Ganesha wanted to pacify Mooshik. “I know you are worthy of individual worship yet, not worshiped. You are always alongside me , as a symbolic representation and through you, the devotees identify themselves as subservient to me, as you, are.”
To further lighten his mood, Ganesha wanted to tease Mooshik and test him with some philosophical questions. “What is enlightenment and who are the enlightened ones?”
Mooshik: Enlightenment is putting up with
temporary inconveniences for the future good.
Ganesha: Then who are the enlightened ones?
Mooshik: The enlightened ones are those, who live literally in hell and still feel it as heavenly! But there are some exceptions too.”
Interest perking up Ganesha asked, “Care to elaborate these exceptions?”
Mooshik: “Those who think of others as enlightened and those who think of themselves as enlightened and then there are those who need others to speak of them as enlightened ones. But in all the case, wisdom, the taskmaster, waits to remind them that they all have to learn a lesson.”
Ganesha: Oh, what lesson?
Mooshik: Those who think of others as enlightened ones will be taught, “your enlightened ones have a past and present and but no future.”
Those who think of themselves as enlightened
ones will be told, “You have neither a
present nor future.”
Those who need others to speak about them as
enlightened ones will be told, “You have only the present as both you and your
proposer will cease to exist in the future.”
Ganesha was shocked to the very core of his expansive belly, by this tail-twisting explanation.
“No colour is pristine pure. Nature itself has to mix different colours in different proportions. Even the colours that nature takes to do this, are not pure themselves. Sharing one's experience is like dipping a brush used in one palette to take paint from another. This act contaminates, if the brush is not cleaned before use. Likewise, shared experience is detrimental, if not analysed properly before adopting it by another person. War of words is not about what it is but about what it could bring...”
Unaware of the eavesdropping, Mooshik murmured on – “From the day I became a favourite sit-in companion to Ganesha, I am silently suffering this ignominy. Not even a devotee stands in front of me, does a pooja and offers to break a coconut. This, even after being with Ganesha through droughts and floods, hurts and continues to dig a hole deeper and deeper, in my heart. Is Ganesha aware of this or simply sweeping it aside with his trunk.?”
In this agitated frame of mind, Mooshik decided to hang, the T V panel discussion and the verdict on the online darshan and pooja delivered by that dilapidated court, to dry from any high point and be done with it. From the roadside shelter - Ganesha did not insist on a star rated premises, Mooshik saw a tall cell tower beckoning him. And up he went with the panel discussion and the judicial verdict.
Ganesha silently watched all these things from the sidelines and allowed Mooshik to vent all his steam. Even if he took pains to explain, Mooshik would not understand why pooja is not performed for him.
While at the cell tower, a brilliant idea struck Mooshik. Back to his place, he started a mental game of categorising the footfalls of devotees visiting the shelter. Why footfalls and not the faces of devotees? From his height, he would permanently sprain his neck, if he had to look at each and every one of the visitors. Fearing a severe stiff neck, Mooshik decided to count only the footfalls of devotees. What he lacked in height he made up with his acute sensors (ears and eyes) for data collection. He was prepared to wrestle and struggle with the data, to evaluate and organise them for his intended purpose. Anyhow, did he not have the time to iterate and reiterate?
For telling a story, a storyboard is required. This in mind, he started to collect small panels and frames, to set them up to demonstrate his findings. As panels and frames themselves don't tell the story, he decided on different colours to do it for them. Orange and blue or red and green... a riot of colours barged into his brain. Crying for attention. Choosing the suitable colours posed very many difficulties and out of the blue, he remembered Ganesha’s oft repeated praise - “your ability to overcome hurdles is beyond compare”. Aided by this tonic and mentally thanking Ganesha, he immersed himself into the world of colours, to produce his own shades.
Tired of watching the proceedings from his pedestal, Ganesha asked, “What are you doing with these colours and where from you got all these small panels?”
Mooshik: “If I have to explain, you may have to turn around a bit.
Ganesha: “No, Mooshik, I did it once and had to make a U turn. Don't you remember? It is your turn now.”
Mooshik: “O K. I will turn a bit and face you. But do not interrupt me till I finish the painting works.”
Mooshik carefully chose a stock of ultra white and ultra black pigments. By judicial mixing of white and black pigments he obtained 10 shades of grey, the darkest one being a just pinch of black pigments away from becoming black. Looking at the varying shades of grey, black and dazzling white, he felt that the sweat and labour, he had invested was worth the trouble after all. He did not forget to have an ample supply of brushes to avoid contaminating the pallet. Paints panels and brushes waited for him to tell his story.
He then prepared three categories of tiles/panels - black, white and from all the shades of grey. To him, the preparation of these many grey tiles appeared to be overkill. Yet how could he be complacent and ignore the subtility these shades would bring to his theme.?
Each frame was fashioned to receive two coloured panels, one in the left and another in the right slot. A separator, placed in the middle, provided contrast between the two panels.
After patiently waiting, with a quizzical smile playing on his face, Ganesha asked, “Now will you explain your story?”
Mooshik: “With pleasure! It goes like this.
The frame with White - White painted panels denotes the clever devotees who do not want to be in your future debt. To maintain zero balance in their accounts, they transfer the good and bad fortunes to your account.
This frame with White - Black painted panels points out to those smart devotees who credit good tidings to your account. and absorb the bad fortunes themselves. This is a hedge fund phenomenon, betting on your benevolent grace to be on call for encashment, in the future.
This frame with Black -White painted panels is about those devotees who are prompt in crediting bad tidings to your account and saving the good fortunes in their accounts. This lot believes in drawing the best and leaving the rest to you.
This frame is special with Black - Black painted panels. This type of devotees magnanimously takes both good and bad tidings into own account. By being modest, this cool type shifts the onus to do better in future, to your account. Now your dilemma will be to reward them or not?
This frame starts a new classification. Grey -White painted panels stands for devotees who willingly share the good fortune with you and happily credit the bad times to your account. This is a persuasive kind. When I am sharing the good fortunes with you, why can't you manage the bad ones!
This group of Grey – Grey painted panels is about those devotees who are happy to make you an equal partner, for now, by sharing good and bad. They might just be learning the art of deal making.
This frame with Grey – Black painted panels indicates those, half-heartedly trying not to annoy you, who accept good things on shared basis and absorb bad tidings. These devotees are playing the face-saving game. If the gambit works, the scorecard would change suitably, at a later date to each 50:50 or ...
This frame with Black painted - bare panel , reflects the type of devotees who are unwilling to go with equal share of good fortunes. They absorb them, in total, as dues into their accounts. They don't bring the case of bad tidings to the negotiating table at all and divert the credit to your account. For this reason only, I have left the right side slot of this frame empty”
Shaken, Ganesha asked “What this last frame without coloured panels signifies? And what is this P-P is about!
“This unique type of devotees is like cats sitting on the wall. After reviewing all the above approaches, they might leave it as it is or slot in any of the two-colour combination to operate a credit or debit account. P-P means payroll is yet to be prepared for both the parties.”
“How dare they designate me, Lord Ganesha, as a party?”
“My Lord, any transaction requires two persons, herein afterwards called the 'parties' or otherwise 'the contributor' and 'the receiver’. It is perfectly legal on earth.”
Exasperated Ganesha asked, "How to crack these tough nuts?"
Mooshik: “Make all this unique type of devotees into coconut merchants. If not their resolve, at least the coconuts they sell will get broken. I see no other possible way to crack these tough nuts.”
“O K. How do you ensure that the panels are read as intended by you?”
“Good question, my Lord. See that curved clip at the top of the frame. That clip should point away from you when you want to read the meaning of the frame.”
Mooshik sighed in relief as he could complete his work. Ganesha fumed at himself for engaging with Mooshik ,only to get a dose of bitter truth about his devotees.
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