The forbidden story
Aditya Rishi

FOR centuries, it lay there, forgotten; no one knew where it has been all these years; now, it has returned. In the monasteries of Laddakh, monks tell you countless fascinating tales in their sweet voices that echo in mountains; and these echoes, since the beginning of the time, have been forming a huge echo bank in tall mountains and deep gorges. The sea of echoes has assimilated into the haunting silence of the valley, like seven colours assimilate into white. The immortal word of Krishna, Jesus, Mohammad, Guru Nanak, great saints and lamas is still there, buried between layers of echoes, under the mountain of silence, waiting for a wind to pull it out of there. You’ll find a story, an echo in every draft of air, if you can catch it. There is, however, one story that they say only the spirit of the lonesome lama can bring to its lips.

Trillions of travellers have explored the caves of Laddakh in search of the spirit of the lonesome lama, but found nothing… until now.

Mountains and Oceans give their secrets to a chosen few, those who do not tire and keep the faith. Armed with a special echo-catching device, a monk, a mountain guide and a scientist begin their journey into the wilderness and find shelter in a cave at the end of the 14th day. The scientist strikes a match and light returns to the cave after 5,000 years.

They see images of a smiling monk all over the cave. Suddenly, the device goes crack-crack, splutter, splutter like a radio, which draws the three towards it. The voice clears out: "Greetings travellers, I am Buddha, the lonesome monk you are looking for. You are here because I have chosen you to hear the story. The story is of three numbers that became proud after being raised to the power, because absolute power corrupts absolutely. I was called to settle the dispute on which of the three numbers was the biggest and the smallest and how these compared in magnitude. The numbers were 2000^2002, 2001^2001, 2002^2000 and those of you who will solve the dispute shall be my messengers." The monk prays, the guide guesses and the scientist calculates. The right answer comes from the scientist.

Buddha’s voice is heard again: "Monk, guide and scientist are pathfinders each, with powers to meditate in their own way, so, they should let only reason be their guide. The monk just told my stories and prayed, the guide just brought travellers as usual to the mountains, but the scientist dared to explore, so, he reached me. One’s powers should be used wisely." "Buddha, why didn’t you reveal yourself all these years and why now?" the three ask the spirit. "Until now, everything was fine, but now, people have started abusing their powers, thinking that they are the absolute and the biggest. The absolute is peace, so, let peace be." The voice vanishes, which makes the scientist reach for the volume control of the device. He looks up in astonishment at his companions and says: "The device was off all the time." What was the scientist’s answer to Buddha? Write at The Tribune or adityarishi99@yahoo.co.in.