A
dip in a ‘holy’ river or tank can never ‘cleanse’ you. Pausing, reflecting and
awakening alone can.
A friend
feverishly texted me on WhatsApp a few days ago. He’s close to me and believes
that the financial challenges that my family and I are enduring, for close to a
decade now, is directly related to my past karma
– a ‘carry forward’ of sorts of ‘sins committed in a previous birth’. He
furiously appealed to me I must make the pilgrimage to the Mahamaham tank in
Kumbakonam and take a dip to ‘wash away all my bad karma, my sins’. “You will see an immediate change in your
fortunes,” he insisted. I merely thanked him for his compassionate perspective
and offered no justification for my choice not to accept his advice.
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Mahamaham - Kumbakonam Picture Courtesy: Internet |
The Mahamaham is a
Hindu festival that happens every 12 years in the Mahamaham tank in Kumbakonam,
Tamil Nadu. I have no disrespect for the Mahamaham. Nor do I intend questioning
its legend that’s drawing several millions in (what they think is) piety. Yet,
I sincerely don’t believe a ritualistic dip, however ‘holy’ the site may be,
can ever cleanse anyone. In his memorable 2003 classic, Anbe Sivam (Love is God), Kamal Hassan beautifully explains to his
co-star Madhavan why the God within us – the Universal Energy that keeps us
alive – must awaken for us to realize the magic and beauty of Life. That
realization, to me, is the biggest awakening. And only an awakening from within can truly cleanse us.
To be sure, there
is a Mahamaham moment waiting for each of us – provided we are ready and
willing to understand Life and have seeker’s, a student’s, attitude. And that
moment need not be at a temple tank, where millions are crowding with a herd
mentality, throwing personal and public hygiene to the wind! My own Mahamaham
moment happened in my living room, some time in 2007, when I was having my
favorite Royal Challenge whisky, and was utterly bored with two other things I
was trying to do at the same time – swap channels on TV hoping to find
something interesting and make sense of the English translation of the Sai Satcharita, a book on the Life and
teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba. My search for something meaningful on TV drew a
blank. And I soon turned it off. My family had long gone to sleep. Even as I
poured myself another drink, I tried – but failed miserably – to understand
what the Sai Satcharita was trying to
say – it will easily rank as among the most horrible works of translation ever,
from the original Marathi to English! I put the book away. And I thought deeply
about what Shirdi Baba had taught the world in his lifetime. In a Eureka-like
flash, it dawned on me that the two principles around which all his teachings
were anchored are – Shraddha, Faith
and Saburi, Patience. To face Life and to overcome the challenges
that you are faced with, I realized that, you must keep the faith and learn to
be patient.
Over time, I
employed this awakening very constructively, through my daily practice of mouna (silence periods), to understand
the impermanence and inscrutability of Life. I learned that this is the only
Life we have. And to live this Life well – and happily – we must train our mind
to be in the present moment. In the now. I discovered that the way religion is practiced
in the world today is that it encourages you and me to fear people (who peddle
religion) than inspire faith in creation – that if you have been created without
your asking to be born, then the same energy that created you will care for
you, will provide for you. When there is fear, how can there be faith? When
there is no faith, how can you be patient?
This clarity is
helping me live my Life with total inner peace, despite the storm that rages on
outside, in my business, professional and material Life. This clarity makes me
believe that a dip in an insanely crowded temple tank will hardly cleanse
anything – not even your body, let alone your mind. I am more with Kabir, the 15th
Century weaver-poet, here. He said:
Kabir
Man Nirmal Bhaya, Jaise Ganga Neer
Pache Pache Har Phire, Kahat Kabir Kabir
Translation
Kabir Washed His Mind Clean, Like The Holy
Ganges River
Everyone follows behind, Saying Kabir,
Kabir
That is, Kabir urges us to remove all
impurities from our mind, from our thinking process, thus letting the light of
divinity to shine forth. Truly, there is divinity in each of us. That
divinity is suppressed, lying buried under layers and layers of grief, guilt,
anger, fear and such debilitating emotions. This is why we are searching for
God outside of us. This is why we are running to a Mahamaham.
Seriously, you don’t need to wait for 12
years to scramble to a Mahamaham for cleansing yourself. Your Mahamaham moment awaits you
if you can simply pause, reflect and awaken to the opportunity of cleansing your
mind, of living in the now!
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