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UG and Chuang Tzu |
“Your rishis (sages) can’t hold a candle light to those giants from China.” - UG
This was way back in 2002.
I was at the boarding lounge in
Mumbai airport awaiting departure call for my late evening flight to Bangalore.
Mother had been seriously ill for a while, she was to be operated the next
morning.
I was flying in to join my brother
and family members. My mission was to relieve them during night long vigils. Given
the nature of surgery, it could be a long stay at the hospital.
As I waited at the lounge, a small
bookshop at the gate beckoned to me. I lumbered in looking for something that
could keep me busy during my night shifts at the hospital.
Nothing in the shop seemed to
catch my attention.
As I lazily sauntered, the gentleman
behind the counter abruptly came up to me, holding a small book, “The Art of
War”. He accosted me saying that the book was a smash hit with marketing and business
execs and was in great demand. I excused myself gently and moved over to the
next shelf.
Given my mission tonight, the
last thing I ever wanted to explore was the world of business or war. The title
was a dead giveaway! The world has seen vicious corporate wars, they could be
deadly. No wonder, the title seemed to hold much promise for corporate warmongers.
I found nothing interesting in
the shop and, as I turned to leave, the shopkeeper again made his appearance. This
time around, he seemed more determined. Strangely, in a pleading tone, he began
to explain to me that it was the last copy in the store, and that he had carefully
tucked it away from the public eye. For some reason, he felt that I should read
the book! I patiently told him that I was not a businessman and had nothing whatsoever
to do with marketing, but he would have none of it!
Not to be discourteous to the man,
I took hold of the book. It was ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu. It was an
exposition on war by a ‘sagely’ military general, who had lived in China nearly
three thousand years ago!
Sun Tzu had quipped, “The greatest General is
one who wins a war without a battle!” His position was that the wars could be
won through strategy and tact, without the need for fighting a battle or even spilling
blood.
I decided
to check out the Introduction to see if it was
worth my time. That was my first ever reading of a Chinese Classic. Just a
couple of paragraphs into it, I was simply blown away by its content.
In the introductory pages, the
author had generously quoted the likes of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, extraordinary
figures from the Taoist lore. The genre, the originality of content and
expression of Taoist wisdom remains unparalleled to this day. Unlike volumes
that fill entire libraries, the short, powerful, pithy statements of the
Chinese sages drive home the very essence of life.
It was a déjà
vu moment!
As I read on, I was stunned by
the sagely observations. They looked utterly familiar. Their profound revelations,
it appeared, had always been part of my essence, my very being. Every passage there
was facile and fluid, expressing the innermost, subtlest stirrings of my heart,
nay, of every human heart! They suddenly seemed to find a voice in the sagely
remarks!
The uncanny wisdom and sagacity of the Taoist sages flowed on effortlessly and majestically, in utter simplicity and
naturalness!
Here perhaps was the distilled
wisdom of the ages and sages, the very essence of life minus any embellishment or
trappings. It was simple and flawless exposition on life with no ado, no sophistry
or ceremony.
No wonder, the smallest Wisdom
Book – ‘Tao Te Ching’, the Chinese Classic with less than 5000 characters (not
words!) remains the second most popular book in the world, after the Bible.
The little book became my introduction
to the great Taoism (pronounced ‘Daoism’) of ancient China.
****
At the hospital, I discovered
that the only place with good illumination, fit for any serious reading, close
to mother’s ward, was a bench bang opposite the casualty wing.
The place remained awake through
the night with people wailing over the dead at random intervals. This formed a
sombre backdrop for my initiation into Taoist literature. Night after night, I sat
on the bench digging deeply into the Art of War and other Chinese Classics. I
had managed to assemble a tiny library, the very next day after my arrival. Mother
too began recuperating slowly after the surgery.
The Art of War, personally, was a
revelation to me on how to lead one’s life sanely and tactfully in a
self-contradicting, volatile and treacherous social environment, full of
existential threats. To me, this was the subtext of the Classic - it doubled up
as a personal guide to life as much as a celebrated text on military strategy .
The sage general, Sun Tzu, professed
peace over war but also handed down a pragmatic guide to deal with the myriad hazards
that could threaten our safety and security!
This extraordinary practical
advice from Sun Tzu led me to explore more of the Chinese Classics. Lao Tzu’s ‘Tao
Te Ching’ and the ‘Inner Chapters’ of Chuang Tzu followed suit. Then there was
the outstanding Wen Tzu and many others.
By now, I was in awe of the great
Taoist sages.
****
Tao or ‘the Way’ (as opposed to a dead, static path) points to the
fundamental dynamic principle of our universe. Tao points to
the deep interconnectedness between human and the animal, the earth and the
heavens, the sentient and the insentient.
The whole of life is in an
eternal dance born of cosmos that is in a flux, pulsing every moment. Life pulsates, and everything
responds and pulsates with it. Everything is interconnected and hence affected by
everything else in the universe.
Whether it is the human or plant
or animal or earth or sun or moon, everything operates in cycles individually
and in resonance with the collective. There is ‘yin’, there is ‘yang’,
there is growth, there is decay, there is waxing, there is waning, there is
life, there is death, there is day, there is night, there is male, there is
female, there is summer, there is winter, there is activity, there is rest, there is light, there is darkness. The
binary aspect of life or nature is a reality, but its essence is unary, just
like the two sides of the same coin!
In a fundamental departure from
all known spiritual traditions of the world, Taoism stands apart like a
colossus, seeing no difference between the spiritual or the mundane, the contemplative or the practical aspect of life. It rejects all artificial divisions and
the needless compartmentalisation of life.
In Taoist approach, the external search
for meaning of life is failure on our part to see life’s operation in and
around oneself.
There is no God or guru in
Taoism! A master or teacher is considered to be more sensitive, more mature, more open, receptive pupil of life, a
little ahead in the journey of life, a little down the road! Fundamentally and
essentially, the teacher (‘adept’ in Taoism) is not different from the disciple who
has just set out on life’s journey. Similarly, for the Taoist, there is no God or Agency
standing away or apart from life and orchestrating its operations. There is
only life and its cycles, the eternal universal dance with its own rhythm and
order.
Taoism, like its counterpart
Vedanta in India, touched and influenced every aspect of medieval life in China
- art, music, literature, architecture, culture, medicine, farming, state
affairs, commerce, economics, justice, the art of self- defence etc. Each realm
imbibed the spirit of Taoism and evolved into its finest, most refined form.
****
Among Taoists, perhaps UG comes
closest to Chuang Tzu. UG’s brilliance and depth are matched by the wit and
wisdom of Chuang Tzu.
Here are some gems from Chuang
Tzu, the ‘butterfly’ philosopher:
The perfect man has no self, the holy man has
no merit, the sage has no reputation.
sss
We cling to our own point of view, as though
everything depended on it. And yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn
and winter, they gradually pass away.
sss
Life has a limit, but knowledge is without
limit. For the limited to pursue the unlimited is futile. To know this and
still pursue knowledge is even more futile.
sss
Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamed I was
a butterfly flying happily here and there, enjoying life without knowing who I
was. Suddenly I woke up and I was indeed Chuang Tzu. Did Chuang Tzu dream he
was a butterfly, or did the butterfly dream he was Chuang Tzu?
(Courtesy: http://www.eheart.com/TAO/CTchapters-small.pdf)
****
Mother was discharged from the
hospital, and I left for Bombay carrying back with me a small collection of Tao
books.
I now eagerly awaited UG’s next
arrival into Bombay. I was curious to know what he had to say about Taoism, my latest discovery.
I began to wonder if UG had ever
come across these Taoist Masters.
When UG came over, at the first opportunity,
I asked him if he had ever read Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. He replied,
“Sir, I know
all about Taoism and its sages Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu and Mo Tzu. In my younger
days, I had read all those books in libraries of Calcutta. Those libraries have
some of the finest and rarest collection of books anywhere in the world.
The Chinese sages were extraordinary. Your
rishis in India can’t hold a candle light to those giants from China.”
****
Several Chinese University
professors became attracted to UG after reading his recorded conversations, ‘Thought
Is Your Enemy’, ‘The Mystique of Enlightenment’, ‘Mind Is A Myth’ etc. They
turned into his admirers. They arranged some of his visits to China and took
him around places and organised meetings with friends.
UG spoke highly about China.
The professor friends felt that
there were great similarities between UG and the ancient Tao Masters.
UG admired the pragmatic approach
of the Chinese and considered it as a powerful nation with superior military
prowess.
His favourite line was, “That country has produced so many business women,
there are more than million millionairesses and even some billionairesses. I want to meet one of the billionairesses on my next
visit.”
On
his next visit to China, UG was invited by a billionairess to her mansion
for a personal meeting. When he turned up at the appointed time, she
courteously asked him to join her for a meal. UG excused himself saying that he
consumed very little food and had already finished his meal at the hotel. Nevertheless,
she invited him over to the table saying he could keep her company while she
lunched.
UG
was amused at the variety of foods served by her retinue of servants, “It
was a fifty-four-course meal, and they went around the huge table and kept on bringing varieties of food to the
table.”
At
the end of the meal, she got up and used crutches to walk over to where UG was
seated. UG inquired about her age and was shocked to know that she was still
in her early sixties. She was curious to know UG’s age and couldn’t believe
that he was decades older to her but hale, hearty and nimble. She
couldn’t hold back her curiosity, “What’s the secret of your health, UG?”
UG,
“I
eat less, I eat fast and I eat standing! The reason for all your health
problems is your fifty-four-course meal that you just had, the body needs only a
little food for survival. Eating, in your case is a pleasure
movement.”
****
