A visit to the Sanskrit School
Madhu suggested a stroll up towards the well known viewpoint above the house, where there is a tower that you can climb up, to see the hills. Today was a particularly misty day, with all the usual pollutants, but I think the mistiness was due to higher humidity, so visibility was even more reduced. I have been checking the weather forecast in the hope that there might be some snow in the mountains. Nothing is really on the way. But I did note that the pollutants are not reaching up into the Mustang area.
I suggested that finally we could go down to the Shiva Temple. It is in a grove, a peaceful place. Sounds of the city recede, though the penetrating horns of the buses and trucks still rend the air. We sat for a while with the Sadhu, who was warming himself in front of wood fire. Madhu asked him some questions. In a small receptacle, reposed some marijuana. These Sadhus are known to use it as way of getting into what they think is a more receptive state towards the god. However, he also explained that he added hemlock, which sounded dangerous. I looked this up, and there is a ‘hemlock’ tree which is used in incense, as opposed to the plant which is the neurotoxin of Socrates fame, causing gradual paralysis, and death. The consumption of poisons by such Sadhus emulates the great acts of Shiva who saved the universe by consuming poison. The idea is that the holy man will demonstrate his immunity to the poison due to the level of spirituality he has reached. But it remains in doubt if the gentleman was referring to the real plant hemlock.
He mentioned that he suffered from thieves in the night raiding his supplies of rice, for example. This is quite a symptom of societal breakdown. Madhu and he discussed the problem of refugees in Nepal. It turns out that such countries as Bangladesh and Myanmar are expelling immigrants of Nepali origin. He has a small plot for growing vegetables. Ginger was drying in the sun. He depends on donations. He left his home at the age of 25. A Brahmin, he would be celibate to take on this role. I asked Madhu if he could not do service in this temple for some time, then move on to something else, but this is not so in Nepal, but would be practiced in India where there are more priests to circulate. The previous post holder was reverenced by a statue within an enclosure.
As we were walking up from the sacred grove, I stopped below the Sanskrit School, entranced by the sound of the boys chanting. Madhu said we could go in, so we walked up into the precinct. Boys were sitting in small groups in the sun, receiving instruction. We were invited to enter a prayer hall, shoes off first. On a raised dais, sat a rotund teacher in the same maroon robes as the boys. While Buddhist monks in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet all use the maroon coloured robes, here the Brahmin boys were all using the same colour. Chairs were brought for us to sit on. Madhu made a brief introduction. I suggested that they continue the lesson. There were thirteen boys seated in front of the teacher, and all chanting in the most melodious fashion. The scripture had been learned by heart and was beautifully rendered in unison, but somehow there seemed to be a subtle and gentle harmony, as if a few were forming a major triad. As they continued, I surrendered to the beautiful sound, which brought tears to the eyes.
When they stopped, the teacher suddenly produced an infant, much like a conjuror. This was the first time I had seen someone teaching while harbouring a small child. The child was quiet and biddable. The teacher, who was the Principal of the school, said that the chanting pacified the little girl and could put her to sleep! He motioned to us to join him in the adjoining room, where we conversed in general terms about the school. There are 55 students from age 10 to 18. I mentioned that Sanskrit is taught in the St James group of schools in the south of England, and he knew of these schools. He mentioned that the school enters the boys for IGCSE Sanskrit, taken at the British Council. I mentioned A level Sanskrit, but they did not seem to have thought of that.
The students do quite an extensive early morning meditation practice, and it must be Transcendental Meditation, as he mentioned the Maharishi. It may be a total meditation period of about two hours.
So, now I found out that a Brahmin priest does not need to be celibate, this is a choice in others for their form of devotion as a sadhu. Madhu thought that the boys can pursue a normal career in engineering for example, or go on further in Sanskrit studies. Of course, as well as being such a precise and elegant language, it harbours the whole range of profound religious texts. They do the normal SEE exam (aged 16) and then the +2 examination at age 18, focused on social studies, so with three languages. But what a wondrous sound, this grade 9 group made, and it is not always easy to find boys willing to vocalise in this way in Europe.