By: Dr. Aniruddha Babar
“Too often when trying something no one has ever done, there are only three likely outcomes: success, quitting, or serious injury and beyond. The difference in the three are often forces outside of your control. But this is the nature of the beast: RISK.”
~ Hendrik “Hendri” Coetzee, South African Adventurer and author. Known for leading Nile River Source-to-Sea Expedition in 2004.
I was six or seven when parents made me step on the mountain in our village in Maharashtra. We still have those photographs. Confusion, fear and suffering was visible on my face. I was encouraged to climb up till the top which I did with load of fear in me. That I think was the first guided and guarded risk I ever took in my life.
Question that often used to haunt me as to why people do things they do or the way they do, especially risking their lives, reputation, status etc. I used to often wonder about myself as well. Why did I do certain things which normally people cannot think of doing? Be it climbing mountain in the night, or paragliding, parasailing or jungle exploration, white water rafting or any other out-of-the-box thing that I have done. The rationale behind such an act? I did not know. Many such activities have happened and I made sure that they continue to happen even in Nagaland-my final abode, why? Now I think after endless experiments with life, experiences and futile conclusions I have discovered the answer at this relatively younger age of 35/36.
Human is a very unique animal. It is an important link in ecosystem, however, the Brain of a man has been wired differently than that of other creatures in animal kingdom. Man is able to perceive things, construct thoughts and ideas. Man cannot survive merely in a vegetative state of existence and therefore he needs something more than Food and Sex. Man needs a ‘reason’ to live and feel alive. However, discovery of ‘reason’ was never an easy task. This discovery of ‘reason’ to live and feel alive paved path to number of mind blowing discoveries. Discovery of the abstract idea of ‘GOD PRINCIPLE OR THE FIRST CAUSE’ was one of them, which offered eternal source of hope, comfort and most importantly, to some extent ‘the reason to live’ for Man.
However, the concept of ‘GOD PRINCIPLE’ did not completely solve the problem. Early GOD PRINCIPLES that human civilization discovered were symbolic to the ‘creation’ for eg. Mother God, Rivers, Mountains, Trees, Rain, Sun etc. These GODS in fact made Man more restless. Intelligent animal like human have got an ability to ‘observe’, ‘learn’ and ‘react’ from nature. The observation of infinite sky, endless rivers, depthless oceans, stormy rains and sky penetrating mountains made Man more curious and that ‘curiosity’ changed the entire course of human destiny. What is ‘up there’, what is ‘behind’ the known, what is ‘beyond’ visible these questions were sufficient enough to make man gear up to come out of his self-created psychological comfort zones and enter into the ‘unknown’. Moreover, Human exist for about 100000 years and tremendous amount of that time they were migrating from one place to another, they were hunting, collecting and all of them include great amount of risk in them. By doing all that our ancestors were trying to survive. If you want to survive then you are alive…Nowadays everything is different. You don’t have to go to forest and collect food, or move from one place to another in order to not die from extreme cold…But our instincts and years of memory still drive us to the ‘unknown’ to feel ALIVE.
People who enjoy adventure, at least in my experience, enjoy being uncomfortable, or at least find it more enjoyable than boring. They look back at negative experiences with fondness. Adventurers are different breed- they suffer and find great meaning in suffering. Jim Wickwire was the first American to summit Mt. K2. In his memoir, Addicted to Danger, he said that he developed his love for climbing after reading Annapurna by Maurice Herzog. And although Herzog’s reason for summiting the formidable Annapurna was simple—”because it was there”—Wickwire’s reason seemed far more complex. Despite supporting five young children, he described a relentless compulsion to mountaineer. Even after a nasty fall he said he “wanted more” while also claiming a “heightened attraction to danger.” “More” is what he got! He nearly died on Mt. Rainier, and though he successfully climbed McKinley and K2, he saw the lives of friends and strangers alike indiscriminately snuffed out by peril and disaster. Wickwire were obviously searching for something—and risking death in the process.
The desire for adventure is a major part of being human. Since the first people started to spread out in Africa, exploration has been essential to humanity’s development. However, exploration into the unknown does not remain confined to what is being sought after. In fact, as we get closer to demystify the mysteries of the unknown we end up discovering our inner reality as well. The more you experience the brutality of Mother Nature through the shadow of the possibility of death, the more comfortable you become with the idea of being ‘simply a human’. I think, adventure primarily introduce us to the possibility to overcome your own ‘ignorant’ self through the painful experiences that you encounter.
With this deep understanding Tetso Motorcycle Club and Tetso Mountaineering Club were set up at Tetso College, Nagaland as part of grand experiments I have been performing there as an Educationist. These platforms are absolutely necessary and utmost important to help student liberate themselves from the prison of their ‘own’ self. I was never in agreement with the kind of education system that has been running since years in our country. We are making students competitive-agree. We are making them capable to at least become a salary men/salary women- agree. We are making them capable to earn so that they can marry, have family, children, get retired, earn pension and DIE- AGREE, however, what we are NOT doing is to help them discover who they ‘really’ are and their true relation with their ‘own self’ and the ‘creation’. Modern education system has no scope for ‘self-discovery’. Man can only search for himself when he is able to develop a desire to come out of the comfortable illusions that he has created around himself, and may be that is the reason that in religions like Buddhism and also in Christianity missionaries are encouraged for centuries to come out of their comfort zones to engage in adventurous journeys to carry forward the religious missions to spread the ‘message’ as well as gain the ‘self-knowledge’ through the overall experiences to accelerate their spiritual ascension.
Adventure involves risk taking. If there is no risk, there cannot be an adventure. However, the element of risk and our ability to ‘tackle and manage’ it is a major factor that decides the outcome of activities that one is undertaking. My personal experience says that, adventurers are primarily ‘risk takers’ NOT ‘risk seekers’. They know what they are doing and they are well prepared for that. For e.g. in Motorcycle Rides, even though ‘speeding’ is discouraged, sometimes inner instincts play their role and in no time ‘engine accelerates’ and riders find themselves battling the wind for few moments, however, the riders are well prepared for it with Helmet, Body Armour, Arm and Leg Guard etc with years of riding experience and sensibility to ride without harming anybody else or themselves on the road. The same could be applicable to the Mountaineers, Sailors, Jungle Hermits, Adventure sports enthusiasts as well.
I think Man is born adventurer. There is something strange that is ‘dormant’ in all of us which if ‘activated’ in the right way can transform person completely. Exposure to risk has a constructive emotional as well as spiritual impact over the person. Only when put to threatening circumstances where the whole existence of someone is at stake, his/her core essence gets activated and all the masks and the layers of social, political, cultural indoctrination that covered the ‘real self’ of a man disappears and raw ‘Life Force’ comes out visible and shining and in a moment we are introduced to what we could understand as the ‘Kingdom of GOD’ within us.
Therefore, in this broader space of understanding, I expect my students and disciples to not to be too timid and squeamish about their actions. They should know that entire life is an experiment. The more experiments they make the better. I expect, they should explore, experience and push beyond with blatant disregard to their own ‘perceived’ physical and psychological limitations. This is how new Man will be born and such a man is an asset to society. They are the real leaders- the self-starters-motivation unto themselves. THE REAL ÜBERMENSCH !
When you reach alone on top of the Mountain after hours of struggle, broken body and shattered mind-you experience yourself transforming into the Mountain. Tall, Strong, Unsurpassable, Wise. A mountain that gives life to the Rivers- A LIFE GIVER-THAT YOU BECOME.
(The author is Academician, Legal Consultant, Theologian & Theosophist, Recipient of Research Excellence Award (2020), Life Member of The Theosophical Society, Life Member of Indian Political Science Association, Professor of Political Science & International Law, Department of Political Science, Tetso College, 5th Mile, Sovima, Dimapur, 797115, Nagaland
