The Tiger within
Recently I had the opportunity of travelling to a unique place, the black magic capital of India- Mayong village of Assam. It not only has a rich culture and vibrant history but it also has a pristine environment. On reaching Mayong village of Morigaon district, Assam, we checked in our resort and had our lunch. We then went for boat safari on the mighty Brahmaputra. When we were at some distance from the shore, the pilot of our boat turned off the engine. Everything became still and there was silence all around us. The reflection of the setting sun on the mighty Brahmaputra was surreal.
Occasional sightings of dolphins was a cherry on the cake. The dolphins appeared to be teasing us, urging us to observe them carefully to be able to predict their movement under water.
Each moment in the lap of nature was so fulfilling and satisfying that it felt like eternity. Uncontrolled yet seamless, everything in nature moves on at it’s own pace. The sun rises and sets at it’s own pace and plants produce food without being reminded to do so.
Animals move at their own pace, aware of each other’s presence but unconcerned.
Why can’t we be unconcerned, unattached and unaffected like all these elements of nature?
It is because of our ego. Our ego is at the heart of our identity. Our idea of the world around us is based on this identity. We place others above or below us based on this identity. This drives our response to events around us.
We either choose to control others or be controlled by others. A officer walks into the office and starts scolding his juniors for an insignificant mistake. The same person goes back home and ignores the mistakes of his own son. This biased behavior is due to multiple identities that the person associates himself with. In the office he is an officer and at his home he is a father. He places his son above his juniors. Thus, in life we lose our true identity by always trying to be someone or something.
A true guru teaches us to look at a situation objectively without any preconceived notion. As we stop judging others, we start loving everyone around us unconditionally.
It was time to move ahead. The pilot of the boat, starts the engine and we moved ahead. We disembarked on a small island on the river. Some of us went to the other side of the island. As we moved ahead, those walking ahead started sinking in the quicksand. It was a tricky situation as some of us were stuck in the quicksand upto our thigh. The stronger the effort we made to come out of it, the deeper we went into it.
Eventually we formed a human chain and wriggled out of it through each other’s help. We could come out of the quicksand by staying calm and by working together in unity.
But why did it happen in the first place?
We strayed into an unknown region without the help of anyone who had any knowledge of the region. Similarly in life, when we venture out of the supervision of our guru to assert our identity or out of our curiosity, we get stuck in Maya. The harder we try to get out of it, the deeper we go into it. It is only with the help and support of a guru, can we come out of the traps of Maya.
Mystic Mayong
Mayong village is famous for occult practices. We visited a museum that had descriptions of various types of magic practiced in the village. The practitioners of magic called Bez, were able to perform extraordinary feat through rigorous penance.
Making people disappear, finding a thief, curing diseases etc. are some of the magic tricks performed by Bez. One such practice of taming a tiger was performed by Sura Bez. Using spells and soil from rat hole, he would hypnotise and confine the tiger in a small region. With the help of some villagers he would then catch the tiger.
Similarly, a true guru attracts us in a way that we lose our identity. Once we are inspired to follow him, we are able to look within us for our tue identity .
Finally the guru kills our ego that was the source of all the trouble like the tiger in the village. When we become egoless, we don’t just live every moment of our life, we celebrate it.
We realise that we are not this body and our concept of identity is not limited to what we see in this materialistic world. We see our own self in everyone. We not just swim through life but flip over deep water in ecstacy without any fear like the Brahmaputra river dolphin.
