Temple of A Saint - Adi Shankaracharya

It was a run, from the world familiar, a fast run away from reality as we know it. A breathless run until Srinivasan chanced upon a wall, a strange wall with a narrow door. It was a strange landscape, walls without roofs, doors leading no where, steps leading to the skies and stone as ancient as the creation of man and no sign of the creators of these strange pieces of architecture, all of this on top of a hill. In all the daylight it still seemed to look so meaningless and yet they were after him.

Srinivasan felt relief when he saw the wall as he ran. It looked familiar but there was nothing beyond it that made any sense. Just a flight of steps leading up to the sky and a strange bell that didn't seem to call anyone to his rescue when he rang it and yet he felt he wanted to run, and get away and escape for good and go... where, he didn't know.

Srinivasan got up, waking up into his familiar world, yet the images of another world hung vividly in his mind as he didn't make any sense of the place he had just seen in his dream and yet, it was so familiar. It was close to reality, it was a place he had been to and had felt something drawing him so close, saving him from something he had no idea about yet he felt its overpowering presence in his life.

Months passed and Srinivasan decided to go on a vacation. He had been working hard enough and deserved a break. Srinivasan stood at the hill and breathed in the fresh air. It was a perfect get away. The city was so far away from such purity and strangely wasn't it all a familiar man made world? He looked at the landscape, it was beautiful, and he wondered why he had not come to Srinagar all these days. He walked around the summit of Gopadhari hill looking at the greenery around deep down in the valley below wondering what else the Gods had blessed this earth with and why the cities were so devoid of such creation. As he drifted in his world the guide walked up to him and directed him to the temple ahead. Srinivasan gathered himself, quite forgetting he had company in this trip, company that he suddenly didn't seem to want.

He walked on, coming up to a formidable wall. It was a wall that didn't seem to have anything around and nothing beyond. It stood deserted and lost in a realm of its own, yet an endless flight of steps seemed to lead to the skies above with a hint of stone beyond, ancient stone that belonged to another era unknown, just withered by time and belief. Srinivasan stood and gazed beyond as the bells ringing reverberated through the air. The chilling air settled in his mind as he stared up to ascend the steps to heaven.