THE MAKING OF AN UNSUNG MAHATMA.

The wind wafted cool amongst the trees found in the temple grove attached to the Kaliamman Temple where the boy was playing along with his peers from the small colony nearby. Though the grove was hardly two kilometers away from the Madurai Railway station, it was not too crowded and the roads outside were pretty desolate for it was approximately circa 1922 and the population explosion had not yet reached its crescendo.

The beginning of the twentieth century was also the beginning of transformation for modern India. The industrial revolution had its effects in India too and the railways had been laid across the length and breadth of the country by the British who were ably supported by Anglo Indian gentlemen who ran the railways with clockwork precision. Travel from the north to the south and vice versa which had been hitherto resorted to manually and by horse drawn or bullock drawn carriages had been transformed and there was greater interaction amongst the various regions of India. The society of those times was still orthodox and caste lines were clearly drawn even in temples and other places of worship.

The boy was tired of playing the same games and came over to the Mandap in the middle of the grove to rest his feet awhile. The Mandap was built in the same style as the temple architecture and had steps leading up to it on all four sides the Mandap seemed more like a stage with a roof supported by columns on all four sides. As the boy sat on the top most step leading to the Mandap, he saw a saffron clad frail old man who seemed to be attempting to light a beedi rather clumsily. The rays of the evening sun threw its light and shade in a rather eerie manner and as the boy looked on, he soon realised that the old man was unable to light his beedi since both his hands seemed to be badly eaten up by leprosy.

Realizing that the old man was unable to hold the match stick in his hand since he had no fingers remaining, the boy walked up to the old man and offered to do so for him, “let me light it up for you”. The old man looked up at the boy rather gratefully. His face inspite of the unkempt beard comprising of stray and straggly hair looked rather serene and calm. The boy quickly lit the matchstick as the man puffed on the beedi to make it glow all around. “Thank you my son!” he replied. Once his beedi was lit the old man seemed content to focus on his smoke while the boy sat nearby in comfortable silence.

Meanwhile the boy’s friends had come searching for him and on finding him sitting near a person afflicted with leprosy had shrieked in disgust and ran away in haste. The boy looked at their vanishing backs and said, “Forgive them for being so unkind for they must be scared by your appearance”. The old man did not seem to be in the least bit bothered by their behavior. He calmly finished his smoke. “Well what I am afflicted with my son is something that every one finds repulsive”. The boy looked straight into the eyes of the old man and said, “Well I don’t, find you repulsive”, and the old man appeared to be surprised by the boy’s statement and looked at him deeply. “What is your name, my son?” he finally enquired. “My name is Thangam and I’m fourteen years old”, the boy replied promptly.

“You are indeed a precious human, my dear son”, remarked the old man on hearing Thangam’s name. For Thangam in Tamil meant gold and the boy had been named Thangavel by his parents in honour of Lord Karthikeya who is worshiped as Lord Muruga, the God of the Tamils. While as per records he was called Thangavel in real life his pet name was Thangam.

Thangam had come to Madurai along with his parents as a young child from another town called Trichy due to a family dispute. They had left Trichy and had moved to Dindugal in search of livelihood, whereupon they were told of the varied opportunities that a town like Madurai offered. They had then moved to Madurai and his father had found employment as a butler to a British gentleman and his family. Thangam’s mother too worked as a maid in the same household and every thing went on smoothly until the age of twelve when Thangam’s father passed away after a brief illness.

Thangam had been forced to discontinue his schooling at the local municipal preparatory school and seek employment, as he had to now support his family. Thangam worked odd jobs in mechanic shops repairing cycles and other new fangled gadgets. Early in the morning Thangam would proceed to the town central market were he would carry sacks of vegetables that had just arrived in bullock carts from nearby villages. This would fetch Thangam an additional income. I must add that there was no concept of child labour in those days and by the time he had reached fourteen years of age when he met the old man Thangam’s body had become hardened by all his physical labour.

Thangam felt very comfortable sitting next to the old man. The next day morning after he had done with carrying vegetable sacks in the market, Thangam had stopped at the Mandap to see if the old man was all right but he could not find him there. That evening after finishing work at the mechanic shop he had proceeded on his way home when he suddenly remembered the old man and proceeded to the Temple grove to check if he was still around. This time the old man was very much present at the Mandap and welcomed him with a smile. Thangam told him that he had searched for him in the morning and the old man told him that he had gone to the Meenakshi Amman Temple to offer his prayers to the deity.

That night the old man and young boy sat and talked for a long time. Thangam felt very happy just being with the old man. The old man during the course of his conversation told him that he was a wandering mendicant. He was a learned man who could speak many languages. He told Thangam that he had once been married and had successfully fulfilled all his worldly duties. After the death of his wife he had decided to renounce everything and had turned into a wandering mendicant. He would spend the summers in the Himalayas and once winter commenced would move to South India to visit all the major temples there. He also elaborated on the similarity of the South Indian Temples and their construction to the Human body.

The old man and Thangam soon became rather close to each other. Thangam would at times bring food from home for the old mendicant and the old man would happily eat the food brought by Thangam. The old man would tell Thangam interesting anecdotes and also share his experiences in the Himalayas with him. By the end of January the old mendicant appeared restless and one fine day Thangam found him missing. Thangam frequented the Mandap every evening after work but found the old mendicant had left.

It was winter that year that the old man returned to the Mandap. Thangam had been lonely on a Sunday evening and having nothing better to do he had sauntered into the grove. He did not expect to see the old mendicant but to his surprise found the old mendicant sitting in the Mandap attempting to light a beedi, just as he had seen him the first time. Thangam was overjoyed and the old man too appeared happy to meet Thangam again.

Their relationship continued from where it had been left, in January and they were happy to be in each other’s company as only Guru and Sishya could. The winter sped by and the old mendicant left in January the subsequent year just as he had done the previous time. The third winter he appeared just as he always did by the end of October. He appeared frail weak and rather unhealthy.

Thangam had turned sixteen that summer and was a full grown male sporting a moustache. The old man was indeed very weak and Thangam spent all his spare time tending to him. The old man became better by the end of December and in January the next year told Thangam that he had a secret he wished to share with him, Thangam was puzzled as to what could be the secret but waited patiently for the old man to disclose the same.

It was Pongal the harvest festival of the Tamils and Thangam had got the old mendicant a new saffron kurta and dhoti for him to wear. The old man was initially reluctant to accept Thangam’s gift but then thought the better of it and accepted it gratefully. That afternoon as they were sitting in their usual haunt, the Mandap; the old man told him that he was the practitioner of an ancient art. He told Thangam that he had always worshipped God as his teacher or God as his own Guru. He told him that God himself had manifested in human form to teach him an ancient art and that, the art involved a detailed study of one’s breathing.

He demonstrated to Thangam the posture and method of practicing this art. He elaborated that by sitting with the right leg placed above the left leg tucked under the groin was akin to Padmasana but less complicated and conducive to sitting for long stretches in prayer. Moreover the sitting posture with both legs tucked into the groin ensured that the anus and the urinary canal were locked. He explained that the human body had nine doors and to go within oneself one had to first lock all the nine doors securely. The anus and the penis could be closed by sitting in this position and then closing the eyes one could embark on the inward journey. While these doors were shut the openings of the ears and nose could be closed and locked only by the mind and concentrating on our internal breathing and its flow which would automatically shut out the senses of hearing and smell. When the nine doors are shut and the mind is brought under control by holding the tip of the thumbs on the second digit of the index finger and placing both forearms on the folded knees, one could travel on hidden pathways within the body to visit the power centers and tap the power available to perform unimaginable feats.

That evening the old mendicant initiated Thangam into this practice that he called “Appiyasa” meaning “Appuvasa” or the gathering and residing of 'Appu' or 'Prana' within the human home of the soul. The initiation was an awakening of the Kundalini and Thangam found himself fascinated by the new world that was opened to him. The mendicant then gave Thangam a secret mantra to be used in his prayers and asked him to chant the mantra continuously. He prostrated himself at the feet of his Guru and returned home with great joy and bliss.

A few days later and found that the old mendicant as was his wont had suddenly vanished from the grove and the Mandap.

Thangam commenced the practice that he had learnt from the old mendicant. He would start the day at 3 am. Pray for an hour and would then proceed to the central market where he would work unloading sacks of vegetables and carrying them to the store houses from where the vegetables would be distributed to the retailers. Thangam would return home at 7 am take a bath and then pray again for half an hour, after which he would have a quick breakfast and proceed to the cycle mechanic shop were he worked repairing cycles. In the late evenings he would return to the Mandap in the grove and spend a couple of hours in prayer before returning home to have supper and sleep for awhile before commencing his routine again at 3 am the next day.

As time went by, Thangam’s progress in Yogic practice was evident to him. He soon mastered the breathing technique thought by the mendicant and as he became better he could soon see things within his body. A normal man could only see things outside his body but Thangam with his eye turned inward could see within. He soon realised that the human body was in the form of “Om”. The power centers themselves were sounds within the “Om” and he soon learnt to identify the sounds associated with each of the power centres.

When Thangam completed eighteen years of age, the British gentleman to whom his father had served as a butler, called for him and offered him a job as a labourer in a textile mill in the city. Thangam willingly took up the offer as it was a permanent job with good compensation and benefits. Thangam continued to pray frequently and his new job provided him with more time at his disposal which he spent in prayer.

It was the time when the independence struggle was at its peak. One day on a holiday, Thangam was relaxing on the pavement outside the tea shop when he felt like revising the lessons he was learning within his body. He took a piece of charcoal and started drawing the body in the shape of an “Om” and then charting out the various power centres, their sounds and their presiding Deities. It was as much an exercise as a school boy would be given; to draw a flower and name the parts therein or to draw a map of India and point out the various regions and cities therein.

Meanwhile the road on which Thangam was sitting was getting jammed due to a procession of pro- independence supporters and a huge limousine had been forced to a stand still. Within the limousine or ‘pleasure cars’ as they were called in those days, while, the grass root folk referring to them as ‘pleasure’, sat a great man popularly known as Guruji and a scholar of the Vedas as no one before. This gentleman happened to look out of the window of his car and found Thangam drawing the ‘Om’ and naming its constituent power centers. He was astonished that such a young man could posses such knowledge and therefore stepped out of his car, much to the astonishment of his chauffeur.

The Guruji walked up to Thangam looked at his diagram and asked him how he knew about these power centers within the ‘Om’. Thangam unhesitatingly recited the paths to these power centers and the way to reach them as only a man who has done it within himself could. The Guruji offered Thangam some money, which Thangam politely refused to accept.

The Guruji then asked Thangam if he would be willing to come with him and accept him as his Guru and thereby enjoy great wealth fame. Thangam refused this too saying that he already had a Guru and he did not need any other. The Guruji was greatly humbled for here was a young man who was barely twenty years old who knew more than he could ever know.

It was exactly a year later in the spring of the subsequent year that Thangam was blessed with the opportunity of meeting his Guru once again. As was his won’t, Thangam used to spend his holidays praying in the calm of the Mandap inside the temple grove and it was on one such occasion that Thangam opened his eyes from prayer to meet his Guru standing near him. He could not believe his eyes as his Guru was standing near him.

He could not believe his eyes and blinked as his Guru embraced him warmly. Thangam looked in astonishment at his Guru’s hands. For there were no trace of leprosy and all his fingers were intact. His Guru noticed his surreptitious glances and smiled. “I really do not have leprosy my son,” he said. “It was only a disguise to keep people away from me and enable me smooth passage in crowded places including temples as people move away from a leper,” he continued. “Only you of all people came near me and you are indeed blessed for that my son,” he concluded.

Thangam was overjoyed and spent the evening and that night sitting with his Guru and discussing all that he had learn’t within his body. The next morning the Guru departed. He told Thangam, ”I won’t be coming back my son but I shall be with you all the while. Get married and fulfill your worldly duties while you continue your practice. You have great work to do my Son”

Thangam did do great work after the departure of his Guru. He performed many miracles and cured many illnesses. He stood by and trained two generations in the science, philosophy and practice of Yoga. However, Thangam abhorred the limelight and kept himself in the background as he achieved all that any Man could ever want.

THE YOGI AND HIS TWO DISCIPLES

In the forests of ancient Tamil Nadu there lived a Raja Yogi; a practitioner of the ancient art of breathing. A very humble and simple Man who did not live by the norms and rules of society but who lived by the laws and practices of nature. The Yogi was a well-built Man in his early fifties who had lived in the forests from the age of twelve and learnt his art at the feet of his Master.

Though humble and simple this Raja Yogi had immense powers that others could not even dream off. His powers were spoken of with awe throughout the entire region. However, the people of the region though awed by his miracles found him a bit weird in behavior and spirit.

The Yogi looked very impressive in build and physique. To add to his impressive countenance, he had a rather flowing beard with tufts of white, grey and black making it a vibrant one. People came from near and far to meet the Yogi and pay respects to him. Some of them even hoped that the Yogi would accept them as a disciple but they all went back very disappointed.

It was at this time that two friends from the city named Subbu and Anbu went hunting in the forests. As the deer sped away from them Subbu and Anbu went further into the forest penetrating the dense jungle. Suddenly, the dear reached a clearing where a hut was situated and vanished from their sight.

As Subbu and Anbu stood there not knowing what to do, the Yogi emerged from the hut; for it was indeed his Ashram and he lived and prayed there. He demanded to know who Subbu and Anbu were and when they told him about the magical deer that vanished the Yogi was amazed. He realized that it was a divine hand that had sent them here and asked Subbu and Anbu if they were willing to learn the great arts under his tutorage.

The boys had already heard about the great Yogi and were overjoyed to serve as his disciples. Years passed and the Yogi diligently trained them and transferred his knowledge to his two pupils. Finally the time arrived when the two boys had graduated so to speak and they were independent Yogis in their own right. However, the two pupils had a request of their Yogi that they wanted him to fulfill before they would graduate. Both of them wanted the Yogi to visit their respective houses in the city and spend some time with them and their families.

After a lot of hesitation the Yogi agreed to the invitation. He decided to first visit Anbu’s home and family. Having arrived from the forest that morning he decided to rest awhile at Anbu’s house. Anbu’s family was overjoyed to receive the Yogi. Anbu introduced the Yogi to all his family members commencing from his parents to the last of his siblings. After a heavy breakfast the Yogi stretched out his body on the bed as he prayed for the welfare of the family that had provided him such warm hospitality.

Suddenly the Yogi jumped out of his bed and exclaimed, “Oh my God!” He called Anbu and told him that an evil spirit resided in his residence and that he the Yogi could not stay in this house anymore. He suggested that he stay in a separate house and not be asked to sleep in Anbu’s house as it would only harm him the Yogi as well as the members of Anbu’s family.

Anbu felt suddenly humiliated by the Yogi’s behavior. He believed his master was deliberately insulting him by refusing to stay in his house and begged his master not to leave his house. The Yogi was adamant he said that he would not stay in the house but Anbu was all the more pleading. He told the Yogi that if he left Anbu’s house Anbu’s parents would consider it as a great insult and his family honor would be slighted. He therefore requested the Yogi not to go and the Yogi bound by the wishes of his disciple stayed on at Anbu’s house.

That night there was a great commotion arising out of the Yogi’s bedroom. The Yogi was shouting, “Get away and leave me in peace you vile old spirit”. Anbu and his entire family rushed to the Yogi’s bedroom and found the Yogi in a state of epilepsy as it were. The Yogi was screaming writhing and contorting his body as he rolled and thrashed on the floor. After a while the seizures stopped and the Yogi got of the floor and began hurling a string of profanities at all those gathered particularly Anbu’s parents.

Anbu had no other option but to hurriedly shunt the Yogi outside the house and shove him far away from the house. Once clear of the house the Yogi began to become normal and walked away quietly as Anbu pleaded with him to forgive him and come back home again. Since it was soon to be dawn the Yogi then proceeded to Subbu’s house to spend a couple of days there.

The reception that the Yogi received at Subbu’s residence was as great as it was at Anbu’s residence, if not even more. Everyone including Subbu’s parents prostrated at the feet of the great Yogi. A regal breakfast was provided. After the heavy breakfast, the Yogi stretched out his body on the bed as he prayed for the welfare of the family that had provided him such warm hospitality.

Suddenly the Yogi jumped out of his bed and exclaimed, “Oh my God!” He called Subbu and told him that an evil spirit resided in Subbu’s residence and that he the Yogi could not stay in his house anymore. He suggested that he stay in a separate house and not be asked to sleep in Subbu’s house as it would only harm him the Yogi as well as the members of Subbu’s family.

Subbu was surprised to hear his Master say this. What would his parents think? He wondered if the master would change his mind but realized that as a student it was his duty to obey the Master. He immediately took the Yogi to an inn nearby where he made arrangements for the best room therein to be provided to his Master. The Yogi then consoled Subbu saying “Even though I may not be able to stay at your house tonight, be assured that my presence will be with you throughout the night. Do not panic if you hear any unnatural sounds and ask all the members of your family to remain in their beds even in the event of any noise or occurrence. Now go sleep in the assurance that I am protecting your family”, he said.

That night there was a great commotion arising out of Subbu’s bedroom. The Yogi could be heard shouting, “You vile old spirit, I will not let you get away this time”. Subbu woke up with a start but remembering his Yogi’s advice he stayed calm in bed.

The next morning Subbu’s mother went into their garden to find that her plants that had not bloomed for ages were suddenly in full bloom and the whole garden looked lovely. She kept mumbling, “The curse is lifted, the curse is lifted…” That morning Subbu’s elder brother too woke up to hear the good news that his wife who had been barren for six years had conceived. There was great rejoicing in the house.

Subbu then rushed to the lodging house to meet the Yogi and found the Yogi in a calm and serene mood. He thanked the Yogi for having conquered the evil spirit that was destroying their peace. The Yogi replied, “It was your obedience that saved you not me. You must thank your obedient spirit for that.” The Yogi then returned to Subbu’s home and stayed with them happily for a few days more.

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK.

His name was ‘Kattu Pillai’. It meant a ‘jungle child’ in Tamil. It also meant ‘The child of the Ghats’. For indeed he was a child who had grown up in the cremation grounds of a small town in Tamil Nadu. He had been found as a one day old boy abandoned in the Municipal cemetery of that town. The boy had been raised by the Keeper of the Pyre at the cremation grounds.

The Keeper of the Pyre was a Municipal employee and he was provided small asbestos sheeted accommodation in the cemetery itself. The shed in which the pyres were lit lay to one side of the cemetery while the rest of the grounds were filled with the graves of the rich and poor, alike. The Keeper of the Pyre had also a little boy named Muniyandi of almost the same age and Kattu Pillai had grown up with the boy as his bosom buddy.

The Keeper of the Pyre had sent both boys to the Municipal school in the town. While Muniyandi had not shown much inclination towards academic exercises Kattu Pillai had excelled in school. Muniyandi could not complete his secondary school leaving certificate examinations while Kattu Pillai had topped the school with the highest marks. However, the Keeper of the Pyre did not have much financial resources to afford sending Kattu Pillai for higher studies and Kattu Pillai had therefore dropped out rather than make his adopted father suffer to meet his educational expenses.

Having dropped out of school Kattu Pillai used to do odd jobs for the Keeper of the Pyre and also assist him in his work at the cremation grounds. The Keeper of the Pyre had grown old and needed help while Muniyandi was least bothered and spent his time gambling and drinking with friends.

The Keeper of the Pyre suddenly died one day leaving behind his wife along with Muniyandi and Kattu Pillai. The Municipal administration had then provided the father’s job to Muniyandi as his legal heir. It was then that Kattu Pillai decided to become a drummer. Not an ordinary drummer playing with a music orchestra or part of a band but a death drummer.

It is the custom in these parts of the world to beat a round flat drum slung over the shoulder to honour the dead. The drummer would lead the funeral procession with relatives and well wishers dancing to the beat of the drum as the procession wound its way to the cremation grounds. The kin of the dead would provide the drummer with country liquor, rice, a set of new clothes and some money as fees for services rendered by the death drummer.

It was this profession that Kattu Pillai chose for Kattu Pillai was a different kind of person and his material interests were very limited. Kattu Pillai considered it a worthy profession for he considered drumming for the dead as a divine service that he performed to honour the dead. The first time that Kattu Pillai played the death drum was at the demise of the old Keeper of the Pyre, his adopted father.

Earlier the old Keeper of the Pyre used to take on the additional responsibility of beating the death drum but after he passed away Muniyandi had not seemed interested in what he thought was a very cheap task. It was only because of the disinterest of Muniyandi that Kattu Pillai had taken up this profession for he had seen a need that had to be fulfilled.

Kattu Pillai had grown up into a dark handsome young man and had a broad forehead with a Greco-Roman kind of aquiline nose and a strong determined chin. The only flaw in his otherwise classic Dravidian face was his lips which were thick and gross. His big eyes were always bloodshot and bleary. Kattu Pillai never bothered to wash or comb his hair and it had a perpetually tousled appearance about him. Kattu Pillai would be woken up at odd hours to drum for the dead and announce the demise to the town at large. Kattu Pillai’s proximity to death had resulted in his retaining a constant stench of death about him.

Surprisingly, for his virile appearance, Kattu Pillai had no interest in women and was only devoted to the family of the Keeper of the Pyre. The arrival of Muniyandi‘s wife had resulted in an affectionate sister's attention in Kattu Pillai’s life. Muniyandi’s children were his nephews and nieces and he loved them dearly but Kattu Pillai never felt the need for a wife or a family of his own.

The moment there was a death in the household, the bereaved family would send for Kattu Pillai and Muniyandi who would then take charge of the arrangements for honourably sending off the departed soul to its destination in the other world. In death, Kattu Pillai saw something very noble. It had to be experienced by all; both rich and poor, strong and weak. There was no escaping death. Moreover, Kattu Pillai believed that death was not an end but only a new beginning and it was this joy of a new beginning that Kattu Pillai conveyed through his drumming.

Every death was a new beginning for Kattu Pillai. His drumming would sound different for each funeral. Each performance was the creation of a new symphony in percussion. Kattu Pillai would take the rice and money back home and give it to Muniyandi’s wife. He would consume a part of the country liquor provided and save the rest to be shared later with his brother Muniyandi. The new clothes he would give away to the needy or at times sell at a throw away price to some poor soul.

Kattu Pillai’s drum beat accompanied all the rich and famous of the town to their funeral pyres. It was he who drummed in front of the funeral procession of the local Member of Parliament who had served as a Finance Minister in the Central Cabinet. It was he who drummed the way for the I.T. tycoon who had made it big in Silicon Valley and then returned to his hometown to die shortly of exhaustion. It was Kattu Pillai who accompanied the head priest of the big temple in the town on his final journey. Kattu Pillai had taken not only the rich and famous but all and sundry including the local prostitute and the local milkman on their final journey to a new beginning.

As Muniyandi grew older, he seemed rather disinterested in even fulfilling his official duties as Keeper of the Pyre but only keen on collecting his salary every month. Kattu Pillai therefore took it upon himself to discharge these duties and help his brother while Muniyandi lounged around on one of the graves drinking and smoking beedis. Shortly afterwards, Muniyandi fell ill and passed away due to cirrhosis of the liver. It was left to Kattu Pillai to perform the last ceremonies for Muniyandi and send him to his heavenly destination with his fervent drumming. Muniyandi’s eldest son was now provided the job of the Keeper of the Pyre by the Municipal administration, since there were no takers for this rather lowly profession.

Times had changed. So also the practice of giving country liquor to the death drummer. Kattu Pillai was nowadays provided a bottle of IMFL, Indian made foreign liquor, instead of the usual jerry can of country liquor. Similarly the cremation grounds itself had undergone a sea of change. The old shed where the pyres used to be burnt was now replaced by a modern concrete structure which stood there in its stead. It was the new electric crematorium that was now established and Muniyandi’s son did not have to rake the pyre and ensure that it burned evenly. He just had to press a button meant for this purpose and the corpse would disintegrate under the extreme heat that was generated by the machine. However, the stench of death continued to remain.

Kattu Pillai continued to serve the dead by drumming away to glory. Thank god they still hadn’t invented an electronic drummer to do his job. Kattu Pillai lived until the ripe age of seventy and continued to stoke the funeral pyres of three generations of people who lived in that town. Ultimately as all life must come to pass, so also did Kattu Pillai’s turn come. Kattu Pillai was never one to fear death and when his turn came he happily gave up the ghost.

Kattu Pillai never anticipated death to be so liberating. His entire being felt different; without any restrictions and was free. There was no desire in his being since his soul had now come out of the shell made up of the five elements that it had inhabited all these years. There was only pure consciousness. His soul just stayed in a corner of the room where his body now lay, patiently waiting for the final act of cremation to disintegrate its body and proceed on its onward journey.

Muniyandi’s son the new Keeper of the Pyre had loved his uncle dearly. He faithfully and dutifully prepared his uncle’s body for cremation and performed all the necessary last rites before the body was slipped into the iron grate wherein it would be consumed by the heat to burst into flame and disintegrate. Unfortunately, there was no one to send him onward with the beat of the death drum.

As Kattu Pillai’s body yielded to the heat of the incinerator, the remainder of the “Dasa Vayus” or “Ten gases” that had occupied Kattu Pillai’s body all along, started leaving the body one after the other in quick sucession. These Dasa Vayus had entered the body from the sperm of the father; the life giver and had orchestrated his life throughout by its balance and imbalances. Finally it was the turn of the last Vayu or Gas the “Dhananjaya Vayu” which is stored inside the human skull to depart the body as the skull cracked under the intense heat and flames.

The moment the Dhananjaya Vayu left his earlier cocoon or body, Kattu Pillai felt a complete transformation. The images of the world as we know it vanished and he could not see this world anymore. He could only feel a floating sensation as an invisible tide pulled him to an unknown destination. The tide kept pulling at the core of Kattu Pillai’s very being into a huge void. Far away into the distance he could faintly make out a white structure. As he was drawn nearer and nearer he could see that the white structure appeared to be like a bright cloud formation in the midst of the dark void. As the tide swept him nearer to the cloud he could make out that the cloud appeared to look like some sort of a floating stairway. His being was being forcibly pushed towards the stairway.

Without any self-control his being began to climb the stairway and divine music erupted all around. Melodious voices sang an anthem of victory as he further climbed the stairs. At the top of the flight of stairs he turned around to have one last look at the world he was leaving behind but there was nothing there, only void. He turned around and calmly proceeded to meet ‘The Divine Force’ who is addressed by many titles. Kattu Pillai was not prepared for what happened next; he found the stairs culminating in a grand hall filled with many other beings. He could make out quite a few known beings amongst those assembled there, though they being only souls did not posses any face by which he could identify them.

There was the former Mayor of Kattu Pillai’s town whom Kattu Pillai had despatched on a similar journey a few years ago. He could make out the I.T. tycoon from his town who appeared to be rolling out some kind of a red carpet to welcome him. There was warmth in the being of the former Finance Minister who also belonged to his town and who had been sent on his heavenly journey by kattu Pillai many years ago. The former King of Nepal as well as former Kings of many other kingdoms were there as well to welcome him. At the far end of the hall to which Kattu Pillai walked on the laid out red carpet, he came face to face with the ultimate Light , the lover of mankind, the Creator, the Protector, the Destroyer, the Energy, the Governing Force that we all call God.

Kattupillai was honoured and felicitated by God to whose right he was seated and was awarded what could be termed a “Moksh Ratna”; the highest order of God’s kingdom. The greatest honour possibly given to any soul or being. The Divine Force also provide Kattu Pillai’s soul with the option of being reborn as a ruler of all the souls that it had despatched to God or be reborn as a simple saintly man who would liberate the minds of all those whom he had once burnt on the pyre. Needless to say that Kattu Pillai’s soul chose the second option.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth, nay Heaven.

THE KARMA KING

"Every action has an equal and apposite reaction" is an universal physical law which applies not only to all physical objects but to our physical body also. Not understanding this law of nature, there once lived, a long time ago, a very arrogant and autocratic King who was so puffed up with self-importance and ego that he considered himself to be above all other people on this planet.

The king was so arrogant that his subjects were not even allowed to look at him and he ordered all his subjects to fall flat on the ground and bow down when he was present. They were not allowed to even get up until he had passed by and had to remain prostrate on the floor even while addressing him. In fact the king did not like his subjects to even talk to him and expected them to only answer his questions. Even when answering his questions they were expected to address him with prefixes such as "Oh, Lord most high! All-powerful and omnipotent, with out whom we cannot live " every sentence which they spoke to the king had to be preceded by this title.

The king not only expected his subjects to address him as they would address God but also expected that they worship him and only him. He ordered that no other God should be worshiped in his kingdom and only he should be worshiped  The learned men of the kingdom were afraid to oppose his decree and quietly left the kingdom. Only the stupid who had no other alternative remained in his kingdom and worshiped the King.

This arrogant king had many costly pastimes. One such pastime was to drive his chariot made of gold and studded with costly gems along the main thoroughfare of his capital city at breakneck speed. Twenty-four thoroughbred horses drew the chariot and no ordinary subjects were allowed to use the thoroughfare or stand on the sidewalk when the King sped by in his chariot.

Not knowing that the King had passed such a decree a blind beggar entered into the thoroughfare when the chariot came thundering by. Being used to speeding by without slowing down until they reached their destination the horses galloped majestically towards the blind beggar The lead horse on the left side hit the blind beggar a glancing blow which sent him sprawling over and prevented him from not getting caught under the wheels of the chariot. The arrogant King was in a rage and shouted at his guards to catch the blind man and bring him to his palace in chains.

The guards promptly obeyed the King and took the beggar in chains to the palace. The King was in a great fury and ranted and raved at him for having come into the path of the exalted King. The blind beggar was very calm and composed. He told the arrogant King that he could not see the chariot coming towards him since he was blind. The arrogant King was furthermore infuriated by the calm reply of the blind man. He was angry that someone could have the audacity to retort back to him. He immediately ordered that that the blind beggar should be executed at once.

The King's guards then took the Blind beggar to the palace courtyard and beheaded him. They then displayed the severed head atop a pole in front of the palace to serve as a lesson to those who dared disobey the mighty King.

Later that night the King's daughter-in-law conceived a child and the whole Kingdom celebrated the good news with great joy. As fate would have it, it was the blind mendicant who was born nine months later as the King's grandson. Not knowing this, the arrogant King loved his grandson dearly and doted upon him. The people of the country loved their young prince very much as he was kind and affectionate to all his subjects unlike his grand father. The young prince was also very wise and the people admired the manner in which he handled the disputes, which came up for hearing and settlement in the King's court.

Time passed by, and the old arrogant King began to wither away and ultimately died.

The young prince was then crowned King. There was great rejoicing in the country. The people were happy that their new King was a much better person than their former arrogant and egoistical King.

As fate would once again have it, the arrogant King was reborn as a poor blind child to parents who were wandering beggars. Time passed and the blind child grew up into adulthood and became a wandering mendicant.

Meanwhile, the young prince who was crowned King spent his time in prayer and meditation. He soon understood the futility of all worldly pursuits and came to realize his evolution through many previous births. One day the King who had by now become considerably old drove his chariot along the same thoroughfare where his Grandfather had collided with the former blind beggar. While driving his chariot at a very rapid pace,  he found  the blind mendicant who was formerly the arrogant King in his previous birth stepping out on to the Highway and before the King could control the horses the blind mendicant was knocked down and thrown some distance away. The King pulled at the reins and brought his chariot to a halt. The King was infuriated at the blind mendicant for having caused him to slow down.

However, the king paused for a moment and closed his eyes. He thought to himself and wondered why he was unnecessarily becoming angry due to such a small incident. He then realized it was Karma which was drawing him into it's vicious cycle by making him angry at the poor blind mendicant. He also realized that the poor blind mendicant was none other than his arrogant Grandfather and rushed towards him. He lifted up the blind mendicant and wished him with palms pressed together in front of him. The King then hugged the blind mendicant who was rather taken aback for he had expected the King to be angry with him and order his guards to behead him. He had not expected the King to treat him so warmly and with such respect.

At that moment a disembodied voice thundered from the clouds, "Oh wise King! You have been released from the vicious cycle of your Karma. You were sent into this world as a test and you have successfully passed the test. Due to your goodness your arrogant Grand father who is now before you as a blind mendicant has also been liberated from all his past sins. Both of you will now attain Moksha and need not be reborn again".

At that moment a veil was lifted from the eyes of the blind mendicant and his eyesight was restored to him. Both the King and the mendicant were overjoyed at the turn of events and the King took the mendicant back to the palace where he was treated with all pomp and honour due to a King. The King and the mendicant then lived together happily ever after until they left this world at a ripe old age. The people of the Kingdom considered themselves to be truly blessed, to have been ruled by such a noble King and his wise mendicant.

(This was just a short story that I told my kids long ago when I wanted to explain the concept of Karma to them and thought that those of you who may be interested could also read it. Those of you don't believe in Karma or Rebirth are kindly requested to ignore this blog.)