The Highest Pass
2011 - 1 hour 29 minutes
(streaming NetFlix)
Soon after Adam Schomer meets a modern yogi and guru, Anand
Mehrotra, they plan an expedition through the highest passes of the Himalayas
in Northern India. These are some of the most dangerous roads in the world, yet
they manage to assemble a team of seven motorcycle riders to share in what will
become the journey of a lifetime.
These riders and Adam, who learned to ride two weeks before
the trip, are guided by the inspiring teachings of Anand who bears the burden
of a Vedic prophecy that predicts he will die in his late twenties in an
accident. He is that age now, yet leads with a fearlessness and wisdom that
reminds us that “Only the one who dies, truly lives.”
But wisdom in words and wisdom in practice can be very
different indeed, especially when riding along the sheer icy edges of Himalayan
cliffs. The bikers ride on that edge, navigating dirt, gravel, snow, ice and
the onslaught of loaded trucks, known as “road killers”, as they journey for 21
days towards the highest motorable road on earth. It is a pass open only three
months a year and at a height 18,000ft, is on par with Everest base camp. Low
oxygen, altitude sickness, river flooded roads, and a constrictive fear all
live along this one lane road.
Yet they choose this path to seek Ladakh, the land known as
the Little Tibet. Why this path? Because it’s a road that leads to incredibly
isolated mountain lakes, ancient monasteries, inside the knowing eyes of a
mystic oracle, and ultimately deeper into themselves…
It’s amazing that their guide himself is battling a prophecy
and yet is determined to ride one of the hardest roads in the world. It is both
haunting and inspiring. It brings up our worst fears and our deepest courage.
Adam must ask if the possibility of a spiritual breakthrough worth the risk of
serious injury or death? Will it help us all understand what it means to live
our lives?
It takes you on a journey within yourself to find inner peace and less fear. I am not a religious person but I find myself drawn to Buddhism and their spirituality. If I were ever to chose a religion to practice I know that would be the only correct choice for me to pursue.