Jeevan ke Char Rahasye

The Four Noble Truths

I am indebted to Doordarshan for igniting my interest in Eastern religions in my formative years. To the extended visits to the Po Lin Monastery, Lantau where the monks were kind enough to pull me out of the crowds, single me for imparting the wisdom of Buddha-the enlightened one, clarifying my doubts & ignorance where I found an overlap. Sadness, loneliness turn into despair but if you let them go and accept that everything is temporary then the body and soul become free. There is abundance and joy everywhere.

It is said that, six weeks after the prince Siddharta Gautam, goes into meditation under the Maha Bodhi tree in Gaya, a storm erupts. It is said the skies remained darkened for 7 days and it rained copiously day in and day out. The serpent king Muculinda (anglicised), Bhagwan Muchkund (pali, prakrit and Sanskrit) appeared from beneath the ground and raised his 7 heads above Siddharta to protect him from the torrential?rain. I will come back to?this point, but let me first bring out the context.

Humans have this natural tendency to be mortally scared of snakes. That need not be so. In fact, serpents form a crucial part of human life as the ones who interconnect, wind up, coil, wrap and surround the whole multiverse. Muchkund is believed to have had multiple heads, mostly 7 or multiples of 7. So there could be 7 heads, 7000 heads or 7 million heads. With 2 blue-black or green eyes, he could have 14 eyes, 14000 eyes?or 14 million eyes from which nothing happening?in the Trilok could escape. The number 7 is thus a unique and auspicious number. In Tibetan Buddhism, Muculinda was none other than the Bodhisattva or Nagarjuna.?

In Hindu mythology, powerful serpent kings like Takshak reigned in the Dvapara yuga but their animosity with the Suryavanshis was legendary. Going back into history, Muchkund was a powerful king in the Ikshvaku (Suryavanshi) lineage, who succeeded Bhagiratha, Harishchandra, Trishanku, Dileep and Raghu and was succeeded by Sri Rama. The Devas and Asuras have perpetually fought for glory and control. In one such war, the Devas are on the verge of defeat when they call upon Muchkund for help. Muchkund fights with the Devas for a year, until Shiva sends his?son Kartikeya to fight for the Devas.?

Indra appears before Muchkund, thanks him for his services and asks him for a boon. To which Muchkund says, "Hey deva, I have not slept for a year. I am tired and fatigued. Now I just want to go back and live the rest of my life with my wife and children". To which Indra replies, "In Devlok, one day equals a 1000 years on Earth. What you had, what you owned has all been lost to the vagaries of time. There is thus no one to whom you can return now". Muchkund is devastated. Looking at his state, Indra asks him for any boon except asking for Moksha, because that was not within his?powers. Muchkund asks for a wish that he remain?in perpetual sleep and anyone who dared wake him be turned to ashes. Indra says tathastu and goes back to Devlok.?

In the Mahabharata, Kal Yavan appears as a mortal enemy of Sri Krishna. Knowing that Krishna was waging the Mahabharata, he attacked?Mathura. Sri Krishna moves his army to Mathura and a battle ensues. Kal Yavan has a boon from the Gods that no one could defeat him in battle. One day the Lord starts walking away from the battle field, Kal Yavan follows. Sri Krishna leads him into the cave where Muchkund is sleeping, spreads his ang-vastra over him and hides inside the cave. In the total darkness, Kal Yavan starts tugging at Muchkund, wakes him up and is reduced to ashes.?

Now awake Muchkund realises he is in the company of Bhagwan, washes his feet and prays to him. Sri Krishna asks him to meditate to seek Moksha. A word about serpents-Sheshnag is believed to be a Sevak of Sri Krishna, in a different roop Sheshnag is Dau, Haldhar or Balrama, in another roop he is the rope that holds the wheels of Arjuna's Ratha?in Mahabharata. He takes shape In a different roop in different ages, different janams. When he is not serving the Lord, he wraps himself around the neck of Shiva. Muculinda as a Sevak, protects the one who protects all.

Now, as the rains stop. Gautam opens his eyes and sees Muculinda?again protecting the one who would be protecting all. Pleased he thanks the Serpent king and asks him to return to his kingdom. As the enlightenment dawns upon Gautam, he is overwhelmed. The realization that he has achieved is so powerful that he could not even share it with the people around him and the world at large. For three days he walks alone with his thoughts, till he finds his first disciple and shares his first sermon. The Prince has now transformed into Buddha, the enlightened one.?

The Four Noble Truths:

The truths or realities for the spiritually worthy are:

1. Dukkha (suffering, desire & pain) is an innate characteristic of existence in the realm of Samsara.

2. Samudaya alongside dukkha causes tanhai, a craving, desire, attachment & thirst. Tanha is attributed to be the cause of Dukkha but it can also be considered a response to Dukkha. If only I can get rich, own a big house, a beautiful wife and so on. A wanton feeling to be a part of a Samudaya, and yet be glorified through a false sense of ego.

3. Nirodha (cessation, ending, confinement); dukkha can be ended or contained by the renouncement or letting go of tanha. The confinement of tanha releases the excessive binding of dukkha. Twice in the last six months I have been within an inch of death, but beyond the initial hours of despair, the feeling of freedom is so uplifting, relaxing, a new dawn, a new future is on the horizon. There is no urge to meet anyone, hear the voice of anyone, forgotten relations, some tiny pieces of paper, a small apartment. How does it matter who takes it. No final farewells, Nothing. Sheer happiness, that is all.

4. Magga (the Noble Eightfold Path) is the path leading to the confinement of Tanha and Dukkha.?

Put it in perspective. If we lived for the present, restricted our desire and were not slaves to cravings for small things such as Salt, be free and not restricted by the conditions imposed by society would we not be better off. The Chef never serves more salt or less salt, just the quantum which is appropriate. Why should it be different in life.