(Circles of Fire)

Agni Chakra (Chapter 12)

By Kethleen JAYAWARDANE

Translated by Ranga Chandrarathne and Edited by Indeewara Thilakarathne

An episode of the X-Files which contained a dossier of unsolved issues had been shown on television. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully appeared on the monitor. The footage quickly cut to that of a muscular- bodied man standing, then a close-up of his legs. The line of oozing blood flew down the black-trouser legs taking a serpentine course along the floor. My eyes became blurred with the terrible shock. I quickly activated the remote control.

"Oh, why", Shantha whispered. "At this time, there aren't any good programmes on other channels ..."

Though she said so in a kind tone, I could hardly control my mounting anger. My entire body would shake. Since recently I had been experiencing this shaking whenever I had an impulse.

"Take the remote control and watch what you like!"

I would throw the remote control onto the sofa.

"No, I don't want! I thought you would like X-files..."

I would plunge onto the sofa and close my eyes. A film was being shown on my mind's screen. It was my mother who performed in it. Gradually she turned red. I heard maternal aunty say that she (mother) had been suffering from a strange disease which caused blood to ooze from her eyes, nostrils and the nail-tips.

"If protected by a spell, it would cure but if not, once again blood would ooze", aunty would say.

I could not tell about such a disease that mother would suffer from, as I had never seen that blood oozing scene. But I knew for sure that aunty had no reason to come out with such a lie. I heard that some villagers had seen, at times, mother full of blood. Villagers had no need to come out with such fictitious accounts on common consent.

I could recall an occasion where mother became unconscious during an exorcist performance where father tied a spelled string on a villager's hand to ward off evil spirits. I could also remember her fierce dance brandishing a coconut flower and torch after getting into a trance on hearing drumbeats from a distant exorcist performance. During her wired dance, she would beat herself up with the coconut flower until its nuts separated from it. I could recall a conversation the mother had with the exorcist during her weird dance:

"Who are you? Who are you possessing this body? Yes, now tell me who you are?"

"Oh...I am a respectable devil!"

"What? ... a respectable devil..? A respectable devil will not hide his name...!"

"I am respectable...Kalu Kumaraya.."

That time, mother shouted out in a certain rhythm and metre.

For a long time, I thought all these rituals were part and parcel of primitive village life and that they were nonsensical notions on the part of the villagers. But now I was puzzled over the issue given that different information leaked out through the media and researched findings. I became disturbed without reason as it seemed that even today's scientists were ready to accept the existence of an astral body and a soul. American films and some video films depicted these mysterious phenomenons. Above all it was this 'X-files' series which undermined my contemptuous feelings about all rituals and incantations. It would influence me to turn back on the past. But I did not like to watch it. Shantha would watch it with much interest.

With closed eyes, I could hear weird sounds of the footage that unfolded on the screen as well as notes of music that went along with them. According to these sounds, weird thoughts played havoc with my mind. Though I thought of pleading with Shantha to 'Please switch it off ', the my masculinity prevented it.

"Shut this off", I would yell in anger, opening my eyes. I could sense a fierce look coming onto my eyes. Shantha would go into the house in silence. She would think that my attempt was to disturb her pleasure. But could I help it?

I don't know her...?

She does not know me...?

She does not herself...?

I don't know myself...?

I would rush into the study and would browse the internet sitting on the revolving chair and swivelling from one side to another. This act would often help me to calm myself down whenever I was deeply disturbed.

I wonder what had really become of me. I heard that in sensing an object with the five senses, a mental cognition interprets it. Some would say that mental body or 'spirit' would help this process.

If it is so, it could not have been the brain. For it is surly matter. How could 'spirit' be determined? Is it a combination of 'mind' and 'matter'? Is the link between mind and body through 'spirit'?

Ratnaweera one day told me that it was in the Pattanjali's Yoga Sutra that for the first time it is mentioned about the seven circles in the human body.

Ratnaweera, a professor of Philosophy, told me recently that he was worrying about the decreasing numbers of students who would offer philosophy as a subject.

Although modern science had helped me to live my life, it also had made me confused when science explored subjects like quantum physics. The discipline of 'fuzzy Logic' which commenced two decades ago had drawn me into unknown and unseen areas in the labyrinth. Ratnaweera tried to convince me that 'fuzzy Logic' would be relevant not only to science but also to Buddhism.

I did not know why I was worried when he said that teachings of the Buddha had also influenced the formation of 'Fuzzy Logic'.

"The Buddha had presented the concept of 'Fuzzy Thinking' " for the first time, said Ratnaweera.

I smiled sarcastically.

"You, gentlemen want to take psycho- analysis from where Freud stopped, to two thousand five hundred years back", I said in a joking tone.

"Is there only black and white between reality and unreality?" questioned Ratne. "Isn't there an ash field?" he questioned me again.

I remained silent for a moment. Quickly I reminded myself of Freudian Psychoanalysis, Einsteinian relativism and Aristotelian Formal Logic. Anybody could understand the teaching which distinguishes one as short and tall or black and white. But this dialectic of 'Fuzzy Logic' would rob anything of clarity. It would baffle any mind.

"Now Institute for 'Fuzzy Logic' had been set up at Kyushu Technology Institute in Japan", said Ratnaweera.

Ratnaweera said in a victorious voice that Bart Kosko, a professor in the South California University and one of the pioneers in the field had said in the book 'Fuzzy Thinking' that it was the Buddha who formulated the concept of Fuzzy Thinking.

"You aspiring to be born in Sukhavathi heaven through such sermons", I said sarcastically.

I learnt a lot from conversation with Ratnaweera who maintained close relations with Japan, about the Japanese sect of 'Sukhavati' which stressed devotion. He said that people of Japan who do not concern much about philosophical aspects of Buddhism and even modern Japanese scientists believe in the traditional notion 'that aesthetics should be given pride of place'. But Ratnaweera spoke as if he did not notice my sarcasm.

"Siri think a bit...reality is an inferential matter ...That's what the Buddha said worldly matters are inexplicable..?"

Footnote

Kalu Kumaraya- a devil in Sri Lanka's folklore

Pattanjali Yoga Sutta- A classical Sanskrit text of philosophy

Sukhavathi- a heaven in Mahayana tradition of Buddhism