THE TALE OF THE DOME
INTRODUCTION
This
is the story of King Padma and Queen Leelaa.
Leelaa
is a devotee of Goddess Sarasvati and prays for knowledge.
Goddess
Sarasvati explains to her the illusory nature of time and space by giving
Leelaa the actual experience of journeying to her dead husband’s past and
future lives.
The
term ‘Dome’ or ‘Mandapa’ plays a very important role in the story.
Leelaa
travels huge distances to visit the past and future worlds of her husband
inside the tiny place of her bed-room dome. The tiny dome of her bed-room
contains many domes of created worlds of enormous sizes and covers vast distances.
This
paradox is the main theme of the story.
The
story is slightly mind-boggling and contains highly abstract truths.
[A BRIEFING OF THE STORY]
[Queen
Leelaa is a devoted wife of King Padma. She wants her husband to be with her
even after his death. By the boon obtained from Goddess Jnapti (Sarasvati), she
binds the subtle Jeeva of Padma inside the tiny space of her bed-dome.
That
very night she visits by the grace of Sarasvati, her husband’s ‘future world’
which Padma is experiencing as a Jeeva inside the bed-dome. In that life she
sees him as a sixteen year old prince getting consecrated on the throne. He has
a different form and different personality there. His name is Vidooratha in the
new life.
That
very night Sarasvati takes her again to another Creation-dome where Leelaa had
lived and died as Arundhati, a Brahmin woman, the wife of Brahmin Vasishta.
There
the sons are mourning the death of their parents.
Leelaa learns that she as Arundhati and her husband
Vasishta (not Sage Vasishta)
had
died there in that creation eight days back.
Arundhati
again by the boon obtained from Sarasvati had bound her husband Vasishta’s
Jeeva in that little room of that small cottage.
Leelaa
is puzzled.
Inside
the Brahmin’s tiny cottage-room, Vasishta’s Jeeva was stuck.
Vasishta’s
Jeeva experienced the life of Padma in that tiny cottage room-space itself.
And
again as per Leelaa’s wish the ‘Jeeva of Padma’ was stuck in the ‘bed room
dome’ of Padma’s palace.
Padma
was experiencing the life of Vidooratha in that ‘bed room dome’ which was
really inside the ‘tiny cottage-room’ of the Brahmin.
The
tiny cottage room-space of Vasishta’s house contained within it the world of
Padma and also the world of Vidooratha.
‘Space’
is the projection of the mind. There is no absolute solid world anywhere.
Anyone
can dream a huge world inside a bed room space.
After
death also, life is experienced in the very same point of the previous life.
If
we go on searching for the original point where all the life experiences
started, we will end up in Brahman, the point which contains all the manifest
worlds within it like perturbations.
To
simplify the story, we can say that the Brahmin Vasishta in his hut dreamed
that he was King Padma. And as he was dreaming as King Padma he had another dream
and thought that he was king Vidooratha.
All
the dreams are experienced only in the hut-space by Vasishta.
A
dream within a dream within a dream!
If
we mark the ‘dream-change junctions’ with ‘deaths’, then we can say that
Vasishta died to become Padma; Padma died to become Vidooratha.
But
because of Arundhati’s boon, Vasishta’s Jeeva was stuck in the hut.
All
the experiences of Padma and Vidooratha occur in the mind of the Brahmin
Vasishta.
However,
Vasishta’s body has been cremated already and Padma’s body is kept preserved
and so the life-story of Padma alone continues in the end.
Time
which is the counterpart of space also is a projection of the mind.
On
the very night of Padma’s death Leelaa visits Arundhati’s world after some
fifty or sixty years of living as Leelaa in Padma’s world.
But
she as Arundhati had died only eight days back in that world, along with her
husband.
Within
eight days, she had lived some sixty years as Leelaa in a palace!
Similarly
on that very night of Padma’s death, she visits Vidooratha’s world two times.
In
the first visit she sees Vidooratha (Padma’s next life) as a youth of sixteen
getting consecrated as the king.
In
the second visit she sees him as an old man of seventy or so, ready to fight
his enemy in a fierce battle.
She
spends a night there watching the battle and its aftermath.
When
she returns to her world of Leelaa, she finds that almost a month has elapsed
in her world.
There
does not seem to be any match between the clocks and calendars of all the three
worlds – past, present and future worlds of Padma; nor is there a sense in the
space measurements.
Leelaa
understands the illusory nature of ‘Time and Space’. She now knows all the
worlds are just projections of the mind. She develops dispassion and goes off to
SatyaLoka with her deity Jnapti.
STORY OF LEELAA AND PADMA
SARASVATI’S TEMPLE
King Padma stood on the
terrace garden. His eyes looked weary. A gentle wind rustled his unkempt hair
and bathed him in the intoxicating fragrance of jasmine flowers. Melodious Veenaa
music entered his ears from afar and soothed his tired brain. Far out in the
garden a bluish moon was shining competing with the satellite floating in the
sky. But this moon was a man made wonder constructed at the behest of Queen
Leelaa as a temple for her favorite deity Goddess Sarasvati.
The building was a real
architectural marvel. It was a huge circular arena open on all sides. An
enormous dome covered the entire structure like the sky. Gigantic pillars clad
with variously shaped Lapis lazuli flowers supported the structure like mighty
Gods. Garlands
On the eastern corner a huge
statue of Goddess Sarasvati had been placed. The statue was carved meticulously
in crystal opal. Instead of being adorned with Veenaa and other accessories,
this Sarasvati was seated on a huge gem-studded throne which threw colorful
panorama of lights all around it. The hands of the Goddess gently rested on
both sides of the throne. The statue was of immense height with the head of the
Goddess almost touching the roof. The Goddess was not adorned with a jewel
crown. Her hair dropped down profusely all over her back. A simple garland made
of giant pearls embraced her neck like the arms of a child. She seemed to smile
at everyone who came before her. It felt almost like she was about to come down
and hug her devotees. The sculptor had made the statue almost life-like and had
worked hard to bring the required effect.
The hall was an arena for
arts. It was a mini SatyaLoka, the abode of the Goddess in heaven. The place
was always busy with crowds of highly talented people who came from far and
near to exhibit their talents to the queen and get rewarded by her. Queen
Leelaa who though was a promoter of arts mostly encouraged scholarly
discussions which aimed at decoding the great truths contained in the Vedas and
Upanishads.
Queen Leelaa herself was a
great scholar. There was no art she did not master. And she surpassed even
heavenly damsels in her beauty. From childhood she was fascinated by the
Goddess of Knowledge and worshipped her with extreme devotion. Her only desire
in life was to know everything about the Creation and unravel the mysteries of
Nature. No Scriptures were left unread by her; no language was left untouched
by her. She was adept in the practice of Yogic meditations and breath-control
also. There was nothing more on earth she could master anymore. Most of the
days and nights she spent in her temple itself, contemplating on her deity and
pondering about the mysteries of the Universe.
KING
PADMA
King Padma sighed impatiently.
He knew that he was the most
fortunate man on Earth for having Leelaa as his wife. He could not ask for
more. But he always felt that she did not deserve him. Of course never had she
shown any arrogance or vanity on her part. He knew that she loved him more than
her own life. The time spent in her company was worthier than even the eternal
post of Indra. But he could never ever forget the fact that she was far above
him in learning and wisdom. Moreover she was not as interested in material
pleasures as him.
Most of the nights were spent
in her describing the various events that went on in her temple and the
philosophical truths that were discussed on that day. It was long since the
king ever had her as a companion in amorous sports. He even felt ashamed to
even indirectly suggest that he entertained a wish to enjoy her company.
Though he felt blessed to own
the most beautiful woman on earth as his life-mate, he never had the fortune to
enjoy her company as he desired. She was an exotic fruit held in the hand of
the Goddess of Knowledge and he never had the courage to grasp it and eat it.
Of course countless maids of exquisite beauty served him day and night and
satisfied his unending demands of passion; but his cherished wife did not even
have the least inclination about his innermost fires of desires consuming him
slowly. Except for this flaw on her part for which no one but fate seemed
responsible, she was the ideal companion for the king in other matters.
Leelaa attended to all his
personal needs herself; she attended the court with him daily and helped in the
administration affairs. Whenever the king was away on his amorous adventures
with pretty maidens, she took care of the kingdom and handled the matters with
extreme care. The ministers highly valued her advice on official matters and
kept her busy. People loved her like their own mother. She was easily
approachable by any ordinary member of the public and everyone adored her as Goddess
Lakshmi incarnated on earth.
The king was just name sake.
He never had enough of pleasures and left the charge of the kingdom to his ever
wise wife and relaxed in sheer luxuries the post of the king had offered him.
Since the queen handled the chiefs of the neighboring states also with extreme
friendliness and goodness, battles and wars were mere words in the minds of the
people. Swords and spears were just toys used for sports of bravery and never
ever were stained by the blood of the enemies, because there existed no enemies
for Padma under the rule of the wise queen Leelaa. Moreover her family deity
Jnapti, Goddess of Knowledge kept her devotee’s world under her care and no
calamity or tragedy struck the kingdom at any time.
King Padma had nothing to
complain about. He entrusted all the affairs of the kingdom to his ever
affectionate wife and spent all his time in seeking various pleasures his royal
status could provide. But he missed her company.
‘If only such a beauty had
passion also inbuilt in it!’
His heart cried like a child
whose toy was securely locked in the safe.
LEELAA,
THE DEVOTED WIFE
Today King Padma had quickly
got over all the urgent affairs of the State and had arrived earlier than usual
to the palace of his wife. But Leelaa was not there. Of course he knew very
well that she would be in the temple
of Jnapti
What was there to know about
the world, he wondered.
When God had provided all that
one could ask for, why go after worthless query about some abstract things, he
asked himself.
He dismissed away with a
frustrated look, all the girls waiting to serve him. He collapsed on the bed
tired and angry. The soft cool bed soothed his burning body. He closed his
weary eyes and entered his world of imagination. He pictured his wife without
her wisdom; pretty, passionate, a perfect company in love sports. The thought
brought a smile on his lips. The music from the Veenaa lulled him to a blissful
drowsiness. He relaxed on the bed and his eye lids shut the world out of his
mind.
When he woke up he saw his
lovely queen fanning him gently. He smiled with complete satisfaction.
Leelaa smiled too! Was not she
his reflection always!
HOW TO BECOME IMMORTAL?
The temple of the Jnapti was
buzzing with activity hitherto unknown. Scholars and learned men from various
parts of the country had arrived there being specially invited for the
occasion. The temple which always shone like a recluse lady attired in white,
today wore the look of a colorful bride. Flowers of various hues decorated each
and every corner of the sacred premises. Another thing that made all the
difference was a huge jewel box placed at the feet of the Goddess.
The box itself was studded all
over with diamonds and gems of various hues. More diamonds filled the box unto
the brim. Any one who could answer the query of the Queen today would be the
proud owner of that treasure box. The crowd eagerly awaited the arrival of
their beloved queen.
Soon Leelaa adorned the court
like a full moon shining amidst stars. She sat on the white marble throne kept
at the feet of the Goddess. She bent her head slightly revering all the learned
men who had assembled there at her behest. The crowd hailed her with respect.
The queen smiled back graciously. But her eyes couldn’t hide her apprehension.
Without much delay she placed her question before the assembly and asked them
to present a perfect solution for her problem.
The query she presented was
whether immortality could be attained by humans.
Was there any drug, or hymn,
or austerity or penance which could make a man immortal, she wanted to know and
she warned the crowd that any false claim or an attempt to cheat would be met
with severe punishment immediately.
The queen was well known for
her compassion but she never spared anyone who acted the wrong way. Especially
those who slighted women were ruthlessly sent to the dungeons.
She requested the assembly to
find the answer at least by the end of the day and returned to her private
chambers.
LEELAA
IS WORRIED
Leelaa took her favorite Veenaa
and placed it lovingly on her lap. As her fingers magically produced heavenly
melodies from that inert instrument, her mind was absorbed in serious thinking.
The king was not looking so
healthy nowadays. He seemed to be disturbed by some unexpressed grief and
mostly spent his time relaxing on the bed. Since his sons were all well-trained
in the affairs of the kingdom, he could afford the long-awaited rest now. He knew
his ministers will guide his sons in the correct course always. He preferred to
stay in the bed most of the time. Leelaa also sat with him relaxing him with
her melodious songs or played music from her Veenaa. But nothing could soothe
the disturbed heart of her husband. His days were filled with anxieties and he
never had restful sleep at nights.
His behavior towards others
also had changed.
He was irritated with
everybody; shouted at his subordinates; got angered for the smallest mishaps.
He drowned his depression in wine and intoxicating drugs. When senseless, he
blabbered about a daughter whom he never got, about his wife who always stole
the show, about his life which was just wasted away without enjoying anything.
He was not like this always. He
was a king of blemish less character in his youth. There
was no one equal to him in
courage, bravery and wisdom. The first few years of their life were not less
joyous than the life of Indra and Shachi in heaven. But slowly he had lost his
cheerful bubbly nature. He seemed to purposely avoid her company. When alone,
he spent his time brooding on something. Maybe he was disappointed that he had
no daughter, Leelaa thought. He always had desired a female child and
unfortunately had only five sons to carry on his name but no daughter. But now
it appeared that he had lost control over himself. All his suppressed desires
and wants were bursting out as anger and irritation. The unexpressed grief had
led him to seek solace in intoxicating drugs and pretty maidens. His unhealthy
habits soon forced him to be a bed ridden patient.
Leelaa served him with
complete devotion and humility. She felt apprehensive that he may soon meet his
death if he continued to live like this. She tried her best to console him, but
to no avail. If she could have given her own health and life to her husband to
make him happy she would have done so. She had no regrets about her death.
After all, any one who is born must die. It was a certainty enjoined by the
cruel fate. But she could not bear the thought of her husband dying. The king
was her soul and life. Without him she would be nothing. She had no identity
bereft of him.
If he lived, she lived; if he
died…?
She felt that she would not be
alive the next second. But may be there were some Siddhis or magical powers
which make a dead one alive or keep the body from dying. Maybe some potions had
the power to ward of the decay of the body cells. Then she would make her
husband live for a long time and serve him always with devotion.
She desired nothing but his
welfare.
Her reverie was broken by the
arrival of a maid who announced that the scholars were ready to meet her now.
She wiped the tear drops that were forming at the end of her lotus like eyes.
With renewed hope she walked towards the abode of Knowledge.
NO ONE HAS THE REMEDY FOR DEATH
The noise subsided as the
queen entered the arena of the temple. The queen sat on her throne and looked
at the crowd eagerly. One old Brahmin stood up and saluted her. He explained
the various methods suggested by many learned men to attain many Siddhis and
powers. But he woefully explained that immortality was a thing never fated for
the humans. Anyone born must die. Nobody can escape death whether he is a Sage
or a king.
One could even live for long
with some intake of chemical solutions, but death cannot be avoided by any one.
No penance, no austerities, no hymns had the power to bestow immortality.
The queen’s face faded like a
lotus hit by a snow fall. She thanked the scholars for the trouble they had
taken to answer her query. She instructed her personal maid to distribute the gems in the treasure box to all the
scholars assembled there equally and walked out in a pensive mood.
PADMA’S
WOES
The moon was hiding behind the
clouds.
The lamps in the room
flickered by the sudden wind which blew from the window.
The king was fast asleep on
his bed. Before he slept he had cried like a child on her lap and confided in
her all his suppressed feelings.
He had told her everything;
how he felt inferior in her presence; how he strived hard to develop interest
in intellectual pursuits but was inadvertently drawn towards sense objects
always; how he craved for a daughter to console his troubled heart and so on.
As she caressed his unkempt
hair soothingly, he had fallen asleep on her lap like a child. Now he was
sleeping on his own bed freed of his burden. He knew Leelaa would find a way
out of this depression for him. He knew she will somehow raise him to her level
of intelligence and make him reach the spiritual goal of liberation. He smiled
in his sleep.
DOME
Leelaa did not sleep. She was
sitting on her bed still thinking about immortality. She did not want her
husband to die. Of course all learned men of the country had admitted their
incapacity to give her a solution. But she did not give up. She decided to
think it out.
‘A human being is not just
the body. Atman is the embodied Purusha.
Atman is the Self without
any thought processes or particular identities connected with it. But this
husband of mine with the identity of Padma is the embodied Atman.
He is the Jeeva. After
death this Jeeva may be whisked off to heaven or hell and I will lose him
forever. Even if he takes any other birth, I will never know of it.
He loves me so much. I
should be his wife in all his future lives and serve him.’
Leelaa thought this much and
looked up as if some God will help her out.
All she saw was the golden
dome studded with various gems covering their sleeping area.
Curtains made of exotic pearls
hung all around from the roof of the dome blocking the bed from the vision of
others. On the four corners of the room huge golden lamps emitted light
continuously and acted as guards keeping the eerie darkness away. The bed
looked like a solid rainbow risen on earth colored by the reflection of the
rays emanating from the gems adorning the dome. Soft winds blew from the window
filling the room with exquisite scent of various fragrant flowers from the
outside garden.
Leelaa took a deep breath and
closed her eyes enjoying the peaceful security of the dome.
She wondered, how long will
they both sleep under this sparkling dome? One day these beds will be empty
without them.
‘But of course we both will
not die at the same time’ she said to
herself.
‘If I die first, it would
not matter; I will wait for him as a Jeeva wherever I am.
As a practitioner of yoga
and meditation I can wait in this very space for him to die and guide him in
the after worlds. But if he dies first,
lacking spiritual wisdom he will be lost in some future birth and I may not be
able to locate his Jeeva.
The best solution is to
block his Jeeva from leaving this very dome above our beds.
If he is kept bound here,
then after I die I will take care of his future births and will be his wife in
the next birth also. I can go on repeating this process, so forever we both
will live as husband and wife pair. I will somehow guide him in the spiritual
path and we both will together attain the goal of liberation mentioned in the
Scriptures.’
LEELAA DECIDES TO PLEASE
GODDESS JNAPTI
Leelaa smiled. She felt like
laughing aloud. She had found a way to cheat this cruel fate which made death
inevitable to mortals. But how this can get achieved, she again wondered. As if in answer she heard the temple bells
ringing from far.
‘Of course, her deity would
help her out. All these days she had worshipped Goddess Jnapti with devotion.
But now she will perform more difficult austerities and gain her favor.’
She thought within herself
again.
‘For that this husband of mine will prove
an obstacle and may force me to give up such hardships as I undertake for his
welfare.
Therefore I will advise him
in the morning to leave for a pilgrimage to all the temples and hermitages all
over the country. Let him be accompanied by a few of his favorite friends and
some men of medicine. It will take him a year or so to complete the tour.
By that time I will make
Jnapti appear before me and make her give the required boon ’.
Leelaa smiled satisfactorily.
She lay down next to her husband wondering what austerities were hard enough to
please Jnapti. Padma turned towards her and embraced her even as he slept.
Leelaa patted his hand affectionately. She felt that she was responsible for
his future. She will not forsake him whatever happens. She will get that Jnapti
to appear before her somehow or other, she said to herself in a determined way.
The dome bathed her in its
golden rays as if pleased by her decision. Leelaa nestled closer to the
cherished Lord of her heart. Soon her eyes closed in deep slumber. She slept
peacefully within her husband’s strong arms, under the protective shelter of
the dome.
Next morning she called for
the meeting of the ministers and her sons. He explained to them that the king
should without delay leave for the sacred tour accompanied by a small retinue
and her sons should take care of the affairs of the State till he returned. She
told them also firmly that she will be busy worshipping the family deity till
he came back and that she should not be
disturbed in any way.
Soon the king left on his tour
with his trusted friends.
GODDESS
JNAPTI APPEARS BEFORE LEELAA
“What boon do you want my
dear daughter?”
Leelaa woke up with a start.
A golden light had flooded the
entire room.
A huge form made of luster
only, stood before her covering the region of the entire earth and heaven.
Leelaa was dumbfounded.
‘Oh, the Goddess herself in
person!’
She could hear her own heart
beats.
Was she dreaming, she
wondered.
On that very morning after the
decision was made, she had managed to send the king away on the sacred
pilgrimage. She did not want even a day’s delay in starting her austerities.
The king raised no objection for the pilgrimage plan. He was ready to do
whatever she advised. He felt that it would create a change in his mood and he
would be forced to give up all the bad habits he had developed. Simple food and
company of the wise would bring a turning point in his life, he thought.
The day after he left, she
consulted some aged Brahmins, and as per their advice took to pleasing her
deity with various types of austerities.
She cleared a place in her bed
room itself and got it ready for contemplation practices. She instructed the
maids not to allow any one inside the room when she was engaged in meditation.
Every morning she took a ritualistic bath and sat reciting the Mantra (sacred
chant) meant for Jnapti without a break for three days continuously.
She fasted on all those three
days. On the third day she went to the temple and fed thousands of people. After
everyone left she made a meal of whatever was left over and spent the whole
night in the contemplation of the Goddess. Next morning she again started the
recitation of the Mantra after the ritualistic bath in her bedroom. In this
manner she performed penance for hundred threefold nights. On the last night of
the penance, she sat in her bedroom contemplating on the form of the Goddess.
Suddenly she had heard a soft voice beckoning to her.
LEELAA
ASKS FOR TWO BOONS
“What boon do you want my
dear daughter?”
Leelaa felt as if she was
drowning in the ocean of nectar. Her eyes became the fountainhead of tears. Her
entire body shivered in excitement. No sound came out of her mouth. Her lips
trembled like lotus buds swayed by winds. She did not know how to react to such
a benign presence. She just fell flat on the feet of the Goddess crying.
Two tender hands lifted her up
gently.
Leelaa saw Jnapti’s form now
reduced to the room size.
She somehow blurted out-
“O Mother! What can I ask
you for except knowledge!
Though I would like to sit
at your feet and forever keep learning from you all that has to be learnt, at
this moment my husband’s welfare is of foremost importance to me. ..”
Leelaa halted midway in her
talks and quickly calculated within her mind.
‘If I ask for a boon and
Jnapti disappears, then I will never be able to get another chance to get any
knowledge out of her. This Goddess must be kept as a constant guide for me.’
So thinking she spoke to the
Goddess.
“Devi, O compassionate One!
Kindly grant me two boons.
The first one is that my
husband’s Jeeva should not go away from the dome of the bedroom in this harem
after he dies.
The second one is that you
should bless me with your vision whenever I want the boon.”
Jnapti’s eyes twinkled knowingly
at the cleverness exhibited by her devotee. She smiled graciously and said, “Let
it be so” and vanished.
Leelaa blinked her eyes with
disbelief. Did she really see the Goddess in person she asked herself. An
unearthly fragrance filling that room confirmed the visit of a Supreme
divinity. Leelaa laughed aloud. She had achieved her goal; her husband was now
safe. She completed the formal worship in the temple ending her austerities.
Soon the king returned from
his pilgrimage. His face was radiant and flushed. His eyes sparkled with some
unknown joy. He had met many a learned sage on his tour and had developed a
keen interest in spiritual topics. He was eager to meet his dearest wife and
tell her all that he had seen and learnt. Leelaa came to meet him like the Ganges rushing towards the ocean. Both melted into each
other.
DEATH OF
KING PADMA
The king consecrated all his
sons as heirs of the royal throne and gave them equal positions in ruling the
country. All had equal rights but decisions on anything had to be made together
under the guidance of the wise ministers. The sons were unblemished in their
character and promised their father that they will rule the kingdom, united as
one.
The king and the queen spent
most of their time in the temple premises nowadays. The king started taking
part in all the discussions and debates held at the temple arena.
He felt that had wasted all
his life in worthless sense pleasures and tried hard to master everything to
the best of his ability in the last few days of his life.
But his body succumbed to ill
health as a result of the sensuous life he had lived in the past. Soon he was
bed ridden.
Leelaa was heart broken. She
served the king day and night attending to every personal need of his like a
maid.
Time rolled on unmindful of
anyone’s joys or sorrows.
Death got ready to snatch the
king’s life away.
That fatal night was pitch-black.
Icy winds blew chilling even brave hearts. Dark Clouds covered the sky
darkening the terrain even more. It was past midnight.
In the bedroom, Leelaa was
seated next to the king massaging his chest gently. The king was struggling
hard to breathe. His breath came in bursts. His weak hands tightly held
Leelaa’s wrist as if afraid to let go. Fear lurked in his eyes. It was as if
someone was pulling him forcefully away from her. Leelaa stroked his head
lovingly and consoled him with soothing words. The king’s cheeks puffed. He let
out a cry “Leelaa….”
And that was all; he was no
more.
His body lay motionless on the
bed. The hand that held her wrist hung lifelessly. Leelaa touched his face as
if her touch could change the things. But his face was slowly turning icy cold.
Leelaa sat stunned. Her eyes
were fixed on the king’s frozen face. The hand that held her felt cold. The
body was like a log covered in sheets. A
few minutes passed in silence.
Even the wind had stopped its
movement.
A scream pierced her throat
echoing all over the palace.
JNAPTI
APPEARS
Leelaa cried; fainted; wept;
rolled on the floor; held on to the pillar; embraced the dead body again and
again; called him back to life …!
Her maids, ministers, family,
all consoled her in many ways. But Leelaa was not to be consoled. She cried and
cried, and requested them to leave her with the dead body alone that night and
conduct the funeral rites in the morning.
Everyone obliged her and left
her alone with her dead spouse. She locked the door from inside. She sat in the
seat reserved in the corner for contemplation and begged for the Goddess to
appear.
Jnapti was instantly by her side.
This time she had a physical body of utmost charms. She was fair hued. Like the statue in the
temple she was adorned with just simple ordinary white garments. A garland of
pearls hung loosely from her neck. Two pearl ear rings danced on her lovely ears.
She appeared to be slightly taller than Leelaa and more lustrous. She looked
like a Yoginee just coming out of her penance.
She sat next to Leelaa and
embraced her affectionately and kissed her on the forehead like a mother. She
silently led her towards the dead body. She stroked the head of the king
affectionately. The body immediately brimmed with the luster of life. She asked
Leelaa to arrange for a huge amount of flowers to be fetched from the garden.
When they were brought, they
both covered the body with the flowers up to the dome.
Then Jnapti made her seated on
the meditation mat and sat next to her. She tenderly touched her face and said,
“My dear daughter! Do not
worry any more.
Your husband’s Jeeva is safely
bound in the space of the dome and his body will not decay for long. In some
future event he will rise up again healthy and young and rule the kingdom as
before.”
WHERE WAS PADMA?
Before Leelaa could talk back,
Jnapti vanished from sight. Leelaa returned to her bed and sat on the small
throne next to the bed. The king’s face was now bright and alive as if his body
was kept in a suspended state. His Jeeva must be hovering inside the dome as
Jnapti promised, Leelaa thought. She observed carefully every point of space
below that dome. May be a streak of light, or a ghostly figure of the husband
should be seen, she felt.
‘Nothing is here; nothing
but the empty space under this dome.’
‘Where is his Jeeva? It is
neither inside the body nor outside. Where is my husband hidden? I do not even
feel the vibration of his thoughts. Everything is just empty space! Pure void!’
She got up from her seat;
walked to and fro inside the room for a while; touched the face of her husband;
again walked for a while; again peeped inside the dome-space; nothing, no sign
of any Jeeva.
She sat on her meditation seat
and called out to her divine guide. Jnapti was instantly beside her. Leelaa
held her hands and asked,
“Where is the Jeeva of my
husband?
What is he doing now? Show
me where he is!
I cannot live even a second
without him. Please take me to him”.
THE
SILENCE BETWEEN TWO THOUGHT PROCESSES
Jnapti looked at her
compassionately and said:
“If you want to see him, you
have to contemplate on the source of all the Jeevas.”
L: “What is the source of all Jeevas?”
J: “Empty space!”
L: “Space?”
J: “Yes; but not the ordinary gross space which contains
all these various objects around you; not even the space of the mind which
contains all the conceptions of this world; but that ‘Supreme Space’ in which
the ‘gross space’ and ‘mind-space’ both exist undifferentiated.”
L: “How do I find it?”
J: “Very easy! Just concentrate on that silence which is
in between two cognitions.”
L: “Explain a little more.”
Jnapti explained to her
patiently everything.
“The mind does not
continuously perceive objects. Perception of any object contains successive
states of cognitions which the mind later co-joins as one single perception
process. If you can concentrate in between these successive states and remain
without cognizing anything, you will reach the state of the Supreme Space.
Anyhow, do not worry. Just try
your best to concentrate on what I said. By my grace you will easily attain
that state soon. For other beings it is attained only after practicing for a
long time.”
Jnapti vanished.
LEELAA
ENTERS HER HUSBAND’S FUTURE LIFE
Leelaa closed her eyes and
practiced contemplating on what Jnapti pointed out.
She soon lost the sense of her
physical body. She felt she was floating out of the body.
Instantly she was in a huge city
surrounded by mountains and rivers. She had no physical form and floated like
mist everywhere. The people who lived in that city never were aware of her
presence.
As she watched the roads,
houses, and gardens, she felt that she was in familiar grounds. She was certain
that she was in her own city. But she soon found out that she was not. She
crossed the well-known streets and entered the palace premises.
The palace was huger than the
one she lived in. It was surrounded on all sides by huge stone walls which rose
high like hills. On one side were kept the retinue of horses, elephants and
soldiers. All men were training vigorously in various fighting strategies. It
was as if they were preparing themselves for any unexpected enemy attack.
On another side huge crowds of
people thronged the inner hall to get the glimpse of the king who was getting
consecrated that day. The inner hall was filled with crowds of kings and
chieftains who had arrived there from various parts of the country to
participate in the ceremony. On another side groups of women in dressed in
exquisite garments and diamonds were busy commenting on everything excitedly.
Leelaa felt very curious.
Maybe her husband would be
sitting on the throne and may be she had only dreamt of his death. As she
floated towards the throne, she saw all the ministers and courtiers of her own
kingdom. She rushed towards the throne almost crying out in joy; but lo; that
was not her husband Padma. The person who was sitting on the throne was just a
sixteen year old youth. By the shouts of the people she understood his name to
be Vidooratha.
She floated closer to him and
observed him closely. He looked so unfamiliar. But if what Jnapti said was
correct this was her husband Padma who was in this another world ruling as a
king.
Her head reeled.
She returned back to her own
body in the harem bedroom feeling confused about her whole adventure.
WERE ALL IN HER CITY DEAD?
Leelaa got up from her
meditation seat. Not even a second had passed in this world. Everything was as
before. The king’s body hidden under the flowers remained motionless. She
looked out of the window. Everything was absolutely quiet.
Maybe all the citizens,
courtiers, ministers had died along with their king and gone to the next life
with him, she thought. A chill ran through her body. She felt that she was all
alone in that city. She had to personally see whether everyone was alive, she
decided.
She opened the door of her
bedroom and called out to her trusted maids. Seeing them alive she felt
relieved. She instructed them that the court will meet within a few minutes and
all the ministers, courtiers and citizens should assemble there without delay.
All of them were highly sympathetic to their queen who had lost her husband and
were ready to oblige any sudden whim of hers.
Soon the paths were lighted up
with rows of lamps; the court-hall was swept and decorated; all those who were
sleeping got out of their beds, dressed up neatly and arrived at the court
without delay. The queen entered the courtroom, sat on her throne and observed
everyone carefully.
Everyone was fully alive. None
had died, for sure. She looked at the throne where her husband used to sit.
Tears brimmed in her eyes.
She thanked the court in
gestures and returned to her own chambers.
WHICH
WORLD IS REAL- THAT OR THIS?
Leelaa again locked herself in
the bedroom; sat on her seat and started thinking about her visions.
‘Which world was real? Both
were so identical! Except for the king!
Was she in a dream or were
they in a dream?’
She remembered her friend
Jnapti. The Goddess appeared the next instant and sat next to her. Leelaa
asked:
“Dear Mother of all! What
did I see? Where is that world situated?
Was that boy, another form
of my husband? Why are all the people identical in both the worlds? Which one
is real - mine or his?”
J: “First tell me what you mean by ‘real’!”
L: “Well, I and you are sitting here and conversing.
This is the real world!
The other one must be a
dream-like vision!”
J: “But did you not feel that world as solid and real
when you visited it?”
L: “Yes but it is different! It is not real! It is
just a mirror image of this world.
It cannot be real.”
J: “How can you say so? If that world is a copy of this
world then it must have risen out of this world only. So this world is the
cause of that world.
If this is real, that is real
too! If this is unreal then that is unreal too!
The effect always has the same
qualities as the cause.
Since you saw by yourself that
your husband was ruling that world, that world exists as much real as this
world. Tell me now, how that world could have been caused?”
L: “Well, I believe he must have carried the thoughts
of this world as memory and a world might have been created to suit his ideas
like in a dream!”
J: “Exactly! Then what do you think about this world?”
L: “If I apply the same logic, this world must also be
a product of someone’s memory!
It all looks so confusing;
tell me why and how all these things occur.”
J: “Since you are
so much interested, let me explain everything to you in detail.
Come with me.”
THE DOME
OF CREATION
Jnapti held her hand and
Leelaa again floated out of her body. They both flew up into the sky like
birds.
They crossed the clouds, the
solar system, galaxies, horizons and soon entered a layer of dense darkness so
dense that a needle could pierce through it.
There was nothing there; just
empty space or rather spacelessness.
Leelaa could not understand
whether they were moving or not moving. There was no change at all. It was just
darkness, darkness all around. Leelaa held Jnapti’s hand tightly.
Soon Jnapti pointed out to a
tiny flicker of light at the farthest distance like a ray of knowledge in the
world of ignorance. They both floated towards it quickly.
When they approached the
flicker, Leelaa observed that, that one tiny flicker was actually a lustrous
point containing infinite number of flickers.
Jnapti took her hand and
entered that tiny flicker of light like a streak of wind.
As they traveled further
inside, the flickers just moved further and further away making it appear like
a star studded world. Jnapti just randomly selected one such point of shine and
entered it. Leelaa now found herself inside a huge domed structure like the
ruins of an old fortress.
But it covered the entire sky
and the floors stretched beyond the horizons. Leelaa could not find the end or
beginning of that huge ancient dome structure. It was stuffy and dusty all
over. Cobwebs hung loosely everywhere. Jnapti told her to look around the
place.
The roof of the dome had many
small pores on its sides through which swarms of flying insects whizzed out and
in making strange buzzing noises. Leelaa went very close to them and found out
that they were not insects but Siddhas (realized sages with highly miraculous
powers) flying all over.
Amazed at the sight, Leelaa
descended down slowly watching every tiny thing carefully.
Gigantic pillars with faded
statues inbuilt in them supported the dome-structure.
Jnapti came near her and
explained to Leelaa that they were the statues of the wives of Gods.
As they descended down to the
floor area, Leelaa heard a lot of commotion where many unruly boys were chasing
each other and fighting madly. Jnapti explained that they were gods and demons
fighting eternally.
From the inner most part of
the domed structure there arose a droning noise which went on without a break.
Leelaa quickly floated inside to find a very old man huddled in a corner. He
looked very ancient. His beard spread out all over the place like a river. His
eyes were closed in deep thinking. His voice went on murmuring something.
Jnapti who had followed Leelaa told her that he was the owner of that
particular dome and had been here from the very beginning from when the dome
arose. He was uttering the rules to be followed inside the dome which were
called by the humans as Vedas and when he vanished the dome with all its
contents would vanish forever.
Leelaa came out not believing
her own eyes. She observed the ground to see what went on there.
The floor was muddy and tiny
streams of water were flowing here and there creating mires all over. Worms
were crawling in those mires. Somewhere all the waters collected at some low
lying area and had formed a pool. Leelaa understood that those streams were rivers
and the pool was the ocean.
The corners were all covered
with various shaped anthills. Ants crawled all over the place. Jnapti explained
saying that the worms were the highly ignorant beings always stuck in the mires
of foolishness and the ants were various Jeevas living all over the Creation.
Leelaa hovered around for some
time viewing more amazing things in that dome. After she had enough of all, she
requested Jnapti to take her back home.
LEELAA’S PAST LIFE
Jnapti took Leelaa’s hand and
soon they were back in the harem instantly.
Jnapti said:
“What you saw is just one
Creation of one Creator. Actually the flicker of light we saw in the beginning
is just one slight perturbation in the Supreme State of Reality, which gives
rise to infinite number of perturbations called Creations.
The dome you saw was just one
tiny Creation. So many domes exist there that nobody has the capacity to
visualize all of them.
All domes are not of the same
type. Some are very small like an anthill; some bigger than what you saw; some
are gigantic. Some do not have the old Brahmin at all; some do not have those
kids playing around. Some are completely empty. Some contain many smaller domes
inside them.
Anything that is possible
exists as domes in that one tiny flicker of luster.”
L: “What was the dark region we went through?”
J: “The dark region is the state of ignorance where all
possible Creations remain sleeping as it were. When some perturbation arises as
it were, all these possibilities become realities.”
L: “Why you took me there?”
J: “The dome which
we both visited is the dome of your past life.
In one tiny corner of that
dome, in a small anthill, in one of its pores, inside a cavity in that hole
there is a range of hills. Many villages are situated at the base of those
hills.
One of the villages is named
GiriGraama (Hill-Village).
In that village lived a
Brahmin named Vasishta. His wife was Arundhati.
They had many milk yielding
cows and lived in a small house surrounded by some trees and plants.
They had a few sons and also a
daughter whom the Brahmin loved with utmost affection. The Brahmin couple was
well respected in their own circles.
Once the Brahmin was
collecting grass on top of the hill and he happened to see below, the king
traveling on the road with his huge retinue towards the hunting grounds at the
outskirts of the village. The sight of the grandeur of the procession and the
wealth and luxuries enjoyed by the king somehow had a deep effect on the mind
of the Brahmin.
He, from that moment longed
for the life of the king and slowly withered away in depression. He pined away
the rest of his life only with that one thought of desiring royal pleasures and
soon died due to ill health.
The wife was a devotee of
mine. She had worshipped me and had asked for a boon that her husband’s Jeeva
should not leave the house-space and should remain there only. I had granted
her that boon.
The Brahmin’s Jeeva remains in
that ‘house-space’ only, in that village, at the base of the hill, in that
Creation!
It is eight days since that
Brahmin died.
Arundhati also died the very
instant the husband breathed his last.
You are that Arundhati and
your husband Padma was that Brahmin named Vasishta.”
LEELAA
WANTS TO VISIT HER ‘PAST-LIFE WORLD’
Leelaa sat up with a jerk. She
looked at her friend accusingly and asked,
“Is this a joke you are
playing on me?”
Jnapti laughed aloud.
She said:
“No, not at all! Why should I entertain myself
with such cheap gimmicks?
What I am telling you is the
truth.
The Jeeva of Vasishta is bound
in that ‘house-space’ in that small village.
This ‘world of yours’ exists
in ‘his mind’ in that very ‘house-space’ of the Brahmin.
Your husband Padma is dreaming
another world similar to this world inside the ‘harem space’ of your bedroom.
But both these worlds are
inside the ‘house-space’ of that village only.”
Leelaa’s curiosity was
kindled. She requested Jnapti to take her to that village so she could find out
for herself the truth of all these events.
J: “But you cannot go with your physical body there.
You have to completely get rid
of the identity with your body, your family and yourself too.
You must be ready to act
without any form at all when you visit those places. Can you?”
Leelaa was thoughtful.
She asked:
“Suppose I remove my
identity with my body and it vanishes off?”
J: “So what? You can recreate it later on if necessary.
After all forms and shapes are
creations of the brain. They are not real.
Every second the brain draws
pictures in the empty space and believes it to be a solid object. So do not
bother. Forget the body and come with me.”
JNAPTI
AND LEELAA TRAVEL IN THE SUBTLE MIND-SPACE
Leelaa again sat off in
meditation as instructed by Jnapti. Soon she was in the state of the Self. She discarded the body like a snake
slithering out of its dry skin.
Immediately without delay both
the maidens ascended higher and higher in the sky as formless entities holding
hands like two friends.
This time Jnapti and Leelaa
entered a space which was highly lustrous. Unlike the dark region they had
encountered last time, this region was dense with luster.
Jnapti explained to her that
the lustrous region was the state of Knowledge. Again Leelaa did not feel any
movement in space.
Soon they saw a dark black
point in the farthest region. Jnapti held Leelaa’s hand tightly and entered
that dark point. They were immediately caught in a giant whirlpool and soon
ended at the very bottom of that dark hole. Leelaa saw many tunnels like
apertures there. Jnapti randomly entered one tunnel holding Leelaa’s hand
tightly. Instantly the scenario had changed. Soft winds blew from somewhere.
The space itself was soft and tender as they moved. Now they were in a huge
region of sky from where they could see everything that existed in that space.
Somewhere Leelaa saw Siddhas
hurrying fast. At yet another corner she saw weird creatures with animal faces
dancing in glee. Somewhere she saw divine damsels floating in their air
vehicles. She saw suddenly Sage Naarada crossing their path and disappearing
into the dense wall of the space.
Somewhere fragrant winds blew
making her extremely joyous.
Somewhere she heard screams
and yells of pain sending a shiver through her heart. Somewhere else melodious
music lulled her to peace.
There was no end to the things
she saw, the worlds she passed through, the diverse people she met on her
journey.
LEELAA SEES HER SON OF THE PAST
LIFE
Soon Jnapti and Leelaa entered
a region filled with huge mountains.
They descended down till they
reached a tiny hillock in some remote corner of that mountain range. At the
base many tiny villages surrounded the hill.
Jnapti took her to one village
close to the hill and entered a small house with thatched roof. Leelaa saw that
the people in the house were very sad and seemed to be mourning for some one’s
death.
She was curious to know the
facts and willed that they both should be seen by the people in the house as
ordinary maidens.
Suddenly the people in the
house saw in front of them two ladies of lustrous beauty.
One middle aged Brahmin got up
from their midst; offered some flowers at their feet and saluted the ladies.
Others all stood up with respect.
Leelaa asked him why were they
all in such depressed moods.
The Brahmin explained that
about a week back both his parents had died at the same time and all of them
were mourning their loss.
Leelaa touched his forehead
and uttered words of blessing.
She said, “May you all live
long and happy.”
Instantly all the people in
that house felt light hearted and were filled with indescribable joy. All of
them saluted the ladies with reverence. They all believed that the two maidens
must be deities of the forests, come around to bless them.
LEELAA HAS MANY QUESTIONS TO ASK
Leelaa and Jnapti vanished from their midst
and came out of the house. They entered a wild garden that was at the back of
the house and sat under a tree for a rest.
J: “Now are you convinced?
In that very ‘house-space’,
your husband’s Jeeva is contained.
There alone exists ‘your
world’ which contains ‘your harem’ and the ‘dead body of Padma’. There alone
exists the ‘world of king Vidooratha’.
Though others who live in that
house have no idea of anything that has happened and see nothing but empty
space around them, that ‘house-space’ alone is the ‘dome of your world and
Vidooratha’s world’.”
Leelaa was sitting silently.
Her head rested on Jnapti’s shoulder. Jnapti’s arm held her close to her like a
mother. Jnapti did not say anything. She left her devotee to think it out all
by herself.
A few minutes elapsed.
Leelaa released herself from
Jnapti’s arms and sat facing her.
She said:
“Mother! Let us not waste
time. Since all the three worlds connected to me exist in this very house, come
on; let us go and see my husband now. It will not take much time to jump into
other worlds. It is just inside the house space!”
J: “No! We can’t
jump like that.
Though it appears that all the
worlds are inside that small ‘house-space’, they all exist unconnected to each
other at enormous distances. Each world has its own space-time boundaries.
Every atom point of space contains countless universes inside it.
But this space is not the
gross space but the ‘space of Consciousness’.
Though they seem to exist at
the same point of Consciousness, they all exist entirely un-connected with each
other.
Moreover you mentioned that
you wanted to meet your husband!
Which husband did you mean?
Eight days has passed since
one (Vasishta) died; a few hours have elapsed after another (Padma) died; the
other one (Vidooratha) may be getting ready to die!
All three have different
forms; different mentalities; different personalities!
The last one (Vidooratha) is
highly ignorant and is immersed in the worldly affairs like the frog in the
mire.
There are other life
experiences you had previously where you were yourself a husband to someone and
you also lived as wives to many others in different lives.
Which one do you choose to
call as your life partner?”
Jnapti lightly touched the
forehead of her devotee.
Immediately the life
experiences of all her previous incarnations passed before Leelaa’s mental eye.
Leelaa exclaimed:
“So many lives! Some good; some bad; some
evil; some noble; sometimes as an animal; sometimes as a plant; sometimes as an
insect; sometimes inert like a rock; sometimes as a female; sometimes as a
male; so many painful existences; so many joyous experiences; which one is
real, which one is false? Who is a relative and who is not?
And all these worlds where
I experienced pain and pleasure still exist now in different time modes! Which
one shall I call my own?”
ARUNDHATI’S LIFE
Jnapti got up from the garden
seat and told Leelaa to discard the form conceived for the sake of Vasishta’s
family.
As misty waves they both
floated through the village grounds. Leelaa remembered the entire life she had
led as Arundhati from birth to death.
She wandered all over the
place identifying every object she had touched and every piece of ground she
had walked on as Arundhati.
She understood that she was
just an ordinary Brahmin woman in her previous life. She had spent all her
lifetime just performing various house chores serving her husband and children.
Except for a few minutes spent in praying to Goddess Sarasvati, she had not
much to boast about any spiritual practice.
She as Arundhati had requested
the Goddess that her husband’s Jeeva should not move out of the ‘house-space’.
As Leelaa also she had repeated the same request.
The Jeeva of Vasishta after
his death was experiencing the life of Padma as per his cherished desire for
royal life, in that very ‘house-space’; and there itself dying again as Padma,
he was experiencing the life of Vidooratha now.
All worlds existed inside the
tiny space of the Brahmin’s house.
Leelaa was lost in deep
thoughts.
‘As Arundhati she had died
and followed him to the next world of Padma. But she had not followed him to
Vidooratha’s world.
Who would be his wife there
she wondered.
And how many lives would he
keep on experiencing in that ‘house-space’ itself?
If everyone who died were
experiencing worlds after worlds repeatedly as per the desires of the heart,
then where was the end?
As a wife of Vasishta or as
the wife of Padma, should she also accompany him as his wife and suffer
endlessly?
Since she has understood
the dream-like nature of lives now, would she be able to again go through the
delusory life of a wife and love him as before?’
LEELAA
VISITS VIDOORATHA’S WORLD
Leelaa saluted Jnapti and
asked her to guide her from now on. Jnapti understood that now Leelaa was full
of dispassion and suggested-
“Come on, now we will see what Vidooratha is
doing”.
Leelaa now felt lighter and
like a practiced traveler she flew up as a misty form away into the sky. After
crossing many a wind tunnels, dark holes, universes, god worlds, dark regions,
lustrous regions, at last they both descended down into the world where
Vidooratha ruled.
Leelaa was surprised to see
that the king had now turned almost seventy and looked worn out and tired.
Jnapti told her that the king was not an efficient ruler but had spent his time
mostly with his dear wife; had now become a target for an enemy king who was
conquering all the lands that he could lay his hands on; and he was now getting
ready to battle Vidooratha. Vidooratha’s army was in a bad shape as he was not
prepared for this war and he had no hopes of winning.
Jnapti took Leelaa to the
place where the battle was getting fought. They both watched the gory battle
from above seated in a beautiful air vehicle conceived by Jnapti.
In the evening the battle was
stopped as per the rules set for the war and Vidooratha returned to his palace.
Tired and worn out he collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes in sheer exhaustion.
Soon his eyelids became heavy and he fell asleep forgetting everything.
Jnapti and Leelaa passed
through the solid walls easily and entered the room where the king slept and
stood before the sleeping king.
VIDOORATHA IS OLD AND BATTLING
AN ENEMY
Leelaa observed the king
closely.
She felt slightly odd seeing
him. He looked so different; so unlike Padma.
He looked more aged than he
actually was. He was almost bald and whatever hair was there had completely
turned white. His face was creased with anxiety lines. The body was slightly
plump and proved the lethargic life he had led as a king. Too much of sexual
indulgence had left him a physically unfit man she understood.
Jnapti woke him up.
Vidooratha got up and was
surprised to see two Goddesses in front of him in the middle of the night. He
saluted them with reverence.
Jnapti called out to his
minister who was sleeping next to him and asked him about the identity of the
king. The minister dutifully reported the ancestry of the king and explained that
Vidooratha’s father had left the kingdom in Vidooratha’s hand when he was just
ten years old and had gone off to perform penance. Since then Vidooratha had
ruled the kingdom, he informed Jnapti.
Jnapti dismissed the minister
and explained to Vidooratha his past life as king Padma. She informed him that
he will die in the battle and his Jeeva will re-enter Padma’s body after the
death in the battle field.
The king was rather happy that
his life as a king would continue as Padma.
As they were conversing, a
soldier rushed inside and informed that the enemies had set fire to the city
and the entire city was burning. They could hear the screams of people getting
burnt and the sound of blazing fire swallowing the city fast. The king rose up
in anger and got ready to face the enemy in the battle.
As he was leaving, a group of
womenfolk belonging to the palace entered there hurriedly. One maid informed
the king that the enemy soldiers had entered the palace and were ruthlessly
attacking all the ladies. Some trusted soldiers had fought them bravely and
rescued the queen and his daughter. A few maids including herself had managed
to bring the queen there with utmost difficulty.
The king had no time to
console them.
He saluted Jnapti and
requested her to take care of his family and rushed out to face the enemy. A
chariot was waiting for him outside. Gathering whatever army was left, he made
his way to the battle ground.
LEELAA SEES ANOTHER LEELAA
Leelaa who was watching
everything silently looked at the anxious crowd of women who were huddling in
that room. The maids had meanwhile made the queen rest on the bed where the
king had been sleeping. A small girl
clung to the neck of the queen and had fainted in her arms. The child was
placed comfortably on the bed. The queen was crying silently. She did not see
the divine maidens.
But Leelaa saw her and was in
for a shock.
The queen of Vidooratha was
her own image. It was like seeing herself in a mirror. It was as if she was
standing herself as a queen there.
She turned towards Jnapti for
an explanation.
{Vasishta as a Brahmin had a
desire to become a king and enjoy royal pleasures.
So he lived as king Padma in
his next life.
But he had developed more
desires now. He wanted a passionate wife, a daughter, and more pleasures.
So after he died as Padma, he
was again a king in his next life.
Since he loved the form of his
wife Leelaa, but not her character, he got a wife exactly looking like Leelaa
but completely different in character.}
LEELAA
QUESTIONS JNAPTI
L: “Mother! What is this? Who is this? Is it me
standing there? Have I split into two?”
Jnapti smiled and answered.
J: “That is not you my child. It is a different person
looking exactly like you. When your husband Padma died, he was thinking of you
so much that the next instant after death he was standing next to an image of
you created by his mind as per his conception.
This Leelaa is more passionate
and not spiritually inclined. She is not very keen on any learning and is only
interested in serving her husband and child.
Infatuation for her beauty
alone has landed the king now in such a sad state.
Whereas in Padma’s world, you
took care of the kingdom wisely and kept it safe from enemies, here in
Vidooratha’s world, his wife has kept him bound by passion and has led to his
downfall.
The desires which arose in
Vasishta’s mind are only fructifying still. The king still has not fully
satisfied his desires. But for your boon, he would still be experiencing many
more worlds seeking sense pleasures and will be forever caught in the wheel of
births and deaths.
His present wife also being an
ignorant woman will have to go through many lives with him or without him till
her ignorance gets destroyed which may not be very soon.”
L: “You told me that the very next instant of death as
Padma, king Vidooratha in his new incarnation, stood as a young man next to a
recreated image of mine as another Leelaa. How is it possible? Did he not get
born, grow in his other life?
You yourself heard the
minister saying that the king had an ancestry line, was born, grew up and from
the tenth year itself is ruling the kingdom.”
J: “My dear daughter, understand that time is an
illusion. What you think as past is just a collection of few ideas arising in
the brain. Whichever dominant Vaasanaa (latent tendency) is manifesting through
the Jeeva; it instantly creates a field of experience with a suitable past at
that very instant.
At the time of death, king
Padma’s dominant Vaasanaa was for a life with you who was not spiritually
inclined but who would be a suitable partner in sense pleasures. Accordingly he
woke up after the death-swoon as a young man with an image of you as his wife.
She was a newly arisen Jeeva whose only thought was to make her husband happy.
As a Jeeva conceived for that purpose she exactly acted as he wished for.
She also instantly had the
idea of her past with her birth, growth, marriage etc.
The whole life of any Jeeva
takes only an instant; but always it is deluded by the idea of passage of time
and it imagines its life as long and eventful.
Each and every moment, a
Vaasanaa manifestation occurs with its own space-time boundaries with a past as
already happened and with a future to be unfolded.
Every Jeeva is a ‘point’ in
the Supreme state with all the past, present and future fused as one experience
of a lifetime.
Just like you can see the
whole river from its place of origin to its joining the ocean as one whole, yet
visit different points of the same river and say that here it originates; here
it runs; here it joins the ocean and so on; similarly you visited different
points of Vidooratha’s life experience at different points; one at his
sixteenth year and one at his seventieth year; whereas for him. His mind alone experiences
the company of his wife always from the moment he died as Padma till now. The
rest of the narratives are just conceived ideas of his brain.
As Arundhati your Vaasanaa at
death time was to accompany your husband and you instantly were with him as a
queen with your own past as if already occurred.
But when king Padma died your
Vaasanaa for unraveling the mysteries of the universe was more dominant and you
did not accompany him to his next life by dying as Leelaa. Instead you were
seeking my company always to have your doubts cleared.
So king Padma in his next life
had a wife who looked exactly like you but who is in no way comparable to you
in wisdom!”
L: “Even all the events where I spent my time with you
are illusions of the mind?”
J: “Yes! I am just the wish fulfilling power of a Jeeva.
What the Jeeva desires, I see to it that it gets fructified at a suitable time.
The events you spent with me
are also just ideas of your mind.
The knowledge which you craved
for and attained alone is the truth.
For the attainment of knowledge
the narratives are coined by your mind to make it appear as if it occurred over
a long span of time.”
Leelaa remained thoughtful and
silent.
JNAPTI
AND ENLIGHTENED LEELAA
APPEAR
BEFORE VIDOORATHA’S LEELAA
Jnapti willed that the new
Leelaa should see them both.
The new Leelaa was surprised
to see two divine damsels in front of her and she saluted them with reverence.
The enlightened Leelaa now had a different form and was shining lustrous like a
Goddess.
Jnapti briefly explained to
the new Leelaa that her husband was going to die in the battle field and his
Jeeva will enter Padma’s body of the previous life.
The new Leelaa was shocked.
She was also a devotee of Sarasvati and had prayed that she should never become
a widow. Now she fell at the feet of Sarasvati and begged that she should
accompany her husband in his next life and the daughter also should be taken
there as her father could not live a moment without her. Leelaa also begged
that she should go there with the same physical body. Jnapti agreed.
The enlightened Leelaa was
silent. She had no likes or dislikes now. She just let the life take its own
course. Her friend Jnapti knows best. She watched everything as if she was
witnessing a drama on stage. She was just curious about everything that
happened and got her doubts cleared from Jnapti again and again.
THE BATTLE
All the three now saw what was
happening in the battlefield from there itself by the power of Jnapti.
Vidooratha and his enemy king
named Sindhu were fighting a fierce battle.
The enlightened Leelaa asked,
“Mother! Vidooratha is also your devotee. But
why would he lose the battle and die?”
Jnapti laughed. Jasmines
bloomed all over the earth.
She said,
“Because the enemy king Sindhu prayed that he
should win, and Vidooratha wanted to somehow raise above all worldly passions
and get liberated.”
Leelaa again became silent and
thoughtful. She watched the proceedings of the battle with amusement.
Sindhu was a ruthless killer.
His hatred for Vidooratha was burning like a fire in his heart. Many a times he
had attacked the city and had returned home a loser. But this time Sindhu had
decided to make a surprise attack on Vidooratha’s country.
Vidooratha was not at all
prepared for the enemy and now the battle was on the losing side for his army.
Sindhu meanwhile had entered the city at night with his trusted followers and
had set fire to the buildings and houses. He had watched the people burning
like a drama getting played for his entertainment. He was disappointed that the
queen had escaped with her daughter. He would find them somehow and chop them
to pieces he had vowed. But now he had to first kill this foolish king who had
always managed to safeguard his city against his attacks. He wanted to cut the
king into pieces and smear his blood all over himself. He was fuming with rage.
Vidooratha was fighting
desperately. His chariot, horses, driver were all in pieces. A new chariot
arrived to help him. As he climbed it, Sindhu stuck at his knees violently.
Vidooratha’s legs were broken and he started to fall out of the chariot, like a
tree felled by an axe. The charioteer quickly held him back from falling and
tried to take the king away from the battlefield. Sindhu ran madly behind the
chariot and hit at Vidooratha’s neck. But the sword missed and could only slice
half of Vidooratha’s neck. Vidooratha’s head hung from the body like a fruit
ready to fall. Blood flowed profusely.
The charioteer made high speed
and quickly entered the palace grounds. Sindhu chased him in another chariot.
But he was blocked at the entrance by the divine shield provided by the Goddess
all around the palace. The charioteer carried the body to the presence of the
queen and left immediately.
The new Leelaa, seeing the
horrible condition of the king, let-out a piercing scream; and fell lifeless
next to her husband’s body. The daughter who was lying unconscious on the bed
also breathed her last at the same instant her mother died. Vidooratha was
suffering immense pain but had not died yet. He was in a painful swoon.
LEELAA
AGAIN QUESTIONS JNAPTI
The enlightened Leelaa watched
all this. She felt pity for the king and asked the Goddess was there anyway to
reduce his pains.
Jnapti explained to her,
J: “My dear daughter, I fully understand what you are
feeling. But who can do what!
This is a dream of king Padma
who is in the dream of Vasishta.
You are also a dream
character.
Even I am a dream character.
The war is an illusion. This
city is an illusion. This Leelaa is also an illusion.
What exists is only the state
of unperturbed Consciousness. It is the sum total of knowledge, bliss and
existence. All that we see here are, just conceptions of our mind only.”
L: “Is there not a God or divinity that controls all
our lives?”
J: “My dear daughter!
Nothing exists but the state
of Supreme Reality, in which all these delusions occur as it were. Even if you
believe that these narratives are real and one should strive for liberation,
then sincere efforts alone can lead one towards the goal; not any unseen fate
or divinity.
Jeeva projects his own mind to
create a divinity to take care of him or performs penance or austerities and
terms the results as the power of those rituals.
Nothing gives results except
one’s own effort.
There is no second person as a
divinity or unseen fate which controls the lives of beings. When nothing but
the Supreme state exists undifferentiated, how can a second person arise as a
god or fate?”
L: “If everything is a conception of the mind, then
what caused these restrictions that humans or animals should be of such and
such height; one should grow and become old; one should get born, die etc.?”
J: “At the beginning of each Creation of any particular
Creator or Brahmaa, that Creator himself sets the rules for his Creation and till
the dissolution time these rules control the system. These rules cannot be
transgressed by anyone; not even gods can disobey these rules. Even if one
believes in deaths or god or fate, even those belief systems are there because
of the rules set at the beginning of Creation.
Fire should burn, water should
flow etc. are all there because of the rules ordained by the Creator of that
particular Creation. In different Creations rules may differ.
But these Creations do not
ever affect the state of the Supreme Brahman. It remains the same whether
Creations occur or not.
Each Jeeva conceives and
projects its own world like a dream.”
L: “You are saying that this world of Vidooratha is a
dream of Padma.
If, as you suggest
everything is dream-like in nature, then are all these people here in this city
ruled by Vidooratha unreal?”
J: “What is real, what is not real?
When you dream, this waking
state is unreal for you; when you are awake, dream is unreal for you.
Everyone dreams of the other
and a network of dream characters arise confirming the reality of each other.
They all believe that they are
living in a solid world hard as diamond. But the elements, hardness, forms,
names are all conceptions of the mind and are not real.
I am in your dream as the Goddess
guiding you; you are in my dream as a student learning from me. We are both
real for each other. But in truth we both are delusory appearances only.”
Leelaa remained silent for
some time.
Then she asked what happened
to the other Leelaa.
Jnapti explained to her that
the other Leelaa had imagined that a daughter of Jnapti will guide her and so
she had the vision of a young maiden who guided her towards the mind-world of
Padma.
L: “She had prayed that she must go to Padma’s world with
her physical body of this world in tact; did she really go with her physical
body through all these strange paths?”
J: “How can she?
Physical body is a picture
drawn by the brain. As per the rules ordained at the beginning of the Creation
by Brahmaa, the bodies of one dream world cannot enter another person’s dream world. They vanish by the logical
process of death as it were.
See her body lying here
lifeless next to her husband’s body.
But after the swoon of death
she woke up outside of it and instantly was endowed with a beautiful body as
pictured by her brain.
She believes that it is the
same body and is happily waiting there in your world for her husband to become
alive in Padma’s body.”
L: “What happened to her daughter?”
J: “The daughter’s Jeeva is now in a suspended state. She
will join her parents after Vidooratha wakes up in Padma’s body.”
As they were conversing like
this, the king groaned slightly. He breathed very hard once and immediately
became lifeless.
Leelaa wanted to know what his
Jeeva would do.
They both followed that Jeeva
without his knowledge.
ENLIGHTENED LEELAA’S BODY
GETS CREMATED AWAY IN HER ABSENCE
The king Vidooratha had his
own after-death experiences according to the belief systems he had cultivated
in his mind.
{Belief systems are not
truths. Truth is something which does not disappear when you stop believing in
it. Everyone experiences what they believe. Ghosts are real for a person who
believes in them. But they are not absolute realities existing outside of one’s
mind.
Vidooratha believed in Yama
and his world. So he experiences Yama’s world as an after-death experience.
Ignorant Leelaa believed that a daughter of Jnapti will appear and guide her in
after-death experience. She experienced the same as her reality. (Jnapti had no
daughter!)
Enlightened Leelaa wanted only
knowledge and she got it from the ‘Goddess of Knowledge’ herself.}
Vidooratha had the vision of
his body getting cremated; the funeral rites getting performed; he getting a
form because of all these religious rites; Lord Yama’s men carrying him off to
Yama’s presence; Yama checking his merits and demerits and letting him go as he
was blessed by Jnapti.
Immediately he left Yama’s
world and entered his previous world of Padma. But before he could enter the
body, Jnapti held his Jeeva back by her power.
She descended down to the
harem of Leelaa’s palace with her dear devotee Leelaa. They both entered the
room where Padma’s body was kept covered in flowers.
The other Leelaa was sitting
there next to the body and fanning it affectionately. She decided that the
sleeping one was her husband Vidooratha’s next incarnation and waited patiently
for him to wake up.
Enlightened Leelaa asked
Jnapti where her own physical body which was contemplating in the room was.
Jnapti flashed a smile.
J: “Oh that? When you left the body you forgot its
existence completely. After fifteen days the body just rotted and fell dead. So
everyone cried for you and burnt the body with ghee and sandalwood.”
Leelaa remained silent!
Should she feel happy or sad;
she did not know!
Leelaa did not mind the death
of her physical body. Actually she felt relieved. A life on earth with another
husband-like character was unthinkable now.
She smiled back at Jnapti and
asked how would the people around react to all this?
J: “People? Mostly all are ignorant including the
ministers. They will just think that you have come back from the world of dead
and worship this Leelaa as their Goddess. The story of this miracle will spread
all over the country and this Leelaa is going to be famous. She would not mind
it though!”
DEAD
PADMA BECOMES ALIVE
Now Jnapti released the Jeeva
of the king.
The streak of vibration named
Vidooratha, who was just a collection of ideas, thoughts and beliefs entered
the body of Padma.
Immediately the body of Padma
became filled with blood and he started breathing normally. He got up as if
from sleep pushing away all the flowers. He did not remember anything, neither
Padma’s life or Vidooratha’s life.
The enlightened Leelaa wished herself
to be seen as the previous Leelaa and stood next to the ignorant Leelaa.
The king was puzzled by two
identical images standing in front of him. He asked them who they were.
Enlightened Leelaa briefly
explained to him her own identity and new Leelaa’s identity as much as he could
grasp. She said that as she was now a personal maid of Jnapti, and the king now
can live happily in the company of the other Leelaa and rule the kingdom with
her as the queen.
She requested Jnapti also to
appear before the king. The king and his new queen saluted the Goddess humbly.
Jnapti blessed them both and
vanished from sight.
Enlightened Leelaa took leave
of the new king and queen. She said that she would be available any time they
wished for her guidance and floated up.
A VAASANAA FOR KNOWLEDGE NEVER
CAN GET FULFILLED
The new Leelaa looked at the
vanishing Leelaa.
Why was she not like her, she
wondered.
Can I also aspire for a state
like hers; she thought ruefully. But she could not think for long. Two strong
arms were tightening their grip around her shapely body. She closed her eyes
enjoying the warmth of the closeness of her husband.
It will be many births before
they both could even remember a word like liberation. But one day they will
surely develop dispassion and get liberated. The other Leelaa will see to it.
In every one of their dream life she will be there trying her best to teach
them knowledge. She was not a person who will ever accept defeat. She looked
down at the two passionate figures seated under the bed-room dome of her harem.
What all had happened within a
night!
Almost a month had elapsed in
this world since the king had died here. So Jnapti had informed. There
Vidooratha had died just now. In another world Vasishta had died eight days back.
She laughed.
What time what space?
Everything was just a dream of a mind.
What was mind? It was just a
vibration in the Supreme state.
Who was real? Who was not
real? There was nobody actually.
From a worm to a god all were
just appearances only. Everything was just a wave in the Chit, the Supreme
state of Consciousness.
Death was a myth. Birth was a
myth. Form and name were myths.
What was she? She was just a
vibration; a Vaasanaa for knowledge. And as long as she wanted to learn, Jnapti
would be always there teaching her. Knowledge had no end.
She was eternal in some way.
Her Jnapti was also eternal.
She will be always asking
questions. Jnapti will always be answering her.
What more joy can be there
other than learning?
She smiled.
JNAPTI AND LEELAA BECOME CLOSE
FRIENDS
As
she floated up Leelaa saw a lustrous air-chariot waiting for her at the
outskirts of the sky. Jnapti was humming some melody happily.
Leelaa
climbed aboard the chariot and sat next to Jnapti. Jnapti embraced her affectionately.
The chariot flew away into empty space.
People
in Padma’s city saw a streak of light flashing across the sky.
They
said some noble soul has left this world and saluted the sky.
Jnapti
smiled.
Jasmines
bloomed all over the earth suddenly.
END?
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