From Parshvanath Hill to Bodh Gaya – A Journey Inward
When I was climbing Parshvanath Hill at Sammed Shikharji, I was not going there just as a pilgrim ticking off a sacred place.
I went with a very clear inner intention — to go inward.
I wanted silence.
I wanted reflection.
I wanted to observe myself in a sacred space.
I did not know that the hill would slowly start revealing more to me than I had planned for.
I climbed with my cousins. There was laughter, conversations, different energies, different viewpoints. Everyone was experiencing the climb in their own way.
And I was experiencing something else simultaneously — the pull between outer engagement and inner withdrawal.
Many times, I got pulled into conversations. And many times, I gently pulled myself back. I would start chanting mentally. Sometimes I walked ahead. Sometimes I stayed behind.
Not out of avoidance.
But out of commitment to my intention.
To go inward.
And somewhere during that climb, I realised — the real ascent was not happening through my legs. It was happening through awareness.
A Very Personal Layer of This Climb
I was on my second day of my period during this entire journey.
Usually, this is when the body feels heavy. The mind anticipates discomfort. There is already a subtle identification: “My body is not at its best.”
But this time, something very unexpected happened.
There was no pain.
No fatigue.
No emotional heaviness.
The climb was smooth.
And that made me reflect deeply.
For me, the menstrual cycle is purely a physical process. It is biological. It belongs to the body. And I strongly believe that performing inward sadhana has nothing to do with it.
Inner work is not limited by physiology.
Yes, the body has rhythms. Yes, hormones fluctuate. But awareness is not hormonal. Consciousness is not cyclical.
Later, when I discussed this with my Guru, he said something that landed deeply:
“If you remain more and more in Dehaatmika Bhaav, physiology will serve you dukkha.”
That sentence revealed so much.
The body will go through its natural processes — menstruation, fatigue, aging, change. But suffering multiplies when identity keeps clinging to the body and constantly reinforcing: “This is happening to me.”
That day, I was not feeding the body-story. I was absorbed in chanting, observing, walking with awareness. My attention was inward.
And when awareness becomes primary, the body simply follows.
This was not about denying the body.
It was about not over-identifying with it.It was a lived glimpse of Aatmabhaava — where the body functions, but the Self remains untouched.
This experience did not make me reject the body.
It simply reminded me that I am not limited to it.
And that understanding made the climb lighter — not just physically, but spiritually.
Living Anekantavada on the Path
While climbing, I saw so clearly how everyone carries their own lens. Their own truth. Their own conditioning.
Earlier, I might have reacted internally. But this time, something was softer.
No one was wrong.
No one was absolutely right.
That is when the principle of many-sided truth became experiential, not philosophical.
Chaos outside did not disturb me.
Because I was not trying to control it.
I was observing it.
In the Presence of Parshvanatha
When I reached the peak, I did not just stand there.
I sat down near his Pada — the sacred footprints of Bhagwan Parshvanath — and meditated for about fifteen minutes.
Those fifteen minutes were not dramatic. They were subtle. Deep.
I simply observed my breath.
I observed my body after the climb — the sensations, the stillness, the quiet fatigue.
And then I observed deeper within — the space behind the breath, the awareness that was witnessing everything.
There was no asking for blessings.
No outer ritual.
No emotional intensity.
Just observation.
Breath moving.
Body resting.
Awareness watching.
In that space, his teachings felt alive — not as philosophy, but as lived truth. Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Aparigraha — they felt like inner cleansing. A way to make the mind subtle enough to rest in awareness.
Sitting at his Pada, I did not feel like I belonged to one religion.
As a yoga sadhaka and the path of yoga being close to my heart, I see their reflection in Maharishi Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga – the first limb, Yamas.
And that brought another realisation —
Truth is not limited to one tradition.
Every authentic path that leads inward speaks of From Jain Silence to Buddha’s Stillness at Bodh Gaya the same purification of mind.
I felt like a seeker resting at the feet of silence.
And in that silence, what remained was simple — breath, body, and something deeper that was untouched by both.
Those fifteen minutes were not about reaching the peak.
They were about touching stillness within.
From Jain Silence to Buddha’s Stillness at Bodh Gaya
Later, at Bodh Gaya, sitting under the peepal tree at the Mahabodhi Temple where Buddha attained enlightenment, there were chants, sounds, constant movement.
Externally — activity.
Internally — stillness.
That is when the teachings of observing suffering without attachment felt real. Awareness does not reject noise. It simply remains untouched by it.
Where I Personally Resonate
I do not want to limit myself to a single system. I want to explore. To understand. To experience.
But for my personal sadhana, what deeply resonates within me is Advaita vedanta
Not as a concept.
But as an inner pull.
Yes, there is Brahman — the supreme consciousness.
Yes, all of this arises in That.
Yes, separation appears real only when identity is strong.
Jain philosophy refined my perception.
Buddha deepened my witnessing.
Yoga disciplines my life.
But Advaita… dissolves the “me.”
When I sit quietly and drop labels — woman, mother, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, teacher, body, thinker, even seeker — something remains.
Not empty.
Not emotional.
Just aware.
And that awareness feels indivisible.
What the Hill Ultimately Revealed
I did not go there just to visit a holy place.
I went to go inward.
And the hill revealed layer after layer:
That the body is not the problem — identification is.
That opinions are not the problem — attachment is.
That noise is not the problem — reaction is.
The climb is 4,480 feet above sea level.
But the real climb is from:
Body → Awareness
Belief → Direct Experience
Identity → Dissolution
And slowly, very gently, the hill dismantled something inside me.
Not dramatically.
Silently.
And what remained was simpler.
Quieter.
More inward.
Before I Close…
If this reflection resonated with you, I would truly love to hear your thoughts.
You can write to me at:
[priyankasheth06@gmail.com]
Let this not just be my journey alone
let it become a shared space of seekers walking inward
And maybe, somewhere in your words,
I will learn something new too.
Priyanka sheth- founder @sahityayoga_yogiclivingcircle
