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Monsoon Murmurs 22
India is a huge country with several perennial rivers, huge mountains such as Himalayas, western and eastern ghats with a geologically old land. One sees sea fossils at the top of Himalayas indicating a continental shift and huge collisions happened eons before. This country has human species at a very primitive level in Andaman-Nicobar islands as well as people of advanced civilization who are capable of sending rockets to mars.
It is a mysterious country only where one sees naked sadhus gather on kumbh mela and thigambaras walk naked freely. Probably, it is the only country where million sadhus declaring that they don't belong to a nation state and walk freely without any Aadhar card (national identity card). Religion plays a major role in India. It connects the North to the South, East to the West without much efforts. People still voyage from Kasi (Banaras) to Rameswaram on pilgrimages. Some walk through vast distances, as in old ways.
It is Ramayana and Mahabharata, two great epics of yesteryears hold this country as a nation. Gandhi on a discovery mission before Indian Independence found out that the entire India revolves around Satya and Dharma and Indians are moralistic. He united India on that basis and synergies its power.
Nandu's uncle disappeared one day from his village and did not return for years. Athamma thought that her sister should live alone without a husband and so she took care of that family. But he appeared one day suddenly. It was common on those days that every one wants to disappear in Himalayas like a mystic. Balakrishnan, Nandu's uncle simply wandered in India without even knowing Hindi or other multiple languages of India. He was brave, thought Nandu but his uncle said that it is a misbelief that we think that we protect ourselves. It is God who protects everyone and will take care of them. Fear is the cause of our misery. When Nandu heard about Swami Narayan later, he thought his uncle was one such Swamis. In fact, his uncle became very religious and took care of that Krishna temple belongs to his family.
One day a Sadhu stood in front of Nandu's house. He was not naked but did not wear much either. He wore a dust of ashes as his cloth. He had a Jadamudi which means he has never combed his hair. He naturally looked fearsome but in temperaments he was a child. He was indeed begging at his home. Hindus look at those holy people with reverence as if lord Shiva has walked in. So Nandu's mom invited him to her home and fed him. He was much pleased and he blessed her with painted rice in red and yellow. He told her that he was on a pilgrimage by walk to Rameswaram. Amma kept those holy rice as an asirvath (blessing) at her altar. Those rice turned into little red flowers after a few days. Nandu was fascinated by this magic. In fact, he witnessed a similar magic later in his life as an adult at a Sufi's mausoleum in Nagoor. The priest gave him lots of loose jasmine flowers as a blessing and when he returned home the flowers turned into sugar crystals.
During his school days there was a craze for a stove magic. That is moving a kerosene stove with mental power. There was a stove at his aunt as Athamma preferred cooking with wood rather than a stove. Nandu took over that stove and tried his best to move it closing his eyes. It never moved even if he opened his eyes. He was totally frustrated and start pestering his mom to make that magic. Her mom was not that regular religious wife. She was not even botherd to visit the Shiva's temple right in front of her home. She was happy with her Meenakshi at her home. But she was religious in her own way. She used to place a huge tilac (kumkum) at her forefront like Durga.
Nandu never knew that Amma had mystical powers until he witnessed it one day. That is one afternoon. There was nobody at home except Nandu and her mom. She asked Nandu to bring that stove that her sister possesses. She went to her little altar with a huge portrait of Sri Meenakshi and closed the door with Nandu inside. She started meditating and after a few minutes the stove started moving. Nandu could not believe his eyes. He was thrilled. It did work at his own house. He was jubilant as he could announce to the world that an immaterial stove moved by mental powers!
In summer, several festivals occur and in one of those festivals, people carry a hot earthern pot with fire on hand and walk into houses to bless and beg. Amma usually pour ghee on the fire that will make that pot much hotter and flare. But Sethu who holds that hot pot on his bare hands was never bothered. His hand might be at a thermal shock that it stopped sensing anything. It was a fearsome sight for Madhu. Similarly, on a different festivity people walk on fire! A huge bed of firy wood was stacked and people walk over it like walking on a bed of roses. Nandu could only admire that. He would never dare to do it. Later in an IT outsourcing center he met this young girl who just returned after a fire walk. She showed her feet with smoked ashes. She was cool as if it was a beach walk.
During Thai pusam a festival for Muruga people pierce their mouth with a needle or pull a cart with hooks pierced on their back. Gruesome it may look but it was done in trance that no body feels any pain. Later in his life he watched a German TV show where a Hindu sadhu pierced a long sword through his neck without any pain! The sensors on his body showed pain but no reception of that pain at the brain level. Fascinating! Sufi sadhus in Turkey cut human body at the surface with sharp knifes and heal the scar in few minutes by covering the wounds with a piece of cloth. Nandu was mesmerized by these acts as it was yesterday witnessing such a thing at his own home by his mom. World is strange!
© nanu
It is a mysterious country only where one sees naked sadhus gather on kumbh mela and thigambaras walk naked freely. Probably, it is the only country where million sadhus declaring that they don't belong to a nation state and walk freely without any Aadhar card (national identity card). Religion plays a major role in India. It connects the North to the South, East to the West without much efforts. People still voyage from Kasi (Banaras) to Rameswaram on pilgrimages. Some walk through vast distances, as in old ways.
It is Ramayana and Mahabharata, two great epics of yesteryears hold this country as a nation. Gandhi on a discovery mission before Indian Independence found out that the entire India revolves around Satya and Dharma and Indians are moralistic. He united India on that basis and synergies its power.
Nandu's uncle disappeared one day from his village and did not return for years. Athamma thought that her sister should live alone without a husband and so she took care of that family. But he appeared one day suddenly. It was common on those days that every one wants to disappear in Himalayas like a mystic. Balakrishnan, Nandu's uncle simply wandered in India without even knowing Hindi or other multiple languages of India. He was brave, thought Nandu but his uncle said that it is a misbelief that we think that we protect ourselves. It is God who protects everyone and will take care of them. Fear is the cause of our misery. When Nandu heard about Swami Narayan later, he thought his uncle was one such Swamis. In fact, his uncle became very religious and took care of that Krishna temple belongs to his family.
One day a Sadhu stood in front of Nandu's house. He was not naked but did not wear much either. He wore a dust of ashes as his cloth. He had a Jadamudi which means he has never combed his hair. He naturally looked fearsome but in temperaments he was a child. He was indeed begging at his home. Hindus look at those holy people with reverence as if lord Shiva has walked in. So Nandu's mom invited him to her home and fed him. He was much pleased and he blessed her with painted rice in red and yellow. He told her that he was on a pilgrimage by walk to Rameswaram. Amma kept those holy rice as an asirvath (blessing) at her altar. Those rice turned into little red flowers after a few days. Nandu was fascinated by this magic. In fact, he witnessed a similar magic later in his life as an adult at a Sufi's mausoleum in Nagoor. The priest gave him lots of loose jasmine flowers as a blessing and when he returned home the flowers turned into sugar crystals.
During his school days there was a craze for a stove magic. That is moving a kerosene stove with mental power. There was a stove at his aunt as Athamma preferred cooking with wood rather than a stove. Nandu took over that stove and tried his best to move it closing his eyes. It never moved even if he opened his eyes. He was totally frustrated and start pestering his mom to make that magic. Her mom was not that regular religious wife. She was not even botherd to visit the Shiva's temple right in front of her home. She was happy with her Meenakshi at her home. But she was religious in her own way. She used to place a huge tilac (kumkum) at her forefront like Durga.
Nandu never knew that Amma had mystical powers until he witnessed it one day. That is one afternoon. There was nobody at home except Nandu and her mom. She asked Nandu to bring that stove that her sister possesses. She went to her little altar with a huge portrait of Sri Meenakshi and closed the door with Nandu inside. She started meditating and after a few minutes the stove started moving. Nandu could not believe his eyes. He was thrilled. It did work at his own house. He was jubilant as he could announce to the world that an immaterial stove moved by mental powers!
In summer, several festivals occur and in one of those festivals, people carry a hot earthern pot with fire on hand and walk into houses to bless and beg. Amma usually pour ghee on the fire that will make that pot much hotter and flare. But Sethu who holds that hot pot on his bare hands was never bothered. His hand might be at a thermal shock that it stopped sensing anything. It was a fearsome sight for Madhu. Similarly, on a different festivity people walk on fire! A huge bed of firy wood was stacked and people walk over it like walking on a bed of roses. Nandu could only admire that. He would never dare to do it. Later in an IT outsourcing center he met this young girl who just returned after a fire walk. She showed her feet with smoked ashes. She was cool as if it was a beach walk.
During Thai pusam a festival for Muruga people pierce their mouth with a needle or pull a cart with hooks pierced on their back. Gruesome it may look but it was done in trance that no body feels any pain. Later in his life he watched a German TV show where a Hindu sadhu pierced a long sword through his neck without any pain! The sensors on his body showed pain but no reception of that pain at the brain level. Fascinating! Sufi sadhus in Turkey cut human body at the surface with sharp knifes and heal the scar in few minutes by covering the wounds with a piece of cloth. Nandu was mesmerized by these acts as it was yesterday witnessing such a thing at his own home by his mom. World is strange!
© nanu
