Beyond The Vale: Isipathanaye (Saranath's) Migadaya (Deer Park)

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The legend says that after attaining the enlightenment the Buddha had made his way from Bodhgaya to Saranath's Deer Park, where he held his first sermon. As a Buddhist kid growing up I remember this place as the Isipathanaye Migadayeda on the story books. Overall, a very quiet place and very much a village. If I leave the guest house after breakfast I could definitely get back for lunch after walking right around the whole Saranath including those chai (tea) stops of cause, and I did that at least twice.

A person known among the villagers as Dr. Jain and his family (wife, two daughters and a grandpa) runs the guest house, but it felt rather like they are hosting me at their house - so I decided to address them as Uncle and Aunt. Aunt of cause a housewife, cooks three meals a day as much as you can eat, delicious to the bone, vegetarian of cause. Uncle, however, runs a free school for a hundred odd village kids and other community work. He gets funding through an organization he had set up: SAVE Programme (Social Awareness in Village Education), http://www.visitsarnath.com/.

I guess this is the most rewarding part for me, I thought I would share this with you also: there is a way of life outside the running society. This whole family is well educated, Dr. Jain in fact holds a PhD and once held high ranking positions. He said it was busy. Now, to me he looked busy occasionally, but he says he's happy. I am not implying a way of living for anybody, rather I say the running society is in fact within you no matter what you do. The running society: always about getting somewhere, achieve something, next thing and the thing after. It is the heavy baggage everybody is carrying, constantly - sometimes even at sleep or while on a vacation.

What if we leave past in the past and future to the future - what about the Now? Future plans are necessary, and when you plan, plan; what's the point in thinking of the plans constantly? When there is a problem there will be a solution - I mean haven't you solved problems before? So have faith in the present. In the present the baggage is light and not much need to be done. Right now things are pretty easy, until the thinking happens about the imaginary future.

Somebody once told me, "sit-back, relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the ride!!". Free as that, and free enough to enjoy the small things.

From what I remember I think this is what I wrote in Jain family guestbook: Dr. Jain, you must be a free man for doing what you do - I am glad and wish you well; and Aunt, thanks for your yummy food :)