Part - 1 Mooshik at it again! 334

Mooshik sitting in absolute silence finally got in the nerves of Ganesha. He cleared his throat by blowing a trumpet-like sound which failed to evoke the expected response from Mooshik. He thought “It must be some serious matter gnawing at his mind “. He readied himself to address and defuse the sit-in-silence-strike and mused "Mooshik had found a novel technique to draw attention to some problem!"

 Ganesha asked, “Mooshik, what is eating you?”

Though Mooshik wanted to remain silent, the years of servitude to Ganesha made him to respond. His reply was curtly syllabic " Bakthi, affordable Bakthi and accessible Bakthi." 

Ganesha's ears perked up after hearing this short snort of a reply from Mooshik. His initial assessment turning true, asked Mooshik," Cat caught your tongue or what? Why don't you say whatever it is a little more elaborately?" After uttering these words Ganesha understood the incongruity of the cat in the phrase as Mooshik outweighed the puny cat many times over. Instead, choosing one of the big cats, he should have asked, “What got your tongue - a tiger or a lion or a jaguar or a leopard?”  Though pretty long, Ganesha thought that it would have been befitting to Mooshik’s stature. 

Ganesha frantically continued searching for ways to reach out to Mooshik as he had gone back into his shell to sit immobile and silent. 

He asked, “What is the distinction you want to make between Bakthi, affordable and accessible Bakthi? What gave the idea to think like this?

Mooshik, don’t you know, Bhakti is loving devotion, attachment, and surrender to a personal God or a divine being? It is an emotional, personal relationship with the divine rather than just ritualistic worship and a primary path to spiritual liberation.!

Warming up to Ganesha, Mooshik murmured, “Yes. I am aware of this, but...”

Patiently Ganesha said, “There is no but here.  It is “pure and unselfish" to experience divine love and joy. Singing hymns, chanting prayers and engage in serving others will help in surrendering one’s ego! You might have heard about the nine doors about life processes. But divesting oneself of ego opens the door to Bakthi. In essence, Bhakti also has nine doors or ways. 

With little more interest Mooshik asked, “How the same comparison of life process is applicable here?”

 Ganesha continued, “There are these nine ways, like listening, singing, remembering, serving, worship, prayer, servitude, friendship, and self-surrender. These doors are open to anyone to practice. These doors open the paths to go about instilling Bhakti in oneself.’ 

Mooshik, not satisfied with all these explanations asked, “Then what about my question on accessibility? The process you have just described is not easy to practice to obtain an understanding of the gods and divine beings.” 

Ganesha was tempted to let out a ear-splitting and loud trumpet sound, this time to scare Mooshik. Attaching importance to clearing his doubt, Ganesha overrode his annoyance, and he replied, “Gods and divine beings do not distinguish a devotee based on gender or status.  Bhakti is accessible to all, if only it is sincerely focused on the heart striking a path that transcends intellectual perceptions. Bhakti merely rests is built upon acceptance and not intellectual interpretations. This is accessibility. 

Of course, the process will not be easy as the devotee’s aim will be for a direct, emotional experience of the divine. Mooshik, I am surprised that in spite of knowing that there is no other easy way to get that divine experience., why are you raising this question?  Are you confused or ignoring these facts are you deliberately trying to confuse me?” 

Mooshik replied, “No, but I felt like devotees are being given a restricted access rather than an open path. But the eloquent explanation you just now gave sounded to me like what the touts do in our premises!”

This ‘tout’ comparison and Mooshik’s general demeanour annoyed Ganesha. He had half a mind to tweak and twist Mooshik’s ears till such time tears rolled and blood on his hands or maybe a piece of the tweaked ears too!  But a long association between them made Ganesha to refrain from acting in anger. Instead, he did a headstand (sirasasan) all the while focusing his eyes on Mooshik’s head in an attempt to directly tweak his brain cells.

Coming out of his headstand, he asked, “How many temples have installed me as deity and can you describe them?

Mooshik: “Exclusive, wayside and on sharing basis there are countless temples. Exclusive temples are grand and those where you share space with other main deities your importance depends on the other deities’ popularity. What this has to do with my question?”

Ganesha: “Overall, how easy it is for the devotees to approach me and how many of them would have followed the nine paths to reach me.?”

Mooshik: Except in the exclusive temples with VIP queues, more or less, it is easy for them to approach you. Though I have not kept an accurate count, maybe a sizeable number might have just walked-in for a darshan.”

Ganesha: “Mooshik, your answer goes to say about accessibility by passing through or bypassing the nine gates I had mentioned earlier.”

Sensing a setback, Mooshik played his last card to ask, “How about affordability?

Ganesha: “Those who can avail VIP or VVIP darshan. Those who barely afford to manage but wait for hours in long queues. Those who cannot afford a VVIP or VIP darshan and wait in long queues have always been getting a walk-in darshan in any one of my wayside temples. If this not affordability for all, then what else could be?”

But Ganesh knew the intention of Mooshik in raising these questions. It was not about accessibility and affordability. Something else has stared bothering him. Having had him as a companion forcing him to come out openly would not be fair. Anyways, Mooshik knows that I already know what is bothering him. He knows that I know to wait for him to open up…...

Ganesha’s head started to spin and he decided to take some deep breaths to clear his circular thinking on ‘he knows that I know’  was akin to a cat (or should it be a big cat) trying to catch its own tail!