06/11/2025
I’ve just returned from a vacation in Bhutan—a country steeped in divinity, whether in its lhakhangs (monasteries), its forests, or its mythology. People revere the land and are deeply spiritual. I felt genuinely touched by Bhutan’s deities, especially Maitreya (the future Buddha), Green Tara, and the Divine Madman. The lhakhangs in Bumthang moved me in particular. Even my husband—who doesn’t care for external religious practices—took part in temple rituals, and I sensed he, too, was touched by their energy.
I’ll admit I was initially skeptical of Bhutan’s insistence on traveling with a guide and other restrictions. After visiting—and after making a sincere commitment to honor the land and its people before I set out—I came to understand the spiritual reasons for these boundaries. They ask you to move gently and keep the land’s sanctity intact.
Bhutan’s king has nurtured a culture of civic sense: no one breaks traffic rules even though there are no traffic signals. Volunteer-led initiatives like Green Bhutan and Clean Bhutan reflect a government and monarchy that have won people’s confidence to protect the land and its energy. I suspect this aligns with the wish of the land’s deities. Everything feels deliberately designed to avoid disturbing nature. Of course, there are drawbacks in an economy so dependent on tourism—and it’s easier to do this in a small nation of around 700,000 people.
But the onus isn’t only on government. This begins with how we care for public resources—not just our private plots: refusing to litter, using resources with restraint, and caring for the animals and birds who share this land as equal dwellers. In India, with our strong spiritual roots in Hinduism, we can reconnect with our land, our forests, our mythology, and our deities—so we don’t lose what truly matters while chasing economic welfare and better living conditions. It’s time to do it yourself: our tradition gives us the freedom to choose our path and go inward, without anyone enforcing it.
How do you connect with your land and its spiritual energy?
