Stargazing: A spiritual experience

Stargazing Adventure: A spiritual experience 

We had set out on this trip for camping in the Panamint valley for stargazing. The owner of an observatory in Bishop, California was offering this limited time camp for interested people who wanted to watch the night sky through a professional telescope. Saturday was sold out so we took the Sunday opening.

This guy owns a few acres of land in this desert and has set up 8-10 shift pods( camping tents) at this site. Each tent has two folding cots. We have to bring our own bedding. There is no electricity or water there. Some solar lights surround the tents as markers. There are a few portable potties on the grounds for convenience. That’s it. Other than that you are in the middle of a vast desert that is situated between the tall  Panamint mountains on the East and the Argus range of mountains on the West. Some desert vegetations, rocks and occasional fauna are seen around. It is quiet as it can be except during weekdays when military fighter jets conduct their low flying exercises. 

There is mostly no phone signal in the valley and there are no signs about this camp anywhere. It was good I had looked on Google maps before leaving home so I knew it is somewhere close to Ballarat ghost town. I asked the lady at the General Store and she knew exactly where the camp was located. She pointed us to carry on about 4 miles further on the same unpaved road going North till we see the silver colored tents.

Sure enough they were standing there in the middle of nowhere. Check in time was 2 pm and we reached precisely on time. A single truck was seen parked there and a man was working on something near the truck. As we got close he walked up to meet us and introduced himself as Mark. He would be our host and guide during the stay. He verified our reservation and pointed out to three pods ( tents) that were clean and asked us to pick any one of those for ourselves. He was going to sweep the others and get them ready in time before other guests arrived. 

We drove around and stopped by the first tent. My son opened it to take a look and was horrified to see what he presumed was a scorpion inside. He rejected this one and we moved to the next one. It was really hot in there, about 90 degrees outside. Mark would be setting up the telescope after sunset ( 7 pm). We had time until then to do what we wanted.

We decided to leave a couple of our beddings to reserve this tent before leaving the place to explore some neighboring sites till evening. As we proceeded on the dirt road we found a sign for Surprise Canyon. A few bikers were seen racing on that road. We went a bit inside to the foothills but decided to turn back as the road was really rough. A flat tire in the middle of nowhere would mean disaster. Instead we got back on the Trona Wildrose road and headed to Panamint Springs on highway 190. It was about a 30-40 minutes drive. There we found a general store, a restaurant and a gas station. Filled up gas in the car and sat down on the patio of the General Store sipping some hot tea. It was a beautiful view of the mountains and valley from there. It was also much cooler there with a light breeze in the air. We spent a good hour and half or more relaxing there before heading back in time so we could set up our beds before dark and also enjoy sunset in the valley. We put together our beds and enjoyed a quick dinner on the picnic table next to our tent. Some guests had lit a bonfire near their picnic table.

Sunset was beyond beautiful. We strolled around the desert landscape at leisure and watched the sun slowly descend towards the Argus mountains. Entire day there was a cloud cover and we remained unsure if we could see the stars after all .  Even until sunset there was a thick cloud cover in all directions. I decided I would accept as it comes even if we don’t achieve what we had come for, namely stargazing. 

Once the sun set behind the mountains and light began to fade, a delicate moon crescent was seen higher on the western sky. As we were taking in the beauty of this crescent Mark was setting up his telescope. He had told us that for two prior nights the cloud cover had not moved at all and guests were unable to see the stars. We were ready for the same disappointment. And then, as if a magician waved his magic wand, the clouds began to clear away and one by one stars began to appear in the darkening skies.

By 8:30 pm the entire sky was glittering. Mark started off by showing us a close up view of the craters on the moon before it set behind the mountains. The craters are best visualized along the boundary of the lighted portion of the moon with its dark portion.

After moonset he showed us the nebula near the Belt of the Orion constellation. Next was the Pleiades constellation also known as The Seven Sisters or in Japanese, as Subaru constellation. The automaker by that name uses the configuration of its seven main stars as its logo. I could see this constellation quite beautifully even through my binoculars. 

We saw the Sombrero galaxy which comprises of over a 100 billion stars. Then Arcturus and a few other stars, constellations and nebulae. My phone camera could even pick the Big Dipper distinctly, such was the clarity of the sky. After over 2 hours of soaking in that exciting view of the stars we decided to retire into our tent. 

By habit I was up at 4 am. The netted openings on the tent allowed for a glimpse of the stars even when laying on the cot inside the tent. I opened the zipped exit and stepped out in the dark with my phone and binoculars, zipping back the thing in place once I was outside. There was pin drop silence except for an occasional distant braying of a burro( wild donkey). I looked up and what a view it was ! Felt as if after we went to sleep someone had come out and sprinkled a thousand times more stars across the sky! It was just a packed starry glitter everywhere I turned my eyes. The Big Dipper had traveled from east to west. The eastern skies above the Panamint mountains now had something very special ! The Milky Way galaxy was leaning over the peaks from North to South. I gazed and gazed in wonder. Felt like the Lord was revealing a mild version of the Vishwaroop Darshan described in the Bhagwad Gita. It was just me standing there losing myself in that overwhelming experience of infinity. That divine moment will last in my mind forever. 

I pointed my phone camera unsure if it would even take in a faint image of the sight. Lo and behold !! I couldn’t believe my eyes what my meager camera captured ! 

By 5:30 am I could see twin dots rising from behind the Panamint peaks. Mars and Saturn were side by side. A few minutes later a bright Venus followed them. Remember I had recently discussed the planet parade in another post?

 Soon the horizons were beginning to gain light and the stars were starting to fade away one by one. Showtime was coming to an end !

With this out of the world experience,paradoxically, I realized what light pollution and noise pollution means and does to us ! Yes, daylight is so important for our existence. But where pure existence is concerned, daylight is a pollution. Ironically it blinds us to the pure reality of the universe and ourselves. The entire circus of activity that starts upon arrival of daylight brings chaos and noise with it. That takes us further and further away from the experience of the spirit. And then of course, unseen or unheard outside but nevertheless polluting our existence is the noise of the mind inside. Taking all these pollutants out is not easy. But on the rare occasion when we can do it, what reveals itself is simply an experience of wonder that cannot be expressed in words !! I am filled with gratitude that this moment came to me.

It was one night to remember for a lifetime!

Saree a cotton paithani in cream color with handwoven pallu with peacocks and lotuses.