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The Indian tradition of literature, unique for its content as well as chronological development, ran in two lines : Mythological and Pragmatic.
Beginning with the Vedas at the dawn of civilisation the first line branched out into the Upanishads, gave way to the epics and the Mahapuranas, followed by Upapuranas and the rest.
The second line consisted of the Brihat Katha (the precursor of the Kathasaritsagara), the Jatakas and the Panchatantra, etc. They shed light on different aspects of life, on its worldly and other worldly complexities, sometimes didactic (as in the Jatakas) but more often simply expository of the various possibilities of life.
Between these two lines quietly ran a third, the treasure of tales told by the hermits, mendicants, ascetics and other mystics. Profound for psychological studies, sharp with mystic experiences, these tales of light, wit and delight remained a oral tradition for the most part.
We propose to serialise some of them, "retold by a master story teller of our time - one of the best-loved writers of India" - as the India's National Academy of Letters introduces the author, Manoj Das.
Enlightened Overnight
Manoj Das
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The good old zamindar had a guru. Once every year the guru would honour the zamindar by camping in his house for a few days.
The old zamindar was no more. His son, the young Kishore Chowdhury, was not known to have much interest in matters spiritual. Nevertheless, he put up a show of devotion for the father’s guru whenever the latter chose to pay a visit to his house.
Kishore Chowdhury’s wife, Lakshmi, however, loved and adored the old guru deeply. Perhaps that was the reason for the guru continuing to visit them.
The guru gave a discourse to the devotees every time. Kishore Chowdhury rarely attended it.
Once, however, Chowdhury was present during a discourse when the guru was explaining the concept of Advaita or Monism. Lakshmi was pleasantly surprised to observe her husband listening to the discourse with great attention.
The guru said, “In an enlightened state of mind one does not differentiate between a prince and a pauper, or between a bar of gold and a clod of clay. He sees the presence of the One in everything. He loves and adores the One in all.”
The young Chowdhury inched nearer the guru. Indeed, his face recorded an unusual glow.
Was her husband verging on enlightenment? Lakshmi wondered for a moment.
But she received a jolt in the evening when, on entering her husband’s room, she saw him embracing their new maid, Leela.
At night she took her husband to task for his conduct.
“Ah, Lakshmi, I never knew that you were so unenlightened. It seems the guru’s words fell on deaf ears so far as you are concerned! For me, I do not differentiate between yourself and Leela, that is the state of mind in which I am!” replied Chowdhury with a smile.
Lakshmi sighed and kept quiet.
The guru walked in when Chowdhury had just sat down for dinner.
“I’m so happy to learn that you have grown enlightened!” the guru commented. “You don’t differentiate between one thing and another!”
“It is all your blessings, guruji!” said Chowdhury, feeling quite flattered. Then, looking at Lakshmi, he asked if the guru had already had his dinner.
“O yes, I have finished with mine. You may go ahead with yours.”
Chowdhury picked up an item that looked like a cake and clamped his teeth on it. His face showed surprise and displeasure.
“What’s this?” he asked Lakshmi.
“A cake!”
“But it tastes like cow-dung!”
“It is cow-dung, of course, only baked!”
Chowdhury sprang up. “What do you mean by offering me a cow-dung cake?” he shouted.
“Look here, young man, it was at my instance that she did so,” the guru intervened. “I told her that her husband had obviously reached a stage when he cannot differentiate between cheese-cake and cow-dung cake. He has grown enlightened!”
Chowdhury stood still, speechless.
The guru patted him on the back. “My son! It is easy to cite a doctrine but not easy to realize it. Worse still, it is easy to indulge in wrong things in the name of an ideal. You will earn the right to say that you don’t find any difference between Lakshmi and Leela only when you find no difference between cheese-cake and cow-dung, between gold and clay. And if you have reached that stage, you will have no attachments—either for this or that.”
Chowdhury nodded.
(Manoj Das is an internationally known creative writer. He is the recipient of India’s national recognition, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the nation’s most prestigious literacy award, the Saraswati Samman. As a social commentator, his columns in India’s national dailies like The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Statesman, revealing the deeper truth and the untraced aspects behind current issues, have been highly appreciated.)
