THE CURSE OF BRAHMA

by Jagmohan Bhanver

  Amartya hoped he hadn’t done anything he was not supposed to. It was true that a ceremony to initiate someone as a deva (demi-god) happened rarely, perhaps once in a few hundred years. But did even such a ceremony warrant the presence of Shiva and Vishnu? Amartya was terribly confused. He stood in one corner of the sprawling ashram compound, unable to decide what to do, and whether to approach Brahma while he was still talking to Indra, or to wait for his guru to call for him. Also, he wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to go to Shiva and Vishnu to seek their blessings or should he let Brahma escort him to them. ‘There are so many protocols involved, and I am totally inexperienced in all this,’ he thought to himself. In that instant, Brahma saw him and beckoned him with a broad smile. Amartya walked tentatively towards his guru, hoping fervently that he wouldn’t make a blunder. As he came closer, he saw the powerfully built form of Indra, who stood a foot taller than Brahma and his body rippled with muscles. He was easily the largest person Amartya had ever seen. It never occurred to him that he himself was considerably bigger in size than even Indra.

  ‘So this is Amartya!’ Indra boomed in an affable tone. He appraised the young disciple of Brahma and admired the powerful build of the youth. But what struck Indra the most about Amartya was his face. He had never seen anyone so good-looking and innocent. Not even the Gandharvas, who were supposed to be the most beautiful creatures in the universe, looked half as handsome as Brahma’s pupil. For a moment, Indra was envious of the youth, but he quickly controlled himself. His vanity had got the better of him on several occasions and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of the three supreme gods. ‘You truly deserve to be a deva,’ he said softly to Amartya. Amartya blushed, uncomfortable with the compliment. He had never gotten used to praise in the ashram. Brahma read Indra’s mind and smiled, ‘His looks don’t do him justice, Indra. His heart is pure and his potential limitless. That is the only reason he deserves to be a deva…and more.’

  Indra blinked in surprise. What did Brahma mean by ‘more’? What could be more than a deva? Amartya too was surprised at Brahma’s words but he remained quiet.

  ‘Come…come, my lad,’ Brahma held Amartya by his shoulders, and nudged him in the direction of the ceremonial fire. ‘Today, you will meet the two greatest gods in the universe. They have been my teachers, and they shall teach you something too.’ Amartya looked nervously at Brahma. Meeting Shiva and Vishnu was one thing. But learning from them, that was an entirely different matter. What if he proved to be a poor student? He couldn’t bear to embarrass Brahma in front of the other two supreme gods. Brahma sensed his anxiety, and looked kindly at him, ‘Don’t worry, you will do fine,’ he whispered.

  Amartya bent to touch the feet of Shiva and Vishnu. The mere contact with their body was electrifying; the powerful force of Brahman coursing through their bodies was far more palpable than anything he had ever experienced earlier. He felt his fingers tingling even after the contact ceased. Both Shiva and Vishnu looked like mirror images of each other. For some reason, Amartya felt they completed each other. Both of them smiled and blessed him at the same time. ‘Sit down, son,’ Brahma instructed him. Amartya waited for his guru to take a seat around the fire before sitting down himself. There were four mats placed around the fire, one on each side. Three of the mats were taken by the supreme gods. Amartya sat on the fourth mat. As if on cue, the multitude of conversations around them came to a halt. All eyes were fixed on the quartet sitting around the ceremonial fire.

  Shiva and Vishnu glanced at Brahma, who nodded in understanding. He looked at Amartya and spoke in a soft, low tone. Such was the silence in the ashram that even his hushed tones carried to all those present for the ceremony. The only other sound audible was the crackling of the fire in the ceremonial pit. ‘Amartya, you have been my student for the past twenty years, and during this time I have taught you all that was taught to me by Shiva and Vishnu,’ he said, and paused, trying to decide whether to say what was in his mind, or just carry on. Finally, he decided to share his thoughts, ‘It took you twenty years to learn all that Shiva and Vishnu taught me over a hundred years of my education with them. I don’t know whether you are a better student or I was a better teacher.’

  He paused as Shiva and Vishnu chortled in good humour. ‘Obviously, you were a better student as I can’t have been a better teacher than Shiva and Vishnu.’ Brahma said with a deferential nod in the direction of the other two supreme gods. Shiva and Vishnu accepted the compliment and Brahma’s humility with a polite shake of their heads. Amartya listened intently. All the praise was a new experience for him as Brahma had never bothered with compliments during his education.

  ‘Today is your initiation ceremony…the day you were to be pronounced a deva,’ Brahma continued in the same soft voice. Amartya straightened his back and tried to look suitably attentive as he felt the time of his initiation was near. He didn’t want any of the gods feeling he wasn’t paying attention.

  ‘However, I regret to inform you that we cannot initiate you as a deva today,’ Brahma said gravely. ‘And both Shiva and Vishnu are agreed that my decision is correct.’

  There was silence in the ashram at Brahma’s words and Amartya felt his spirit crumple as he heard the ring of finality in Brahma’s voice. He tried to recall what he had done to offend his guru…what he had possibly done to embarrass Brahma in front of the other gods. He looked up to see Brahma staring intently at him, and summoned his strength and bowed to Brahma before speaking, ‘I apologize for letting you down, Gurudev. I am sorry that I couldn’t honour you by being successful in my education. And I beg the forgiveness of the lords Shiva and Vishnu for disappointing them too.’ He folded his hands in apology to all the three gods sitting around the fire. ‘If you could grant me one more chance I would like to study harder and make you proud of me.’

  Shiva and Vishnu exchanged glances. They looked at Brahma and both spoke at the same time. ‘Our decision was right, it seems. He shouldn’t be a deva, after all!’

  Amartya willed himself to show a brave face. He had let down his guru, but he would make up for it if this were the last thing he ever did. His thoughts were interrupted by Brahma speaking.

  ‘My son, we cannot make you a deva today,’ he paused, ‘Because we find that your potential exceeds that of a deva.’

  Amartya gasped. More than a deva? What did Brahma mean?

  ‘In the name of the Trinity, I ordain you, Amartya, to the order of a brahmarishi.’ Brahma ended his sentence with a tilak on Amartya’s forehead.

  There was a collective gasp amongst the audience. Indra’s face was pale. The other present devas looked bewildered too. Only Shiva and Vishnu appeared undisturbed.

  ‘B-but, Gurudev, I am not worthy of this honour!’ Amartya stammered. ‘Why do you say that, Amartya?’ It was Shiva who posed the question.

  Amartya bowed before replying to the formidable personage, ‘My Lord, a person becomes a maharishi after thousands of years of penance and meditation. And then if they are truly able to understand the meaning of life and all the mysteries of creation, they may be considered to attain the order of a brahmarishi.’ Amartya dropped his voice a notch before continuing, ‘My Lord, I am eternally grateful to all of you for this great honour, but I do not believe myself to be ready for such merit, yet.’

  This time it was Vishnu who interjected. ‘Amartya, do you believe that merit comes only with time?’

  Amartya shook his head, ‘No, My Lord, it is earned through one’s actions and by the power of one’s beliefs.’

  ‘Exactly!’ Vishnu exclaimed. ‘Brahma learned from Shiva and me in a hundred years, what most brahmarishis take a few thousand years to understand. And you learned the same from Brahma in a mere twenty years! Does that not tell you anything?’

  Amartya was silent, not geared to comprehend the greatness that the supreme gods wanted to bestow on him.

  Shiva took up from where Vishnu had left, ‘Learning is learning. It doesn’t matter whether you be
come proficient in something in a thousand years or whether you gain competence in it in a mere twenty years.’

  Amartya opened his mouth to say something, but Shiva stopped him, ‘The very fact that you have learnt all there is to learn about life, death, karma and dharma in so short a time shows how different you are. It’s nice to be humble, but don’t confuse humility with self-doubt. It doesn’t become you, Amartya.’

  Brahma looked fondly at his student, aware that he would need a logical explanation more than anything else, at this stage. ‘Amartya, when a person tries to learn on his own, he takes a long time; his learning follows a trial-and-error process. Learning under a guru can cut short the training period manifold. Most of the people who have become maharishis and brahmarishis have taken thousands of years to perfect their learning because they did it on their own. You took twenty years because every moment of those years, I was holding your hand and teaching you personally. Each day that you spent with me was equal to a hundred years of learning you would have managed on your own. Still…’ Brahma paused before continuing, ‘The fact that you picked up all the knowledge in a mere twenty years shows the extent of your potential. I, too, was taught personally by Shiva and Vishnu; yet I took a hundred years to learn all you did in twenty. That makes you very special and very different, my child.’

  Amartya was silent for a moment. Part of what Brahma and the other two supreme gods had said made sense. But he knew he had to clear his doubts now, rather than later. The responsibility of being a brahmarishi was no mean task, and he had to be certain that he was up to it. He took in a deep breath and looked at the three supreme gods, sitting around the ceremonial fire. ‘My Lords, Gurudev…in all the education I have received from Gurudev Brahma, I have heard about the spectacular feats of brahmarishi Vashishta and brahmarishi Vishwamitra. I understand now that I have learnt in a short while what others may have taken a much longer time to accomplish. But am I still ready for this? Brahmarishi Vashishta and brahmarishi Vishwamitra are capable of feats which even the devas find impossible to do. There is no weapon—human or celestial—that can destroy them. There is no magic in the universe that can charm them. They can lift mountains and alter the forces of nature with just the power of their thoughts…’ Amartya paused mid-sentence as he saw the three supreme gods looking at him with broad smiles.

  Brahma was the first to speak, ‘You are right, Amartya. A brahmarishi can do all the things you just spoke about. And great brahmarishis like Vashishta and Vishwamitra can do even more because they are amongst the seven most powerful brahmarishis in the universe today. That is why they are called the Saptarishis.’

  Amartya nodded. He knew about the Saptarishis, the seven most powerful and evolved brahmarishis who carried the responsibility of helping Brahma re-create the universe after every cycle of destruction. But Brahma still hadn’t answered how he could do all the feats that the other bramarishis were capable of.

  Brahma read Amartya’s mind. ‘Amartya, before the end of the dvitya prahar, this day, you will be endowed with all the powers that great Saptarishi brahmarishis like Vashishta and Vishwamitra possess. There will be no feat they can perform that you too will not be able to do. But in order for that to happen, we have to first imbue you with the powers of Bal and Atibal, which are necessary for you to harness the universal force of Brahman.

  Everyone’s attention was suddenly drawn to Indra, as he let out a loud gasp. The lord of the devas was staring at Amartya with an expression that was inscrutable. But, the flaring of his nostrils and the ragged breath escaping unconsciously from his mouth clearly indicated that he was deeply upset at the initiation of Amartya as a brahmarishi. He had had his reservations when Brahma had invited him to witness Amartya’s initiation as a deva and he had shared as much with Brahma. The lad was too young. But Brahma had sung paeans in favour of his disciple and Indra had given in. After all, as a deva, Amartya would have been subservient to him. But this…this was intolerable! How could Brahma exalt this youth to the order of a brahmarishi, when even he—Indra—had not yet been considered ready for such an honour? Would he now have to bow before this upstart? This was not acceptable! Even if Shiva and Vishnu had been blinded by Brahma’s praise of his pupil, Indra would not be fooled by this.

  ‘Is there a problem, Indra?’ Brahma’s voice was dangerously soft. Indra knew his behaviour was upsetting Brahma, and perhaps the other two supreme gods too. But he was in no mood to stay back to witness Amartya’s initiation any longer.

  ‘Something bothering you Indra?’ Brahma asked again, this time not as softly. ‘I…uh…I need to return to Indralok, My Lord,’ Indra replied evasively.

  Brahma raised his brows at the lord of the devas, ‘What can be so urgent that you can’t stay back for my disciple’s initiation?’

  Indra did not fail to notice the stress Brahma had put on ‘my disciple’, but he was too far gone to back track. ‘I have something pressing to attend to, My Lord…something that requires my presence there.’

  Indra turned towards Amartya, making a herculean effort to mask his outrage at the youth. ‘But I wish you all the best, Brahmarishi Amartya. May you be the light that shines on all of us in the near future!’

  Amartya couldn’t help noting the emphasis Indra put on ‘Brahmarishi’ while addressing him. But his innocent mind supposed this was part of Indra’s genuine feeling of happiness for the honour bestowed on him. He bowed towards Indra, even as Indra bowed to him and the other gods present, before leaving the ashram.

  Brahma looked at Indra’s departing figure. He shook his head and returned to sit down at the ceremonial fire. Shiva looked kindly at Brahma. ‘Indra still needs to learn temperance, Brahma. Forget it. He will get over this as he has got over other issues in the past.’

  Vishnu’s face was a mask of hidden feelings. He disagreed with Shiva’s assessment. He knew Indra wouldn’t get over this particular issue that easily. For all of Indra’s greatness, his vanity would not allow him to accept Amartya’s elevation to a brahmarishi. But Vishnu decided to keep his reservations to himself. He didn’t want to create any more discord during the event than had already happened owing to Indra’s unexpected behaviour.

  Brahma motioned to the devas present, as also the senior members of the ashram, to sit down in a circle around the ceremonial fire. Dusk was approaching and the initiation ceremony had to be completed before it was dark. Then he looked at Amartya who had been somewhat pensive in the wake of Indra’s hasty departure. ‘Amartya, your initiation as a brahmarishi will follow a three-part process.’

  Amartya listened attentively. He may have been on the verge of becoming a brahmarishi—the most powerful order of people, just below the three supreme gods—but in his mind he still considered himself to be a student of Brahma.

  Brahma was saying, ‘Firstly, you will purify yourself with a dip in the holy waters of the river behind the ashram compound. As part of the purification process, you will perform the Acamana ritual. This, you will do alone while we wait for you to come back here. Once you return, Shiva and Vishnu will convey to you the two most potent mantras in the universe—Bal and Atibal. This will be part of your final formal education before you become a brahmarishi. After that, I will bind my mind to yours,’ and share with you the secret of harnessing the universal force of Brahman.’

  Amartya bowed to the three gods, who would together complete the formal education he had embarked on twenty years earlier. It was time for his purification.

  Amartya doffed his angavastram and laid it neatly on the bank of the river. The water was ice cold but years of training his mind enabled him to wade into it, without any visible discomfort. When he was waist deep in the water, he stopped. In order to perform the acamana, he kneeled down till he felt his right knee touch the river bed. His left foot was kept flat and along with his right knee helped him maintain his balance. He filled the acamana-patra with water from the river, and cleaned both his hands by sprinkling them with water from the patra. Then holding th
e acamana spoon in his left hand, he poured a few drops of water into the right palm. While focusing his gaze on the water, he chanted the mantras of the sandhyavandana, the evening worship; simultaneously sipping water from the Brahma-tirtha (base of the right thumb). At the end of the acamana, he put both palms of his hands together in front of his heart, and chanted the final mantra:

  Aum tad visnoh paramam padam

  sada pasyanti surayah

  diviva caksur atatam tad

  vipraso vipanyavo

  jagrvamsah samindhate

  visnor yat paramam padam

  The entire Acamana process took the better part of an hour and by the time he was done, dusk was approaching. He waded out of the water, his mind and body, both feeling completely purged. He wore his angavastram and moved in the direction of the ashram, where everyone was waiting for him to return.

  Brahma nodded in satisfaction as Amartya joined them around the ceremonial fire. ‘It is time to convey the two mantras of Bal and Atibal to you now,’ Brahma said, his excitement as great as if he were going through the process himself. He remembered how he had felt when Shiva and Vishnu had conveyed the potent mantras to him thousands of millennia ago. He thought he observed the same symptoms of anticipation and excitement on Amartya’s face.