The Real Mockery

The Real Mockery

The village women hung around my house. They heard magical rhythm of ‘Damaru’. It was easily audible to every corner of the village located in 1.5 km circumference. On arrival of sadhus , the news spreads faster than the wildfire among the women. Truly speaking, I couldn’t understand the reason till today, why these agents of miracle hypnotize the women more than the men. Sadhuji associated by his one pupil thought my house better to start his charm.

Oh! You want to sit on sadhuji’s head, said my mother to one woman. Sadhuji with his long grey beard , about late 60’s, serpentine turban on head, rosary beads in hand and around neck, kamandal to his side, and yellow dhoti kurta and importantly robust moustache, and a magical bag beside him, sat comfortably on the charpai brought by my younger sister-in-law. The crowd of women seemed to strangle him from all side as in black hole event in Kolkata. His chela sat with me on chair around 8 meter away from his guruji. I had light mood discussion with chela sitting under guavava tree.

Let me ask about me, one said to another. Let ask about my son, another said. I had misfortune whole of this year. My husband could not earn, my son failed, my daughter could not be married, my cattle died , the crops ruined, the ornament lost as if baba is panacea. Say it superstition or compulsion, but it seemed as if Lord shiva had incarnated to relieve every pain of the people. From newly wedded brides to the shivering aged women assembled with a ray of hope in their eyes.

I had heard lots about these stories, but the first time I destined to encounter the moment face to face.

The women kissing the Baba’s feet in immense adulation , baba chanting inaudible mantras, confidently backing up said, “ The anger of shanidev, the wrong movement of planets, infavourable stars, and the un expected blunder has brought mishap, but very soon ,the situation is likely to change, go and water the peepal continually four weeks, and visit Vaisno mata once, your all the difficulties will ease down.” It seemed as if the baba had crammed all vedas, puranas and upanishidas and spilled out all in seconds. I thought that the woman could had never imagined all the sufferings which baba counted in no time. How did he know it all? How could he make all the women believe? Why did the mantra not work over men? The main question in my mind was , ‘ if baba has such extraordinary power to read the situation and from earth to other planet and can predict, remedise , then why he did not do it on himself and to his disciple? Why did he need to wander all around ?

The women being highly obliged to guide again kissed baba’s feet and gave offering with a silly grin not able to offer the huge one, and promised it for next visit.

My mother was skeptical and believed in all these fortune tellers and their magic. She called me to show my hand to baba but I as rational fellow said, ‘say baba to tell my fortune without seeing hands.

Out of curiousness , my mother entreated babaji to tell about me.

Baba swirled his head in the air and whispered and muttered the mantras as if he would have got electric shock and have gone in comma.

‘Could he be able to get any job?’ asked my mother.

‘Can’t, as he abandoned the study after eight sdandard.’

My mother got perplexed, but I blinked at her only to listen.

Please baba , tell about his marriage, requested my mother.

As he has married three years before, one son, and wife pregnant, there is match of total three children.

It added my mother’s amazement, sometimes she looks back, again to baba, but baba lost in his world, overconfident of his telling.

My mother could not resist, she aggressively asked baba, ‘’ Do you know what you are telling?”

Baba’s mind trembled to see the unbelievable look of my mother. The woman who was calling me, “you are god, great, soul and above all you are Brahma svarup, looks quite changed.

Baba speculated the fault and gave a quick and gazing glance to his pupil and the pupil deflected the same stare at me.

Now the atmosphere of baba adoration seemed baffled. My mother and other crowded women got perplexed with what had happened. Stare and stare and stare to each other for long but no conclusion.

No could estimate where from the complicacy arose.

My mother slammed harsh word upon baba saying , “ You know what you have said, my son is married and one son, wife pregnant, wife at her father’s home, and one more expected. And he has left study and can’t get job. He is pursuing his B. Ed nowadays and serving as a teacher in state primary school, and still he is unmarried.”

Baba felt ashamed , the face looked over pale. He searched for his lingering magical bag uncomfortably.

Apologizingly he said , “ Some times such mistakes occur, I will correct it seeing my book.”

He tried hard to pacify the situation but it was quite late. He stood up haphazardly and hurried fast.

‘You should not tell a lie, said the pupil.

‘I told a lie knowingly, I said to the pupil.

‘Why?, asked the pupil dejectedly.

‘I wanted know the reality, I said gravely

What reality? He asked.

If you have really knowledge, you can catch my lie too. I said in confident.

On his wit’s end, and when nothing left to save them, both of them went away to their way gloomily.

Sitting under the tree with pupil I started light discussion. When he started asking about my study and other detail, it shook and alerted my mind. The idea of experimentation randomly arose. On every query of the pupil I gave false detail. Between my conversations to the pupil, on every detail, he often talked to his guruji in different language, we could not understand. That added my suspicion and I determined to experiment as I was sure on my mother to ask guruji about me.

That very incident does not make my atheist. I believe in the omnipresent power, again I don’t believe.