A real Gau sevak

 

There are sadhus in front of an ashram that serves food in the morning daily. And there are cows also. The sadhus are having the routine sweet sour chit chat while having food. The cows are chewing cud, contended. There are drops of dung around. Then a cute rolly polly baba arrives, his presence silent and peaceful. He has a unique attire, a piece of sackcloth tied like ancient Romans, a wollen cap, and a piece of cloth on the bare shoulder. His left hand isn't visible. To be frank, I'm not sure about its status. It might be missing; it might be tied along his stomach in penance to take this worldly yatra with a single hand. I give fifty fifty chances to both probabilities. 

He has a lovely way of walking, a kind of spirited ease of a child. A trace of smile doesn't leave his face even for a single moment. He is a Mauni baba, so by default his tongue is restful, which in turn avoids unnecessary fuel to the chattering mind. There he comes and starts picking the cow dung with the joyful ease of a child playing on the beach. He uses his free hand to pick up cow dung and drop it into the garden across the street. The street is soon clean. In fact his lovely walk to and fro works like a cosmic broom to clean the air itself. 

There are gau rakshaks who take to violence in the name of holy cows. I would say most of them are people with violent tendencies and take shelter of the mother cow's name to hide their violence. Gau mata doesn't need rakshaks, she needs sevaks, like this lovely baba. 

The baba then cleans his hand under a tap, caresses the cows with the feel of a boy touching something precious. That's when the wagging tongues between the Hindu Babas and the Buddhist monk start the fireworks and before the tongues could handover the work to fists, the joyful mauni baba comes in between and dispels the heat just with his smile, silent nods and gentle wave of hand. It's a lovely feeling just to be present in the presence of someone who is at ease with himself.

Trickster on the banks of Maa Ganga

 

Mutterings from rishikesh: 

A woman ascetic with a brass kamandal tried to plunder money...she approached like a realised mother, all made up of course and asked for money.....she asked food for five of them. 'We are five matajis, so 20 rupees for food for each of us' she says. These are navaratra days, so I give her 100 rupees without bargaining...she probably thinks that I'm a sitting duck for cheating...meanwhile she took a thief's peek into my modest wallet as I took money to give her...I want to move but she puts her hand on my head... trying possibly to play some energy or magical trick ..sort of hypnotic meanouvre so that she could plunder more money...I have enough energies in my head...she starred shivering 😂..'Please take out two notes from your wallet. I take a vow in the name of Ma Ganga that I will give them back,' she says. And already she is tying a mauli dhaga on my wrist asking, 'Are you married?' I'm not interested in her queries about my matrimonial status. 

I don't have change in my wallet but since she has taken a vow in the name of Ganga Maa while standing on her banks, I give her two 500 rupees notes expecting her to return them...the moment the notes landed in her claws she folds them in her fist..the way she holds them makes it sure that they are in her greedy talons not to be returned. Now I realise the tales of thugs who take money and play the magic trick of making it disappear with the clap of a hand. 

I remember an incidence from early youth in the village. A street magician took 100 rupees from my friend and a clap and the money vanished. He had a lovely python and a flute to add to the charm of his street show. Now 100 rupees of those times were a big issue. So we manhandled him, his pagri fell. One guy was just ready to break his flute on his head. That's when the poor magician realised that Jatland isn't suitable for magic tricks. And the money comes out of his gullak. He holds the python's mouth, pries it open, puts his hand in and draws out the money. Imagine the smartness. Magic money goes into the python's mouth!!

'We will go to kedar with the money,' the female thief in saffron says. To me it's not about money. It's about taking a false vow in Ma Ganga's name. I don't know what Ganga Maa thinks of me but I feel I'm Her ardent devotee. I shamed the woman for being a liar, looting money in the name of Ma Ganga. I got really angry and in no nonsense terms asked her to return the money as promised. Somehow she hasn't been able to make the money vanish. Good that she hadn't a python with her. Somehow her trick of making the money vanish failed. Maa Ganga's blessings! 

She gives back one note, like I'm plundering her. I am firmly against such a shame sadhu...so I point my finger at her and asked her to return the other note as well. She is trying to make me feel ashamed for getting angry, for losing control of myself just about money. Why should I be. I'm not a saffron clad saint to be ashamed of my well deserved anger on cheats. With a broken heart she hands back the other note all crushed due to the pressure of her talons. ' I was just checking your manas for money,' she says as if I had failed her test of my desire for worldly things like 500 rupees notes. 

Then she tried to give me a Rudraksh bead. I told her I don't need anything from her. Neither her blessings, nor her bead. I don't want at least from those who tell lies in the name of taking vow of Ganga Maa. Had it been a male sadhu I would have snatched away even the hundred rupees. But these I left with her as a grace mark for her being a woman.

But Maa Ganga knows how to spin her lovely magic and change mutterings into musings.

I'm walking sullenly about cheats on the banks of Maa Ganga. But She is such a kind mother. She knows how to uplift the spirit of Her child. I'm walking in the crowd and suddenly see the autistic girl I wrote a story about...a few years back I saw her with her parents on the banks of Maa Ganga. She looked so unjustifiably deprived of her slice of joy among all that festival aura... and with tears in my eyes I prayed so sincerely for her during my entire stay at that time...and wrote a long story of blessings on her...she is a woman now...I had prayed for the faith and health of her parents so that they could help her in her journey for as long as possible because nobody can take care of a special child like her parents. And there I see them carrying her in a wheel chair in the busy bazaar...she looked healthy and beautiful...she is a young woman now...her parents in good spirits and healthy, happily carrying their responsibility... imagine out of thousands Maa Ganga presented them before me ..to let me know that She remembers my prayers of this family...

The injured bull

 

The real beauty of India. The faith, seva bhav, love. Sadhus and animal welfare volunteers come together to treat the injured horn of a bull. Coming from a farming family I have seen such scenes in my village. When pinced down like this by humans the poor cattle think they are getting slaughtered. I remember that fear in the rolled eyes. Those strong puffs of wind getting saliva and slime on the muzzle. But here the bull is somehow relaxed. Its eyes aren't popping out with fear of death. This I feel is due to the touch of sadhus. There is an assurance of safety, love and care. Their presence makes the bull behave well even in the face of such a painful, scary experience. Its eyes are normal. Its muzzle isn't oozing with slime which a cattle normally does with strong puffs of breathing under such circumstances. The bull seems assured of safety. The touch of caring sadhus. And the touch of caring animal lovers. It's in safe hands. The injured horn is dressed. And the volunteers move away slowly releasing the rope, leaving only the sadhus near it as it gets up. And the bull gets onto its feet with wonderful calm. The sadhus pat it lovingly. 'You are a good boy. Now don't fight too much over girlfriends,' says the young doctor. People laugh. The sadhus guide it to a relatively open space.

On the banks of Maa Ganga

 

Pre-script: Inspired by conversation with one of the best devotees of Maa Ganga 

Who wouldn't like to stay longer on the banks of Maa Ganga?! But She would like Her children to be active in the world as well. To me Her maternal touch is like prasada...even the little bit of it gives a feeling of getting satiated and fulfilled that buckets of normal food won't give. Frankly speaking dear friends I feel blessed and happy whatever time She allows me near Her for my learning and growth. Don't you see those who are born on Her banks and stay there since birth are even more common and worldly than those born in cities far away? I mean most of them are. Because to them Her presence is like food, not prasadam...they take it for granted. People like you, me and countless others who get Her presence like prasadam now and then are really blessed. She calls us now and then, gives lessons and new realisations, sends us away to find the meaning of life, come back, evolve a bit more by Her touch and go back again...a real prasadam...in small bits..and those who stay with Her all the time ...to them She is mere food...taken for granted. So bow down and be grateful for such beautiful prasadam She has given you. 

We go to temples...but not all of us stay in a temple to feel blessed...we can carry the spark of divinity that we get from the temple. To me She is a living temple. And whatever chance She gives to have Her darshan is prasadam..I know She would love me to do my worldly role...which I do with a very balanced approach...I just told my view dear friends... I'm not saying everyone should feel like that..

Maybe She sends us away when She feels that prasadam ought not become food... separation with an assured coming together: the loveliest subtle twine that binds the deity and the devotee. ...just like silence is the best language... 🙏👍✍️💛

Whose verdict is this?

The election results in Haryana don't represent the ground realities. There are very serious allegations of systematic manipulation and hijacking of process and machines. It's the election commission's verdict, not the people of Haryana.

It's very easy to make technology a weapon in pursuit of your goal. Israel used technology to put explosives in pager devices used by Hezbollah. Similarly, EVM machines are sitting ducks for manipulation. Save Indian democracy. Say no to EVMs.

Now sceptics and andhbhakts will mention J and K election results. There was no need to temper there. It's under lieutenant governor who has so many powers that the MLAs are mere symbol. Imagine the lieutenant governor of Delhi doesn't allow the Delhi government to function. The kashmir governor is at least ten times stronger. So they already have their government in effect there irrespective of who comes to power in the legislature. 

And if the EVM is so foolproof, why do the countries which are 50 years ahead of us in technology still use ballot paper? America landed a human on the moon almost 60 years back and we have recently landed an unmanned craft there. And America doesn't believe in EVMs right. Andhbhakts any arguments from your side please? The country that made EVMs for the first time - Germany - doesn't use them on the grounds that it isn't possible to trust its credibility.

Give Indians first a cheated fake result. Even the commonest of us have enough brains to discuss and chalk out the true success story of a fake result. We will then spin the success hypothesis to validate the false. You just need to cheat us and then leave it on us to prove with our shrewd acumen that it was no cheating, it was rather a masterstroke to achieve true, honest success. Well done Mr Kumar! You did your job, now we do ours😂