Agni Chakra

(Circles of Fire)

(Chapter 29)

By Kathleen JAYAWARDENE

Death...?

The Science of death..?

The Art of death...?

My doubts began to wither away. Am I strong enough to glaze directly at that mountain which stands in front, behind and surrounding me? Have I realised the futility of attempts not to look at it? However, I am now looking at that mountain.

It is the mountain of death.

It was long time ago that Ratnaweera asked me whether it was not the death the only thing certain of our lives. I thought that the research he was conducting at the time at the Department of Philosophy of the University was a futile exercise. At the time, I felt it was a futile exercise for a living man to attempt to discover the death.

But now I realised what was futile was the tragic nature of the lifelong struggle we put up to avoid death. Ratnaweera says that a clear description of what would happen after death is in the 'Tibetan Book of the Dead. He had earlier given me a copy of the book as a gift.

Where have I put it? I was reading for the second and the third time the second copy of the book that he gave me yesterday. Now, I realised that the death was something which should not be left out unexplored.

From then on I, who was reluctant to read anything about death and even to read obituary columns in the newspapers, began this transformation? Has Ratnaweera directed me towards the realisation that what we spend as 'life' is a certain transitional stage?

The second week of my stay at Devendra's in California was passing by. The State with a mill climate has silent nights. Though I have heard that the climate from Los Angeles beach to Mexico is soothing, more space in my baggage is allocated for winter wear. Is it because my memory so weak as to forget these simple facts that I brought such a heavy baggage? There is neither harsh cold nor warm climate here. Even at night, I lay on the bed naked. Ratnaweera says the coldest area in the State is Sieranavada in the East of the State and that even in summer ice is formed in that State with a range of stone mountains. But now, I want to direct Ratnaweera out of these simple facts of weather and climate. Now, I am curious to know what it really meant by death.

"Man should study the Art of Death while healthily living on the earth. It should not be postponed until the moment of death. We are defeated if we wait till then," Ratnaweera said.

Has his intense interest in death and the strange equanimity towards waning of life lessoned my fear of death? Ratnaweera's answer to my query whether he felt the fear of death, baffled me.

"The question whether one fears or not of death is irrelevant. It is inevitable whether one is afraid of it or not"

"Then, Weeray, you like death ?"

"What is to be done even if I don't like it? " Ratnaweera laughed

"In a way, it is renewing life. It is successful to construct something dilapidated afresh rather than renovating it"

He made me who is confused, more terrified.

"This is a journey that has not been undertaken. Siri, don't you like to travel to a land that you have never been to? Like to poles. In a way, shouldn't we like to go on a new journey with new garments and fresh thoughts? "

I tried to renew that past, attempting and gathering dispersing thoughts. Isn't it more meaningful to buy a brand new good than repairing a dilapidated, old and broken good? However, I know that Ratnaweera speaks about death not considering me as someone earmarked for it.

"Bardo Thodol (Liberation by Hearing on the After-Death Plane) is similar to the Egyptian Book of the Dead" , Ratnaweera gave me the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

"But Siri, you cannot make compatible some facts in the book with modern theory of criticism"

"Why is that? Even the Buddha told the Kalamas that one should not accept anything uncritically", I questioned

"Can you believe something just because you heard of it or written down in a book?"

What are the reasons behind Ratnaweera's widening smile? Does it mean that I am trying to be an expert in an unknown field?

"Siri, everything cannot be explained in words", he said looking into my face.

"Often these teachings appeared to be quite antithesis of rational, because much of it is recorded in an occult cipher. Some of the more learned Lamas such as Lama Kazi Dawa-samdup, have believed that since very early times there has been a secret international symbol-code in common use among the initiates, which affords a key to the meaning of such occult doctrines as are still jealously guarded by religious fraternities in India, in Tibet, and in China, Mongolia and Japan. Therefore, language is less feasible in understanding spiritual condition. Siri, think yourself how can you do that in straightforward words",

"Then, what about the Tripitaka? Does not the Theravada Tripitaka contain the doctrine of the Buddha? "

"Yes, it does" , Ratnaweera said. "But, Lamas say it does not contain the doctrine in full. They claim that Theravada Ti-Pitaka do not contain all the words and that the Pitakas lack much of the Buddha's yogic teachings and that it is chiefly these teachings which in many instances, have been handed down esoterically to the present day. 'Esoteric Buddhism' as it has come to be called, rightly or wrongly -seems to depend in large measures upon 'ear-whispered' doctrines of this character, conveyed according to long -established and inviolable rule from Guru to Shishya, by words of mouth alone. "

I still strongly doubt that I am dying. Only consolation for me is the question "who will not die? "But my mind is somewhat calm as I am in a foreign land across the sea. Is the crossing sea the reason for that calmness?

When I read The Tibetan Book of the Dead which is also interpreted as Bardo Thodol (Liberation by Hearing on the After Death Plane) for the first time, I could not understand it. I thought how one could justify liberation by hearing. Ratnaweera interpreted it as 'all influential nature of the mind' or the ability of the mind to influence all. But can a dying person be guided only by hearing? However, I thought it is of psychological value to get to know rituals and traditions in any religion and a system of belief. I am reading the book with such contradictory thoughts. The doubt that "Does this contain some enchanting truth that I have never come across?" arose in me while reading the book.

The book describes itself as a guide book for a passenger who will undertake a long journey. It mentions about three transitional stages of Bardo. According to Bardo the spirit would spend forty nine days in Bardo transitional stage.

I paused for a moment to think how far a person who has not practised meditation and a lot of defilements would go in this journey. I looked at the electric lamp which emanates a light similar to that of moonlight. I saw it as if fire flies surrounded it.

But on the next moment I realised that I could not see the electric bulb because of the lampshade and that what I saw were not fireflies. I placed the book on the chest and looked at the small statute on the shelf. It should be a statue of Athena. I imagined all the beings both good and bad that the intermediary would meet in the third stage of Bardo, Void Bardo, which is the longest stage.

The book clearly mentioned that all the hallucinations created by karmic reflexes of action done by him in the earth plane-body and that the intermediary hovers in karmic air as soon as it freed from the physical body and Evan's Wentz who compiled The Tibetan Book of the Dead says that wisdom becomes a toy of Karma. He says if the mind is the king of Yama, 'the circles of thoughts' can be described as servants of Yama. As described in Eastern Tantric doctrines, The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes man as the smallest replica or an embodiment of the universe.

I read with great interest the Element of Air or the breath of life in the fundamental teachings of Bardo Thodol. It says that Nadi or nerves are the invisible conveyers of breath of life. The tree Nadis are mentioned out of main fourteen Nadis as the most important: Out of them, the most important is the Susumna Nadi which carries psychic forces. It is situated at a place called Brahmadanda on the top of the spine and should be identified as the Mahameru of human body. It says that these forces function as the circle on the dynamo connected to psychic centres known as Chakras in the human body.

The basis of psychic and physical functions of the body 'Davya' is concentrated in these Chakras and that six of such Chakras are special. First is the Muladhara Chakra which is situated at the bottom end (towards the legs) of the spine. The second Chakra or Padma is a little below. It is the centre of sexual organs.

Manipura Chakra or the navel nerve centre is above the Padma. Future Chakra or heart centre is a little above it. Visuddhi Chakra on the threat and Aaggna Chakra is in the middle of eyelids. The third eye of all spiritually developed persons including the Buddha is in this Chakra. On the top of the head is Sahasrara Chakra.

It is this centre from where Susumna Nadi comes out and this is also known as Brahmarandhra from which the spirit is released at the death.

I was baffled at the moment. In a second, great change is taking place in me. I was shocked to doubt whether I died. Shantha appeared before me. She is turning me to the South, touched the left and Right blood vessels. She was trying to block my breath of life in the Central Nerve from returning and to release it from Brahmarandhra .

I woke up with a shock, nothing has changed, and the World is still. The book on the chest is still there .

I did not die.

I turned the pages of the book in a hurry to find out the instructions at a time breathing was about to stop. I read the saying that is to be told a person turning him or her to South and gently pressing the blood vessels in the throat.

Was it the same that Shantha chanted in the dream?