18. The arrows
of my wooden bow turned out
To be the
pith of water rush grass;
The Rajdhani
of the kingdom
Fell into
the rustic hands of
A crude carpenter;
In the midst
of a busy bazar,
Lockless remained
my shop,
And a pilgrimmage-less
self.
I became:
Who appreciates,
my friend.
C/P JKK 4
NKK 4
19. The sling
knots of the load of candy.
Loosened;
My bony frame
bent
Into a bow;
What load
can my back bear,
Dear Friend?
Loss of the
Guru's word added salt
To my suffering:
A shepherdless
flock became
My sheep:
What can I
bear ?
C/P PPX 1/3
C/P trans (JKL 23) NKK 23
It seems to
refer to her estrangement with the comforts of her family life.
20. Fair or
foul, satire or sarcasm, all
I deserve:
Blockade of
audition, screening eyes,
As the voice
of god tickled
My consciousness
!
My Rattandeep
(Ghee/burning lamp) sparkled
Even in raging
storms
Note : Speak
no evil see no evil. hear no evil attribute to Gandhi ji was pronounced
six centuries after
C/P Trans. (JKL 42) NKK 42
Tantar dissolved
and
The mantar
remained.
The Manter
disappeared,
Consciousness
remained.
Conisciousness
vanished,
Nothingness
merges with
Nothingness
of the VOID:
C/P trans (JKL
89) NKK 89
22. Chidananda,
the light of absolute knowledge
Those who
understood,
Are free,
realised souls:
Limitless,
infinite,
Hundreds of
hundreds of times
Intertwined
are the ignorant
In the cycle
of life and death
Ref. Trans (JKL 118) NKK 118 and his commentary on page 87
satt, chit Ananda of Vedanta (Jivan Muktas). having realised Shiva the bliss of consciousness, knowledge.
23. In the
midst of the ocean
With unspun
thread.
I am towing
the boat:
Would that
God grant
My prayer
and.
Ferry me too,
across:
Water in my
unbaked earthen plates
Seeps in and
none collects '
yearn and
yearn
To return
Home
C/P Trans (JKL 1) NKK 1
'Water in my
unbaked earthen plates seeps I yearn to go home'.
Water is symbolic
enlightenment The unbaked earthen plate that of her fertility of recepibility
of highest spiritual knowledge. The unlimited absorption of such an enlightenment
brings her face to face with the hallowing light of the Divine being, She
gets enthralled and tempted to merge with the truth of ultimate reality,
The strong tensile worldly bonds of her social life seem to have reduced
to mere thin unspun thread that stands between her and the liberation of
her soul. She is too impatient even to wait for immediate merger but is
surcharged with the desire of instant oneness with the Lord and be the
energy behind the dynamism of the UNIVERSE. The mystic Truth of Lalla's
ultimate spritiual destiny is to pulsate through every atom and molecule
of matter, non matter and empty spaces or void.
24. I overpowered
and subdued
My vile heart.
Twisted my
liver.
And renounced
all I had.;
Thus, giving
up all my
Worldy possessions,
I became Lalla
for all
C/P Trans (JLK
86) NKK 86
25. Only one
word 'OM'
I studied
The same word
'OM'
I reared in
my heart,
The same 'OM'
I learned
And smoothened
on a stone:
A bit of grass
I was, yet
I changed
into gold
C/P Trans (JLK
NKK)
26. Only one Omkar. who fixes
On his navel
and.
Bridges the
navel with the Brahmanda (Stages of Kundalini)
Leaming that
very OM Mantra
By heart,
Of what use
to him are
A thousand
Mantras?
Note: The words
('OM') and 'OMKAR' in vaakhs 25 and 26 symbolise the basic mantras and
the vaakhs imply oneness of God and individual spirit.
C/P Trans (JLK
72) NKK 72
27. Probing
inside, I came
Seeking the
moon within me:
Sifting the
chaff from the grain.
I went seeking
The Like,
Alike,
Thou art Narayan.
thou art Narayan
Thou art Narayan,
then,
Why this will-
of- the- wisp ?
Note: C/P The
mystic moon in Maulana Rumi, Parmananda, Nund Reshi and other Shavite-cum--sufi
saints.
Moon that melts
within them in meditation.
C/P Trans (JLK
127) NKK 127
28. Thousand
times I asked my Guru,
What's HIS
name, who's called Nothing?
Asking him
again and again,
I was tired
and exhausted.
But all too
subtly
Something
came out of nothing
After all
C/P JLK 24
NKK 24
29. Countless
times we come, and
Limitless
times we should go,
In movement
we should remain,
Day after
day and, night after night;
Whence we
come, thence
We should
return:
Something
or the other, and, something or the other,
And, something
or what ?
C/P JLK 7,
NKK 7
30. I. Lalla
wilfully entered the garden door (of self).
There.
I saw Shiva
and Shakti
Merged in
one:
Absorbed in
that VISION, I
Dissolved
in Him alive.
Realised the
essence and,
Tasted the
sweetness of
The Divine
secret, I would die while alive
How can He
stop me ?
C/P JLK 13O,
NKK130
31. Tickled
by the sparks of Shiva consciousness
On pasing
through six chakras to seventh, ( the inner Moon)
My desire
deepened and I
Moulded my
nature by pranayamas: (Deep breathing)
Torched my
liver:
With the fire
of Love:
And thus.
I found
Graceful Shiva
before me.
C/P Tans (JLK
93), NKK 33
32 O, mind,
how intoxicated you are
With a foreign
brand:
How are you
eluded by untruth
for truth
?
Listen:
Enthralled
you have become
By a foreign
creed,
Coming and
going, birth and rebirth
Are but a
cyclic movement
Of life and
death
C/P Trans (JLK
14), NKK 14
33. Which are
the flowers and from which florists ?
With which
flowers should we
Adore HIM
in obeisance ?
Which juice
should we use in a
'Nauri-Kalash'
in puja ? (a spouted container)
Which Mantras
should we mutter
Unto Shankar
To Awaken
our Souls ?
C/P Trans (JKL
68), NKK 68
34. The mind's
the garden of flowers, and
Faith, the
florist:
Adorn HIM
with the garlands of devotion:
Shower Him
with thy inner moonlight
Through a 'Nauri Kalash', in puja
Silent Mantras
unto Shankara'll thus
Awaken the
souls:
C/O NR PP
C/P Trans (JLK 69) NKK 69
35. Bathe daily
at places of pilgrimage.
Not even for
a moment
Like in laughing,
sneezing, coughing or yawning.
Is He off
from anywhere
Before you
He remains all the year round.
Near you He
is,
Recognise
Him,
C/P Tans (JLK
84), NKK 84
C/P Parallel
N.Sh One & 2.
36. He, who
reposes trust in Guru's word
Moderates
his senses, controls his mind
And, is clam,--------
then:
Who'll kill
whom and
Who'll be
killed?
C/P Trans (JLK
55), NKK 55
37. Deception, hypocracy, untruth,
I shunned
and, to my mind,
I gave the
same message,
In my lifetime,
I found Him as
The only one,
all-pervading God:
What's the
source of food and feed?
C/P Trans (JLK
53), NKK 58
38. I didn't
bear with
Love, lust
or affection .
Brushed off
wrath and anger,
With a gust
of wind (by pranayam)
I cut the
feet of
Illusive attachment,
temptation,
As well as
the spell of ignorance:
And thus,
I was emancipated.
C/P Tans (JLK
) NKK]
C/P Parallel
NR Sh 1/7
39 I bore with
all mocking and jeering
With equanimity?
Ill - spoken
of I was all along !
Not for a
moment did
Deviate from
my path.
And thus,
when I attained
My goal
What else
should I mind?
C/P J.L.K.
. N.K.K.
40 Fondly will
they drink water from
The very lake
That is too
brimful to accommodate
Even a mustard
seed anymore:
Deer, Jackal,
rhinoceros, sea-elephant arise
Like waves
of rhythm and splash,
In the ocean
of space and time,.
To share pleasure
and, pain, merriment and grief.
For a while
in transition and then,
Wither away
and fall back
Into the same
lake:
C/P J.L.K.
113 N.K K 113.
Commentary
The Vaakh is
not so simple and meaningless as it appears on casual reading. It has a
deeper connotation for a thoughtful student. The smallest, weakest; the
biggest strongest as well as the shortest lived and longest lived biological
species may live for a few days to hundreds and thousands of years and
yet its end is certain. They may eat, drink and make merry for long. Yet
their longest span of life is nothing as compared with the period of existence
of the earth from the time of its splitting from the material of the sun
it is Zero Hence the expression
"Chun
Na Chun. Taty pen"
"As soon
as they drink the joyous water of life they fall there."
This reveals
Lalle-Shwari's clear conception of Mathematical symbol ! 'ZERO tending
to Zero and INFINITY" in those dark days seven hundred years ago
Fresh Comments:
Only a thorough
prior-study of L. V. number one can illuminate the mind, at least, to grasp
the depth of philosophic thought and import underlying Vaakh No. 40. The
purport of the Vaakh is not so easy to understand by superficial or light
study as a means of relief for an exhausted mind, however, versatile, well
seasoned or scholarly one may be. For Lalleshwari is too deep to understand
along a single, preconceived attitude of mind or extraneous influence.
Her Vaakhs are multi-purpose, multi- frangrant and multi-meaning in content.
Only an unbiased, free and fresh mind may help understand her.
According to
her Vaakh Number one, Shiva is present everywhere, omnipresent and all
pervading, all absorbing, the central principal of kinetic and potential
energy and the guiding force of all activity whether of the living or of
the non-living things.
This universal
energy -SHIVA- is present in every atom and molecule and even in the energy
of sorts. This, in other words, means that the earth with all that exists
on it (living, non-living, DEAD or ALIVE BIG OR SMALL as part of the limitless
universe) is the supreme SADA SHIVA i.e. symbolised by the lake referred
to in this Vaakh. This lake is brimful as it comprises all that exists
whether conceiveable or inconceiveable.
This very lake,
as is evident, is too brimful to accomodate even a mustard seed (or a fraction
of a single grain of rice) any more as recorded in some texts.
Lalleshwari
was not an ordinary soul but the supreme Mistress of Yoga, as stated before,
and an Avtar as referred to by no less a saint-poet than Sheikh-ul Alam.
Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani (Nund Reshi\. her spiritual
heir, and
the most popular saint of Kashmir from 14th Century upto date.
In a Radio
discussion long ago, Shri Abdul Rashid Nazki said that according to sufistic
philosophy, the whole universe is God and anything else that may be created
henceforth also belongs to HIM.
To this Late
Swami Laxman Joo, of revered memory, added that that too is God as discussed
above (if I remember well).
On filling
a vessel to the brim. we in Kashmiri refer to it saying
To me, the
epithet used in the Vaakh.
means that
all creatures fondly, eagerly and greedily drink water and enjoy pleasures
and merriments of every kind included in life activities, and share grief
and pain that come their way in the same Lake of the LORD in which they
exist. All this, they ultimately find, is of a transitory nature. The following
Verse of an English poet is an appealing pen picture of at least the wordly
example of this fact :-
Gather yee
rose buds while yee may.
Old time is
still aflying.
And this same
flower, that smiles today
Tomorrow will
be dying:
In this, the
poet enjoins upon us to make hay while the sun shines by way of good deeds
while we live, for, all actions and reactions, Iife and death, as well
as myriads of other nature' phenomena, are but alluring, tiny ripples,
momentary revelry or mighty waves and furious storms on this very otherwise,
pleasantly calm. serene surface of the LAKE of the super-supreme POWER
from which everything originates and into which all the weak or mighty
fall in the end.
Note :- The
available translations seem to be too literal leading to ambiguity to the
limits of absurdity. For, the life span of the longest lived creatures
or plants is too short and utterly insignificant in comparison with that
of the earth itself as it crashed apart from the sun not to a peak of the
limitless, timeless universe, Hence the deviation from float with the current
and swimming against it whatever the readers reflexive reaction.
41. Buy those
stores which' LL
Shield you
against cold;
Get those
eatables that' LL .
Satiate your
hunger,
O, living
being, ponder over and,
Understand
what answer, you have to give
To satisfy yourslef:
C/P JLK, 33
NKK-33
42. Didn't
search for, nor sought Him
Anywhere but---------------
Somewhere,
from Kesar Vun (Forest)
I found Him,
the Divine Jackal
I practiced
what I preached and
then only,
I realised,
I had won
the game
C/P JLK, NKK.
43. Shiva,
Keshava Zanva: (Lord Buddha)
Kamalzan Nath
may He assume (Lotus born)
As His names
May
be that He may relieve
A weakling
like me from
This worldliness
.
May it be
He: Yes it's He
It is He,
It is He . It's He:
(Only one
with different names)
C/P JLK 73,
NKK 73
44. Word, psyche,
dumbness
Nor babbling
is there,
Sweet silence
and mystic mudras, too
Tread not
there:
Nor do, Shiva
and Shakti 2
Reside there:
Isn't there
nothing but TRUTH ?
And ................................
That is the
message:
C/P JLK 134
NKK 134
45. In habitual
meditation, soul elevatingly,
Dyed in attachment,
With rhythmic
tune,
Arise,
The 'Manifest
Form' with its attributes,
Dissolves
in the Formless
Limitless,
boundless skies: (VOID).
The concrete
and the abstract------
Vacuum-------------vanishes;
The being
gets merged
In the silvershine
of the ineffable
Supreme:
And that is
The message.
'O', Batta; (Pandit).
C P Trans (JKL
133) NKK 133
46. I. Lalla,
embarked on
Going a-searching,
a cotton flower:
Thorns and
carders pricked and kicked me hard;
As the spinner
spun me thin, on the spinning wheel,
The weaver
hung me by the leg on the loom;
As the washerman
rubbed me with soap.
He dashed
me against a stone
And, washed
me clean,
Soothed I
was on seeing water:
And when the
tailor moved his machine
To shape me
well,
There and
then, I attained
Supreme salvation
and bliss'
C/P JLK 105
NKK 105
Note:
The yogini describes here, in a symbolic way, the stages and hard practices
she had to undergo and the hardships she had to face in her yogic sadhana
before achieving her goal of blissful salvation.
47. Preaching
plenty, action scant,
Self-probing
hard and subtle:
Absorbed in
habitual practice,
I forgot Shastras
And for sure,
I blossomed
into a blissful state:
C/P Trans (J
LK 46, NKK 46)
48. Brimming
with Bhakti,
I, Lalla,
embarked on a journey:
Seeking Him,
I spent day and night.
At last, I
found the Pandith
At my home
and, that
Provided me
the auspicious
Moment:
C/P Trans (JLK 97 NKK 97)
49. Deny not
water in thirst
Nor food in
hunger
In sun.
Keep fit in
the meanwhile.
That is,
Be God-fearing
and wait,
Do good and
be good,
That's your
prayer in action
C/P Nr, SP
3,4 PP VlII/3,4
JLK 34 NKK
34
50. (a) He,
who overcomes pride, greed, vanity
And removes
such hurdles of robbery
from his path,
Facilitates
his contemplation:
And, in all
humility, serves mankind,
Discarding
all else as useless
Is the real
seeker of the Lord, !
OR
50(b) He, who
vanquishes greed, vanity, arrogance,
Destroys thieves
like,
Cupid, passion
pride,
Removes such
hurdles in his path,
In all humility
seeks the lord,
He alone churns
out
The nectar
of the VEDAS.
C/P (JLK 36
NKK 36)
Note:
a) If the last two words of the Vaakh stand as 'vedan hund saar'.
b) If the last
two words of the Vaakh stand as in the text in Kashmiri.
51. I treaded
on the expanse
of the Void
within me:
I lost intellect,
cognizance and
The sensations
external:
A detective
of self.
I became myself;
Lo and behold: from which ear
My (Lalla's
) lotus blossomed forth ?
C/P Trans (JKL
103) NKK 103
52. In seeking
and searching myself,
I was exhausted
and yet,
I could not
reach mystic knowledge
Sticking to
it,
I intensified
my efforts
Lo and behold:
I attained my goal;
Brimful there,
are all vessels
and no one's
there to drink:
53. The dirt
of my filthy heart
Seemed to
be cleansed,
I found the
known, unknown: and
When I saw
Him near me, I discovered
He's all in
all, and
I'm. nought
C/P (JLK 100
) NKK 100
54. Draped
in stores of knowledge,
The points
of the verses
That Lalla
sang, became,
Organic parts
of her heart and soul;
Her self-consciousness
awakened
And removed
all doubts of death.
C/P JLK 102
NKK 102
55.
The tri-pinnacled lake.
The confluence of, running brooks
Is crowned by a cliff, glittering in the skies.
A bund links Harmukh
With Qaunsar Nag (Veshnapad)
The septapeaked mountain Lake is
Caged in a limitless VOID:
C/P Trans (JLK 114) NKK 114
General
Notion on Vaakh 55
According to
popular belief and pertinent records, Lalleshwari has seen Qaunsar Nag
in flood thrice. Once she is said to have seen it in high flood so as to
touch the skies, to use the Kashmiri expression for such floods, and submerged
the lake itself.
As per relevant
records, Quansar Nag is said to have formed a vast sheet of water in level
with the Harmukh mountain, This mini- sea like lake was known as SATI SAR.
During her
several previous incarnations, Lalleshwari is said to have seen the lake
dissolve and vanish in the limitless, boundless
VOID.
So for so Good
A FRESH
LOOK
One of the
meanings of the word, according to a Hindi English Dictionary is "River"
and the word means connecting bund or connecting link whereas means smooth
homogenous.
Keeping in
view the actual Landscape and geographical facts of Qaunsar Nag, one of
La!leshwari's meanings of the word ~ as seems to be "a peak" in addition
to ''TIME"
Three sky-high
peaks rise up vertically on the southern bank of Qaunsar nag. One of them
is higher than the others. The three peaks together seem to touch the skies
on both sides of the globe; above the lake surface, and below it by reflection
from the sparkling waters of the lake.
The three peaks
along with four others, not so high, in the surroundings are symbolically
analogous to the "SEVEN CHAKRAS" on the path of "KUNDALINI" from
"MULADHARA",
at the base of the spinal chord upto "SAHASRARA", the subtle Shiva, at
the crown of the head.
The lake along
with its surroundings appears to be encaged and cocooned by the boundless,
limitless wilderness of the VOID.
This is the
way that Lalleshwari puts across her abstract knowledge in concrete terms.
The word ~
used in Vaskh No. 55 symbolises the bund of the mountainous chain right
from Qaunsar Nag via Shopian, Anantnag, Pahalgam, Amarnath Cave, Sona Marg
to the Harmukh mountain. Hence the deviation from the common notion.
Ref:
i) Lal Ded
by the Scholar Professor J.L.Kaul Sahitya Akademi publication 1973 New
Delhi Vaakh No, 114.
ii) Lal Ded
by N.K. Kotru, an Utpal Publication, 1989. Rainawari Vaakh Number.
iii) Domestic
talks of my late parents (My father happend to be friendly with late Pt.
Anand Kaul Bamzai)
Note:
The 'Tri-Pinnacles' and running brooks, stands for the TRINITY of the Hindu
tradition Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara (i) Creator (ii) Preserver (iii)
Destroyer or for
a) The science
of man and his environment.
b) The
science of energy and
c) The
ultimate TRUTH.
These concepts
correspond to the Roman Catholic TRINITY
i) Virgin Mary,
the holy heart
ii) The son
resurrected and glorified, and
iii)
The crucified son (Negationism of India on different planes by an European
scholar).
2. The Bund
of mountainous chain that connects Harmukh with Qaunsar Nag symbolises
the long distance hurdles and hardships faced by an aspirant in his pilgrimage
to the confluence of sacred sangam of the soul with the supreme Soul, the
Divine spirit. (Link track from Qaunsar Nag via Shopian, Anantanag, Pahalgam,
Amarnath Cave, Sonamarg to Harmukata Ganga.
3. The Septa-Peaked
lake symbolises the inner light of the mystic sun and the moon, of the
seven Chakras of the yogic system, engulfed in the lake of human body.
The elements referred to in Vaakh 55 also count up to seven.
Hurmukh mountain
via the Srinagar-Sonamarg Highway between the latter and Bandipora is regarded
as the Kailash of Kashmir. The gleaming glaciers atop the snowy peak are
the venerable source of Gangabal lake, (Harmukata Ganga) on one side and
the nearby Kola Sar (Nunda Kol ) on the other. The mirrory glacier of the
snowy peak is symbolic of the ash besmirched naked Lord Sada Shiva from
whose jattas (Locks of long hair) emerges the life- giving icy Ganga that
flows down the flowery slopes into the two neighbouring lakes
The TRINITY
of the Tri-Pinnacles of Qaunsar Nag merges with Harmukh, the totality of
the ultimate TR UTH.
Qaunsar Nag (Veshna-Pad) is named so, as the lake looks like a foot with its heel in
the south and five toes, in the form of brooks, in the north, from a spot
on its Pir Panchal range of mountains in the south of Kashmir Valley. Huge
boulder like icebergs give it a frightfully formidable look amongst dark
bluish black hills.
Three sky high
Peaks, one of which touches the skies so to say, together with other minor
cliffs are its sentinels and serve as its guards (reference to S. No. one
above).
COMMENTS
(A) Whereas
Gangabal lake, flanked by hillocks carpeted by bright coloured flowers,
is a calm, serene, peaceful and tranquil lake, Nunda Kol is a very grim
looking awe-inspiring lake nearby and vertically down at the foot of icy Harmukh. Nunda Kol is encircled by meadowy plateaus, rich with a riot of
bright colours of the wild flowers of variegated hues surcharging the atmosphere
with fragrance and adding to the romantic, natural, scenario, The lake
and landscape are enchanting above the fast flowing waters but, dreadfully
threatening beneath its reflecting surface.
Whereas listless,
sleepy and static Gangbal lake has become the traditional paradise-of eternal
rest for the mortal remains, in ashes, of the dead, its calm, composed,
tranquil atmosphere amidst snowy slopes, scenic meadows, floating icebergs
and running streams brightened by the eastern and western sun, attracts
attention and inspires dedicated devotion of a bhakta and sends him into
deep contemplation and trance with "SUPREME SADASHIV"
This is one
side of the picture.
(B) The Harmukh
glaciers regulate, melt and flow in JATTA - like tiny water channels oozing
out as if through the long rocks of Lord Shiva. They gather together and
crash down in bulk, with a deafening roar in the form of a dazzling waterfall,
brightened by the eastern sun that splash into Nund Kol, a couple of thousand
feet below the peak.
The splash
fans out, sinks and drizzles along, like fountains at play. The dynamic
under currents over vast areas, spin and sink, jump like cartesian wells
and centrifuge like cyclones The push and pull changes the whole lake into
a sort of fast-flowing riverine tide.
This is another
aspect of the Harmukh Scenario.
(C) The two
exit-channels of the two neighbouring lakes join and speed down the slopes
tossing and dashing against the rocky slopes to replenish the fields miles
away and sustain plant and animal life.
This is the
third aspect of the Divinity of Harmukh.
Hence the truth
of the Trinity tradition of God.
(i) Creative
(ii) Preservative and (iii) Destructive. And discerning minds find sparkling
rays of light of the ultimate truth of totality shining in the three.
Hence the concept-
of oneness of God, that Supreme Energy Sadha Shive which engulfs and pervades
the universe and is omnipresent as per Lalla Vaakh number (i) one, Nund
Reshi's Shruk number one and Parmanand's poem number 1 and others quote
and unquote in this volume.
Whereas struggle
for life is instincitve and reaction to obstructions in the way are reflexive,
the urge for spiritualism, self consciousness and God realization is selective
except for a few born with divine genes with God's grace. Whereas clearance
of hurdles in the former is automatic the smoothening of the tracks in
the latter is wilful and voluntary. It needs patience, perseverance, dedicated
devotion and Hanuman's Bhakti of Sri Ram and Mira Bai's dissolution in
Sri Krishana.
The following
traditional belief and episode may help clear the conception quite interestingly.
HARMUKH-UK-GASAENE
(A naked,
ash-besmirched Sadhu of Harmukh)
According to
Kashmiri belief, (which is incidentally the origin of a saying) a devout
sadhu went to the Harmukh mountain a-seeking Lord Shiva. He tried to climb
the snowy summit stage by stage.
But every time
he climbed a stage, the very next morning he found himself sitting in the
base camp at the foot of the mountain, He did not relent but persisted
in his endeavour to climb despite his lapses and failures. In this way
he gained in height by inches event, day till he reached the top. Lord
Shiva was pleased. And the Supreme Sada Shiva Himself came forward to receive
and welcome him into his sublime kingdom.
(b) The yatching-canoe,
ignorant of the reason of confinement of our senior treckkers within a
few yards of the anchoring site of our small canoe, my saintly friend Pt.
Jia Lal Dhar and I canoed right across the awe-inspiring Nund Kol Lake
to the opposite bank where, Pt. Jia Lal Dhar landed to ease himself on
the flowery meadows of the plateau.
Soon, we resumed
our yatching cruise along the same bank and bank- across. We were obviously
unmindful of the danger that lay ahead.
Reaching the
foot of Harmukh on the third bank, we simply could not help being excited
and thrilled by the so romantic a sight a massive roaring stream of water
fell vertically, a couple of thousand feet down from the Harmukh glacier.
It violently splashed into the lake below. The dreadful waves that resulted
set the whole lake into sweeping motion forcing it into a narrow exit on
the opposite bank in the east. The stream flowed fast tossing against rocks
down the slopes.
The bright,
reflecting waterfalls in front of the background of snowy slopes, colourfully
flanked by flowery plateaus, looked scenically charming and superbly enchanting
While still
outside the danger zone, our Canoe rocked gently at first. We felt the
solace of the cradle, if rocked by our mothers to the accompaniment of
their sweet lullabies.
But to our
surprise quite soon our canoe began rocking and rolling and bumping and
tossing from side to side. It tumbled forward and backward, rose up the
waves and sank down into grooves.
We were caught
in an ocean of dreadful whirlpools speedily circling round and round, centrifuging
into a central dip, sinking into the depths below, and buoyancing up into
grinning waves that swept off the waters forcing them into a narrow exit
far away on the eastern bank, The stream so formed rushed on, dashing against
rocks on the mountain slopes.
An electric
shock of fear flashed through our veins and numbed our nerves. We trembled
from head to foot. Our legs shivered; heads hotted up and arms pendulumed
into irregular motion. " Beware: Jia Lal, Don't lose your nerves. Pick
up courage and row on. I will steer you clear" was my reflexive reaction
in grim muttering sand babbling in a frightened, faultering, low tones.
We rowed and rowed for our lives, Minutes passed in years for us !
Thank heavens!
we heaved a sigh of relief as we emerged out of the treacherously stormy
zone. In the process our hot heads had cooled to shivering limits by the
drizzling fountains of the watery flashes and whirlpools.
Exhausted and
horrified as we were, we could not but allow ourselves to be drifted along
with the current down to the anchoring site.
Landing with
feigned gusto, we pretended bravado while concealing our horror and trembling
limbs under the sleeves. What a strange form of human -conceit even after
the humbled ego !
The instinctive
interplay of defensive, self preservative mechanism is reflexive in nature
in all forms of life. The reaction to all kinds of dangerous situations
is automatic. The subject is not conscious of it, to begin with, as its
centres of control lie, not in the brain but else where, in the spinal
chord which functions as "automatic nervous system' in emergency like situations.
Likes and dislikes, fear and fright simply can't interfere in the process.
Saints, sages
and seers too possess this defensive mechanism as common people do. But
they have, in addition, to build up an invulnerable, strong, iron will
to bring even their automatic nervous system under their firm grip and
control: What a Herculean task:
Thus can they,
it appears, go along the path of pilgrimage to self recognition and God
realization. Hence the cautions of the "Trio of saint poets of Kashmir"
and other Shaivite Vedantic Sadhus or Sufi-Sages.
THE ANECDOTE
OF SUPERNATURAL CONTROL
To illustrate
the point and clarify what I mean by supremacy of saints, of spiritually
high order, even over the spontaneous and sympathetic nervous systems,
the following anecdote may be of interest to the reader:
During the
freezing cold of January.197S, I was flown off on the specific advice of
our family doctor and admitted in AIIMS, New Delhi, for acute obstruction.
After a couple of weeks I asked for a day's leave for celebrating the birthday
of my daughter-in-law in our company first time after four years of her
marriage. Till then, she had always been allowed to stay with her parents
in Greater Kailash during winter. To my and my family's surprise, I was
discharged instead, with instructions for future medication and precautionary
measures to be followed.
Back home in
Greater Kailash, early next morning, I was persuaded to go to a neighbouring
house with the dual purpose of having a darshan of a famous, Non Kashmiri
saints, Swami Harikishan Ji, who generally used to spend his summer in
the Ramji Temple at Barbarshah in Srinagar, and to obtain further advice
from Dr. Amar Nath Safaya, the then Superintendent of AIIMS.
I went there
and took my seat among a dozen or so devotees including Dr. Sahib, who
was asked to play the cassette of Lalla Vaakhs, absorbed in the music of
rhythmic tunes and scanning the import of Vaakhs, Swami Ji, with his eyes
closed, swung from side to side in appreciation.
Sheets were
spread soon after, for NAVID. I sat aside on the genuine excuse of the
serious nature of my ailment, as well as, the Kashmiri meat dishes that
awaited me at home.
But no. that
was not to be Swami Ji and others persuaded me to partake of the PRASAD,
saying . "It's Navid. You can take it and be assured."
A plateful
of cooked rice and sumptuous, vegetarian, dishes followed and then 'Khir'
as well as an extra half plateful of cooked rice. I became nervous and
apprehensive but to no avail, I had to follow the rest.
At the end,
with concealed fear, I took leave and went back home, within an hour or
so, tables were laid there and we enjoyed delicious meat dishes together,
my family and the new relatives.
Meanwhile,
all my apprehensions, disappeared.
I was as normal
as ever before.
During a visit
to the Delhi Zoo, I carried on my back my three and a half year old grand
daughter all over the zoo area. And later at Dehra Dun, I did the same
again for miles, up and down the plateaus when we went from my brother's
house to attend a feast there, on unmetalled tracks, away from vehicular
traffic and back.
What a miracle
!
"What benumbed
into inaction both, the automatic and the sympathetic nervous systems,
to react and continue on their normal functions?" is a surprising mystery
of the transcendent.
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