The liberation ritual at Gaya apparently began through a legend connected with the Ramayana, Rama and Sita were in exile when the King Dasaratha died in the story. After their return from the exile, Sita performed the rituals at the banks of Phalgu river next to a large fig tree. Tropical fig trees can get very large and live through centuries. The fig trees have been considered auspicious in the Indian faith system. Due to the legend, a ritual at the fig tree has been added for the completion of the performance by the bereaved. I was advised by my white dressed escort to proceed towards the fig tree location. He said that it was optional.
By this time I had lost contact with my accompanying friends. So I thought it was best to follow my escort with the hope of reaching back to the monastery. The group following our escort was then loaded into two three-wheeler rickshaws and we proceeded through the narrow lanes of the city. The road we were traveling was designed for foot traffic. With the population increase more service shops had lined up on both sides of the road. To navigate though bicycles, pedestrians and various animals required special skills. The ride was fascinating though occasionally scary while avoiding imminent collisions.
The tree location was about a mile away. We reached a spread out area with various colorful flags hoisted on the walls, small temple tops and tree branches. In the distance was the noted fig tree which was reached by riding about thirty large steps. First we were led to a low-ceiling room, where we had a briefing on the sanctity of the ritual by our escorting priest. Since they were routine advertisements, I did not pay much attention. I was observing others in my group and was checking their absorption in the lecture. Some of them had rapt attention.
The end of this lecture was to solicit some precious metals, preferably gold. Two persons did give small gold chains, others gave coins. I did not have any. The priest loaned me a few coins and received them back as a part of the ritual lecture. It appeared as though the gold chains were gifts to the priest. The logic is that the priest would assume any other difficulties on behalf of the deceased that the person was unable to clear because of own personal blemish. It was a nice orchestration except it was a poor simulation of the majestic Indian philosophy. I was directly observing how the service providers were taking advantage of people thrown into vulnerability. To convert religious observance into a business is a tricky ploy.
We were then led to the grand scale tree which had a canopy of about fifty feet. The tropical fig tree produces branches downwards which eventually becomes part of the underground root system. A well-grown tree may have dozens of such shoots protruding to the ground. Together they help support the large canopy. This tree is different than the wide trunk sequoia tree found in the evergreen forest of California. Because of the structure, the massive fig tree is a shelter to the travelers in the tropical sun. It is depicted as the "tree of life" in many religious paintings.
The tree is called "akshaya vata", "imperishable fig tree". Since the root systems multiply, legends exist that a tree can last a thousand years. As we approached the tree, I saw a shrine, where a part of the trunk of the tree was decorated with red cloth, flowers, sandalwood paste and vermilion powder. To give sanctity to objects is a peculiar Indian philosophical underpinning. Longevity is respected and this tree had long life. So it was venerable. A man with a cloth tied on his head showed up to do a service at the tree shrine.
The person rang a bell and then told another story. Story telling in religious observance is popular everywhere. It possibly helps to create mood and faith. People have to be convinced that they were doing the right thing by being at the location. Each story may have its duration as a function of the service. Purely mythological stories are promoted as history. People repeat stories and the stories circulate. The marketing process is very organized. Missionaries call it "good will" message. Islamists test a person's fidelity through such a process. Some Hindus like me question the appropriateness of marketing a religious faith.
The man finished his story and did a lamp light worship. He let the lamp circulate among the assembled people. Then he asked for gratuity. People offered. He got mad when I expresse that I did not have any money to share. Like before I had to tell him that gratuity was a personal charity and not a demand. He should be happy with what he got and not count how much he got. I did tell him that I could give money to support his family if he accompanied me to the monastery. He ignored my gesture.
We came out to the front area. I was now left to myself. I thought I would contact the monastery to track my friends. While I was thinking, a man approached me. He asked if I would mind joining him for some snacks. He said he had come from a village in Assam, a thousand mile away to the east. He was out from his home for a week in undertaking the journey. He said he was feeling lost in the town. He spoke in Assamese, which is a close neighbor of my native language Oriya. I told him in candor that I had no money with me to help him. He said he wanted the company and that he would pay. Since I was myself hungry, I accepted his invitation.
We walked up to the nearby snack stall. I had tried Indian street food earlier in the trip, so I was not so hesitant. A motherly woman was preparing fresh "samosa" dumplings to fry. On our request, she agreed to advance her cooking schedule. The man told me about his loss and his journey. He said that he appreciated my telling the priests not to be greedy in their profession. Then I recalled that he was one of the men who had given the gold chain as gratuity earlier. I asked him why was he nervous. He said that he was a businessman and thought that not doing as "instructed" in a religious place, could affect his business. I did not think of this aspect earlier.
When we returned back to the front assembly area, I met my "lost" friends. They had tracked the pilgrim trajectory in the earlier place. I felt relieved except I did not have my sandals. I had left them at the earlier Temple and we had come barefoot to the tree location. Our eternally conscientious Dr Laxmicharan immediately consoled "No problem" and said that we should go back to look for them. To my delight the sandals were exactly at the same location where I had left them. In the place of greed and money exchange, personal properties were apparently protected!
It was about noon time. We returned back to the monastery. After a shower we went out for lunch. The prime lunch hour was crowded at the hall. We were served a hot meal. Soumya went outside to negotiate a taxi that can take us to Patna, from where we would take the night train to Howrah, on our way to Bhubaneswar. Dr Laxmicharan and I went to our room to pack up.
Gaya to Patna is about sixty miles by road. By taking a diversion one can visit a Jaina shrine and also the famous Nalanda University. Soumya did find a taxi and we were on our way.
