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Nothing is Blue THIS is a story of an exciting journey into the medieval world of new religions and changing inclinations, where the last of the ancient emperors rules over the subcontinent. The times are turbulent. There are palpable signs of political unrest and the Nalanda monastery—the biggest in the ancient world—is also considerably shaken up.
The monks studying Hinayana texts criticised others of being reformists, of having changed the original teachings of the Buddha. The monks taking Mahayana lessons believed that the others failed to interpret the words of the Buddha properly. While one looked forward to nirvana for oneself in the Hinayana tradition, the other camp thought it was better to help everyone attain the perfect wisdom, to become Bodhisattvas. Though the Hinayana philosophy dominated the monks for 500 years after the Buddha, the Mahayana tradition had come to prevail by the seventh century. Most of the monks in Nalanda studied Mahayana sutras, but there were a few Hinayana scholars as well and conflict between the two continued. It is also a time shrouded in puzzling secrets and strange mysteries. Some Buddhist monks have begun to dabble in tantric rituals. Ananda, the primary protagonist of the book, is a student monk from the Nalanda monastery who stumbles on these secrets changing his life forever. Ananda comes from an ordinary family of Gauda (Bengal) that never thought about or visited monasteries. It was his village teacher who had advised his parents to send him to a monastery. He tried to convince them that it would benefit Ananda, and the family would simultaneously earn divine grace for making their first born a monk. After initial reluctance, Ananda’s parents agree to send him to the monastery at Raktamrittika. It is here that Ananda is spotted by Shilabhadra, the Padhana of the Nalanda monastery. Shilabhadra often chose the brilliant students from other monasteries to be sent to Nalanda where he could nurture their talents. At Nalanda, Ananda not only learns the sutras but also joins the mathematics group under the tutorship of a senior monk. However, he also learns that some Buddhist monks have deviated from the simplistic path shown by their master. The order characterising the Sangha system of Buddhism with its strict code of conduct, rules and regulations had become brittle and several sections of monks became rebels. Some attempted to attain nirvana through rituals involving women, alcohol, spells, meat or fire. One such deviant monk is Ananda’s room-mate Kushala who tries to lure Ananda to adopt the easier way of meditation with the help of Dakinis, the women who could help him see the emptiness in things through an act of copulation. However, Ananda refuses to be corrupted. Though at 15 Ananda himself is not a typical bhikshuk wedded to the monastic life, he cannot dream of doing anything that is blasphemous. However, there is a restlessness about him which one does not expect in a monk. Once in a while his mind may entertain forbidden thoughts but his heart is always in the right place. His interaction with Shyamalata, a young widow in a neighbouring village, is not just an expression of his libido but also highlights his compassion and sensitivity. Whether it is Shyamalata, a pair of pale feet with shining anklets or the beautiful courtesan Roopnanda, our young monk does not waver from his life’s mission. His life takes a significant turn as he is appointed as an attendant to the fugitive monk Hiuen Tsang who has come all the way from China to understand the shunyata that is supposed to be at the base of everything. Ananda accompanies him on some of his travels but decides to stay back in Ujjayini to learn about the slow motion of the zodiac and mathematics from Brahmagupta and more importantly attempts to find out about the researches of Khona, a lady mathematician who had been tortured for challenging men many years ago. The language of the book is simple and offers a detailed impression of the times. Biman Nath succeeds in recreating the past and breathes life into the person of Hiuen Tsang. Altogether a fascinating debut novel.
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Two
schools of thought, Hinayana and Mahayana, divided the brotherhood of
monks. They could choose to study any tradition, but there were fierce
debates between the monks, followers of each tradition trying to prove
the others wrong, even heretical.