After Yajnyawalkya's meeting with his disciples was over, Katyayani met him in the courtyard of their cottage.
Yajnyawalkya looked around as he washed his hands and feet, and asked Katyayani to send for Maitreyi. Katyayani gave him a searching look. Then instead of complying with his wish, she said,"Do you know why I came to Videha? Not to beg, but to reclaim you for Maitreyi's sake. Do you think she would deign to let the world know what she was going through?
You are a free spirit, we know. But you are not a dreamer either. You wanted to break free of us not because you wanted to chase some vague dream. You wanted to shirk your reponsibility."
Yajnyawalkya stopped her because he anticipated an angry outburst of pent up grievances expressed in a distorted form. He said, "Katyayani, we have plenty of time on our hands to talk about all that, but not now. Right now, do as I say. I want to see Maitreyi."
Katyayani gave him a furious look and said, "And what if I refuse to obey your command?" Yajnyawalkya realised that he had indeed come home. He smiled, but said nothing. Katyayani looked at him, speechless with anger; then abruptly turned and went away.
Yajnyawalkya's son had been watching him from a corner. Once Katyayani was out of sight he came forward shyly. Yajnyawalkya noticed his movement and smiled at him reassuringly. There was still a great deal of estrangement between them. His son could sense it with his child's instinct. He had never seen anybody deal with Katyayani with such confidence of authority. He did not know if he liked it or not. But there was something very deeply truthful about this man who was his father. The boy had an innate wisdom which enabled him to see the difference between the true and the untrue, and by now, he was sufficiently familiar with his father's good-humored and non-chalant ways. But still, he was not quite sure as to how his father would react if he knew that his son was witnessing his predicament. So he smiled a if he had just arrived on the scene and seen nothing. Yajnyawalkya could see through his childlike sagacity and was deeply satisfied to find an eager, untainted potential learner watching him curiously.
He held his hand cheerfully as they walked towards the interior of the cottage. Yajnyawalkya asked, "Did you have your meal, my son?"
"No I was waiting for you to come home," said the boy.
Yajnyawalkya sat down, with his son besid him. They wathd each other without saying anything, as if they were trying to locate some lost sign of recognition. The boy had omething of Katyayani in him. Yajnyawalkya wondered what it was : her eyes, complexion, forehead, and noe! Perhaps all of thoe things!
The boy was watching his father and wondering with his childlike curiosity: "What are the things that make a father "father"? Is it the warmth of his body as he holds you against him" Is it the freshness of his clothes?Is it a sense of asurance as he caresses you?
Is it the playful gentleness of his voice? Is it the wistful longing in his eyes as he tells you the story of Gayatri?
Yajnyawalkya thought, a father cannot easily locate his own image with his own eyes, in his son. The image of the mother staes from the son's eyes so asertively as to obliterate all traces of father. Besides, there wa something of Maitreyi, very prdominantly felt in the demeanor of the boy. Who was his mother, Katyayani, or Maitreyi?
The boy however, had no need for external signs to accept Yajnyawalkya as his father. He had acepte him trutfully.
Yajnyawalkya felt that though the physical appearance of the boy seemed to have a foetal connection with Katyayani, it was Maitreyi who seemed to occupy his mind and heart.
Yajnyawalkya had to perform his obeisance to Gayatri at this hour of the day. As he got ready with all the requisites for the ritual his son watched him intently.
Yajnyawalkya chanted the mantra in a deep, low-intensity voice, aware of his son's watchful presence.
His son asked him, "Your voice sounds different when you chant the Gayatri mantra. Why is it so?"
Yajnyawalkya was surprised by this observation, because it was something that had not struck him before. He did not answer. After a moment, he drew his son close to him, and looking deeply in his eyes he said,"Do you want to know? I'll tell you how, but not why! Gayatri mantra is beyond all reasoning and causation."
His son looked at him for clarity. Yajnyawalkya said, "I cannot explain why my voice sounds different when I chant Gayatri mantra. But I can tell you how it acquires its unique sound. Come here, " and he drew him still closer. He said, "We feel and understand the world with our five sense. Do you know what they are?"
His son said, "Yes, I speak with my tongue, hear with my ears, see with my eyes, feel with my skin and smell with my nose."
Yajnyawalkya said, "Right! Now I'll tell you about how the sound of my voice reaches you. There is Akasha, ether, surrounding us. It carries the sound of the mantra as it is uttered by me to you who are listening. But when I chant the Gayatri mantra, it is a lot more than a mere sound which you receive with your ears. What was the first sound that you received when I chanted the Gayatri mantra?"
"It was 'AUM" said his son.
Yajnyawalkya said,"Aum is the first sound, born when the Creator breathed life into the world. 'AUM" is the sound whih indicates the beginning of the vibration of life after the stillness begins to breathe and stir."
His son asked, "What is stillness?"
Yajnyawalkya said,"Stillness is when there is no movement, no vibration; and when no vibration, there is no sound. That is stillness."
His son listened intently. Yajnyawalkya said, "At this moment you are still, because your breath is suspended for a fraction of a moment, though you do not know it. That is the moment for Aum to enter your mind and start a vibration there. The vibration is the repetition of the vibration with which this universe took on life. All of us : you, me and everyone : carry a memory of that first stillness in the deepest cavern of our mind. 'Aum' is the syllable with which Gayatri mantra begins, and 'Aum' has its home in our memory of that first stillness. That stillness had ended with the first sound : 'Aum' : which was uttered in this universe of ours. The same act of ending stillness is repeated when I utter 'Aum'. I create a vibration; you receive it; an your stillness ends. There is nothing else between us in this act of creation and reception except the knowledge, the awareness, of life in us. That life is the life which was breathed into the universe with the first sound of 'Aum'. "
Yajnyawalkya's son listened; he was speechless. His father was transporting him to a world of imagination where there were no words with their clusters of meanings, only stillness breaking into an awaeness of itself.; life coming into being with just a unique, vibrating sound! He did not realize that his father was taking him into a world of pure time. He had crossed the threshold, leaving language far behind.
Yajnyawalkya wayched him protectively. There was a peaceful joy on his face. Yajnyawalkya blessed that joy. His son looked at him and smiled purely. There was a look of recognition in the eyes of both as Yajnyawalkya responded with a smile
Yajnyawalkya stroked his head gently and said, "See, my voice takes on the pure joy of producing a pure sound. That is how it is different from the sound of my ordinary speaking voice.", and he embraced his son warmly.
To be contd.
Yajnyawalkya looked around as he washed his hands and feet, and asked Katyayani to send for Maitreyi. Katyayani gave him a searching look. Then instead of complying with his wish, she said,"Do you know why I came to Videha? Not to beg, but to reclaim you for Maitreyi's sake. Do you think she would deign to let the world know what she was going through?
You are a free spirit, we know. But you are not a dreamer either. You wanted to break free of us not because you wanted to chase some vague dream. You wanted to shirk your reponsibility."
Yajnyawalkya stopped her because he anticipated an angry outburst of pent up grievances expressed in a distorted form. He said, "Katyayani, we have plenty of time on our hands to talk about all that, but not now. Right now, do as I say. I want to see Maitreyi."
Katyayani gave him a furious look and said, "And what if I refuse to obey your command?" Yajnyawalkya realised that he had indeed come home. He smiled, but said nothing. Katyayani looked at him, speechless with anger; then abruptly turned and went away.
Yajnyawalkya's son had been watching him from a corner. Once Katyayani was out of sight he came forward shyly. Yajnyawalkya noticed his movement and smiled at him reassuringly. There was still a great deal of estrangement between them. His son could sense it with his child's instinct. He had never seen anybody deal with Katyayani with such confidence of authority. He did not know if he liked it or not. But there was something very deeply truthful about this man who was his father. The boy had an innate wisdom which enabled him to see the difference between the true and the untrue, and by now, he was sufficiently familiar with his father's good-humored and non-chalant ways. But still, he was not quite sure as to how his father would react if he knew that his son was witnessing his predicament. So he smiled a if he had just arrived on the scene and seen nothing. Yajnyawalkya could see through his childlike sagacity and was deeply satisfied to find an eager, untainted potential learner watching him curiously.
He held his hand cheerfully as they walked towards the interior of the cottage. Yajnyawalkya asked, "Did you have your meal, my son?"
"No I was waiting for you to come home," said the boy.
Yajnyawalkya sat down, with his son besid him. They wathd each other without saying anything, as if they were trying to locate some lost sign of recognition. The boy had omething of Katyayani in him. Yajnyawalkya wondered what it was : her eyes, complexion, forehead, and noe! Perhaps all of thoe things!
The boy was watching his father and wondering with his childlike curiosity: "What are the things that make a father "father"? Is it the warmth of his body as he holds you against him" Is it the freshness of his clothes?Is it a sense of asurance as he caresses you?
Is it the playful gentleness of his voice? Is it the wistful longing in his eyes as he tells you the story of Gayatri?
Yajnyawalkya thought, a father cannot easily locate his own image with his own eyes, in his son. The image of the mother staes from the son's eyes so asertively as to obliterate all traces of father. Besides, there wa something of Maitreyi, very prdominantly felt in the demeanor of the boy. Who was his mother, Katyayani, or Maitreyi?
The boy however, had no need for external signs to accept Yajnyawalkya as his father. He had acepte him trutfully.
Yajnyawalkya felt that though the physical appearance of the boy seemed to have a foetal connection with Katyayani, it was Maitreyi who seemed to occupy his mind and heart.
Yajnyawalkya had to perform his obeisance to Gayatri at this hour of the day. As he got ready with all the requisites for the ritual his son watched him intently.
Yajnyawalkya chanted the mantra in a deep, low-intensity voice, aware of his son's watchful presence.
His son asked him, "Your voice sounds different when you chant the Gayatri mantra. Why is it so?"
Yajnyawalkya was surprised by this observation, because it was something that had not struck him before. He did not answer. After a moment, he drew his son close to him, and looking deeply in his eyes he said,"Do you want to know? I'll tell you how, but not why! Gayatri mantra is beyond all reasoning and causation."
His son looked at him for clarity. Yajnyawalkya said, "I cannot explain why my voice sounds different when I chant Gayatri mantra. But I can tell you how it acquires its unique sound. Come here, " and he drew him still closer. He said, "We feel and understand the world with our five sense. Do you know what they are?"
His son said, "Yes, I speak with my tongue, hear with my ears, see with my eyes, feel with my skin and smell with my nose."
Yajnyawalkya said, "Right! Now I'll tell you about how the sound of my voice reaches you. There is Akasha, ether, surrounding us. It carries the sound of the mantra as it is uttered by me to you who are listening. But when I chant the Gayatri mantra, it is a lot more than a mere sound which you receive with your ears. What was the first sound that you received when I chanted the Gayatri mantra?"
"It was 'AUM" said his son.
Yajnyawalkya said,"Aum is the first sound, born when the Creator breathed life into the world. 'AUM" is the sound whih indicates the beginning of the vibration of life after the stillness begins to breathe and stir."
His son asked, "What is stillness?"
Yajnyawalkya said,"Stillness is when there is no movement, no vibration; and when no vibration, there is no sound. That is stillness."
His son listened intently. Yajnyawalkya said, "At this moment you are still, because your breath is suspended for a fraction of a moment, though you do not know it. That is the moment for Aum to enter your mind and start a vibration there. The vibration is the repetition of the vibration with which this universe took on life. All of us : you, me and everyone : carry a memory of that first stillness in the deepest cavern of our mind. 'Aum' is the syllable with which Gayatri mantra begins, and 'Aum' has its home in our memory of that first stillness. That stillness had ended with the first sound : 'Aum' : which was uttered in this universe of ours. The same act of ending stillness is repeated when I utter 'Aum'. I create a vibration; you receive it; an your stillness ends. There is nothing else between us in this act of creation and reception except the knowledge, the awareness, of life in us. That life is the life which was breathed into the universe with the first sound of 'Aum'. "
Yajnyawalkya's son listened; he was speechless. His father was transporting him to a world of imagination where there were no words with their clusters of meanings, only stillness breaking into an awaeness of itself.; life coming into being with just a unique, vibrating sound! He did not realize that his father was taking him into a world of pure time. He had crossed the threshold, leaving language far behind.
Yajnyawalkya wayched him protectively. There was a peaceful joy on his face. Yajnyawalkya blessed that joy. His son looked at him and smiled purely. There was a look of recognition in the eyes of both as Yajnyawalkya responded with a smile
Yajnyawalkya stroked his head gently and said, "See, my voice takes on the pure joy of producing a pure sound. That is how it is different from the sound of my ordinary speaking voice.", and he embraced his son warmly.
To be contd.
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