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| THE MESSAGE OF THUNDER |
| Brahma, the Creator, brought everything into existence-the rivers, seas, mountains and plains, but also plants and animals of all description. Beginning with Manu, the first man, manavas (human beings) were on Earth. The devas had a life of ease in their heaven of Indraloka, the creation of Brahma. The asuras (demons), who live in their underworld of Patal and are often waging war on people and on gods, are equally Braham’s creation. Knowing that Brahma had brought them into being, devas, manavas and asuras all respected him and called him Prajapati – Father of Creation.
The fierce asuras led wicked and unruly lives. In their greed and selfishness, they grabbed anything that they liked. They loved to pick fights with anyone, be it other asuras or manavas or devas. They were violent and cruel in their dealings with others. Sometimes they appeared on Earth just to cause all kinds of disasters to people. Groups of asuras would rush into towns and villages and kill people and carry away their wealth. They never showed any mercy. Feared by one and all, the asuras enjoyed themselves with the fruits of other people’s labour. But for all this they were restless demons who knew no peace.
Brothers and sisters, “ said an asura general, “we are mighty and strong. We can snatch anything that we want. Thanks to our plunder we enjoy great wealth. But we are not contented. From where can we steal happiness? I don’t think any battle can give us the one thing we lack – lasting peace of mind.”
All the asuras knew that this was so. They thought about the problem and argued over possible solutions. “Only our great father, Prajapati, can help us to win happiness” said a wise asura at last. “Having created us, he must understand us better than anyone. Why not go to him?’ All the asuras agreed with this idea. So they all went to see Prajapati together.
On Earth men and women led difficult lives. They had to work constantly. They built their homes, worked on the land to grow crops on it. Any animals and plants that stood in the way were destroyed. They also wove cloth, sewed clothes, made pots, and built furniture. In this way they created wealth, which they then jealously guarded. No one would share his or her wealth with others. “I grew this rice,” one man would say, “why should I give you some? You grow your own.” “I made these shoes,” said another, “I won’t give them to you and your family.” If the crops failed one year or their goods were looted by asuas, they would not help one another by sharing what they had.
“By our intelligence and effort we can have everything we need, except for one thing,” said one of their wise leaders. “We are restless and have no peace. From time to time we think that we are happy, but true happiness should last forever. Let us go to our great father, Prajapati. He knows us better than anyone. Only he can tell us how to be content.” Everyone agreed that this was an excellent suggestion. So they all set off to see Prajapati together.
In the meantime the devas too had come to the same conclusion. Life in Indraloka was indeed extremely pleasant for them and anything that they wanted was theirs for the taking. Indraloka was filled with beauty and with laughter. Surrounded by plenty, the gods could have any amount of sweet ambrosia to drink, enchantingly beautiful apsaras sang and danced for them, they had a never-ending supply of magnificent clothes and jewels to wear, the magic animals and plants of Indraloka were theirs to command – in short they had an endless supply of all nice things. But too much of a good thing can be boring and the devas too became restless.
“Something is missing in our lives, “ said Indra, their king. “We have no peace of mind. For all our pleasures, we have no lasting happiness. Come with me, gentle gods and goddesses, to see Prajapati. He is our great father who understands us best of all and can help us in this matter.” So all the devas went to Prajapati.
Prajapati was sitting on a large pink lotus and resting after his tremendous work of creation. The six eyes of his three faces were shut and he looked as though he was enjoying a great peace. But the noises of the huge though respectful crowd made him open his eyes. Prajapati looked calmly at them all.
“Parajapati, our father, we are not at peace. Please give us peace,” said the devas, manavas and asuras. With all of them talking at once, the noise was dreadful.
Prajapati then spoke to them in a voice that rumbled like thunder. He said only one word: “Da”. The sound of thunder trailed into the distance. Then his six eyes closed again and the crowd knew that their audience was over.
But what did Prajapati mean by “da”? The great one had spoken, but his answer was a mystery. Deep in thought the devas, manavas and asuras went their separate ways.
“We must work this out ourselves, “ said Indra. After much thought, “I have it,” exclaimed a deva. “Da stands for damyata which means to be self-controlled. Prajapati has told us to discipline ourselves and not to indulge in excessive pleasures. Moderation should be our rule. We must exercise more control in our lives.”
“Yes, da means damyata,” agreed all the gods. Humans pondered upon the word too. “Da stand for datta, “said someone at last. “Datta means to give. Prajapati advises us to give to each other. We should share out belongings and be more charitable. The Earth is also to be shared with plants and animals.” “Yes, that is so,” agreed the others. “Da is short for datta and so we should be more giving.” The asuras thought over the mystery in their own way. “Da must stand for dayadhvam, to be merciful,” said an asura at long last. “We are asked to be compassionate in our treatment of others.” “You are right,” said the rest of the demons. “Da means dayadhvam. Let us practice mercy from now on.”
So gods, humans and demons interpreted Prajapati’s words, each according to their nature. By sharing with others, manavas became much happier – they learnt the joy of giving and of receiving. By being merciful, the asuras grew kinder and won the goodwill and even affection of other.
But Prajapati’s lesson was not an easy one to follow for any of them. All too often they would forget it and bring misery to themselves and sometimes to others. That is why the thunder continues to rumble from time to time. “Da, da, da’” it calls to gods, humans and demons, reminding them to be self-controlled, to be charitable and to be compassionate.
Moral: Always be content with what you have |
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