The Lion’s Discourse

A few years ago, I visited the famous Gir National Park in Gujarat to see our country’s pride. We spotted a Royal Couple under a tree, the King seated magnificently in his signature asana with his forelegs spread in front and the hind stretched far back in regal style; whereas his Queen was in an attentive pose, standing on her forelegs. The lustrous mane of the Royal male was shining brilliantly in the mild sunlight like a large ornamental golden tassel, undoubtedly groomed by the beautician who created the universe. The Park’s Official who accompanied us gave the latest census of the Asiatic Lion, and what surprised me during his brief was that the lion’s lifespan is only 10 to 15 years in the wild and a maximum of 20 years in captivity. Then I realised that in this creation, every living thing has a defined purpose with a list of functions to perform as programmed by Nature and to refrain from doing any other. The lion has been the symbol of ‘power’ for ages, for the Imperial Rulers until today by many governments. The term given by man to animals, especially to the lion as ‘beast’ is a misnomer, for he never acts beyond his narrative. In reality, it is man who is the ‘beast’ for he gets disoriented, indulging in all such acts that are totally inconsistent to humaneness.

The Flautist’s melody diffused into the surroundings like the fragrance of the irresistible jasmine, with Krishna’s toe moving like an unnerved fawn but gentle in tune with the rhythm. The enchanting music of the Flautist was akin to the decibels of the crystal drops dribbling in the lap of the pristine abode of the ice-capped Himalayas. It was then the lion heard the zipping arrow that pierced into the playful toe of the Flautist, despite which he continued to play the sweet melody, unruffled. The congression of animals surrounding the Flautist was shocked, and the lion bewailed a painful growl but muffled it to avoid intrusion of the tranquil. The hunter who ran to the spot, searching for his prize, was shocked to see that he aimed at the Lord’s toe, assuming it a game. He fell to his knees and started wailing in agony, apologising with folded hands for the unpardonable sin he had committed. The Lord said it was not his fault and that it was destiny and that he was only a tool. He advised the bawling soul to leave the spot before someone spots him. The animals assembled at a distance watched Jara leaving from the scene, sobbing.

The animals who earlier gathered at a distance were witnessing the tragic scene but ironically continued to be in a trance while listening to the melodious music being played by the Flautist even during his renouncing state. In this moment of grief, the peacock started dancing in tune with the music, spreading its striking golden train to maintain the spirit. The Flautist’s transcendental tune hypnotised the King of the jungle and he began to speak in a philosophical tone, possessed with the power to decipher the notes of the flautist. The King interpreted, “Gopala bids goodbye to us all and he affirms that he is fond of us more than any living thing in the entire creation” and continued, “and he appears in the human world in different forms only to maintain certain checks and balances, not for praise or worship.”

The monkey curiously asked, “Was the great war of Kurukshetra a part of the correction?” “Of course,” said the lion “but Krishna tried his best to avoid it. No doubt Krishna was closely knitted with the Pandavas, the reason was that they were pious and never intentionally inflicted suffering on others for power or wealth. Hence, when required, he approached the Kauravas to mediate on behalf of the Pandava Princes, but unfortunately failed.” The King informed the gathering, “Mediation of disputes and conciliation between parties was the law that prevailed since ancient times. The wise and scholars of immense knowledge counselled the parties to resolve the disputes between them and to maintain harmony.” “But they say that Krishna advised Partha to fight the war when he was dejected at the beginning of the battle?” asked the monkey.

“Nonsense” came a strident cry in a high-pitched tone from above by the King of skies. The eagle was perched above on a dry branch of a tall tree, “I was flying with my peers, miles above in the skies, learning their aerobatics and techniques, and it was then my father showed me the huge assembly of the armies ground below at Kurukshetra.” The commander of the skies continued, “It was then that we saw a sudden magnetic flux covering the entire field for a few seconds when everything came to a standstill, and once the flux was over, it seemed that we had lost control only for a second and then we were flying again, regaining the control of our flight mode.” “It was my grandfather who explained to us that it was ‘Maya' of this Lord, who took his disciple Arjuna light-years away to explain the circle of life. They returned to the battlefield in a second and the war, thereafter, was epic.” The eagle continued, “It was years later that my grandfather, in his last moments, summoned all his descendants and counselled us that we need to be pious and hunt only when we are hungry or else, we shall be born as the hunted. My grandfather then recited a few lines of the song of Krishna that enlightened Arjuna on that day at Kurukshetra. It is all recycling of the souls to attain purity, for which we shall be given a million opportunities by rebirth.”

The feathered royal bird continued, “I too faintly remember to have heard Gopala counselling Vijay that the human life is exalted and that man can be equal to God if he makes effort to separate his body and soul; which is only possible by discarding all wants and doing selfless service for others. He counselled Arjuna to wage war against the infirmities of the mind and to treat all humans as equals, including animals, which deserve love and protection. He preached ahimsa and did not incite war; it was the greedy Duryodhana’s personal agenda to destroy his cousins, the Pandavas, and in the process, he risked the lives of millions of innocent people.” Everyone down below was thrilled by the eagle’s revelations. “Later, will Gopala manifest only as a human and not as one of the animal species?” the monkey inquired. “Look Monkey, the Lord lives in all lining things,” the lion growled, “We were all once here on this Earth and we shall be here in the next life too,” and continued, “That’s what the Lord is saying through his celestial music.” “We get a better life if we carry on the duties that nature has taught us when we were in our mother’s womb, or else we shall be born as much meaner species,” the King continued, “The Lord says he will also liberate us as he does the noble human souls.” The herbivorous who gathered spoke in unison, “But we are being hunted by the carnivorous and also the humans, what about our salvation, is there no justice, are we to be hunted by you and also the humans for food and game for their entertainment?” The King said, “I hunt you only for food and it is no sin, but the humans commit murder by hunting you and the Lord will take care of that." "You will be rewarded in your next lives, please don’t lament. I understand your pain,” consoled the King.

The deer barked meekly, “You killed my sister only a few days ago, will it make you noble or cruel?” The lion looked at the deer and confessed, “Yes, I did hunt your sister for food as my family had been starving for days,” and then the King reminded the deer, “But then, did I not spare her just born child, protecting him from the hyenas?” “I was not greedy or bloodthirsty. I abided by the natural laws, which is to protect you all.” “Yes, uncle,” said the fawn who approached the King and fondly rubbed its head to the King’s mane as if it was his own. The interpretation of the lion triggered a conversation among animals in an elated mood that, one day, they too will be liberated. “Shhh!” The king silenced everyone, “Let us listen to the tune, the Lord is saying something.” They all returned to a state of hypnosis, lending their ears to the scintillating music played by the Flautist and then the King said, “Lord says that he may take many forms to balance the world and it could be even in the form of a minute organism in the future.” People like Gopala step on this Earth to demonstrate how a human can attain a divine form with noble deeds, so that others can follow their path, but not for the purpose of inviting praise or worship. The donkey brayed, “What about me? Humans use me to carry their burden and call every stupid person of their kind by my name as an abuse.” The King of the skies looked down and shrieked, “Donkey, you are only enduring pain for the minor sins you had done in your past life as a human. They are not at all seriously committed sins. You shall be redeemed. You are only one donkey among us now, but look at the humans there are numerous donkeys. Don’t worry.”

Then, they witnessed the miracle, a spark of light emitted from the Lord into the sky, leaving no mortal remains. The robes freely fell to the ground with the flute rested on it, but the resonance was still in the air, diffusing milder with a parting tune, like a farewell. “Has Gopala passed away?” “Shut up, Monkey,” growled the lion in a fit of anger, “Despite having heard so long the discourse, you don’t seem to get the essence of it. The Lord is renouncing his form. Even we do not have death for we shall be born again and again until we clear all our remainders and merge with the Creator.” “If he ceases to exist, then we all should have been non-existent before Him.” “I am sorry, my King,” gibbered the monkey with his tail curled up in fear. “No doubt, you are like your cousins who do not see the truth,” the King compared him to the humans. “Everyone salute to the moment,” declared the pachyderm, speaking between its ivory tusks, “Gopala is returning to his own state.”

“The Lord says that it is mankind who is behaving inhuman and that we should never emulate from them.” “In fact, we are the ones who are following Gopala’s teachings for we follow our own dharma,” the winged lord of the ether world spoke. “We bear and foster our offspring only until they stand on their own legs, until they learn to source their food and nourish themselves, and thereafter, they are on their own, which is not the case of humans. The humans develop bondage with their offspring and on every other perishable object, and at the end, they quarrel with each other in rage and wage wars, killing themselves.” The King said, “Human beings are born for a different purpose, they are the caretakers of nature with their intelligence and are supposed to protect us. I may be a powerful being, but with their intelligence, they can capture me in a cage. As long as they leave the forests as our territory, we are at home, but once they occupy forests, we might become extinct. It will be an abuse of the environment.”

The King concluded his discourse, aware that the trance he had possessed will fade any moment, “Whatever is born is destined to die, whether it’s a human, an animal or even a tree. Just as the five elements are set by a default formula, where one is constantly purified by the other, the entire mechanism in nature is a robust dialysis run by an algorithm where nature purifies everything that it creates. The impure and toxic waste are uncompromisingly removed from the system to restore all elements in its original form, which is the real ecosystem. The Kurukshetra war is nothing but a part of the ecosystem. That apart, the purified souls elevate and conjoin once again the original energy source itself, hence they just make an exit to another world. When the purpose is achieved, the enlightened exit. The narrative ends like the last act in a stage play and the player signs off.”

Nature is purifying the creation persistently by recycling everything involving itself in the process as a catalyst. A wound on the toe cannot be fatal to any human, hence it is ridiculous to state that it was the cause of death of a noble soul. It was Krishna who gave the huntsman the effect of Gandhari’s agony and the huntsman Jara to end an era. The landlords of the jungle heard the neigh of a horse, someone was approaching. The animals remained silent. It was Arjuna, the favourite disciple of Gopala. At the first sight of Arjuna with some companions, the gathering dispersed under natural covers. The heavenly trance had also faded and the congression of the wild was dissolved.