Chapter 5: The Veneration of the Guru
Elate by adoration then seek blessings.
Translation
Upon Guru’s holy feet O Soul!
If then you surrender with love
Unending effect of the bad karma O Soul!
Will see it withering away.
—Siddhar Idaikkadar Song (041)
The
seemingly beautiful hut started growing out of size as they walked towards it.
Sarutha was leading the pack in the front, followed by Macham and Adhavan side
by side, ten paces behind. Adhavan noted a few odd things, no one came even
a bit close to Macham, might be out of respect, but they all continued to maintain
that distance throughout the walk, as though it was a strict unwritten rule, that
everyone needs to adhere to, irrespective of whoever it might be. Then, anyone
would expect a tinge of emotion in a wife’s face and a bit of goodies, or the
least a horrendous blasting when a husband returns home, after a week’s time, that
too with a kid, but to his strong disbelief, there wasn't even a little traceable expression
on both their faces. They didn't exchange even a single word and
he realized that the worst case was, Sarutha, didn't even look at Macham, leave alone coming anywhere near to him. Knowing that his thoughts will be
read like dark, clear cut words on a plain white paper, Adhavan started disciplining his thoughts and moved along with the pack, allowing his troubling inquisitive thoughts
to subside at their own pace.
The men placed the Jack fruit on
the veranda and patiently waited for Sarutha, opposite the hut, nearby a small pond,
under the shades of expansive nutmeg trees. Adhavan and Macham washed
themselves in the pond nearby, wiped their bodies with their dirt smeared, sweat
mudded dhotis and found themselves a comfortable spot on the veranda, right
side of the hut. Tired of the journey, they stretched their bodies and eased
their tensed muscles. Sarutha bought them each, a large mug of warm porridge,
made of ragi, diluted with the hot milk and a single plate of hot chutuney, made
of fresh pudhina and red chillies. It was mid-noon, though the Sun was high in
the clouds, the air was moist and cool, it spread a stream of chillness across,
ensuring a cool climate throughout the day.
They savored the porridge from the shining copper mugs. After each gulp, they tasted
the chutuney. They licked it from their index finger in simple strokes, the
tongue smacking it to the roof of the mouth, very stylishly, creating an
audible pleasant sound, well announcing the inherent taste of the food, to all who were around
them, especially to the maker of the food, inside the hut, enjoying the sound of
the taste being acknowledged, more than the ones who savored it. Obviously they
enjoyed doing it and it must have, well improved the taste of their food.
The filled bellies lured them
into a deep trance. Before Adhavan could ask if he could rest for some time, he
found Macham relaxed; lying flat on his back; knees a bit wider apart; right leg
crossed over left and the right toe beneath the left one, held loosely between
the gap; head tilted slightly towards the left; palms folded together on his
chest, thumbs touching one another and pointing towards the chin. Need not ask,
taking this for granted, Adhavan just snuggled himself a spot near him and was
about to close his eyes. To his wonder, Sarutha came, touched Macham’s feet, closed
her eyes and kissed it with such reverence and love, that did say something very deep about her nature. Even now Adhavan wondered, if she did look at Macham at all. She then gave Adhavan a mild slanted glance,
that hinted a bit of jealousy in her, might be because he was going to sleep
next to him, very close. That is despicable, him being a male it is completely
ridiculous for a woman of Sarutha’s caliber to become jealous of. As though he
said it loud, tears started welling Sarutha’s eyes. She left swiftly without
uttering a word. Adhavan bit his tongue. He knew Sarutha can, very well read
his thoughts. He didn't want to hurt her. He felt ashamed; he wanted to move away
to some farthest place on the veranda that could possibly hurt her more. The best
thing he could do his, at the least shut his mind of all these nonsense thoughts.
He felt so weak and lame over his uncontrollable thoughts. Whatever it might
be, he was touched by the mysterious feminine part of Sarutha and he vowed to
himself that he will never ever hurt her again, not even by the stupidest of his
thoughts. Following Sarutha, a group of girls flocked Macham, touched his feet
one by one, when one was paying her reverence, others used that time to steal
glances at Adhavan, whispering in giggles, then they all flew together into the hut. Following that, Sarutha’s men came one by one, they
touched the dirt beneath Macham’s feet, smeared it on their foreheads and silently
went back to their waiting place.
A mild touch of the cool breeze
woke Adhavan up, for a few moments, he forgot himself totally, it was hard for
him to realize, who he was? Where he came from? And what he is doing
at this new place? It took some time for him to get back to his senses. The
freshness borne out of a very deep sleep was lingering in the air. He turned
around and looked for Macham, rather found Sarutha smiling at him warmly, from the doorsteps,
illuminated by a bright hanging lamp, burning right above her head from the rooftop.
She placed before him a clean dhoti, head cloth, and a woolen blanket. She pointed
her index finger towards the pond. Macham was half immersed in the water,
enjoying the still moments amidst the ripples that touched him and left harmonically.
Darkness was setting in, the flickering twilight will be lost in another couple
of minutes. Adhavan, joined Macham in the pond. Surprisingly the water was
warmer than the chillness outside. In a very leisurely manner, they rubbed
their bodies with hard stones and sand found in the pond. Satisfied with the
cleansing bath, they came to the shore, washed their dhotis, wound it around and
walked casually towards the hut. There they clothed themselves with clean
dhotis, used the head cloth provided to cover their upper torso.
During that time, Sarutha came
out and placed an inch thick wooden plank, few feet right before the door step.
Macham noticed the happenings as they were walking towards the hut, but he didn't have the heart to turn them out, rather
allowed their welcoming ritual to proceed further, knowing, that it would
apparently shower their daughters with lots of blessings, goodness and satisfaction. The
first daughter, Punguzali, aged 19, came out gleaming and shining, with a clay pot, full of cold water and a few wooden mugs. The second daughter, Kayalvizi, aged 17,
nervous and shy, was getting herself ready, mixing turmeric
and sandal paste in right proportions. Their third daughter, Mathivathani aged 15, presented herself
with hearty smiles and a basket full of jasmine. Macham was invited first, to
stand on the plank. The ritual was performed religiously by Sarutha, eagerly assisted
by the girls. As Punguzali poured water slowly, Sarutha washed Macham’s feet softly,
with her bare hands, tenderly caressing it with touches that could bring tears
in any man's eye. She copiously anointed his feet with mugs after mugs of fresh
water, until his feet was abundantly drenched with all the good qualities
of water; softness, fluidity and freshness. Then she applied turmeric-sandal
paste gently all over his feet and slowly washed it away with the cold water,
allowing a thin layer of the paste to remain on his feet, so that it will keep effusing
the fragrance and freshness, till the next day morning. Then she placed,
handful of Jasmine flowers over each foot, knelt before him and sincerely
requested his benevolence and blessings. During this solemn act of veneration, Macham
was spiritually aroused and elevated. He took a handful of flowers, showered it
on her and the girls.
Then he stepped aside, asked Adhavan
to stand upon the wet plank. He looked at him, it seemed, that there wasn't any need
for the ritual at all, just by his sheer look, Adhavan got completely aroused. The
force within his body was growing extremely strong and it pushed him upwards. Adhavan
didn’t resist the surge, rather he let his body move along with the divine force
naturally. He fell on his knees, the wooden plank shoved away, buttocks resting on his feet, bent
backwards like a bow; hands thrown outwards; palms closed; in tune with the
force. Then Macham placed a handful of Jasmine, on the crown of his head and
his arousal subsided immediately. Macham looked at Sarutha proudly and rolled
the sides of his mustache with his index and thumb finger. The simple gesture
talked more than hundred words. Still, Sarutha, wanted to complete the
ritual, knowing, Macham’s presence alone is the biggest hindrance, she gently
pushed him inside the hut, took the lead and started performing the ritual religiously,
on her own. She finally, gave flowers to Adhavan and asked him to bless them
all. They, one by one, sat in seiza, bowed and touched his feet with both their hands. Adhavan placed a handful of jasmine over their heads, his left hand
touched his heart involuntarily, his eyes closed, he looked up to the heavens
within and prayed for their good health, joy, prosperity and general well being. Sarutha,
took him by her hand, led him inside the hut and found him a warm place, very close
to Macham. The hut was filled with the lamps hanging from the sides of the
walls, placed at equal distances from one another, the yellowish light has permeated even the remote corners of the room. The whole place was set ablaze with the golden
light that blended smoothly with the warmth of the richness, dwelling in those joyous hearts.
Even back home, the huts were not
so spacious, this hut, well, it could accommodate two hundred people at ease. Perplexed
with its simple design and the enormous space, Adhavan started studying the
piece of architecture, very intently. Strong and majestic, it ran wild and it
was almost a square, the walls were made of large stones and red hot clay,
smeared with the lime mortar. Roofs were thatched with straw, and stood thirty
feet from the ground, well supported by large pillars made of teak wood.
Ceilings were distinctly plaited with the huge supply of local timbers. Doors
and partitions were made of bamboo and there were doors on all four sides, supposedly closed and opened in accordance with the movement of the Sun
and the Moon. Intrigued further, he strolled out to get a wholesome view of the
structure. The hut stood out in the darkness magnificently. It has been literally
sucked out of the earth and it made it look much more stable and firm. Though structure
looked independent, it was well connected with the surroundings. The creepers have
climbed the sides, they have covered the roof and sheltered it well, from the
Sun, the night and the rain. The top of the hut was a bed of small, bright yellow
flowers that sprouted randomly across all parts of the rooftop. It simply merged
with the nature as though it was sculpted out of it. The backyard stretched
almost as long as he can see, well irrigated with the canals, the source being
the well, twenty paces immediately behind the hut. The water in the well
brimmed to the tip and was threatening to overflow at any given moment of time.
A strong wind can shove a handful of water out of the well. Happy for the himself,
happy for everything around, Adhavan entered the hut, contentedly.
Dinner was ready, seven more heads
have joined them for the supper, they all looked alike, athletic, muscular,
tall, some fair, some dark and few of moderate complexion. They all bowed to
Adhavan, he smilingly accepted their welcome with a nod. He then came and sat
next to Macham. They talked among themselves, with their mother and sisters.
Only two human forms remained silent throughout the supper. Adhavan and Macham,
silently listened to all the conversations happening inside the house, as well
as the sounds made by the nature outside. Though they didn't confabulate, they were part of it and in most cases they
were the subject of the discussions. Supper was a mixture of ragi balls with
smashed vegetable gravies; boiled rice with vegetable curries; roasted roots
and yams; ragi adai with honey; roasted nuts and boiled cereals; hot sweetened milk
and salted curd. The girls were busy serving the large, notably Adhavan. They were
competing among themselves to get noticed by him, by their gestures, laughs, talks,
walks, what not? Sensing that their brothers started teasing them, the girls used
their charm and played their whims, turned the boys against one another and
enjoyed their fights. Often, Sarutha has to intervene comfort someone or cheer
one another. All throughout the talks and laughs, Macham remained composed in
his siddhasana, aloof, yet completely alive in all of those tittle-tattle. The
girls were so alert, that they materialized right before you with the need you
had. If you are about to ask for water they will come and stand before you
with a mug of water. Incredible, indeed it was the remarkable way of serving
food. It should be much appreciated. Macham, for his part, had just two ragi
adais with a bit of honey. By the time he savored it slowly in bits the boys
have devoured almost all of what was kept before them leaving the meager to the
women folk. Satisfied they went out through the side doors, washed their hands,
came in took their mats and started hovering around their resting places. They
were getting ready to sleep. Understanding their need, Macham cleared his
throat. All of them stood still, even the whirring and croaking of the flies
and insects stopped momentarily. He looked at Sarutha and said, “Send for the tribe
heads and all of my sons. Let me meet all of them at madikuthai, tomorrow, an
hour after the rise of the Sun.”
No one had the heart to disturb
the peaceful silence he invoked. Subdued by it, they were all lulled into a deep
peaceful sleep. It was Punguzali’s responsibility to make sure all of them had
clean straw mats and woolen blankets for the night’s sleep. She hesitantly
neared Macham, presence of Adhavan nearby, made her very nervous, afraid to
raise her voice, she asked in low whispers, “Appa, Where do you like to sleep?” Chewing the betel leaves, Macham pointed the veranda on the right side of the hut. She turned towards
Adhavan, finding it extremely difficult to face him, conveniently assumed that
he will sleep only near Appa. Feeling relieved, she hastily walked out of the
scene. She and Mathivathani, jointly prepared the bed for both Macham and Adhavan; they
swept the veranda; spread the straw mats; checked if both had clean woolen
blankets in good condition; placed the head rest made of softwood, in such a way,
on waking up, they would look directly into the Sun, feet facing the east and
head towards the west. Then they lighted, special fire woods that they generally
prepare on their own and take stock of, whose smoke would wade off insects and
other forms of reptiles. They looked once more around, to check if they have
missed anything. On seeing Sarutha, accompanying both of them to their beds, the girls wanted to go in but the pathway has been blocked by their coming, confused, they stepped outside and waited for
them to settle. Adhavan climbed upon the first bed, followed by Macham. When the ladies
were about to leave, Macham called out Sarutha, as she came near, he asked her
to come closer, as she did so, he placed his right palm over her head and
fondled her caringly. In the third stroke, she fell face down before him. She told
the girls, “the whole night, she will be
in an eternal bliss.” Upon, hearing this, the girls went into the hut and
closed the front doors; they were not much surprised by the incident as they have
seen many such instances in the past. Since Sarutha, has occupied the mattress
spread for Macham, Adhavan came forward and offered his, to Macham. He waved it off, stretched
himself next to his wife and drifted away. Adhavan had his doubts, is he sleeping or is he in a Samadhi? Sarutha was lying in an awkward position between
him and Macham. He might disturb both of them, if he is going to make any good study
of Macham at all, so he shoved his mattress little farther, lying down, allowed
his thoughts to ponder over. He thought about his sister Matangi, her daughter
Andal, statue of Krishna she always prayed to, slowly sleep engulfed him.
Sarutha’s biological clock ticked
off. Generally she used to be wide awake and fresh like a morning dew, at the
least two hours before the rise of the ever glorious Sun. But today is an
exceptional day, though she was awake, her body was quivering with extreme heavy
spasms of spiritual ecstasy. Each and every pore in her skin was pierced
outward by an overflow of voluminous amounts of vibrations. The flow of energy
was chaotic and uncontrollable, numb with pleasure, she flung both her arms up, towards
the heavens, to her surprise, the leaves on the trees shivered heavily and the
branches tweaked. She sighed, her energy levels has grown in multitude,
overnight. Now, she has to balance and withstand it, else she may hurt someone,
unknowingly. She tried to gather herself up, failing, she collapsed on Macham. She
found herself very close to him. Her hair fell graciously over him and covered
his torso till his thighs. His face has not aged a bit. Still, he had that
calm, aloof serenity on his face. She took him as much she could. She
continuously stared at his face, taking in all its goodness. It has been almost
ten years, since she had slept next to him. Not because they didn’t love one another,
rather it is their eternal love that has glued them together and they ceased to
be two different entities anymore. Even if she got a chance to snuggle around
him, kids will always flock around. Their presence will be overwhelming and all
consuming. Of the most, she disliked to expose their personal intimacy before the
kids. Theirs is an epic love story, born in the middle of a deadly, blood thirsty
war. Those were the old days. Only today noon, after seeing Adhavan snuggling
around him, she had this thought, how come, for almost ten years she never got
a chance to lie next to him? As an answer for that thought, her sincere desire has materialized. Her face was just an inch away from his, she gently slapped
his hairy cheeks, embraced him softly for a moment and allowed that physical intimacy to linger
further, took in a deep breath and planted a hard kiss on his bosom. She then
sighed, swayed around graciously, found herself a comfortable place next to his
feet. Grabbed both his feet softly, kissed it multiple times, to her heart’s
content. Her heart was light like a feather, soft tears fell on his feet and
she rubbed it off with her dark, glowing hair. She knew Macham was awake,
throughout all this and has silently accepted her adoration.
Madikuthai is an open space, on
the other side of the pond, filled with evergreen pastures; the natures gift
for ever hungry cattle. Men grouped there to discuss on the common issues and
public events. In its center, it had a group of tall, dark greenish trees, with
palm sized leaves, whose branches complexly entwined one another, shading couple
of ancient stone benches around them. People there called this hub, ‘Maiam’. Well
before an hour to Sunrise, Sarutha, all her twelve sons; eight of them with
their families, three daughters and five tribal heads waited eagerly for Macham.
As the Sun started its morning ride,
Macham and Adhavan walked slowly, together, side by side, towards the Maiam. Both
of them were not part of this tribe, they were not related by blood, they were
not part of the same sect too, they don't follow the same creed, infact they
are not followers of any specific creed, religion or principle. They are a sheer
manifestation of the truth, walking on this earth, in harmony with the
nature. They have come a quarter before the scheduled time. It was part of the tribe’s
nature, they never make people wait, and they have come early, both the requestor
and the attendee. To them, making people wait is an act of utmost disgrace, to
the subject being discussed, other attendees and the requestor, the least. Exceptions
are accepted, but not the manipulated ones. As they came in, all of them stood up together, in
respect. Macham gestured them to sit down and found themselves a clean spot on
the ground. The stone benches were empty, no one sat on it. Until, the right time, Macham allowed
friendly conversations among one another. As usual, Macham and Adhavan were
silent throughout those conversations, they ignored private gossips rather they
listened to all public discourses intently, without taking part in it. After they
had enough time to settle; their anxieties to subside, he stood up, gestured
people to sit down and raised his voice, it reverberated across freely and
smoothly without any inhibitions. “Let
you all have the blessings of my guru and the divinity deep rooted within each
one of us...” It continued.
As Macham was doing the talking, Adhavan
was standing behind him with his hands folded back, loose, over his dark hair; body stiff
and straight, stoned spiritually. He was about the same height as that of
Macham, might grow up an inch taller than him. His waist line was remarkably
small and it cut straight into his hips. His shoulders were well rounded and it
tapered down into smooth lines. His chest was flat and twice broader than his
hips. His upper thighs behind the scrotum didn’t touch one another. His calf
and thighs were hard and well muscled. His hair has been pulled back neatly into
one single knot, that rested freely on his tight buttocks. He looked into the
crowd straight, without looking at anyone specifically. He shone bright like a
Sun. Though, they resembled similar in their physical built, Macham’s body has
gone through Kayakalpam, it’s now pure sinews, deprived of any flab whereas Adhavan had a beautiful body of a mortal being.
The gist of Macham’s talk was an
introduction of Adhavan and his vocation to the group. He openly requested the
tribal heads and his family members to provide necessary support to Adhavan, to
continue his vocation without any hindrances. He also added, when he goes back
to his chosen place, he should go with good feelings about you and the Laughing
Hills. He ordered Sarutha, to mother him into a Man of honor, truth, and inner
strength. He finally added, that he will leave tonight, for the hilltop, to be
in a deep Samadhi. Saying that, he raised his hand and blessed all of them. The
tribal heads one by one came forward prostrated themselves before him and sought
his blessings that was followed by his sons, their wives, daughters, grandsons
and granddaughters. They all flocked together. Neither Macham nor Sarutha belonged
to this tribe, but they have become, the family of this tribe. Infact, Sarutha
along with her royal lineage has given them an exemplary way of sophisticated living, purely driven by inherent spiritually emanating, strong ethics, high morality
and unconditional love.
Sarutha, after seeing all their
family on that day, wanted to take them to her deity. Pleadingly, she looked at
Macham. He approved, with a simple nod. She led the flock. They all followed
her. They walked, roughly for an hour to reach the spot. Over there, behind a
small well, amidst garden of wildflowers, there was a five foot lingam, standing
out majestically in the wilderness; this has been erected by the tribal heads, specifically
to pay their reverence to Sarutha for all her benevolence. The pavement was
filled with foliage and debris. Sarutha, ordered the guys to clean the place
and water it. Adhavan suddenly felt alone. He looked around; Macham was not
there. He has simply disappeared, leaving him to Sarutha. He felt a bit shy and
nervous to be part of the family. Exactly at that moment, Sarutha turned around with a handful
of kids, and waved at him to come to her. He hesitantly walked towards her and
stood quietly behind her. She swiftly, turned around and pulled him forward by her left
hand, called out, all the unmarried girls there and said, “I know you
are all interested in him, but he has come here for a purpose, so none of you
will approach him without my permission. Secondly, you are not to cast your bloody
love spells on him. Is that sound and clear? Uh” She turned a bit, looked at their granddaughters
and said, “That is for you too. Got it. Dears.” They all nodded, half-heartedly. That said, she looked at Adhavan,
pulled his head down with her right hand, looked into his eyes and said, “I see
a very great man, in you. Don’t fall prey to their fantasies and whims. Focus only on the
vocation you came for. Let it give you a Lions heart.” Then she slowly released
the hold, kissed him on his cheeks and whispered; “Now you are free. You can roam
around anywhere you want to, but be back on time for lunch.” Saying so, she
walked towards the girls and started giving them instructions.
Left out all for himself, Adhavan,
roamed around to his heart’s desire; studied the vegetations and landscape; stretched
and relaxed wherever he felt to do so. He walked miles together. After seeing
enough ponds, roads, vegetation, cattle, and a few wild animals too, he started
his way back to the lingam in the wilderness. On the way back, he made a basket
using flexible twigs and creepers found there, started loading it with edible
fruits and roots. He also plucked a lot of wild flowers, on the go. Finally, he
arrived, on time, to see the abhishekam, being done by a few male heads along
with their female counterparts. Food has been prepared and it has been offered
in heaps, in front of the deity. He found, Sarutha in a remote corner standing
alone, engrossed in the chanting. For a split second, she resembled her sister
Matangi. He walked towards her, placed the basket in front of her along with
the wild flowers. He looked at her. Her eyes were closed and she was completely
absorbed by the chantings. Adhavan slowly disengaged himself without making a
noise, stood beside her silently and watched her gradually getting into
an ecstatic state. The intensity of the chantings grew louder and louder with
the local instruments such as large brass pipes, soft calf skinned tabors and
arm sized conchs. Men and women out there were thrown into spiritual ecstasies,
their spirits danced to the rhythm of the heart, blown out by heart throbbing music that blended well with absolute chantings. They started throwing
wild flowers passionately over the lingam. The sound of the passionate cries and the
smell of divinity hanging in the air, together, must have hooked Sarutha. She
fainted. Adhavan immediately took her in his arms and rested her on his laps. He
didn’t know what to do? He called for help, women out there, came running
towards him. The situation has never happened before, there was total
confusion. They tried to wake her up, they slapped her hard, they sprayed water
on her face but there wasn't any reaction. Then, Adhavan raised his hand, the
crowd stood immobilized, there was complete silence except for the whistling
breeze. He closed his eyes, placed his left palm on the crown of her head and pressed
his right thumb, gently on her navel. Sarutha, opened her eyes, looked straight
at Adhavan, said, “I was in a bliss, floating in the heavens, how dare you bring
me down, that too, without a plea or a call?” Adhavan replied smilingly, “Sarutha, I am
hungry.” The crowd was awestruck and it took some time for them to digest someone
calling Sarutha by name. This incident elevated Adhavan’s stand in Laughing Hills
not because he called Sarutha by her name but for the glorious divinity that brims
in him naturally.
The gentle, night breeze, kept
caressing Adhavan as a lover might tenderly attend his beloved, the stars were shining
on his face and he was glowing brighter than the Moon. In deep trance, he heard
Macham's voice, “Wake up, let us walk uphill.” Adhavan felt a shudder shake him
thoroughly. He was lying on one of the stone benches at Maiam. That was the
first time, Macham had talked to him in a trance. In a dismay, he turned
around, far from there, he was able to trace Macham, Sarutha, Mathivathani and one
of their sons. He was trying to gather himself up, felt completely drunk, he
knows for sure it is not the liquor, use of alcohol without proper medication is
strictly forbidden in the tribe, rather it is pure bliss. Caring least, dizzy
with the heavy spiritual booze, he staggered around to reach Macham. It was
much worse than a shabby dream, he was not really able to recollect anything after lunch, at the lingam in the wilderness. How come he was lying down on
a stone bench in Maiam? He threw up his hands in vain. As he came near, the
group rose, collected their things. That night, he was introduced to their twelfth
son, Killivalavan, aged 21. This time,
Macham led them, with a burning torch in his left hand and his straight staff in the right hand. Only now, out of bloom, he realized, Macham is a southpaw. They all diligently followed him with a basket containing firewood and herbal
oil, carried by Killivalavan on his head. They walked uphill, without rest for almost two hours in a stretch.
(To be continued...)
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