Chapter 2: The First Glimpse of the Third Eye
What he sought after disappeared to present him with what has sought him.
Translation
Not the form; not the space; not
the one that stands out exceeding another
Not the change; not the distance;
not ‘this’; not ‘that’
Not the big; not the small; not
the talking spirit
It’s the truth sprouting out very
rarely—who the mighty, could have the insight?
—Siddhar Sivavakkiyar Song (072)
He made himself a five feet simple staff that had natural curves
at both the ends. He tied the sack to the smaller end and let the larger end free
to hold. He looked around to see if he can get his hands on anything that would
help him in the journey, to his surprise he found none. Then he knelt; bent down
with both the hands; caressed the soil; smelt it; took handful of it; smeared
it on his bosom. Turned swiftly around, heaved the staff on his right shoulder
and started walking determinedly towards Nayili; stick resting on his shoulders
and the sack dangling freely at the farther end.
He slightly dipped his right-palm into the river and
sensed the speed of the flow, to add to the worries it has gained speed
alarmingly, might be due to the previous nights down pour. Though his instincts
warned him against crossing the river, he threw himself over Nayili and towed
himself cautiously towards the opposite bank. When he neared the middle of the
river the current grew much stronger than he expected, in a fractional moment it
wobbled him; tore open his sack; flew him away as well his staff that he made painstakingly.
Though he regained control, he wasn't confident enough to go after his sack and
he knew he has lost his staff too. After putting up a dramatic survival fight
against the flooding Nayili, somehow he managed to grab handful of reeds rooted deep in the soil at the edge of the opposite bank and yanked himself up. He fell flat on
the ground grasping heavily for breath. He then awkwardly stooped with his hands on his knees, and
earnestly looked out in vain for the most precious thing he ever had in his life—his
Mother’s blanket. The loss of it was unbearable. Adding further to the day’s miseries
the loss finally had its effect; it broke him down to pieces and shattered all
his strength and courage. It painfully ravaged him and made him fragile. He
threw himself on the ground; sobbed heavily; cried loud; beat his chest; pulled
his hair with all his might; pushed his nail hard into his cheeks and tried to tear
them down. His face started bleeding but his cries didn't subside. The outbreak turned to soft whimpers and slowly into a moan. And that was the moment; he had
a second thought about the journey. He thought about returning home. At the
same moment, there on the top of a mountain, Athri gave off a faint quizzical smile.
What may, Adhavan decided to pursue his quest. It is going to be an arduous
hectic journey and an implacable test of the character. Now that he has nothing
physical to hold on, hence nothing to lose, he continued his journey with a
single purpose one pointed determination.
He looked up the direction Athri disappeared as a flash of light in
to the wilderness of the mountain. He has to go south east, hence decided to
take left of the mud path that almost replicated the course of the river. He
estimated five days of walk during the time of the Sun. He then planned to keep
checking his shadow during sunrise to ensure that he is keeping to the
directions, in addition to the visual identifications he has mentally land
marked. When he was about to turn left he found a squirrel looking at him. It
then ran straight past in to the bamboo stretch. To his surprise it turned back
abruptly and looked straight into Adhavan’s eyes as though it expected him to follow
it. The way it looked at him, the hop and jump with which it moved and the way it
turned back swiftly, did intrigue Adhavan. Instinctively he followed the
squirrel and tried to keep pace with him but to his aghast he lost the squirrel
and found himself right before a massive Peepul tree. What he sought after
disappeared to present him with what has sought him.
Although he has seen massive Peepul trees in his native village
this one stood out for it’s built not for its size. It stood erect with its flexible
supple branches, shading roughly fifty feet on all the sides. The rift in its trunk,
is a feet from the ground tapered to closing at a feet down from the branching
point. It resembled the third eye of Lord Siva placed well symmetrically in the center. He realized that this must be some sacred spot but to his awe the place
was devoid of any religious personifications and mental inceptions rather it
was abode of immaculate serenity and he sensed divinity in the air. Adhavan
decided to spend that night under the tree and set forth for the journey in the
early morning. He drew upon his guts and decided to peep through the cleavage. Very cautiously, he looked and found only darkness. He went cold and sweated when he
heard the voice “If you want to see, then you light a lamp”. Adhavan turned
around to saw a handsome smiling face. As he pulled out from the chink, smile
turned into roaring laughter that must have touched the heavens. Birds flew
away from the tree momentarily and every living creature in and around that
place must have been mesmerized by the heavenly laugh and its reverberation.
They were all dumbfounded.
His eyes were crystal clear they illuminated and shone bright by
some deep inextinguishable light within him. His dark beard rested on his chest
and his hair was let down loose on his shoulders. His nails were clipped trim.
He was wearing a faded pale dhoti that had his lower half covered to his calf.
He must have had the habit of rinsing his clothes but it seemed he had never really
cared about washing off the dirt. He walked sure footed towards the turf,
straight before the rift of the Peepul tree and sat on the ground in siddhasana,
pulling the right leg much inwards to an extent his heels slid over the sides
of his slim waist. Index finger of his left hand, was slowly caressing the bottom
of the toe on the right foot, the tip of the middle finger was resting on the
nail of the Index finger. His right arm rested on the thighs of the right leg;
inwards of right palm were holding his chin light, knuckles of the index finger
was right beneath the nostrils covering his fleshy lips. Placidity filled the electrically
charged atmosphere; from roaring laughter, it just dropped to teeming quietude
but for the back and forth swaying of the being. Adhavan slowly came to realization
that this being that has showed up, has come to help him out. It watched him so
intently without a blink and it actually started gobbling him with his eyes so
it became very difficult for him to even stand straight before its eyes, leave
alone walking to that being. It seems to measure his every movement, including
breathing style, heartbeat and supposedly the stream of his thoughts too. He grew
nervous and started sweating as he approached the being. His heart beat was
growing faster and faster, and it was so audible that he could hear only his
own beat. Back home, he has fought wolves and hyenas on his own to save his
flock but they were just wild animals on contrary here, even nearing this living
human being was so difficult, terrifying and tiresome. He mustered all his
strength and took a step forward. To his perils, he was not able to withstand the force
coming from the being; he fainted, fell backwards on his knees and lost his consciousness.
He woke up and found himself staring emptily at the full moon; a
sense of fear entangled him with insecurity lurking in his heart. He has left
his home and got strayed into the midst of the wilderness. He is nowhere. What
has he come for? He looked around for the mystic man, he was still there but this
time in padmasana; eyes closed; head tilted upwards; palms of both the hands closed inwardly
at his Navel. He looked solemn like a King, majestically aloof, but immensely satiated
with the thing that has absorbed his whole being completely into something wholesome
that Adhavan has not seen or felt yet. He was now hypnotically pulled to him; this
time the being didn't force him out rather it pulled him near and closer. How
can the same man exhibit two different supernatural phenomena just in lapse of
few hours?
Adhavan sat close beside him waiting for him to open his eyes and
talk to him. To his frustration, time just flew by and he never opened his
eyes. He realized that he didn't have any solid meal from yesterday night; except
for one half-ripe mango he had today noon and plenty of fresh water to quench
his thirst. No later he realized this; his stomach started twitching in hunger.
Adding on to the starvation the moon showered coldness. Though he was having
chills and hunger tweaks, he waited patiently. He squatted with arms closed
inside. Whether the patience paid him or not his shivering and tweaking
subsided, he felt a warmth spread inside him. He was warmer than he would
feel during mid noon. Warmth was so comforting to the outside coldness. Like a fetus in a mother’s womb he shrunk himself before the being and dozed off. He
entered into a state of very deep unperturbed sleep.
The first strokes of the Sun woke up Adhavan. It was a happy morning.
Feeling the dew, he looked up and saw to his astonishment that the being was
in the same position he saw yesterday night. Now this made Adhavan look up to
him in reverence. He wandered around the place, carefully studying flora and
fauna, as taught by his sister. There seems to be lots of medicinal plants and
herbs that he has not seen back at his home but have heard in hearsay. They
must be of high importance so he didn't tamper with any of them. He saw a wild
rabbit hopping past him towards the carrot bushes. He ran along with
the rabbits, thanking them, he plucked few carrots with their green tops, though
he felt like savoring them right then and there, he wanted to present the
carrots to the being, before he can have his share at leisure, but wondered if those
types of human beings would ever need food for their day-to-day living. On the
way back to the Peepul tree, he found a small pond covered by lilies, the sight
of the water made him so happy. He kept the carrots aside half immersed in the water
by the shore. Right at the moment he leaped to dive, the being rose from the pond
he placed both the palms together in front of his chest bowed his heads to
Adhavan. Then he looked at the Sun and lifted his palms together above his head
and kept staring at the sun for few moments. Then again he dipped into the
water, this time he removed his dhoti rinsed it in the water and squeezed it hard.
He placed the shriveled dhoti on his left shoulder, took a palm full of water
in the right hand; sipped it all; gargled it multiple times from deep down the
throat; spitted it out in one fluid motion. He repeated this twice. Turned
around graciously and walked out naked in a very slow pace as though he never
had any intention to leave the pond and the Sun. On the shore he waived his dhoti
in rhythm, and threw it straight into the air. It stretched and flew a feet above him giving shade to
him and he walked very casually in its shade to the Peepul tree; the dhoti followed
him by floating in mid-air immediately above him.
Awestruck by the incident, Adhavan washed himself fast; picked up
the carrots and moved towards the Peepul tree. On his way back, he plucked few lilies
along with its stem for the being and hoped it might like them. The being now
dressed itself up with his half dried dhoti. He knotted it this time in a langotri
fashion that covered lower half of his body till his knees. He turned back to
see Adhavan approaching him, he went inside the cleavage in the Peepul tree,
took two pure bright cotton dhotis, came out and gave them to Adhavan.
In turn, Adhavan bowed in gratitude, placed the carrot and lilies at
his feet. With big smiles bowed and received the dhotis in all his humbleness. The
being took the carrots and lilies, found himself a place near the sides of the Peepul
tree, stretched his legs and leaned back on the tree, facing the Sun. The moment the being sat
down, rabbits shot themselves up from all directions, single pointedly to the
being. He then fed all those wild rabbits with the carrots brought to him by
Adhavan. He spared one for Adhavan, and handed over that to him. Adhavan sat
beside him broke that one carrot and gave one piece to the being. The being
smiled light, took the carrot munched and chewed it for minutes together. All
during this time his eyes were closed and completely engrossed in the activity
of eating. He then slowly opened his eyes it was just a slit. For some unknown
reasons he didn't open his eyes fully wide and it looked as though he was completely drunk with barrels of liquor. From yesterday evening till today
morning they were together but they didn't exchange even a single word. To
break this very comfortable silence and harmony Adhavan broke it by asking “I
came to see Athri” only then he realized Athri is the name he gave for the
being he saw in the river bank. To his surprise, without slight hesitation he
said “I am one of the disciples of one of Athri’s grand disciples. I am being
called as ‘Macham’ by all of those holy masters as they found me among shoaling fishes near this pond”. He pointed his finger to the pond they took
bath today. Then he said in a deep resonating voice. “You can find Athri over
there...” He pointed his index finger exactly to the spot Adhavan has land
marked. This he wasn't able to group it under sheer coincidence.
Now the silence engulfed again but this time it was uncomfortable. To
pull back the veil, Macham asked Adhavan,
“Why did you leave your home”?
“I wanted to find God and for that I am looking for Athri to seek
his help”
To that Macham
replied slowly,
“I know Athri, but I don’t know what or who God is? Do you know who God is? Have you actually seen him?”
The question hammered a red hot nail straight into Adhavan’s heart,
after a momentary silence he said, “God is present everywhere. He is omnipresent. He created all that
we see and he is formless but being frank, I have not seen him yet”
Macham then questioned incessantly,
“You have not seen him at all, then how do you say, God is present everywhere?”
“If you have not seen him, how can you say that he created all that you see? Of course what about things that you didn't see? Was it not created by God then?”
“On the first hand, you have neither seen him nor felt him, how do you say that he is formless? If he is so as per your statement, even if you find him, alas! you will never be able to see him, as he is formless, then your formidable journey is in vain. It is not too late, you can change your mind and go back home.”
“If the formlessness you are talking about is a concept then God is purely an inception for you. Any conceptual inception has a mental form though they don’t need to have physical form all the times, then the God you are talking about has a form conceptually, though not physically, hence you can’t say it’s formless. ‘Thought’ as such is an example. It is physically formless but mentally has a form that is formless.”
“It’s equivalent to having a god personified as an idol right before you and then saying that God is formless.”
“Even though there isn't much difference between physical representation and conceptual inception, latter is a tricky trap to come out of, since you will not know what you are trying to come out of, even if you see and feel the God, as per your earlier inception, your mind will trick you out saying 'God is formless'.”
“Secondly, either it’s physical or conceptual does it actually fit the real God, else you are praying to some other thing that is not real but an imagery, irrespective of it being either physical representation or conceptual inception.”
“Is this real God that is being talked about is based on your own perceptions borne out of real time experiences or has it been forced down your throat by ages long scriptures and belief systems?”
“Do you adore the God created and manifested by the scriptures or God borne from your unique perceptions derived form your unique experiences?”
Adhavan was at the verge of tears, he hesitantly replied, “No! No! God
is very well there it is just we can’t see him”
Macham pretended to be aggressive and replied,
“How dare you say ‘We’?”
“What made you think that I have not seen God? May be I have not seen the God you are talking about but I have seen my God?"
Macham roared an heavenly laugh and continued,
“First of all, I stopped using this word God almost some 375 years before, but for such genuine discourses. Even stopped these prosaic conversations on God, no God, big God, small God, form God, formless God, distant God, near God, good God, bad God, my God, your God etc. as they are just palavers."
Adhavan’s jaws dropped, he was not able to argue back, strategically
he has been beaten, and all these days what he has been doing to others was
done to him by Macham. His thought pattern has been peeled off, all the layers
and constraints were diligently removed by a well experienced hand. In literal
terms, Macham has taken him forcefully; ripped away his mental barriers; raped
his mind to his satisfaction and let him down in shreds. He being greater than 375 years is just one
another add-on to the prodigy.
Adhavan’s mind was cleared of all his thoughts and it was now ripe
for infusion, this no mind state was
what Macham was exactly looking for, he took advantage of this state. He took Adhavan by
his neck and blew on his forehead thrice. On the third blow, Adhavan saw a green
light in concentric circles encompassing bluish light in the center which then, slowly got transformed into a bright white. Macham rested him slowly on
the ground and watched over him like an Hawk.
(To be continued...)
Written on Dates: 02/07/2015; 02/08/2015; 02/09/2015; 02/10/2015
About Adhavan,Chapter 1
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