WHISPERING FROM THE WOODS AND LAKSHMAN’S CHASTITY TEST

 

Valmiki’s epic Ramayana depicts the story of Ram and Sita and their exile for 14 years in the forest along with Ram’s brother Lakshman.  In the dense forest Lakshman guarded Ram and Sita all day and all night.  Lakshman left his wife princess Urmila back in the palace when he decided to follow Ram and Sita to the exile in the forest.  Urmila was the epitome of love and sacrifice.  She took a slumber for the whole exile period to keep Lakshman alert to guard his brother, Raghu clan Ram and his sister-in-law Sita.  Lakshman could keep the vigil only because Urmila slept for the mental alertness and to prevent Lakshman from physical exhaustion while discharging his duties to guard Ram and Sita.

 

During the journey in the forest Ram took the lead followed by Sita and Lakshman.  Sita could not see the face of both the brothers while traveling.  In the monsoon season they spent their days in caves.  Sita rested in the middle whereas the duo Ram and Lakshman occupied either side of the caves to protect Sita.  In the other seasons they made a hut using sticks and leaves for Sita to rest and the Dashratha’s sons slept under trees close to the hut.  They always made it a point to construct the hut nearby a pond with water.

I may brief the reason for exile in the forest for the people who are not well versed with Ramayana. The Ayodhya king from the Raghu clan Dashrath had three wives namely Kaikeyi, Kausalya and Sumitra.  Dashrath had four sons namely Ram from Kausalya, Bharath from Kaikeyi and Lakshman and Shatrughna from Sumitra.

Kaikeyi was the king’s favorite wife and Ram his most loved son.  The reason behind his favoritism for Kaikeyi has happened when in the battle field Kaikeyi was his charioteer and his chariot’s axle was broken and Kaikeyi used her forearm as the axle to save Dasrath’s life.  Dashratha was much pleased with Kaikeyi’s action and offered her two boons.  A scheming and plotting Kaikeyi at the time of coronation of Ram as the king of Ayodhya reminded Dashrath about his boons.  One of her wish was to make her son Bharath as king and the second wish was to send Ram in exile to forest for 14 years.  Dashrath was in a dilemma but Ram convinced him that he must honor his boons to Kaikeyi and readied himself for the exile in the forest.  Sita was sure about following Ram’s footsteps and nothing could change her decision to give company to her husband.  Lakshman too was serious about following Ram and Sita.  Though Urmila, Laskhman’s wife wanted to join them, Lakshman told her that she would be better in the palace to pray for them.  Urmila agreed her husband’s directive and took a slumber for 14 years.  She opened her eyes only after Ram returned to Ayodhya after completing the 14 years exile and to witness his coronation ceremony.

We are discussing the forest murmurings and the tests of proving Lakshman’s chastity during the exile.  

As the years in exile passed, Sita and the sons of Dashrath criss-crossed the land that they realized was called Jambudvipa because it was shaped wood-apple Jambul.  They took shelter under trees and in caves, often near water bodies.  As hermits they were not permitted to stay at one place and they continued to travel except during rainy season when the waters flooded the earth and the travel was dangerous.

Sita spent much time observing bees and butterflies and insects.  She discovered how to collect honey without upsetting the bees and milk from tigresses which had finished feeding their cubs.  She followed herds of elephants to reach secret waterholes atop distant mountains known only to her distant matriarchs.  She understood the migratory patterns of birds and fishes.  She learned to communicate with bears and wolves and vultures.  They told her where to find the most succulent of fruits and berries and where the best tubers could be pulled out from the ground.  She found leaves that were edible and bark that was nourishing.  In the evening, when they set up camp around a fire, she shared with Ram and Lakshman everything she had seen and learned. What was most exciting was to see the deer and tiger drink water next to each other on some evenings because once the tiger had eaten it was no longer a predator and the deer was no longer a prey.

Sita told the sons of Dashratha, ‘Flowers make themselves fragrant and offer nectar. Why?  To nourish the bees or to get themselves pollinated? Or both?  In nature, to get you have to give.  There is no charity.  There is no exploitation, neither selfishness nor selflessness.  One grows while helping others grow.  Is that not the perfect society?

Ram said, ‘I see things differently.   I see plants feeding on elements, animals feeding on plants, and animals feeding on animals that feed on plants.  I see those that eat and those that are eaten.  Those who eat are afraid that they may not get enough.  Those who can be eaten are afraid they will be consumed.  I see fear everywhere.  In a perfect society there should be no fear. To achieve that is dharma.’

They all waited for the evening when they could sit around the fire, face each other, let the flames light up their eyes as they shared the experiences of the day.  In some of the conversations Lakshman also took part.  They argued with logical reasoning. 

Ram, Lakshman and Sita are teenagers when they leave Ayodhya.  They actually grow up in the forest.  These are the growing up years when the mind challenges the certainties of childhood and is able to see the artificial nature of social structures.  

Mimansa means enquiry that leads to introspection.  This can be done through ritual or through conversation.   The former way was called Purva-mimansa and the latter way was called Uttara-mimansa, more popularly known as Vedanta. The forest exile is a time for the royal trio to do mimansa, they transform into sages.  Vedanta is Indian philosophy.

The above murmurs in the forest or whispering of the woods occurs and that lead to serenity in the wilderness.

During the exile Lakshman was subjected to chastity test.  Once by Rama and another occasion prompted by Sita.  

One day, when Rama was out hunting, Sita decided to take a nap while Lakshman kept watch.  She spread the hide of a deer and lay down in the shade of a tree.  Sleep came quickly as the breeze was gentle and kind, when latter when she was in deep slumber, the wind grew unruly and tossed her clothes all over the place.  Sita slept peacefully, unaware that her body had been exposed. 

When Ram returned he saw Sita lying uncovered, without a care in the world.  Lakshman sat with his back to her, facing the forest.  Ram said, ‘Oh, who can resist the beauty of one who reclines carelessly under the tree?

Lakshman, sensing that Ram was referring to Sita, said ‘He who is the son of Dashratha and Sumitra and brother of Ram and husband of Urmila can surely resist such a beauty who Ram says reclines so carelessly under the tree.’

Ram smiled and convinced that his brother’s integrity was unquestionable.

However, from the heavens Indra was not so impressed.  He decided to test Lakshman and sent an Apsara (most beautiful celestial nymph) to seduce him.  Lakshman shooed her away but the Apsara, Indrakamini, decided to play a trick on Laskhman.  She dropped some strands of her hair, they clung to Lakshman’s clothes of bark.     

What is this? wondered Sita, when she saw them that evening as they rested around the evening fire.  ‘This is a woman’s hair, a refined woman’s hair, for it smells of fragrant oils.  Looks like you found yourself a wife.  Clearly, the absence of Urmila is unbearable.’

What was said casually was taken seriously.  Lakshman was so angry at the suggestion of being an unfaithful husband that he jumped into the fire around which they sat.  Ram was aghast. Sita screamed. ‘Look, the fire does not hurt me.  Do you need any other proof that I have been faithful to my wife?’ said Lakshman.

Sita realized making light of the integrity of the men of the Raghu clan was not taken lightly.

I have already written many Blog posts featuring the characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the two great Indian epics.

The story of Ram and Sita, Lakshman and Urmila fascinated me for their integrity, love and sacrifice.

 
Whistling Woods..!!

CULTURE SHOCK - THE DEN OF THE STANDING BABAS

A Standing Baba is a Hindu who has vowed to stand, not sitting or lying down even to sleep. The vow is a form of Hindu Tapa or Tapasas, a self-inflicted corporal punishment intended to help bring spiritual enlightenment.  The Standing Babas are primarily found in Mumbai, in India.

The Standing Babas are men who’d taken a vow never to sit down, or lie down ever again for the rest of their lives.  They stood, day and night, forever.  They stood on their own legs for a possible longer period.  They stand for a specified number of years, 12 years seemed to be the target or they commit themselves never to sit for the remaining of their life.  

They ate their meals standing up and made their toilet standing up. They even slept while they were standing, suspended in harnesses that kept the weight of their bodies on their legs, but prevented them from falling when they were unconscious. 

The Standing Baba has a swing-like device that allows them to rest their arms during the day. During the night, a Standing Baba will support his torso on the swing as he sleeps. The swing usually has a sling beneath it. The sling can hold one of the Standing Baba’s legs at a time. It is unclear if this is intended to rest one leg or to increase the pressure on the other leg. While Standing Baba may walk about, they usually just stand/hang in their swing.

They are not the Hindu religious spiritual Sadhus who chant the Sanskrit mantras and sing the devotional songs.   They belong to the business class, politicians, military officers, rich and poor, educated or illiterate.  They belong to interesting sects and some are doing this as a penance for having spent their life in the fast lane.  They regret their past weird life style and vow to punish their body.

It’s fascinating.  Isn’t it?  

My revelation about the Standing Babas happened when I read the autobiographical novelization of the life story of the celebrated Australian author Gregory David Roberts.  The book – a 1000 page, international best seller, titled as “Shantaram” -  is an interesting read.  I highly recommend this book to you for a gripping, riveting edge of the seat thriller read. 

                

This is the story of an Australian junkie takes to armed robbery, goes to prison, escapes, makes his way to Mumbai (Bombay), ends up living in a slum then falls in with a faction of one of that town's many organized crime gangs. At one point in the book, new to Mumbai, his friend and guide takes him to the temple where the Standing Babas live, worship, and sell hashish.

The novel, full of amazing stories within stories, describes a religious sect known as the Standing Babas, who have vowed to remain standing for many years.

The book has many interesting stories within it like “The Night of the Blind Singers” and “The Village in the Sky”.  Some of the adjectives used in the book are like the magnanimous ocean waves or gigantic thunderbolts.  The book is a combination of reality with a miniscule dose of fiction and it also takes you to the magical world of the Standing Babas.

My research shows that “The Standing Babas” are real and not fictional characters.

While reading the book “Shantaram”, the story of the Standing Babas attracted me and I thought it is really good to write a blog post about the subject which will be interesting to many of you.

Also, Shenaz Treasurywala’s interview with the Standing Babas in You Tube is noteworthy.

Shenaz Treasurywala is an Indian actress, TV host, writer, and travel vlogger.

It was really interesting to view the You Tube video “Culture Shock – The Standing Babas” by Shenaz Treasurywala depicting the life of “The Standing Babas”.  I shall share the video link below -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojeR1fOKv_A&vl=en

(Please complete reading the blog post before watching this video.)

The den of the Standing Babas is really a corridor between two brick buildings at the rear of their temple.  Hidden from view forever, within the temple compound, were the secret gardens, cloisters and dormitories that only those who made and kept the vow ever saw. An iron roof covered the den.  The floor was paved with flat stones.   The Standing Babas entered through a door at the rear of the corridor.

The customers, men from every part of the country and every level of society, stood along the walls of the corridor.  They stood, of course no one sat in the presence of the Standing Babas.  These customers may become the future Standing Babas.  Some customers were wearing suites, designer jeans and other fashionable costumes.

 For the first five to ten years of that constant standing, the legs of the Standing Babas began to swell.  Blood moved sluggishly in exhausted veins, and muscles thickened.  Their legs became huge, bloated out of recognizable shape, and covered with purple varicose boils.  Their toes squeezed out from thick, fleshy feet, like the toes of elephants.  During the following years, their legs gradually became thinner, and thinner.  Eventually only bones remained, with a paint-thin veneer of skin and the termite trails of withered veins.   

The pain was unending and terrible.  Spikes and spears of agony stabbed up through their feet with every downward pressure.  Tormented, tortured, the Standing Babas were never still.  They shifted constantly from foot to foot in a gentle, swaying dance that as mesmerizing, for everyone who saw it.

Some of the Babas had made the vow when they were sixteen or seventeen years old.  They were compelled by something like the vocation that calls others, in other cultures, to become priests, rabbis or imams.  A larger number of much older men had renounced the world as a preparation for death and the next level of incarnation.  Not a few of the Standing Babas were businessmen who’d given themselves to ruthless pursuits of pleasure, power, and profit during their working lives.

They were holy men who’d journeyed through many other devotions, mastering their punishing sacrifices before undertaking the ultimate vow of the Standing Baba. And there were criminals – thieves, murderers, major mafia figures, and even former warlords – who sought expiation, or propitiations, in the endless agonies of the vow.

The Babas moved from man to man and group to group, preparing hashish in funnel-shaped clay chillums for the customers, and smoking with them.   They survived by selling hashish and enjoyed smoking the same with their clientele.

The faces of the Babas were radiant with their excruciation. Sooner or later, in the torment of endlessly ascending pain, every man of them assumed luminous, transcendent beatitude.  Light, made from the agonies they suffered, streamed from their eyes and there was no human source more brilliant than their tortured smiles.

The mystic Standing Babas were a fascinating sight with one of their legs as the axis and smoking hashish, charas or ganja enjoying crowd surrounding them.

The Babas were also comprehensively, celestially and magnificently stoned.   They smoked nothing but Kashmiri – the best hashish in the world – grown and produced at the foothills of the Himalayas in Kashmir.  And they smoked it all day, and all night, all their lives.   When the wish and the fear are exactly the same we call the dream a nightmare.

While on the subject, India’s  Hindu spiritual leaders arriving to attend “Kumbh Mela” is praiseworthy.  The pilgrims’ motive is cleansing need from sin.

They are the real Sadhus or Babas of Hinduism.  Kumbh Mela is an occasion once every 12 years the saints and yogis who live in Himalayan caves gather together to bless the people.   

At Haridwar and Allahabad, an Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela is held every sixth year; a Maha ("Great") Kumbh Mela occurs after 144 years.

 

The Allahabad Kumbh Mela is a mela held every 12 years at Prayag (Allahabad), India.  The Kumbha Mela, is a riverside festival rotating between Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganges.

Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. Traditionally, four fairs are widely recognized as the Kumbh Melas: the Haridwar Kumbh Mela, the Allahabad Kumbh Mela, the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha, and Ujjain Simhastha. These four fairs are held periodically at one of the following places by rotation: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayaga), Nashik district (Nashik and Trimbak), and Ujjain. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar; the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad; the Godavari at Nashik; and the Shipra at Ujjain. Bathing in these rivers is thought to cleanse a person of all sins.

The exact date of Kumbh Mela is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Taurus and the sun and the moon are in Capricorn.

The Kumbh Mela is held for 55 days, once every 3 years at one of the 4 holy places (Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nashik and Ujjain) in a cycle of 12 years. The Kumbh Mela is said to be the largest gathering of human beings anywhere on the Earth, and in the year 2013 was the largest.  

The next Haridwar Kumbh Mela is in 2021-2022.

Many foreigners are fascinated about Indian spirituality and visit the Indian pilgrimage destinations.  Kumbh Mela is an added attraction for foreign visitors seeking Indian spiritual bliss.

One more image of the Standing Baba.