Pilgrim's India

by ARUNDHATHI SUBRAMANIAM

  14.

  The art of seeking takes different forms

  Tukaram (17 century ce)

  Translated by Dilip Chitre

  The art of seeking takes different forms:

  But cream is churned only to separate the butter.

  The empty space between a bird and a fruit

  Is never an obstacle for a bird.

  Devotion is a full and final settlement:

  You get what you pay for and that’s it.

  Says Tuka I saved bit by bit for a long time.

  Today I have paid in full.

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  This poem is from Says Tuka: Selected Poetry of Tukaram.

  15.

  Gridhra-kuta Hill, and Legends. Fa-Hien Passes a Night on It. His Reflections.

  FA-HIEN (399–414 CE)

  Translated by James Legge

  Monk, pilgrim, writer and seasoned traveller, Fa-Hien wandered extensively through India to trace the origins of Buddhism. Apart from a glimpse of the precision of his style, this chapter is also an interesting reminder that devotion doesn’t mean florid sentiment.—Ed.

  Entering the valley, and keeping along the mountains on the south-east, after ascending fifteen li, [the travellers] came to mount Gridhra-kuta. Three li before you reach the top, there is a cavern in the rocks, facing the south, in which Buddha sat in meditation. Thirty paces to the north-west there is another, where Ananda was sitting in meditation, when the deva Mara Pisuna, having assumed the form of a large vulture, took his place in front of the cavern, and frightened the disciple. Then Buddha, by his mysterious, supernatural power, made a cleft in the rock, introduced his hand, and stroked Ananda’s shoulder, so that his fear immediately passed away. The footprints of the bird and the cleft for [Buddha’s] hand are still there, and hence comes the name of ‘The Hill of the Vulture Cavern’.

  In front of the cavern there are the places where the four Buddhas sat. There are caverns also of the Arhats, one where each sat and meditated, amounting to several hundred in all. At the place where in front of his rocky apartment Buddha was walking from east to west (in meditation), and Devadatta, from among the beetling cliffs on the north of the mountain, threw a rock across, and hurt Buddha’s toes, the rock is still there. The hall where Buddha preached his Law has been destroyed, and only the foundations of the brick walls remain. On this hill the peak is beautifully green, and rises grandly up; it is the highest of all the five hills.

  In the New City Fa-Hien bought incense-[sticks], flowers, oil and lamps, and hired two bhikshus, long resident [at the place], to carry them [to the peak]. When he himself got to it, he made his offerings with the flowers and incense, and lighted the lamps when the darkness began to come on. He felt melancholy, but restrained his tears and said, ‘Here Buddha delivered the Surangama (Sutra). I, Fa-Hien, was born when I could not meet with Buddha; and now I only see the footprints which he has left, and the place where he lived, and nothing more.’

  With this, in front of the rock cavern, he chanted the Surangama Sutra, remained there over the night, and then returned to the New City.

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  This extract is of Chapter XXIX in Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms.

  16.

  Prayaga

  Hsiuan Tsang (603–?665 ce)

  Translated by Samuel Beal

  Hsiuan Tsang, also a Buddhist monk, was unhappy with the Chinese translations of the sacred books and inspired by Fa-Hien’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land 200 years earlier. His description of Prayag evokes a city as Buddhist as Hindu, a city of stupas and of temples—and of vibrant intellectual debate. He returned to China in 645 with enough Buddhist relics, statuary and texts to load twenty-two horses. He spent the rest of his life scrutinizing the texts, many of which he also translated.—Ed.

  This country is about 5000 li in circuit, and the capital, which lies between two branches of the river, is about 20 li round. The grain products are very abundant, and fruit-trees grow in great luxuriance. The climate is warm and agreeable; the people are gentle and compliant in their disposition. They love learning, and are very much given to heresy …

  To the south-west of the capital, in a Champaka (Chen-pokia) grove, is a stupa which was built by Asoka-raja; although the foundations have sunk down, yet the walls are more than 100 feet high. Here it was in old days that Tathagata discomfited the heretics …

  By the side of this last stupa is an old sangharama; this is the place where Deva Bodhisattva composed the sastra called Kwangpih (Sata sastra vaiptdyam), refuted the principles of the Little Vehicle and silenced the heretics. At first Deva came from south India to this sangharama. There was then in the town a Brahman of high controversial renown and great dialectic skill. Following to its origin the meaning of names, and relying on the different applications of the same word, he was in the habit of questioning his adversary and silencing him. Knowing the subtle skill of Deva, he desired to overthrow him and refute him in the use of words. He therefore said—

  ‘Pray, what is your name?’

  Deva said, ‘They call me Deva.’

  The heretic rejoined, ‘Who is Deva?’

  He answered, ‘I am.’

  The heretic said, ‘And “I”, what is that?’

  Deva answered, ‘A dog.’

  The heretic said, ‘And who is a dog?’

  Deva said, ‘You.’

  The heretic answered, ‘And “you”, what is that?’

  Deva said, ‘Deva.’

  The heretic said, ‘And who is Deva?’

  He said, ‘I.’

  The heretic said, ‘And who is “I”?’

  Deva said, ‘A dog.’

  Again he asked, ‘And who is a dog?’

  Deva said, ‘You.’

  The heretic said, ‘And who is “you”?’

  Deva answered, ‘Deva.’

  And so they went on till the heretic understood; from that time he greatly reverenced the brilliant reputation of Deva …

  To the east of the capital, between the two confluents of the river, for the space of 10 li or so, the ground is pleasant and upland. The whole is covered with a fine sand. From old times till now, the kings and noble families, whenever they had occasion to distribute their gifts in charity, ever came to this place, and here gave away their goods; hence it is called ‘the great charity enclosure’. At the present time Siladitya-raja, after the example of his ancestors, distributes here in one day the accumulated wealth of five years. Having collected in this space of the charity enclosure immense piles of wealth and jewels, on the first day he adorns in a very sumptuous way a statue of Buddha, and then offers to it the most costly jewels. Afterwards he offers his charity to the residentiary priests; afterwards to the priests (from a distance) who are present; afterwards to the men of distinguished talent; afterwards to the heretics who live in the place, following the ways of the world; and lastly, to the widows and bereaved, orphans and desolate, poor and mendicants.

  Thus, according to this order, having exhausted his treasuries and given food in charity, he next gives away his head diadem and his jewelled necklaces. From the first to the last he shows no regret, and when he has finished he cries with joy, ‘Well done! Now all that I have has entered into incorruptible and imperishable treasuries.’

  After this the rulers of the different countries offer their jewels and robes to the king, so that his treasury is replenished.

  To the east of the enclosure of charity, at the confluence of the two rivers, every day there are many hundreds of men who bathe themselves and die. The people of this country consider that whoever wishes to be born in heaven ought to fast to a grain of rice, and then drown himself in the waters. By bathing in this water (they say) all the pollution of sin is washed away and destroyed; therefore from various quarters and distant regions people come here together and rest. During seven days they abstain from food, and afterwards end their lives. And even the monkeys and mountain stags as
semble here in the neighbourhood of the river, and some of them bathe and depart, others fast and die.

  On one occasion when Siladitya-raja distributed the alms in charity, there was a monkey who lived apart by the riverside under a tree. He also abstained from food in private, and after some days he died on that account from want.

  The heretics who practise asceticism have raised a high column in the middle of the river; when the sun is about to go down they immediately climb up the pillar; then clinging on to the pillar with one hand and one foot, they wonderfully hold themselves out with one foot and one arm; and so they keep themselves stretched out in the air with their eyes fixed on the sun, and their heads turning with it to the right as it sets. When the evening has darkened, then they come down. There are many dozens of ascetics who practise this rite. They hope by these means to escape from birth and death, and many continue to practise this ordeal through several decades of years …

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  This extract is from Buddhist Records of the Western World.

  17.

  Travels in India as an Unknown Sannyasin

  Swami Vivekananda

  A mosaic of reminiscences about the hardships of the anonymous wayfarer—from fear to fatigue, hunger to prejudice, mirages to tigers. What is the motivation to keep going? Nothing, says the Swami (who travelled the country as a wandering monk before his mission turned him into the charismatic spiritual figure and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission, in which roles he is better known), but the faith in one’s inner divinity, and the promise that the road ahead will soon be the road under one’s feet.—Ed.

  I was once travelling in the Himalayas, and the long road stretched before us. We poor monks cannot get anyone to carry us, so we had to make all the way on foot. There was an old man with us. The way goes up and down for hundreds of miles, and when that old monk saw what was before him, he said, ‘Oh sir, how to cross it; I cannot walk any more; my chest will break.’ I said to him, ‘Look down at your feet.’ He did so, and I said, ‘The road that is under your feet is the same road that you have passed over and is the same road that you see before you; it will soon be under your feet.’ The highest things are under your feet, because you are Divine Stars; all these things are under your feet. You can swallow the stars by the handful if you want; such is your real nature. Be strong, get beyond all superstitions, and be free.

  Many times I have been in the jaws of death, starving, footsore, and weary; for days and days I had no food, and often could walk no further; I would sink down under a tree, and life would seem [to be] ebbing away. I could not speak, I could scarcely think, but at last the mind reverted to the idea: ‘I have no fear nor death; I never hunger nor thirst. I am It! I am It! The whole of nature cannot crush me; it is my servant. Assert thy strength, thou Lord of lords and God of gods! Regain thy lost empire! Arise and walk and stop not!’ and I would rise up, reinvigorated, and here am I, living, today. Thus, whenever darkness comes, assert the reality, and everything adverse must vanish.

  Once when I was in Varanasi, I was passing through a place where there was a large tank of water on one side and a high wall on the other. It was in the grounds where there were many monkeys. The monkeys of Varanasi are huge brutes and are sometimes surly. They now took it into their heads not to allow me to pass through their street, so they howled and shrieked and clutched at my feet as I passed. As they pressed closer, I began to run, but the faster I ran, the faster came the monkeys and they began to bite at me. It seemed impossible to escape, but just then I met a stranger who called out to me, ‘Face the brutes!’ I turned and faced the monkeys, and they fell back and finally fled. That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.

  Once in western India I was travelling in the desert country on the coast of the Indian Ocean. For days and days I used to travel on foot through the desert, but it was to my surprise that I saw every day beautiful lakes, with trees all around them, and the shadows of the trees upside down and vibrating there. ‘How wonderful it looks and they call this a desert country!’ I said to myself. Nearly a month I travelled, seeing these wonderful lakes and trees and plains. One day I was very thirsty and wanted to have a drink of water, so I started to go to one of these clear, beautiful lakes, and as I approached, it vanished. And with a flash it came to my brain, ‘This is the mirage about which I have read all my life,’ and with that came also the idea that throughout the whole of this month, every day, I had been seeing the mirage and did not know it. The next morning I began my march. There was again the lake, but with it came also the idea that it was the mirage and not a true lake.

  So it is with this universe. We are all travelling in this mirage of the world day after day, month after month, year after year, not knowing that it is a mirage. One day it will break up, but it will come back again; the body has to remain under the power of past Karma, and so the mirage will come back. This world will come back upon us so long as we are bound by Karma: men, women, animals, plants, our attachments and duties, all will come back to us, but not with the same power. Under the influence of the new knowledge the strength of Karma will be broken, its poison will be lost. It becomes transformed, for along with it there comes the idea that we know it now, that the sharp distinction between the reality and the mirage has been known.

  Real monasticism is not easy to attain. There is no order of life so rigorous as this. If you stumble ever so little, you are hurled down a precipice—and are smashed to pieces. One day I was travelling on foot from Agra to Vrindavan. There was not a farthing with me. I was about a couple of miles from Vrindavan when I found a man smoking on the roadside, and I was seized with a desire to smoke. I said to the man, ‘Hallo, will you let me have a puff at your chillum?’ He seemed to be hesitating greatly and said, ‘Sire, I am a sweeper.’ Well, there was the influence of old Samskaras, and I immediately stepped back and resumed my journey without smoking. I had gone a short distance when the thought occurred to me that I was a sannyasin who had renounced caste, family, prestige and everything—and still I drew back as soon as the man gave himself out as a sweeper, and could not smoke at the chillum touched by him! The thought made me restless at heart; then I retraced my steps, and came to the sweeper whom I found still sitting there. I hastened to tell him, ‘Do prepare a chillum of tobacco for me, my dear friend.’ I paid no heed to his objections and insisted on having it. So the man was compelled to prepare a chillum for me. Then I gladly had a puff at it and proceeded to Vrindavan. When one has embraced the monastic life, one has to test whether one has gone beyond the prestige of caste and birth, etc. It is so difficult to observe the monastic vow in right earnest! There must not be the slightest divergence between one’s words and actions.

  You find that in every religion mortifications and asceticisms have been practised. In these religious conceptions the Hindus always go to the extremes. You will find men with their hands up all their lives, until their hands wither and die … I once saw a man who had kept his hands raised in this way, and I asked him how it felt when he did it first. He said it was awful torture. It was such torture that he had to go to a river and put himself in water, and that allayed the pain for a little while. After a month he did not suffer much. Through such practices powers can be attained …

  Once when travelling in the Himalayas I had to take up my abode for a night in a village of the hill-people. Hearing the beating of drums in the village some time after nightfall, I came to know upon inquiring of my host that one of the villagers had been possessed by a Devata or god spirit. To meet his importunate wishes and to satisfy my own curiosity, we went out to see what the matter really was. Reaching the spot, I found a great concourse of people. A tall man with long, bushy hair was pointed out to me, and I was told that person had got the devata on him. I noticed an axe being heated in fire close by the man; and after a while, I found the red-hot thing being seized and
applied to parts of his body and also to his hair! But wonder of wonders, no part of his body or hair thus branded with the red-hot axe was found to be burnt, and there was no expression of any pain in his face. I stood mute with surprise. The headman of the village, meanwhile, came up to me and said, ‘Maharaj, please exorcise this man out of your mercy.’ I felt myself in a nice fix, but moved to do something; I had to go near the possessed man. Once there, I felt a strong impulse to examine the axe rather closely, but the instant I touched it, I burnt my fingers, although the thing had been cooled down to blackness. The smarting made me restless and all my theories about the axe phenomenon were spirited away from my mind! However, smarting with the burn, I placed my hand on the head of the man and repeated [Japa] for a short while … It was a matter of surprise to find that the man came round in ten or twelve minutes. Then oh, the gushing reverence the villagers showed to me! I was taken to be some wonderful man! But, all the same, I couldn’t make any head or tail of the whole business. So without a word one way or the other, I returned with my host to his hut. It was about midnight, and I went to bed. But what with the smarting burn in the hand and the impenetrable puzzle of the whole affair, I couldn’t have any sleep that night. Thinking of the burning axe failing to harm living human flesh, it occurred again and again to my mind, ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’ …

  But Sri Ramakrishna used to disparage these supernatural powers; his teaching was that one cannot attain to the supreme truth if the mind is diverted to the manifestation of these powers. The human mind, however, is so weak that, not to speak of householders, even 90 per cent of the Sadhus happen to be votaries of these powers. In the West, men are lost in wonderment if they come across such miracles. It is only because Sri Ramakrishna has mercifully made us understand the evil of these powers as being hindrances to real spirituality that we are able to take them at their proper value.