Chapter 8: The Good Cause
Life is worth dying for a good cause.
Translation
Seek the righteous path
On all days, seek the supreme
one
Join the assembly of the masters
Cherish that noble one in your
hearts
—Kaduveli Siddhar Hymn (006)
It
was a pleasant day and there wasn't much work to do than to stroll down all the
way to the plains of the Laughing Hills. After the massive internal explosion Adhavan
had today, a meticulously well planned accident as far as the victim is
considered, led to the most sought after, life-fulfilling, once in a lifetime meeting
of the God within and the all pervasive God abode in the heavens, a
few hours before, has sucked out all the energy from his quivering body, left
him trembling; arms and limps shivering; head dizzy with the nectar carried across
by billion neurons; eyes hooked to a venture in the crown of his head,
invisible to the naked eyes, he was desperate for a few hours of must have rest.
The divine booze was too much and unheeding, was trying to capitalize every
occasion where he ached for more of it, trying to knock him down completely,
ruthlessly to the grounds, thus proclaiming its audacious victory over him, triumphantly
across the wilderness, to whosoever will listen to its bragging, arrogant,
hedonic talks, earnestly, nonetheless, will give that all pervasive, all
powerful, all present, soul-thirsty, spirit-sucking divinity, the immense,
overwhelming satisfaction, otherwise though, its soul will not rest in peace, it
will haunt day and night, it will rack its way through by its crude, roughed,
wicked means, to strike its prey in the most unexpected lethal way. Ultimately,
it will win, every single time, undoubtedly, that is a known theory, that’s the
reason, why it has been unanimously agreed, well proven across all the worlds, experienced
by many millions who have walked this path earlier and have experienced the
same to be the god, the supreme being, the almighty, the eternal one, the
divine, the great one etc. whichever way you like to call it, has finally struck Adhavan to the grounds. He was down
on the floor, eyes closed, completely unaware of his self; a few feet away from
the entrance of the cave.
Sarutha didn’t have the heart to
wake him up from the deep trance, he was thrown into, she pleadingly asked Killivalavan
to stand by him, wait patiently by his side, till he comes out of the trance on
his own, bring him back home safely, before sunset, for a hearty, extravagant special
supper, she promised to prepare for both of them. Mathivathani can’t help
laughing at the idiosyncrasy of the situations Killivalavan always finds
himself with, it always used to be his father because of whom he will be held
back without food and rest, now this time it’s Adhavan. She continued to laugh,
being a very sensitive girl she realized, not to laugh anymore as it might
irritate and trouble her brother, so she hesitantly stopped laughing, went
behind her mother, over her shoulders, she stealthily peeked at Adhavan from
her safe hideout. He had a remarkable, strikingly handsome face that any woman
will pay a ransom for. Back in the village, everyone women, from young ones to
toothless grannies will fire her with a line of questions on him, what was he
doing? How was he like? Where did he sit? How does he stand? Did he eat? What
does he like much? What did he eat? Is he specific about anything? Is there
something that he will immediately fall for? Who was he with? Where did he
sleep? Did he come near you? Did he come close to you? How close did he come? Did
he talk to you? Did he touch you? Where did he touch you? For each and every
information on Adhavan she can get lots and lots of raspberries, guavas, roasted
nuts, honey dipped jackfruits, colored beads, garlands made of wild flowers,
freshly grained mehndi paste, fragrant hair oil etc., imagining about all the
goodies she can collect for each answer and nurturing those good feelings, she
walked beside Sarutha happily, bit leaning over, with her right hand over her left
shoulders.
Opposite where Adhavan was lying
on the grounds there was a small boulder over which Killivalavan took his
position, squatting, guarding a boy much less than his age; befriended by his
father, a man of few words, entered their family just like that; much cared and
pampered by his mother who used to be so strict with all her sons; incessantly
talked about by women who have turned down some or other man at some point of
their life, including his own sisters; who by his sheer presence had invoked
respect and honor, when men die fighting for that; who got “Theshai” by Siddhar
Roma Rishi, in all those years, the thought of reading any of them never
occurred to him. He sighed and asked himself, “Is he jealous?” he felt stupid,
embarrassed, timid and less masculine, why should he be? After all, he has come with his
father, in pursuit of a divine vocation, staying with their family as one among
them, of which he should be proud of and be delighted about spending time with
him. He looked at him closely; his face had that glow and serenity that he had
always seen in his father’s; though his skin was fair it had that dark tone,
owing to exposure to the Sun, he is a man of the outdoors; though his palms
were hard, he didn’t have those dark patches on it, it simply means he is
neither a warrior nor a hunter; he had that good, pleasant, body odor over him
like that of his mother’s, must be a pure vegetarian; his face was soft like a
moon, never have raced against wind doesn't ride a horse. On the contrary, even
at the age of twenty-one Killivalavan had that towering ram-rod look, with a
thick mustache and long beard, much broader and a bit taller than Adhavan, his
forearms and thighs were heavier and muscular, his abdomen was sheer
muscular rifts, protruding and much stronger than his, he could pick up a heavy sword around fifty
kilograms and whirl it around, at ease, for hours together, he doubted if
Adhavan would even lift it freely above his head, for a span of a few minutes. His
skin was on the darker part, thicker and rougher than his. He looked at his
face again, amidst all those extreme differences, he felt something very common
between them, that he was not able to rightly get a hold on, though younger than
him, physically smaller in form and size, not a warrior and hunter like him, he
felt one with him, the way he would feel with his father, might even tend to look
up to him, but why? The question remained unanswered. Adhavan may even physically
grow up to his size, will then the commonness between them cease to
exist? His contemplation bore an additional furrow on his large, peculiar,
high forehead.
When Adhavan woke up, he saw
Killivalavan asleep on the small boulder, his body was closed in, like a fetus
in a womb, it looked clumsily odd for a man of his size and nature to sleep that
way. He strolled around the place for a few minutes, before settling down
nearby Killivalavan on the same boulder. He looked down at his face, felt that
immediate liking, an unexplainable oneness, then his look drifted away, he
started admiring the beauty around. Left on his own, Adhavan enjoyed the enchanting
nature and its widespread diversities. Unexpectedly, a roaring tiger somewhere
in the deep woods woke up Killivalavan, he immediately expected, both of them, to
run away in the opposite direction, rather he sprinted towards the direction
from which the sound came from, yelling with his arms raised up, multiple times
furiously in the air, “Time for to settle an unfinished business.” Adhavan
didn’t have a choice but to follow him through the woods, Killivalavan was
incredibly faster, he shot through like an arrow that danced through the woods,
clearly bending and turning around the obstacles that came across, panting, he
followed him. He got a glimpse of both the tigers, drinking water from a small
pond. Adhavan was paralyzed to see Killivalavan confronting them single-handedly,
his heart was pounding faster than while he was running, he started sweating profusely,
more than his life, he was much worried about Killivalavan’s. That was not the
spot, when one can exuberantly talk about being confident and thinking
positively, rather it is all about skills, mastery of the same and the ability
to fight under dramatic situations. He doesn't have a choice, he has to subdue
those two ferocious tigers else both their lives are at risk. None of them were
bestowed with ashtama siddhi, vasithuvam, rather they have to use their hardcore
skills. Killivalavan signalled him to move away and approached the tigers on his
own, steadily, face to face, Adhavan prayed that his hard earned adimurai and
varmam skills back him up now, of all the times and bring him victory. The
tigers that faced him together growled, changed their strategy, the smaller one moved
behind him, while the bigger one approached him in the front, without making an
immediate attack, they jointly circled him, looking for the right moment to
pounce over him. When the impatient tiger, blood-thirsty, smaller one, behind
his back leaped forward, the next immediate moment, the one in the front, pounced on
him, as though he was waiting for this moment, he defied the attack on his back
by throwing himself over the grounds, at the least six feet from the spot he was standing, allowing both the pouncing tigers to collapse against one another. The small cat hit the large one in its belly. It must have inflicted great pain and they groaned heavily. Ignoring the pain wrecked by such powerful
collision, they gained their grounds, started the next round of attack, they
circled him again and again, this time, the smaller one didn’t pounce, rather
it closed in, used its paws to strike a deep blow on his torso, Killivalavan deflected
the blow, neatly swayed around the line, while deflecting it, amassed all his
strength and punched the beast heavily, right under its armpit, caught hold of
the animal by its tail, whirled it around, threw it over the big one, causing
another, second time, big collision of the beasts. The smaller one had been hit
painfully, it started limping, the big cat roared and pounced over him, the
beast would have never expected it, rather taking in the blow, he fell neatly backwards, his palms and forearm took in his weight, the beast was on the air, right above him, using his palms, fingers and
arms has leverage, deflected the beast hard with his right leg, high on its chest and sent it flying over,
it lost its balance, landed straight on a boulder, it crashed on its own weight,
before it took time to regain its momentum for the next attack, Killivalavan
was over its back, in a split second, he showered the neck of the beast with a
dozen of hard core punches, it started vomiting blood, having given enough blows,
he stepped aside, watched the animal’s movements alertly, it tried to stand up,
its neck fell down awkwardly, it tried again, but staggered and fell heavily on
the ground, he had broken the neck of the animal. He turned around and looked down
at the small one, the limping one snarled, it came near and threw its paw over him,
before it touched his body anywhere, his kick landed right over its throat, losing
balance, it fell down backwards on the ground and collapsed on its own weight,
splitting blood all over the foliage. He had killed both of them with his bare
hands in, no matter of time. He was so happy, he came running forward, hugged Adhavan. He
said proudly, “I am satisfied, I have had my revenge, I have killed the beast
that took one of my brother’s kids. We never attack any of these wild animals,
but if they attack us, we will make sure to break their bones; we never trespass
into their borders, but if they do on ours, we make sure to grab their land and
shove them into the fire; we never indulge in their matters but if they do so,
we chase them and kill them right in their own place.” Saying that he looked
around at the tigers, blood oozed from their bodies, drenched the soil and
reddened it. He looked at the skies and shouted, “Let my forefathers
ride those greedy vultures and feast on my victory.” Saying that, he signalled Adhavan,
both of them walked across, towards the Laughing hills, Adhavan turned around,
looked at the beast, a vulture was standing over the big one, it looked at
Adhavan, with a sharp move, it gulped out an eye.
Both of them washed their bodies
and hands in the stream nearby the caves, Adhavan asked him,
“How do you know you killed the
right one? What if you have killed the wrong ones and the right one is still
somewhere in the deep forest? Have you caused injustice?”
Killivalavan was taken back by those
straight questions, he replied slowly, his voice was coarse,
“The good ones have never hunted down
men like us, unless they were disturbed and fooled around by some, lame, dick
holding, cock sucking, made up heroes, who expect to show off their dick and earn respect
from the crowd, then it’s part of their immoral behavior for which they have been
paid for, under those circumstances, we don’t get in between their fights, we allow
the good ones to tether them into pieces, that is justice unleashed.”
“Secondly, these good ones don’t hunt
down our cattle and kids, they don’t even come along this part of the woods,
even if they come, they all come along with the Siddhars. You know, they never
hurt anyone.”
“Thirdly, when I see the bad ones, I
knew them by their smell, hair on my back pricks, their evil intentions gives me the creeps, I knew them by their sheer presence, I knew them by heart, when they
near me, I get that killing spree and I go after them, I believe in my
instinct, that doesn’t happen with the good ones, when they come close to me, they wag their tails and we become friends.”
“You know the good ones, some or
other way would have been touched by the Siddhars, so they have in them, that inherent
goodness, which I can feel when they come around and play with me. I have
chased them for sport, they have laid me down and have stood above me with one
of their paws over my chest. I have had my good times with them. I have
wandered with them in the lonely woods, they have taught me to fight and hunt;
combat skills that the schools don’t teach.”
“If by any means, I have caused
injustice, even in killing of these tigers and if Appa says so, I will hang
myself that very moment. I will never taint my blood, never will, cause stifling
pain in my mother’s heart. She openly, outrageously opposes, immoral behaviors
and unjust metaphors more than anything else, being her trusted son to whom she
looks up to, I will strictly keep up to my family name, I will not shame her, I will
not let her regret, rather I will stand by her and make her feel proud, else I
will perish right at this moment. I will never disgrace my mother, known for
strong ethics and high morality, not even for all the power, money and pleasure
in the world.”
Adhavan was mesmerized by his
talk, he saw in him a great leader, unwavering and unbiased, he will stand by
justice at any costs, he will not let down on his people, he will abide by strong
ethics and just morals.
Killivalavan was shocked, he had
never talked about such things openly, but this young man had made him talk from
the bottom of his hearts, for an invincible moment, he almost clasped his elusive
purpose right in his hand, but that vanished immediately with his sweet smile. He
looked at him again, though he was young, he was older than him; older than his
mother; older than his father; older than anyone he had seen before. He suddenly
realized, that the soul dwelling in that young body is older than the ancient things in this world. He was struck by this realization. Adhavan took a handful
of water in his right hand and drank it in a harmonious way as though he was
drinking nectar from the hands of mother nature. The clouds drizzled but didn’t
rain, a sign of divine blessing, owing to the divine revelation Killivalavan
had few moments before.
The sun was in the mid skies, its
noon time, Killivalavan was not the type to run without food, he eats very
little, but would need at the least, three meals in a day. He had already
skipped breakfast, now its lunch hours. He was terribly tired, he needed some food
and rest. He asked Adhavan to wait near the cave, the starting point, where they
were left behind in the morning. He wandered in search of food. Adhavan rested
on the ground and leaned on one of the boulders nearby, he grew still, whenever
he grew still, the cloudy circular lights start to appear on his forehead, this
time it formed a golden yellow, a solid one, he looked deep into it, beyond the
misty clouds, he saw two men walking on either side of a canal, Adhavan found
himself walking between them, in the center of the canal, the waters were so
cold, he felt the wet, damp soil on his feet, he started shivering, he told
them both, “It’s so cold.” One of them sarcastically said in a deep, stern
voice, “So what?” as though it was something very common and they honestly expected
him to come out of such bitter coldness. Adhavan woke up, unable to withstand
the chillness, he touched his body, it was almost ironically freezing under the
mid-noon sun. He sat there for a while, knowing not what to do, the stillness
got hold of him, he saw the light again on his forehead, didn’t hold onto it, drifted
again into a deep trance; saw handsome faces with long beards that he has never
seen before; wandered the beautiful places that he has not visited before; listened
to the voices of those whom he had not met before; talked to strangers heartily,
the way he would talk to his akins.
Killivalavan brought them a hand
of ripened bananas, each one was hardly the size of his middle finger, bit
rounder and softer, the fragrance it emanated, talked for the sweetness held
within. Seeing, Adhavan in a deep trance again, Killivalavan told himself, “No,
not again, I want to go back home soon.” He knew that patience is the most
treasured virtue, saying that he consoled himself and waited patiently by
Adhavan’s side. The berries pestered by the flies, were juicy and inviting, the
tickling hunger caused more spasms in his belly by the sheer look of those
nectar dripping berries, but he can’t have those, until Adhavan had his share.
He continued to wait, waving of the hoards of flies that circled the bananas, in
addition to the pestering flies, twenty two monkeys have rounded them up, ready
to grab those juicy bananas, but for the stick in Killivalavan’s hand, they
would have plundered it. Adhavan woke up hearing the monkeys screech, Killivalavan
was still busy guarding the fruits, he signalled Adhavan to eat, he took one
fruit; peeled off the skin, dropped it on the ground; savored the pulp. He plucked
one more, gave that to Killivalavan. It was very tasty, they pounded on it
quickly dumping the peeled off skins, that started forming a heap, each would
have had thirty bananas, they leisurely distributed the skins to the patiently
waiting monkeys that screeched, gibbered and fought to share it among
themselves, both of them happily watched the monkeys at play.
The Sun will set in another two
hours, till now they have not started the journey, Killivalavan was troubled
with Adhavan’s liking for the wilderness, he didn’t move an inch forward nor
did he engage in talks, didn’t show even a mild interest in leaving the spot,
his gaze was steady, he just kept staring emptily into the thickness all
around. At the most unexpected moment he said, “Let’s go home.” Killivalavan
can’t help laughing; he broke into one of his unstoppable cries of laughter. Adhavan bent forward,
touched his feet and eased his muscles. When he got up, he saw fine particles
of light dispersed across the empty space, this is one more thing that he started
seeing, that was earlier invisible to his naked eyes. With the inner stillness
and the whorl he saw, wherever his gaze turned to, he looked at Killivalavan
deeply, for that unbelievable moment, he stopped laughing, his thoughts
subsided, he felt still, when Adhavan’s gaze turned to some other direction, he
was left with an unperturbed inner silence. They both walked side by side silently,
each adorning one another's presence with unspoken words.
Killivalavan started talking
about the hills, he recited,
“The part of the hills we are in
is called Vasimuni Hills, this is located after the spread of two ranges from
the Laughing Hills, the passage you saw while we came across leads to the
Venmudiyar Hills, the densest of all sixty here. It is said, that even now,
there are places in those hills, where men have not set their foot, the sun,
moon and the stars have not infiltrated their green roofs. Amma has strictly
forbidden all of us from exploring those hills, so I didn’t get my chance yet, to
visit those places and the mountains beyond them. Appa had visited those places
a few times, when Siddhars came in his trance and requested him to come over. The
passage we saw is called, Peruvazhi, the straight unending passage runs for
three hours of steady walk, well surrounded by wilderness, on either side, its open
end leads to Thavamedu, the hills in which Vipuruthi Ammal was buried. Do you
remember the naked tree, without leaves straight before the hidden passage? The
spot is known as, Nandikundru, my sister Mathivathani, likes it so much,
whenever she comes with us, after completing adoration at Vipuruthi Ammal’s
place, she will smear sandal ash all over her forehead, run all the way to
Nandikundru, will go and sit smilingly on one of the stones strewn around there,
enjoying the view of the landscape below or emptily staring at the pathway to the
Venmudiyar Hills. She will always find some time to spend there during our visits.
It was odd on her part, this time she didn’t run like a possessed mad one, might
be, she was feeling extremely shy and feminine in your presence.”
Adhavan was surprised to know
that he and Mathivathani felt the same way about Nandikundru, but didn’t want
to disclose the information as it may brew jealousy among other girls. Not
telling the information is safer than telling the information and requesting
not to share the same, obviously its an additional burden for the one who received
the information. Killivalavan continued to share his knowledge about the hills,
“The piece of this mountain that
stretches before and left of Thavamedu is called Parinadu, the gateway to the
plains, through which all transport and trade happen here, between and among all
our hills and the plains farther across. On the third day after every full moon
day, all eighteen tribes, from all sixty hills, flock together and sell their
goods, continuously for a stretch of seven days, that widely consists of various
food products, household items, dress materials, medicines, weapons, cattle, poultry,
foreign goods brought by Arabs via Konkan and Malabar coast, paintings, sculptures
and some rare antique items, along with a variety of services they offered and the
entertainment they provided. The range of sixty hills is known as Velir Thopu, ruled
by five Velir chieftains in harmony, they are the kings of these rich mountains,
known for their heritage, wisdom and inherent divinity. The ruling power is
equally distributed across all five kings, each of them are placed at each
corner of the widespread range, oriented to a particular direction and
governance of the same, the tribal heads and chieftains came under these kings,
their loyalty was unquestionable. Strategically, the Velirs ruled by forming a
square, the power circle, thus created influenced well beyond those squares. Parinadu
faced the east, people from the plains enter through this gateway, beyond that
you have Valavanadu, ruled by different Vendhars and different aristocratic chieftains
at different times. Throughout history, they make pacts with Velir kings either
by coronation or by marriage, thus strengthening their presence in this war-torn,
power-craving region.”
“You know, our mother was from
one of those lands, a princess by birth, she walked those big palaces and high
forts, she was taught war strategies and combat techniques by our father
Macham, that made her the best among all her brothers and sisters, she had led legions
of armies and had won big wars, she became the apple of her father’s eyes and
got the best of all of them, whenever there was a need for a crucial, most
needed, strategical victory, the King, her father always chose her, she brought
him more grandiose victories than her brothers, he bestowed upon her, his
goodwill and benevolence, her brothers were not able to tolerate it anymore, out
of bitter jealousy, miserable inadequacy and struggling incompetency, they all planned
to assassinate their own sister, in the battlefield, under the guise of an enemy
ambush. Karumuni, another ardent student of Macham, an expert in varmam, who
can bring down a lonely mad elephant with a single mighty blow, was chosen to
assassinate her, thus Macham came to know the plan, he saved her and brought
her to the Laughing Hills, made people out there to believe that she was dead. Yes,
of course, for the outside world she has been dead for seventy six years. Her
identity is still being maintained secretly, if disclosed, it may even cost
death to all of us, her brothers alive out in the plains may even wage a war
against the Velir Kings. Only Siddhars knew the secrets of such royals, whose
blood are still being preserved under many atrocious outplays they are known to
play around with their magical fingers.”
“Many a times, Vendhars request
weapons and soldiers from the Velir kings as part of their pact, that happen
almost every month, soldiers will be sent to the battlefield, along with food
grains, cloth and armory. Velir soldiers are known for their archery and spearplay,
they will be placed in appropriate troops that require such services, sometimes
they will be requested to form their own Thalpadai and wage wars for Vendhars
Anis and Thalams, few a times, these thalpadais will be let on their own, to
wage guerrilla warfare, which they are actually best at and they have even demolished
armies five times bigger than their size. Two of our brothers, Perunenkilli,
second one and Nedunenkilli, the fifth one, have raised to the ranks of
Anipathi and Thalapathi in Vendhar’s Armies. They fought under Velir names, well
hiding their royal lineage, during extensive wars among the Vendhars of the
plains. It is the dream of every young man, in all these tribes here, starting
from age sixteen, to get enlisted in the wars and be part of them. That day, when
they are called for, will be one of the most memorable days in their life, they
would celebrate the whole night to their hearts content, their women will adore
and pamper them, they will be respected both by their elders and fellow folks,
their parents will be extremely proud of them. These wars help them to stand out
of the crowd, gives them the attention they crave for, more than the heart
throbbing action one could experience in the war field or the sense of
satisfaction one can suck from unleashing death and claiming legendary victories,
it’s the glory and honor they get from participating in the wars, that magically
pulls them to take swords in their hand and fight unknown enemies, without even
knowing, what they are fighting for? Whom they are fighting against? Why they
are fighting at all?”
"Appa has always been against the wars
and the demeaning philosophies that encourage them, but never once has forced
us to restrain from participating in the wars and he used to say,
‘Fight for a good cause, if the cause is good, then your precious life is worth the sacrifices you make and the count of lives you take, whereas if you fight for sport, honor and glory, you are messing up not only your life, but the lives of your loved ones too. Remember, the ones who lost the war, are crouching under your shadows, ready to pounce upon you at the most unexpected time to regain their lost glory; it’s just a matter of time before they find that soft spot, under your chin. It will jolt you with an unbearable pain. It is a cycle and this venomous war addiction never ends. Do fight for your fellow men, women and your children, from the cruelties that would besiege them if the enemies run over your places. Do defend your land from the greedy, bloodthirsty, war waging, beasts in human form, for they know not the value of their own life, be bold and fight with valor, not for the thrill of it, not for the honor and glory of it, not for the pleasure and richness it would bestow upon you, but for the purity of the cause and the sanctity one avails in guarding their own motherland and their people.’"
“The first time I got enlisted, I
wanted to prove myself to this world. I was sixteen, when I finally got my first
chance, to take part in a war, that too in the most dreamed front line, I killed
157 strangers for no reasons but for the pact Velir Kings made with Vendhars of
the Plains, thus I started getting into wars. Once you are into it, you will be
called upon again and again to render your services. If your skills are
highly commendable you will be called upon for the special services and will be
paid in gold. In my first war, I showed the world what I was capable of, I
became a marked man, not only by the unknown enemies but by the people who
hired me. They dreaded me more than their staunch enemies. Second time I was in,
I broke my earlier record, I killed 238 men, again for no reasons. The third
time they hired me they didn’t have a choice, but offer me a leadership role,
my legion outperformed others and I became a hero. The twist happened, when I
was called for the fourth time, they wanted me to help them, with intelligence, logistics,
training of combat techniques and war strategies, rather than letting me lead their
men in the war. They did it under the guise that my services were much required
behind the desks, not because I was bad in the field, but because I could be the best in the Intelligence wing. I bought it. Anyhow, I
enjoyed that piece of the role too. It gave me ample time to master the art of war.
Only later I came to know the actual reason behind the change, they were so worried
about their fellow soldiers and their leaders who were being discouraged by the
records I kept on building. Can you believe it? The source of their timidity was me being better than all of them. What an inconceivable reason? They don’t
want to be inspired about it, they didn’t want to set their own records and outperform
them in the next event, rather they told their fellow Soldiers that there aren't any such records and there isn't any need for them to create a one. The next reason was much
more hilarious, I can’t help laughing at the stupidity of it, I came to know,
that I was becoming a war hero, not only among the soldiers of Velirs but also among
the ones in the plains, which was against the plans of their Senathipathi’s,
who wanted their leaders to become heroes, who were not stepping up to their
roles, rather than asking them to step up, they asked me to downplay so that their
soldiers and leaders are not discouraged, to make them feel confident and have better
chances of becoming heroes, they blemished my reputation, tarnished it with all
build up petty, petty cases. They desperately wanted me to fail, they wanted me
to quit by all means so that they don’t need to step up and perform more than
their own self defined normal levels. That was utter nonsense, I could not take
it up. Only then I realized, it is Jealousy in its purest form, nonetheless. I knew
by heart, I could breathe vitality into each one of their soldiers and lead them into grandiose
victories, they could never even imagine of, but it is not what they wanted, it
is not victory rather it’s about the person who is going to be adorned with such
victories. That is what they were so much worried about and I was a pain in
their ass. I realized Appa was right. One needs to fight for a good cause not
for such demeaning stuffs like these, so I started looking out for good causes
that I can raise my sword and fight for, but I found none. The world outside
was so corrupt and unjust, it was difficult for me to find even one good cause,
worth fighting for.”
Adhavan interrupted and said with
an innate authority, “If all the causes you found are bad, you just need to choose
the worst one and fight against it, then by nature it becomes a good cause.”
Killivalavan was dumbfounded. He
kept going through those words over and again, but he was not able to grasp its
meaning fully. He decided to keep those words for that night’s contemplation. He
has been pondering over these things for months together, but the answer lies
in a simple sentence Adhavan just said now. He looked at him, he thinks
straight, brings clarity and has a grip on things. He is brilliant, brilliant
than him. His nickname doesn’t suit him at all. He teasingly said,
“When people from the east came
through Parinadu, you came through the most unsought path along with our Father,
one of the most honored men in Velir Thopu. You know what, since you came in with
a handful of Lotus and a big Jack Fruit, you are being called ‘The Jack Lotus’, not a nice name for a strong male that I see in you. It
sounds like, ‘The White Lotus’, ‘The Blue Lotus’, ‘The Red Lotus’ etc. Let
us find a nice good one for you.”
Adhavan was irritated a bit, he
said, “Adhavan is better than Lotus.”
Killivalavan smilingly replied,
“Even if you don’t want one, you will be given with one. Everyone has a nickname
in the Laughing Hills. Even our father has one.”
They have almost walked for two
hours, Adhavan never saw the backwaters, the passage and Vipuruthi Ammal’s
Samadhi rather they were walking through a thick, dense forest, where leaped, climbed up boulders and jumped across the ridges. He asked
Killivalavan, “Are we taking a different path?”
He said, “Yes, the short cut, we
will reach Maiam in another fifteen minutes."
(To be continued...)
Written on Dates: 03/21;03/22;03/23/2015
Chapter 1 The Realization of the Vocation
Chapter 2 The First Glimpse of the Third Eye
Chapter 3 The Complete Surrender
No comments:
Post a Comment