This is summary of the book by Swami Pravandas about Tibet. The purpose of this text is to give thought of Swami Pravandas for Kailash Mansarovar Yara pilgrims.
The Spiritual World of Exploration in Tibet
The Author’s Spiritual Identity
Swami Pranavananda was not a geographer by profession — he states this plainly. His field was Sadhana (spiritual discipline) and his ultimate object “the realisation of the ULTIMATE.” Every journey to Tibet was undertaken primarily as a pilgrimage, and all geographical observation was secondary to this inner purpose. The foreword by Prof. Chatterjee notes that T. G. Longstaff remarked admiringly on the Swami’s character, shown by his “omission of all reference to the hardships he must have suffered during his winter journeys in these inhospitable regions” — a quality understood in Indian spiritual tradition as the fruit of inner equanimity.
Mount Kailas: The Divine Mountain
Kailas is presented throughout not as a geographical object but as a living spiritual presence. The Swami writes that its “perpetual snow-clad peak… has a vibration of the supreme order from the spiritual point of view” and that “it seems to stand as an immediate revelation of the Almighty in concrete form, which makes man kneel down and bow his head in reverence.”
Hindu tradition holds Kailas as the eternal abode of Lord Shiva — the third of the Hindu Trinity, the Universal Spirit — who dwells there permanently with his Divine Consort Parvati, personification of Prakriti (Nature). The Ramayana, Mahabharata, all the Puranas, and especially the Manasakhanda of the Skanda Purana sing the lake’s and mountain’s glory.
Buddhist tradition says the Buddha and his hierarchy of 500 Bodhisattvas reside on the peak. The presiding Tibetan deity is Demchhok (also called Pavo), depicted wearing tiger skins and garlands of human skulls, holding a damaru (drum) and a trident, flanked by the female deity Khandoma (Khajati). Around Kailas sit 990 rows of deities, 500 in each row, all similarly adorned. The Tibetan scripture Kangri Karchhak states that Kailas stands at the centre of the universe, its eastern face crystal, southern sapphire, western ruby, and northern gold. The peak is held in place by four footprints of the Buddha (so heavenly beings cannot carry it away) and four chains (so lower-world beings cannot drag it down). Sounds of bells, cymbals, and musical instruments are said to be heard on its summit.
The Swami writes that both Hinduism and Buddhism revering the same peak cannot be accidental — it must be that “their overpowering beauty and charm have not only so appealed to but made an indelible impression on the human mind, that they seemed to belong rather to heaven than to earth.”
Lake Manasarovar: The Cosmic Lake
Manasarovar is described as “the holiest, the most fascinating, the most inspiring, and the most famous of all the lakes in the world and the most ancient that civilization knows.” It was, the Swami writes, “the first lake known to geography… famous in Hindu mythology many centuries before the lake of Geneva had aroused any feeling of admiration in civilized man.”
Origin: The lake is the creation of the manas (mind) of Brahma, the first of the Hindu Trinity and the Creator. Its very name means “born of the mind.” According to some traditions, the Maharaja Mandhata discovered it and did penance on its shores.
Buddhist description: In Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist texts, Manasarovar is called Anavatapta — “without heat and trouble.” In its centre grows a tree whose fruits are omnipotent in healing all human ailments, physical and mental, “much sought after by gods and men alike.” It is described as “the only true paradise on earth.” Mighty lotuses “as big as the Amitabha Buddha” bloom in the lake, and the Buddha and Bodhisattvas sit on those flowers. Heavenly Rajahansas (swans) sing celestial melodies as they swim on its surface. On surrounding mountains grow the shata-mulikas or hundred herbs.
Tibetan mythology: The lake is connected to the Rakshas Tal through the Ganga Chhu. Legend says two golden fish from Manasarovar fought, and one pursued the other into Rakshas Tal — sanctifying that previously demon-inhabited lake with the holy waters of Manas. Seven rows of trees surround the Holy Manasarovar, and in it resides the king of Nagas (serpent-gods). The surface of the earth is arc-like with a great Jambu tree in the middle whose fruits fall into the lake with a jum sound — giving the surrounding earth the name Jambu-ling (Jambudvipa of Hindu Puranas). The fruits eaten by the Nagas become gold and sink to the bottom.
Spiritual vibration: The Swami describes the lake as having “a most enrapturing vibration of the supremest order that can soothe and lull even the most wandering mind into sublime serenity and can transport it into involuntary ecstasies.” He wrote a separate pamphlet titled Spiritual Vibrations dedicated entirely to this subject.
The Parikrama: Sacred Circumambulation
The ritual circling of Kailas and Manasarovar is one of the oldest and most important acts of pilgrimage in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
Of Kailas (about 32 miles): One circuit washes away the sins of one lifetime. Ten circuits erase the sins of one kalpa (a cosmic age). 108 circuits secure Nirvana in this very life. Orthodox Tibetans take 3 or 13 rounds. Some perform the sashtanga-danda-pradakshina (full-body prostration at every step), completing Kailas in 15 days. The most athletic do the entire circuit in a single day — called chhokar. Wealthy or sick pilgrims who cannot walk engage beggars or porters to perform the circumambulations on their behalf, paying both remuneration and provisions, believing the merit transfers.
Of Manasarovar (about 64 miles, visiting all eight monasteries): The sashtanga-danda-pradakshina of the lake takes 28 days. Tibetans prefer to do the kora (circuit) in winter when the lake is frozen and all streams are dry and easily crossed. The Swami himself completed nine circumambulations of Manasarovar.
Sacred markers: Four chhortens (pagoda-like memorial structures) and four chhak-chhal-gangs (prostration stations) ring the lake. Around Kailas are four shapjes (footprints of the Buddha), four chaktaks (chains), and four chhak-chhal-gangs. A great flag-staff (tarbochke) on the western side is ceremonially re-hoisted each year on the full-moon day of Vaisakh — the day of the Buddha’s birth, Enlightenment, and Nirvana — during a large fair.
Rakshas Tal: The Demon Lake
To the west of Manasarovar lies its sister-lake Rakshas Tal (Ravan Hrad or Rakshas Sarovar), associated with Ravana of Lanka, who is said to have done penance there to propitiate Lord Shiva. Originally the abode of demons, its waters were considered impure. The story of the two golden fish — one pursuing the other from Manas into Rakshas Tal — is the mythological moment of its sanctification: when the holy waters of Manas flowed through the golden fish’s course into the Rakshas, the demon lake was purified. From that time people began to drink its water.
Despite this sanctification, from a spiritual standpoint the Rakshas Tal remains the inferior of the two lakes. The Manas has eight monasteries on its shores; the Rakshas has only one. The Swami observes that while the Rakshas is physically beautiful, “from the spiritual point of view the Manas is unparalleled.”
The Monasteries: Living Spiritual Communities
Eight monasteries ring Manasarovar: Gossul, Chiu, Cherkip, Langpona, Ponri, Seralung, Yushug, and Thugolho — in which the Swami himself resided for a year. Five monasteries surround Kailas: Nyanri (Chhaku), Diraphuk, Zunthulphuk, Oengta, and Silung. Their monks “strive all their lives to attain the sublimity of the eternal silence of Nirvana,” singing “year in and year out the glory of the Buddha, the Enlightened, and his five hundred Bodhisattvas.”
The Swami’s residence at Thugolho gompa on the southern shore of Manasarovar for a full year was described by Paul Brunton in A Hermit in the Himalayas as “a rare privilege never before accorded to a non-Buddhist monk.” This extended stay gave the Swami the sustained immersion in prayer, meditation, and the rhythms of the sacred lake that formed the spiritual core of his experience.
The Freezing of the Lake as Spiritual Experience
The moment the lake froze on December 28, 1936 is the book’s most mystical passage. The Swami writes that he came out of meditation “unusually at 3 A.M., I cannot say why.” Stepping onto the terrace, he felt “a thrill and lost all physical consciousness for some time — how long I cannot exactly tell.” On regaining awareness he was overwhelmed by the sight of Kailas, “piercing into the blue sky and dyed in ambrosia robes of the early morning sun… overlooking the Holy Lake in all majesty and dignity, bewitching even the inanimate creation. Not even a single sheep or lamb in the sheep-yard bleated.”
As Kailas “rapidly changed several robes of various colours and hues and ultimately decided upon its usual perpetual silver garment,” the Swami lowered his eyes to the lake — and “the very first sight of the Holy Lake made me forget myself and even the Lake herself for some time.” The middle of the lake lay in deep blue, perfectly calm, reflecting Kailas and the morning sun. He writes: “Oh! how happy I was! I utterly fail to describe the bliss I enjoyed and the mystic charm of the enchanting Lake. There was pin-drop silence everywhere. Like the eternal silence of Nirvana there was perfect stillness all around.”
The village then erupted: villagers climbed to house-tops, hoisted coloured flags, burned incense, and shouted So! So! So! to the gods. The Swami felt as if he had entered “an altogether new world” — a complete transformation of the physical, mental, and spiritual atmosphere.
Swans: The Supreme Spiritual Symbol
The swans (rajahansas) of Manasarovar are perhaps the single most recurrent spiritual symbol in the book. In Hindu and Buddhist iconography, the rajahansa represents the highest spiritual discernment — the soul that can separate milk from water, the eternal from the temporal. Their presence on the sacred lake is thus laden with meaning.
The Swami’s most lyrical spiritual passage concerns the swans seen at dawn before the lake breaks in spring: “Especially in the mornings they do not play in the waters or engage themselves in ‘belly-filling’ but sail calmly towards the sun with half-closed eyes in a meditative mood and at the same time enjoying a good sun-bath.” He writes that “one such sight is a hundred times more effective, impressive, and sufficient to put one into a meditative mood than a series of artificial sermons or got-up speeches from a pulpit. So it is that our ancestors and Rishis used to keep themselves in touch with Mother Nature to have a glimpse of the Grand Architect.”
The Sacred Rivers: Geography as Theology
The four great rivers are not merely geographical features — they are sacred manifestations flowing from divine sources. Tibetan scripture says they emerge from the mouths of four sacred animals:
- Sutlej — mouth of an elephant (Langchen Khambab)
- Indus — mouth of a lion (Singi Khambab)
- Brahmaputra — mouth of a horse (Tamchok Khambab)
- Karnali — mouth of a peacock (Mapcha Khambab)
Scripture holds that they circle Kailas and Manasarovar seven times before flowing outward in the four directions. Their waters have distinct sacred qualities: the Sutlej is cool, the Indus hot, the Brahmaputra cold, the Karnali warm. Their sands are of gold, diamond, emerald, and silver respectively. Their sources are marked with shrines, cairns, prayer flags, mani-stones, and chhortens — and pilgrims scoop the water with their hands, drink of it, and sprinkle it on their faces and heads as an act of reverence.
For the Swami, discovering and visiting these sources was itself a sacred duty: “to discover Nature’s Secrets, to realise Truth, and to disseminate knowledge are as much the duty and privilege of a spiritual aspirant as of a scientist.”
Religion of the People
The religion of the Tibetan people as observed by the Swami is deeply woven into every aspect of daily life. The sacred mantra Om mani padme hum is carved on stones (mani-stones), inscribed on mani-walls, and told on rosary beads as pilgrims walk the shores. The Kanjur and Tanjur (the Tibetan Buddhist scriptural canon) guide religious life. Prayer wheels, chhortens, and coloured flags (lungta) mark every pass, sacred spot, and monastery entrance. The Similing gompa of Taklakot is described as a centre of Tibetan Buddhist learning and practice.
Monasteries are described as institutions of sustained spiritual practice, not merely religious architecture. Lamas are described as “highly cultured and polite,” in contrast to the ordinary people. The figure of the Mahatma — the realized spiritual master — is referenced in connection with Tibetan mystics encountered in the region.
The Epilogue: A Spiritual Invitation
The book closes with an explicit spiritual testimony and invitation. The Swami writes that one can sit beside Kailas or Manasarovar “for days and nights together like so many minutes… in peaceful meditation and contemplation, lulled by her awe-inspiring solemnity.” He describes “an inner joy which one feels when one is face to face with an object of supernatural beauty and eternal charm” — a joy that, he says, cannot be adequately described by anyone not “more gifted poetically and aesthetically.”
He reflects that the double sanctity of Kailas and Manasarovar — held holy by two such different religions as Hinduism and Buddhism — proves that “their overpowering beauty and charm… made an indelible impression on the human mind, that they seemed to belong rather to heaven than to earth.”
His final hope is not that readers admire his geographical achievements, but that some among them will be moved to undertake the journey themselves, “feel that inner joy which is surely to be felt by every mortal,” and in turn pass the “Torch of Illumination” to their fellow human beings — “a natural and legitimate result of the fulfilment of a noble and self-imposed mission of serving humanity.”
Summary
The spiritual content of this book is not a layer added to a geographical account — it is the account’s foundation and frame. Swami Pranavananda went to Kailas and Manasarovar as a pilgrim and a seeker. Every observation — scientific, meteorological, geographical, ethnographic — is made through the eyes of someone for whom the landscape is first and foremost a living revelation of the divine. The book is, at its heart, a sustained meditation on one of the most sacred corners of the earth, written by a man who spent years in its presence and was transformed by it.