Working in the Indian IT Industry is a tough and stressful job. The Stress quadruples if you are in the IT sales profile of an Indian MNC. This stress paves way for an important ingredient that your body keeps craving for i.e. Nicotine and Alcohol. For some people the spirits pump up in on the evenings of a Friday when you get to get to hit your favourite Pub/Bar and gulp down spirits to a level that your being in this world makes no more sense and you are filled with a high that some also tend to refer to as ‘Solace’. I was no different as I worked in this highly competitive industry as a person who was trying to make a name for himself in the society and it the eyes of my beloved parents!
I did have many friends who refrained from these deadly habits of Nicotine and Spirits (why not they worked in a happy 9 to 6 environment bearing tags of IT consultants with no stress of the daily morning sales calls) and who kept questioning me with one simple question – why do you smoke? Now trust me, no one has a bang on answer to this question! ‘Why do I smoke?!’ Well my answer was ‘It brings peace to my mind and I feel relaxed’! Lame as it may sound, but enough to get rid of the silly question put to you over and over again!
One fine day I quit my job and I started to pursue my passion – to travel and to write about the places I visit. This passion of mine transformed into a business interest and I set up my own tiny venture on tourism and handicrafts of North East India named ‘Jungleideas’. All set and done but the habit of Nicotine still refused to let out of my system and I continued to be a victim of this abuse for a while until one day I found a way of bringing peace to mind and feeling relaxed in a much better way. This was my day at the International Meditation Center at the Mounglang Khamti Buddhist Monastery.
As the saying goes ‘Whatever happens.. Happens for good’, in my quest to explore the undiscovered lands of the State of Assam, I happened to stop by at this Monastery in the remote village of Mounglang near the Ledo-Jagun road at Ledo. This Monastery is under the able guidance of a holy man known as ‘Bhante Baba’ to the common. I had heard about this Holy man from my parents and few of my close friends many a time. The ‘Bhante Baba’ is a knowledgeable person with a tranquil personality that draws respect from all sections of people of the region. His blessed ‘stone’ is very popular and many of the people of Assam adorn this ‘stone’ as a golden ring on their fingers. This precious Stone is known to protect a person from many ailments and best for protection from accidents and many other powers. So my main purpose of this trip was to see him in person. Though I’ve been there before long time back along with my parents I was not fortunate enough to see him as he hardly use to be in the Monastery for he has to travel round the globe for the message of peace. But this time I was fortunate to meet him as he was in the Monastery premises and he decided to see me at a short notice. The calm and serene locality of this Monastery amidst the lush green Patkai Mountain Range, Green Paddy Fields, a Gushing River, Simple living & Happy people, the Sound of Silence will answer you at this moment that ‘Smoking doesn’t bring peace to your mind’, it is the bounties of mother nature and your faith in God that does!
I spent my time at the Alter in the Monastery and treading through the Monastery premises observing the artefacts that were established here more than forty years ago. After about thirty minutes ‘Bhante Baba’ stepped out of the Monastery and met me outside. He was kind enough to allow me to take a photograph of him for this blog and he wished me luck on my upcoming endeavours. After a while I left the Monastery to continue my journey to the World War II air Strip near the Monastery, the Open Cast Coal Mine Fields at Tirap Colliery and later on my journey across the Historic Stilwell Road of the World War II fame up to Jagun hoping that someday I will be visiting the Monastery again to spend a few days at the meditation here and seek Spiritual Solace.
Jungleideas welcomes you to India’s North East to seek Spiritual Solace of your Mind, Body and Soul – the International Meditation Centre at the Mounglang Khamti Buddhist Monastery, Mounglang, the State of Assam, Incredible India!
