The strange case of invisible monkeys.
A very long time ago in India, in a village there lived a young man. He was known for the pranks he played on his friends and neighbours. His antics sometimes went little too far from being just harmless jokes. But at least he and his friends were happy. But now it was becoming more and more difficult for him, since people in his village had started avoiding him. He, himself was bored here.
Near the village there lived a great sage who also ran a Gurukul (School) in the great traditions of India. The school due to the fame of the Guru (the great sage) received students from all over the world. The guru was greatly revered by all due to his wisdom.
So one fine evening it came upon him that he must now go to the Gurukul and play his pranks there, he may even outsmart the Guru and in the process, who knows he may learn a thing or two. Next day early in the morning he took off for the Gurukul to meet the Guru. On reaching the Gurukul he saw the Guru sitting under a huge Banyan tree, meditating. He touched the Gurus feet as a mark of respect and sat down on the ground waiting for the guru to open his eyes.
The Guru on finishing his meditation opened his eyes and asked the young man the purpose of his visit. The young brat tells the Guru that he was here to learn Levitation. “Levitation” the guru tells the young man, is not something to be learned, it is a stage which one reaches after years of meditation and following a very strict lifestyle. And the Levitation in itself is not a means it is just a milestone along the way, it’s just that it is hyped since it looks miraculous.
But the young man will have none of it; he kept insisting that he wanted to learn just that and nothing else. The guru was getting late for his classes and thus told the young man that he was busy as he can see and that he can spent some time in the Gurukul and help with the chores. And later the Guru will teach him a DIY, presto, quick way to Levitate. The young man thought that there was no harm; he was getting free food and lodgings so he stayed.
Months passed by and the Guru did not get time, the young man too could not get to the Guru and kept doing sundry jobs at the Gurukul like washing clothes, brooming the grounds, tending to the Gurukul farms and so on and so forth. And then one fine day when he has had enough, he confronts the Guru somehow and requests him to teach him now since he has spent a long time waiting to learn the Art of levitation. The Guru again asks him to spend some more time in the Gurukul and wait for the day he will be taught Levitation.
More than a year passes by and the young man has had enough so he goes again to the Guru. The guru sympathetically asks him to sit down. The young man was mighty elated. The guru tells him that there is a certain mantra which if chanted a certain number of times will give him the power to levitate. And then he can levitate at will any time he chooses. The guru calls him near and chants the mantra in his ears and tells him the number of times he has to repeat the mantra. That’s easy! The young man thinks to himself and as he gets up to go and start his chant, the guru adds a warning;
“ remember as you begin to chant do not let any thought of a monkey or an image of monkey come to your mind, if it happens then you have to start chanting from the beginning”
That’s easy the young man told the guru and walked towards a tree to sit and start.
A few days passed by and the guru also started to wonder about the whereabouts as he could not find the young man around the usual places he used to be found. And then one morning he saw the young man walking towards him tired and all freckled up. He looked as if he had not slept for days may even skipped a few meals. He has aged a few years in the last few days.
He came and sat at the Gurus feet . The great sage asked him after offering him some water “ have you learned the art” finally.
The young man staring into nothingness replies “ No ! O great sage, but I am seeing monkeys everywhere, they are all around me . They sneer and laugh and refuse to leave my company. When I started the chant , I was confident that I will finish it in a day but after the first few chants a monkey thought came to my mind. Then I started again and this went on for days and now every where there are monkeys of all colours, size and shape. Even now as we speak, although you cannot see but I can see monkeys behind you, on top of you , In fact O great sage you have started to look like a monkey too.
And then it hits you like a ton of bricks, “hey do I have my own monkeys which do not let me do anything, do I see them all the time around me?? do I debate more and more with my own monkeys, monkeys in my head. Have I not bargained for them because I thought I was the smartest guy, who could figure it all out better than most and keep the most glamorous of the results for myself. ” . Because only the empty vessels will be filled and the full will be emptied. The day I feel I am full, I stop the process of receiving from the universe.
You know what I discovered , just knowing why, what, when and how the monkeys exist is getting rid of them.
Mother’s Day is fast approaching, the first Mother’s Day since my mother’s passing. I am trying to get all of the dread out of they way so that day doesn’t feel so bad when it gets here. I bought fake flowers and made an arrangement for her grave. I did that last week. So that’s done.
Nothing is more important than life , nothing. One can only realize this point, if one can learn to confront death every day. And this is the way of life of Aghoris, The most feared and the most respected clan of sadhus or ascetics of India , the Aghori sadhus are notorious for their uncommon and grisly rituals they perform as a part and parcel of their religious routine, enough to arouse curiosity and awe among the public.
ART JOURNAL OF ALEXIUS R 