other words, I am trying to slowly give a new form to the blog, by cutting out the outer redundancy and keeping the spirit with which this blog was started.
So as I sort through the old write-ups I will periodically re-blog some of those which still speak to me, which still help me see those parts in me that were behind what was expressed through the words.
Sometimes the old write-ups that are worth keeping will be slightly re-presented or re-oriented. Sometimes they will be rewritten entirely. Sometimes two or three write-ups will be combined to make a larger more coherent narrative. Sometimes they will be expanded into larger essays. This will be a slow process. There is no hurry, new forms evolve over time. I wish to reconnect with what I had written say 6 years ago in a meaningful way.
This process actually started with the last two posts on the blog. Today I continue with this post.
Browsing through some pictures from our trip to Ellora Caves seven years ago caught my attention. These pictures started to speak of a little story. A story of discovery. Finding a path, leading to a way, unearthing of a road. Road to another discovery, another search, another seeking.
All outer journeys are indeed journeys taken on the inside. Or can be. Or should be.
Why the title ‘unearthing the path’? This is inspired by the way the Kailasha temple at Ellora Caves was carved…from inside out. Sort of like the path we must travel if we want to truly be ourselves, starting from within.
Let the pictures now tell of such an inner journey.
Want to know where to begin? Enter the cave.
Don’t let the passageway be the end. Continue.
Trust that you are protected by higher forces.
If you must pause, pause to take in the grandeur and beauty of the road unearthed by those before you.
Be mindful of others walking their own paths, alone but nearby.
Do not be discouraged by the hurdles on the path to the inner chamber.
For a long time she simply stood there, outside the cave, unsure of herself, weak in mind and heart, going over and over in her little head — should I enter this cave, or should I go back and forget all about this, what should I do, who can guide me?
What will I find there if I enter, will it all be dark and gloomy and scary, will there be some deeply hidden secret stuff that I would rather not discover, will I be able to accept whatever it is I find inside the cave?
What if I am stuck there and can’t find my way out of that darkness, who will I call upon for help to rescue me, who can I rely upon, who, who, who?
****
After what seemed to her ages, she felt she heard a very soft, almost-inaudible voice, a voice which seemed to be coming from nowhere, or perhaps from somewhere within her, a voice that seemed to be saying – “how else will you find the diamond if you don’t enter the cave?”
As if this was the cue she had been waiting for all this time…she not only found the courage to start the journey into what at first sight appeared to be a dark cave, but as she continued to go deeper and deeper and deeper, that same sweet voice coming from somewhere deep inside her also became her constant companion and the source of Light, assuring her that one day she will find the shining diamond, within.
If you find a guide, let it be someone who sets you free to chart your own path.
Be grateful for the little glimpses of beauty and truth along the way.
Keep walking, keep walking.
Value the details, but don’t get lost in them.
Feeling a bit lost? Get re-acquainted with the path.
As many times as it takes. Start again.
See your old footprints? Take their help.
Or make new. Keep walking.
Photos: Suhas Mehra (matriwords)
(All rights reserved)
Beauty Interprets, Expresses, Manifests the Eternal 
I remember reading this post and enjoying the great clicks, not to forget the pithy captions, but wonder how I missed commenting! Or has WP eaten my comment, as it sometimes does? This inner to outer journey is so vital to our growth as humans, to reach out to the Higher Power. Thanks for sharing again, thereby bringing me here!
Thanks for sharing your comment again 🙂 Don’t remember seeing your comment earlier, but am happy I shared this post again. I so wish to go back and experience Ellora again, esp the Kailasha temple.