40 The Meditation Centre
[Nilambe Meditation Centre, Hantane, Galaha District] The flight between the two countries takes less than an hour and only a score kilometres or miles separates them physically, but there seems a world of difference as one flies out over the brown arid lands of southern India, across the water to the lush green coastlands of the island. I was returning to the hills and the meditation centre, to somewhere that had fresh air, where it might be possible to recover my health. On the way up I called in to see some friends in the city, so as to say hello and catch up on developments, and there, though I didn’t notice it at the time, a seed was planted that was to take deep root in the next few weeks.
It was quiet on the hillside after the confusion of the past week, and I sat on a bench watching the sun setting going through various rich golden phases as it approached the horizon. Heavy dark clouds covered the sky and below the landscape was obscured, grey and unclear. The sun passed slowly behind the craggy mountains, and there was a gentle but persistent breeze in the air: on the horizon low-lying clouds went in pursuit of the sun as it set. High in the sky other clouds lay still, they were fat and grey, but at the edges they had picked up an extraordinary light green colour, maybe borrowed from the surrounding hills, while above the clouds the sky had now cleared and it glowed a wonderful bright pearl before mellowing to pink and blue. Overhead Venus shone brightly, the first star of the night. Bats emerged from the banyan trees and began their erratic dance, and the crickets woke up and greeted the night with their metallic whirr.
In the morning the mist was heavy and enveloping and it was difficult to see more than a few feet ahead; it hung there for a while, a little oppressively. It was very quiet with no sounds from the road, and even the workers’ houses in the plantation below remained sleepy. The only sound was of a dove mournfully wooing his lady. And then as I watched the mist began to clear and an avenue opened up so that I could see right through to the hills in the distance. Clouds lying low in the valley shone luminously as on occasion the sunlight broke through. Sitting atop the barna tree a magpie-robin began to whistle a sweet melody in order to welcome the day. And then slowly the clouds made their way up the hillside once more and we were back with the mist and the rain. The air was very bright despite the cover, and was further enlightened by the flashing of sheet lightning. In the distance, rolling around the hillsides, the thunder growled and moved on.