Religion of Everest

Everest is an apt metaphor for the ideal concept of God and religion. It perfectly demonstrates both: the dilemma as well the clarity.

Everest summit to my knowledge has 15 defined routes (perhaps few more than world’s main religions) to the top spread across haphazardly all around the massive pyramid. These routes encompass all the cardinal directions and all the intermediate ones as well. Yet no single route is more or less correct or the only right one to the top. Neither is there any one route that has exclusive right or privilege over the summit domain and it isn’t necessary for other route followers to pay any tax or submission or heaps of praises to any other. To each her own is what we believe. Everyone is free to follow their own routes (path) to the top. All we can say with certainty is if one route is technically more challenging than the others or if another route involves more objective hazards than the rest. And I suppose being the technically easiest routes the South Col and the North Col routes are by far the most popular paths just like the two most popular religions in the world.

From every route, each different faces, Everest appears to be an entirely different mountain (just like different Gods of different religions) yet we all know that it is Everest summit we vie for. Even in complete invisibility due to inclement weather conditions or in the darkest moonless nights when the mountain is seemingly not there anymore, we do know that it is there and this is not just a belief. It really is. And here’s the clincher; the true geographical summit of Everest is absolutely identical no matter which path we followed to the top. The summit (the universal God) doesn’t alter depending upon the path chosen or how you got there.

Some climbers have more faith in their chosen route (religion) simply because they know the route better than the rest or their guide recommends it whom they trust, yet no climber claims the other routes will not lead you to the top. Sometimes when a climber fails upon one route to summit she changes her belief (religious conversion) and converts to another route in the next attempt and makes it to the top. And before converting to a new route I am certain the climber first studies this new route dispassionately weighing the pros and cons prior to committing. Yet no one claims that the previous route (religion) upon which she failed earlier is a false one. Even when someone repeatedly fails to summit no matter which route they choose, no one says that the top doesn’t exist simply because that particular individual hasn’t been there. There is a difference between objective reality and a belief based reality. And even when we keep falling short of the summit either repeatedly upon the same path or using different ones we simply claim that the mountain is testing my resolve (devotion) and we mustn’t give up our motivation even if we do give up further attempts. For summit or not the climb does teach us a lot. The summit is like an extra piece of cherry atop the beautiful cake. It is nice to have it, yet even without it, the cake is simply wonderful.

And what do we find upon the summit? For those seeking fame and glory find perhaps the reason to immortalize themselves in history (no matter if it is only their personal history). To those seeking challenges perhaps find a reason to validate. And those who seek nothing perhaps find themselves. Does the summit make us any more or less human than the rest or something superior to those battling their personal Everest at zero altitude! I think not. Wherever you might be, high or low, far or near, in darkness or in light, you will only find yourself with all your physical limitations and mental aspirations. For these are found everywhere as long as you haven’t lost sight of self.

As in religion, on Everest too we have guides and leaders. People with more knowledge and experience than others about the mountain and climbing in general. Yet there are also those dubious ones who would lead you into the crevasses or stormy weathers. Do not follow blindly. Use your own judgement and ask questions. Compare and analyze before you decide to follow someone to the top. Not everyone is truthful upon Everest, and not everyone summits, yet there are many such climbers who make a false claim to the summit and even produce doctored images as proof. This does not belittle the mountain by any means. Neither do such occurrences take away the credit from the genuine climbers. And there are also many climbers (I for instance) who don’t climb for records or any recognition and who doesn’t care for summit pictures or summit certificates, these are purists. They climb for the sheer joy of being one with the mountain. Similarly there are those who do not seek anything, they only seek and then there are those who seek nothing like the Zen followers or Sufi saints.

Let me share a dialogue I once had with Tenzing, the first man to climb Everest on record. He was also my first formal climbing instructor. He said: I don’t know if Hillary and I were indeed the first human to step on top of Sagarmatha but it was certainly first for the two of us. All I found was myself and each other and an infinite horizon all around of inexplicable beauty defying human words. For me personally Sagarmatha is God but not only on the summit but in its entirety. There was a sense of elation no doubt but the sense of relief and humbleness was much greater. I realized that to be closer to God simply meant looking inwards. And at that moment more than anything else I wished to go down safely and return to my family to the ones that loved me and was my world.

What do we really seek at the end after all! The Everest summit or what it does for us! Do we want to possess it or simply wallop in the feeling of having been there or tried to reach! Believe me no one sane would want to possess the summit or claim it as their personal hegemony; if someone did so then that would be totally irrational and impractical. So let’s ask again, what do we really seek after all! The love of God or the love of those who love us and make our lives worth living! How do we know that God isn’t with us when our loved ones are around (physically or spiritually)! Isn’t it possible that God resides within each one of us and speaks to us through human and other forms of nature! If we seek forgiveness from the ones we have wronged instead from the God that no one has seen won’t our salvation be more immediate and beneficial! If we learn to love our fellow companions in this planet both animate and otherwise won’t it be greater than loving the concept of God for in reality if we must believe then it should lead us to conviction that the supreme God resides within each micro cosmos of quantum realm.

If we do need a physical description to focus our love and goodness then I suppose it’s far better to find that reality within our physically comprehensible world rather than some world of phantasmagoria. Instead of heaping gold, money and immeasurable quantities of food and objects of supplication in places of worship (human built) it would be far better than to distribute these within those less fortunate since they too are places of worship and lord resides within. My mother had once told me that the best way to serve God is to serve God’s creation. God already has everything, including those that are beyond human. So there’s no need to give God more since what we can give God already belongs to God to begin with. There’s nothing that doesn’t belong to God so how can we give God something more. It would be like drawing a bucket of water from the ocean and then pouring the same water back into the ocean and seeking something in return.

Do we even need to keep heaping God with praises and keep uplifting God to exalted position as being the ultimate! Even if no one claimed Everest or climbed it, it will still remain the highest mountain upon Earth. Its position is not subject to how many worship the mountain or sing praises or climb. It is what it is. So let it be. So let God be. Instead focus where we can really make a difference—to God’s creation. Uplift those who are downtrodden, love the unloved, feed the hungry, respect the God within, be a little outward looking and we would automatically prosper and become happier. This is not some ideology this is real action based outcome. Apply it and see the result.

And to conclude this article I would quote one of our greatest poets who said: heaven and hell are both here upon this physical world and you can experience both within your lifetime. No need to wait for the afterlife.

Remember, upon Everest there is no single ‘right’ path, since any path will get you to the top, provided you can climb. And every path is as good as the other. Do not criticize those who follow a different path and do not try to convert them to yours since they might be more comfortable in the one they are. But of course if someone asks you can share the details of your path without being judgmental or critical. And please keep the mountain clean and bring all your litters back. Remember it is the abode of God.