‘Do
you think your leg is a part of yourself?’ The Judge asked the convict.
‘Yes.’ The convict was confident.
‘What
about the bacteria in your intestines...?’
The convict’s eyes bulged. He
seemed to know nothing about bacteria, and that too in his stomach.
‘There
won’t be no digestion of what you eat without them bacteria in your gut,’ the
Judge explained condescendingly before proceeding to the next question with his
usual solemnity. ‘What about the stream
from which you take your drinking water?
Is the stream a part of yourself?’
The
convict blinked.
‘Is
your cow a part of you? Is the land on
which your cow grazes a part of you? Are
you a part of the landscape and all that it holds, a part of Nature, a part of
the universe, one with the streams and rocks, trees and grass, buffaloes and grasshoppers? What makes you think a cow is more a part of
the universe than a Muslim?’
The
convict’s eyes, which were lifeless until then, glared at the last word uttered
by the Judge. The glare struck the Judge
as fiendish.
‘Read
out to this unfortunate creature the extract from the Gospel according to Saint
Albert Einstein.’ The Judge ordered.
The
clerk opened a book ceremoniously and read:
A human being is a part of the whole
called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and
feelings as something separate from the rest.
A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting
us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to
us. Our task must be to free ourselves
from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
When
the clerk had finished reading that, the Judge said, ‘Now read to him from the
sacred scriptures of the religion he regards as his own.’
‘A
reading from the Brihadaranyka Upanishad,’ said the clerk opening the
Upanishad. ‘Brahma va idam agra asit...’
The
convict glared baffled. Sanskrit is as
good as Latin or Greek to him, thought the Judge. ‘Translate it into his language,’ he ordered.
‘Brahman was indeed this in the
beginning. It knew itself only as “I am
Brahman.” Therefore it became all. Whoever among the gods became awakened to
this, he indeed became that. It is the
same in the case of the sages and the ordinary men. This is so even now. Whoever knows “I am
Brahman” becomes this all. Even the gods
cannot prevent any man’s becoming the Brahman.
So whoever worships a divinity other than the Brahman in himself, he is
ignorant. He is like an animal to the
gods.
The
convict showed no sign of comprehension. The Judge was watching him carefully. He pronounced the verdict.
‘Since
the accused claims to have committed the murder for the sake of his religion,
and since his foul deed is a heinous blemish on his religion which upholds the
sanctity of all that exists, and since religion without proper understanding is
the most menacing threat that looms over humanity, this court finds it
necessary that the accused be subjected to a rigorous training. Let him begin with some elementary
lessons. Let him begin by reading Mark
Boyle’s latest book, Drinking Molotov
Cocktails with Gandhi....’
The
prisoner sat down on the mat in his cell and read:
I am the land, I am the salmon, I am
the holly tree, I am the swallow, I am the earthworm, I am the pigeon, I am the
hen, I am the fox, I am the ramson, I am the bluebell. When the robin eats the worm and shits onto
the soil from which I eat, it is not violence, but Life giving life onto
itself....
Note:
The last paragraph is quoted from Mark Boyle’s book mentioned in the
post. Albert Einstein’s words are also borrowed
from Boyle. The opening questions about
the leg, the bacteria and all the rest being a part of the self are also
adapted from the same book. I have not
read Boyle’s book yet. I read the
extract here.
Good to see you back..hope you're doing fine, Sir... :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm fine, Maniparna. Thanks.
DeleteThis is a fantastic post. Can't wait to read this book - if only for the title although the extract is also very inviting.
ReplyDeleteEbook version is available at Amazon.in. Yes, the title is very inviting :)
Delete