YATHNI’S TRAVEL TO KAILASH

It is a book which deals with issues of educational interest like climate change, bio-diversity, space science etc. These are dealt with in the form of a story with colourful illustrations. It is suited for all age groups and particularly to the student community.

The book is a story based on Hindu mythology. The principal character is ‘Yathni’. Yathni is a little girl studying in Fifth Standard. She is a devotee of Lord Ganesha. Pleased with her devotion, Ganesha takes her on an excursion to Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva.

How was this excursion, what were the things which Yathni saw on the way and what were the things which she learnt? You can find out these and a lot more from her unique travel to Kailash.

While giving a number of anecdotes from Hindu mythology, the story takes you to the North Pole, the Moon and the outer space and beyond. It talks about endangered species, global warming, climate change and biodiversity. It tells you about Pillaiyar kuttoo, Thoppukkaranam, Nivedanam, Pradosha Pooja etc deftly touching upon the value systems. The book is for all type of readers and especially for youngsters above ten years of age.

Quotations have been given from the religious texts and other literature. These quotations are from various languages-Sanskrit, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarathi and Hindi.

Karthik, my nephew, has prepared illustrations for this book. The cover page has also been designed by him. The cover page looks like this↓

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Climate change is one of the issues which is engaging the attention of the world today. 

The Prelude to the book ‘YATHNI’S TRAVEL TO KAILASH’ starts with a reference to the issue of climate change. The issue of climate change is again mentioned in chapter XVII of the book. Please read the Prelude to the book given below.

Prelude

VAAKKUNDAAM, NALLA MANAMUNDAAM,

MAA MALARAALNOKKUNDAAM,

MENI NUDANGAADU POOKKONDU,

THUPPAAR THIRUMENI THUMBIKAIYAAN PAADAM,

THAPPAAMAL SAARVAAR THAMAKKU.

It was Kailash. Indra, Agni, Vayu, Varuna, Surya and Chandra were waiting for the arrival of Shiva, Parvathi, Ganesha and Karthik. They started reciting hymns in praise of Ganesha when he entered first. Shortly, Karthik arrived followed by Shiva and Parvathi.

It was a meeting convened by Lord Shiva to discuss the draught situation in the state of Tamilnadu in India. A large number of people had gathered on the banks of the Cauvery River in Thanjavur District of the State and were conducting a ‘Homam’ to propitiate the gods. The fertile land had become barren due to the absence of timely rain. Famine had struck many parts of the State. Mass prayers were conducted in all the temples. Lord Shiva felt sorry for the sufferings of the people. He summoned all concerned for knowing the remedial measures taken.

Indra reported to Lord Shiva “Your Honour, I have directed the rain bearing clouds to rush to Tamilnadu. Vayu is assisting the clouds in swift movement towards that area. The rains have already started and people are rejoicing its arrival. They are thanking us for our response”.

‘What is the reason for this situation?’ asked Shiva.

‘It is due to climate change as a result of global warming’, replied Indra. ‘Global warming is causing lots of damage to the earth and climate change is one of them. Over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate’.

‘What is it that causes this global warming?’

Indra replied, ‘Your Honour, the earth’s atmosphere is being polluted by the emission of gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases collect in the atmosphere like a thick blanket, trap the sun’s heat and cause the earth to warm up. Coal-burning power plants are the main source of air pollution. Discharge of green house gases from industries, vehicles, and burning forests, are the other major reasons for air pollution resulting in global warming and climate change.’

‘What action have you taken to arrest this?’ asked Shiva.

Indra said, ‘Your Honour, a lot of awareness has been created among the human beings on the evil effects of this phenomenon. They are making efforts to reduce pollution. Mr Al Gore, the former vice president of the United States is one of the foremost politicians who has raised an alarm about the hazards of global warming. He has produced a beautiful documentary movie called “An Inconvenient Truth”. He has given various speeches and has also written a book explaining how the earth is dashing towards an immensely warmer future. He has also suggested various remedial measures.

‘Further, many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. One such effort is the Kyoto agreement that has been made between various nations to reduce the emissions of various green house gases. Also many non-profit organizations are working for the cause.’

‘Good. Please keep it up’ said Shiva.

Karthik then said, ‘Father, corruption is one more evil that is bothering mankind and we have to do something about it. If you permit me, I will go down to the earth and see how this can be eradicated.’

              'You have my blessings. Go ahead’ said Shiva.

Ganesha then said, ‘Father, I feel that the increasing evils of the human society are due to the decreasing moral values. It is agonizing to see that countries like India which used to follow the paths of Dharma are showing signs of deterioration. We must try to arrest this trend and restore the value systems. I have been thinking about this for quite some time. I find that most of the people earnestly feel that they should follow the highest traditions of Dharma but find themselves at crossroads when they actually try to uphold the traditions. To restore the value systems to its original glory, I think we must introduce certain incentives for those who keep up the values of life.’

‘I agree with you’, said Parvathi.

Ganesha continued, ‘I have a plan. There are a number of young boys and girls who steadfastedly keep up the value systems. Why not arrange an excursion trip to one of them to Kailash? In the first instance, we can select somebody from India.’

‘It is an excellent idea. Just as there are cultural exchange programmes between the nations on earth, this is a cultural exchange programme between Kailash and Earth’, said Karthik. All those present in the meeting also felt that it was a good idea.

‘Okay. Work out the details of your plan and let me know’ said Shiva. Shiva again appreciated Indra for his good work and the meeting concluded.

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Pillaiyar Kuttoo and Thoppukkaranam

Lord Ganesha is the first deity which we worship when we enter a temple. Standing before Lord Ganesha, Tamilians mildly strike their foreheads with the knuckles of both the hands. Thereafter they sit down and stand up a few times holding their ears with crossed hands. These practices are known as 'Pillaiyar Kuttoo' and 'Thoppukkaranam'. The background for these practices are found in stories contained in the Hindu Puranas.

Find these stories in Chapters XIII and XVII of the book.

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Illustration by Karthik Ram of Lord Ganesha shaking hands with Yathni in 'Yathni's Travel to Kailash'

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A little bit of the philosophy of Advaitha of Adi Sankara has also been given in the book. See this excerpts.

Kalpana asked, ‘Pillaiyarji, something has been puzzling us from yesterday. Can I ask you?’

‘Yes. Go ahead’, said Ganesha.

‘Yesterday I prepared 108 modakams. When you came, I offered them to all of you. You had consumed some of them. But after you left, I was astonished to find that the 108 modakams which I prepared remained as it was. There was absolutely no reduction in the quantity which was available with us. When you have consumed a few, how can the balance remain as it is at 108? It appears to be a riddle.’

‘You can’t have the cake and eat it too’, quipped Ramanan.

‘But I know how to have the modakams and eat them too’, said Ganesha with laughter. ‘Of course, you will be confused because it does not conform either to the common sense or the arithmetic. It may look like magic but it is not magic.’

‘It is a puzzle’, said Kalpana.

‘Can I tell you something, to make you think more on this puzzle?’ asked Ganesha.

‘Yes, please’, said Kalpana.

‘You prepared the modakam. What is the specific name which you use for the inner fillings?’

‘It is called “Poornam”.’

‘What is the meaning of “Poornam”?’

‘Well. “Poornam” means complete. But here it refers to the inner fillings of the modakam.’

‘But why do you call the inner fillings of the modakam as “Poornam”?’

‘I don’t know’.

‘I also don’t understand why you call the inner filling of the modakam as “Poornam”. There is a hymn in the Isavasya Upanishad which also looks like a puzzle. It runs like this:

POORNAMADAH POORNAMIDAM,

POORNAATH POORNAM UDACHYATHEY.

POORNASYA POORNAMAADAAYA,

POORNAMEVAAVASISHYATHEY.

‘You may probably translate it literally as:

“That is whole. This is whole.

This whole came from that whole.

When this whole is removed from that whole,

What remains is still whole.”

‘When something is taken out of a particular thing, the common sense tells that the original thing from which it is taken out should get reduced. But the Upanishad says that the original thing remains complete though a particular thing is taken out of the original. Added to that, it says that the thing taken out is also complete. On the face of it, this may appear to be absurd. But, the Upanishad cannot be wrong. Its meaning has to be understood carefully.

‘Let me give you an example. You are wearing a chain. It is made from what?’

‘Gold.’

‘Where is that Gold?’

‘It is there in the chain. The chain itself is Gold.’

‘This means that the chain was whole. The gold in the chain was also whole. When the goldsmith prepares the chain from gold, the gold does not go away. It remains as gold.

‘Suppose you take the chain to a goldsmith and ask him to do bangles, he will make bangles out of it. Isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then what happens to the gold in the chain? It changes the form from chain to bangles. What remains is the same gold. The chain was gold. When you take away the chain, the gold remains. Similarly, when you remove the bangles, what remains is gold.

‘When you touch the chain or bangles, you are touching gold. The weight of the chain or the bangles is the weight of gold. The colour and lustre of the chain or the bangles is the colour and lustre of gold. Chain or the bangles is merely the name of a form that gold takes.

‘Take the example of a pot. A potter prepares a pot from clay. If you break the pot, what remains is clay. The potter may prepare another pot from the same clay. Remove the pot. What remains is clay.

‘A wave is nothing but water. Remove the wave and there is still water. If you remove the water there will be no wave. But water is not wave. Can we say the wave is non-existent? No. But, unlike water, it has no independent existence. Advaita philosophy calls wave as “mithyaa” and water as “sat” or “satyam”. Clay is “sat”, pot is “mithyaa”. Gold is “sat”, chain is “mithyaa”.

‘So, the modakams which you prepared were “poornam”. The modakams consumed by us were also “poornam”. What remains is also still “poornam”. Thus, I can have the modakams and eat them too’.

Everybody, including Ganesha had a hearty laugh at this explanation.

‘Your explanation gives a new dimension to the original puzzle’, said Ramanan.

Siddhi intervened and chided Ganesha, ‘We have come to take Yathni on the excursion to Kailash. The child is eagerly waiting. This is not the appropriate time to preach advaita philosophy. Can we start? We are getting late.’