A
DOUBTING KING
Aeons ago lived
a brave and undismayed combatant. Upon slaying several of his kinsmen, the
intrepid warrior ascended the throne. He imposed a series of taxes on the
denizens of his kingdom to raise a professional army. Seeds of an expansionist
ideology germinated in his febrile mind. The king had now embarked upon to assume
the mantle of becoming an unassailable monarch and an inviolable emperor with a
missionary zeal.
The peasantry, traders, artists, writers, dancers, liquor vends, eating joints, Nautch girls,
women of ill-repute all had to all bear the brunt and burden with an array of
imposts and tithes to raise a hefty and
strapping army. Intimated and
fearful denizens of the land obeyed the injunctions and diktats of a now
tyrannical and obdurate ruler in a petrified manner.
The ruler was surrounded by feeble and puny ministers
who tried to ingratiate themselves by conforming to the decree and not being
antagonistic in any manner. In the
process they could luxuriate with the largesse and bounties showered by the
despot. The iron clad administrator
brooked no dissidence. Those ministers and bureaucrats who dared to challenge
his authority were imprisoned or expatriated, exiled or silenced and the recalcitrant
were eliminated.
The absolutist and totalitarian ruler perpetually clad
in battle fatigues aided by an array of
trailblazing artillery trampled and vanquished all opposing kings.
Dissenting and protesting armies and innocents opposing the autarchic ruler’s designs
were felled by the marauding and pillaging army.
Several intimated kings brokered peace by accepting
the suzerainty of the dystopian and the fascistic king by assuming the role of
willing vassals. Taxes were raised on their populace to supplement the needs of
the now gargantuan army of the tyrannical king.
To protect their fiefdoms a few minor kingdoms ingratiated themselves to the repressive
cravings of the totalitarian ruler by conceding to matrimonial alliances.
A vicious smile which swept across the face of the
aggressive oppressor said it all. The
fiendish and Mephistophelian aggressor was now the liege of large swathes of
the country.
Sycophants were
soon to equate him with the creator or even more powerful than the Lord of the
Universe. His busts and statues dotted
the landscape of the entire country. Edicts eulogizing the achievements of the authoritarian
ruler, panegyrics and paeans penned by supplicant poets and writers only
further fueled the desires of the malevolent ruler.
The depraved and iniquitous ruler became hubristic and haughty nurturing
ambitions to conquer the entire world where he was to be the only potentate and
all subjects were considered
lickspittle and myrmidons.
John Wooden has written, ‘Talent is God given. Be
humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.’
The tyrant defied all these cardinal principles
and became overbearing in his
disposition and was far removed from being deferential and unpresuming. And now arrogated with absolute power and
corrupted to the core, he issued a testimonial that he was to be worshipped by
all the subjects of the land.
While his harrying army continued its conquests; places of worship mushroomed
across the countryside and vast strips of the newly acquired land where people
were forced to venerate and pay their exaltation to the purportedly new Divine
power.
Priests and monks to protect their lives were
to rewrite scriptures in praise of the ‘new lord’ whose presence loomed like a
colossus over the horizon. Those who did
not fall in line were persecuted or in a tearing hurry fled the kingdom.
The king now safely ensconced in the throne after
innumerable battles was now surrounded
by a bevy of prepossessing and alluring women. This was his moment of
celebration. He raised a battalion
of women who were armed and langue
azure that encircled and threw a ring of protection around the despot.
Every evening he indulged in merry making and was
suitably caroused in a state of reverie. He was also beguiled and enthralled by
an array of danseuses. On one full moon night as revelry and jollification
reached a crescendo an attractive danseuse was presented before the despot.
Though she made her livelihood by dancing on occasions
before men held in low esteem the handsome lady maintained her Teflon coating.
Never did she succumbed to carnal instincts and always pined for Lord Krishna
like Radha.
The ethereal
beauty was pristine pure and had never compromised to the demands of flesh. Dance
for her was not merely an exhibition of talent, entertainment or self-gratification
but her indebtedness and gratitude to the almighty for providing her with this
bent and expertise. She danced to the strains of the magical flute of Lord
Krishna.
Her mind and self were with exemplary courage and conviction
because of her unalloyed love and devotion to the supreme lord. The inebriated and autocratic ruler asked her
to gyrate to music played. She was not to be intimidated and defied the king
much to his chagrin.
‘ I dance only if
my mind is suffused with Narayana Tattva’ , she proclaimed emphatically
and I see only the attributes of Kamsa
and Duryodhana in you,’ The cavalier
and supercilious tyrant was not amused . ‘ I am the new Lord , more potent and formidable than
your Krishna .’
The danseuse stoutly retorted that she could visualize
nefarious and depraved tendencies in the ruler.
Piqued with resentment, the tyrant asked the dancer to
prove the existence of Lord other than him.
The lady asked for a bowl of milk which was promptly
given to her. She asked the ruler as to what he saw in the bowl? Milk screamed the authoritarian ruler. The
dancer with enormous resolve gently uttered , an ignorant merely sees what is
at the surface , however an authentic Gyani or learned one probes deeper. A
discerning observer not only sees milk , but also its multifarious attributes-
butter, cheese, buttermilk , curd, sweet preparations made of milk among
others. Thus God has various attributes
which a normal human being or even a king cannot appreciate. The chaff needs to
be separated from the grain to transcend from the gross to the subtle
knowledge.
For the first time in several years the mind of the
king was challenged. ‘But this does not prove the existence of Krishna or God,
.’ he added. The danseuse asked the king to darken the dancing hall and give
her a candle. The king instructed his infantile ministers to immediately accede
to the request.
The palace was darkened and the lady held aloft a lit
candle. ‘What do you see now Oh king! she asked,’ A candle replied the emperor.
The dancer delicately and nimbly added, ‘This is not a
mere candle providing light, but the flame of the candle which dispels darkness
and seeds of doubts and cobwebs which cloud our minds.’ In such a state humans arrogate themselves to
a position where they are unable to distinguish efficacious from antipathetic
thoughts and continues to traverse a wrong path.
This dialogue ignited the intellect of the king . ‘
But still it does not prove the existence of God or that if there is one he is
more powerful than me,’ added the king.
To acquire this eternal and quintessential truth, you need to descend from your throne
and permit me to sit on it was her retort. After mulling for a few minutes ,
the king parrying protestations of acquiescing ministers , the king offered his
seat of power.
The dancer sat on the throne and at her feet was the
indomitable king hitherto unchallenged and unquestioned. ‘ Yes now you are on
the path of pursuing the reality,’ she remarked. ‘ Arrogance, conceit and
egotism had ossified your thought process, today you have surrendered,’
thundered the dancer. She politely added,’ Today you are at my feet,’ in your
own kingdom and palace. This is nothing
but the miracle of Lord Krishna
Much to the astonishment of all present, the king wept
inconsolably and accepted his defeat. And all of a sudden the danseuse began
Tandav Nrtya ……
The king baulked and accepted his defeat. He adorned
ochre robes and left the palace in
search of truth and discover the creator of the universe. z
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