Tryst With Reality

Today is April 28 2020. Most of the world is under lockdown, trying to cope up with the coronavirus pandemic. I have been wondering since past few weeks about how life has suddenly changed so much. The whole world today is talking about nature and how we humans have been abusing it for our own selfish interest. We are also now forced to look within and muster all the strength possible by invoking our spiritual beliefs.

I cannot help but think about the same day in 2017 i.e. April 28 2017. On this very day in 2017, I was amongst the snow-clad mountains in Gangotri and it was the opening of Gangotri temple after 6 months, which also marks the beginning of ‘chota char dham’ yatra. Vishal, my college friend and I had been on an unplanned backpacking trip since April 19 2017. We have had an amazing journey so far. We had travelled by local transport, stayed in ashrams, took dips in the holy river Ganga, unexpectedly met some sages/mystics and had some divine and transcendental experiences.

I am really short on words to describe the stark contrast in the situation in 2017 and now in 2020. While I cannot go to any place outside my own house at this point in time, I can always relive the memories of my journey to the Himalayas, which can help me find some answers about how I want to lead my life post the pandemic. Vishal has put together our experiences of those 15 days in a beautiful way in his book, ‘Tryst with Reality’ – a destined journey towards self-realisation. The foreward of the book, written by Dr. Gaurang Patel, a physiotherapist, says: “Tryst with Reality, gives the reader a chance to revive the true sense of existence and adventure that has gradually faded in our urban sophisticated lifestyle.” In the current situation, I find this so relevant. I would genuinely suggest all of you to read ‘Tryst with Reality’ during these tough times and explore the possibilities in which the universe can help us. As Vishal says in the book, “The most important thing we did during those 15 days was - we allowed. We allowed things to just happen to us by keeping our hearts and minds open to recognise, understand and appreciate the many ways in which the universe was conspiring for us.”

I sincerely hope you take my suggestion and read ‘Tryst with Reality’. You will surely feel as if you are travelling with us and experiencing the amazing Himalayas. If you are in India, you can get it on Kindle on the

https://www.amazon.in/Tryst-Reality-Vishal-Bhavsar/dp/9353114616

And if you are in the US, you can get it on the following link;

https://www.amazon.com/Tryst-Reality-destined-journey-self-realization-ebook/dp/B082HYND84

I am leaving all of you with some images of April 28 2017 just to give you an idea of how beautiful our lives can be only if we decide to take the right decisions going forward.