Omkara The Native

Managing in the Wilds

Omkara sat quietly in the water breathing through the reed. He knew the leopard would fully satisfy itself that he was gone from the area … before leaving. He had made the classic error of carrying fresh meat openly … as he walked through the forest. After a while h e rose from the water … slowly at first and checked with a focused gaze the area surrounding the river. A leopard's camouflage can be very hard to detect.

Satisfied that it had left … he climbed onto the river bank with the haunches of the deer he had killed … and this time … scooped some mud from the river bank and covered the exposed and bloody parts of the meat. He took a moment to squat beside the river bank. He reviewed the mistake he had made … the stalk he had invited from the leopard … and the implications of that.

Completely naked … except for a cloth around his waist … he reached for his arm band … and pressed it close to his flesh. His spirits had been unusually quiet since he had woken up that morning. The music of Narada Veena … that emanates naturally from the manasa of the individual … was playing a rhythm that resembled the way … the hunters from the tribe would pursue an animal in the wilds.

He had been experiencing that for some days now. It felt like people were looking at him … as if he had done something wrong … and they were creating a pursuit of it … by talking among themselves … estimating what he would do … and then waiting to pounce on him. He couldn't shake it off. His mind went back to the visit by the district officer … 3 months ago … and the proposal to re-locate the village … for a logging project that was coming into the area.

The Assam forests in India's North Eastern region … is extensive … and extended into parts of Myanmar. Omkara had spoken against accepting the government offer. It was their home. But the elders seemed to be swayed by the offers of low-cost housing in town. The tribe needed a full consensus before they can arrive at a decision … and Omkara appeared certain he would not change his mind.

In his determination … he thought he was subtly supporting the deep seated wishes of the elders themselves. These are the fathers he had grown to love and admire … whose guide on life in the tribe was everything. They had taught him to love the forest … survive in it … and experience the complete freedom of will … a native feels living in the forest. He was certain they would not leave.

He was wrong. The manasa as an instrument of discernment in the passions … is an invaluable instrument in the mind of the native. However it assumes that his situation is unchanging. It relates to the thinking of divinity as regards the faith of the individual … his jiva for the joy of living … the food source for survival … the feminine quotient for the pleasures of the body … and the social cohesiveness for security.

As an individual in a social unit … Omkara had no choice but to rely on his discernment qualities. The origin of the will had always been the consensus of the tribal council. But in these times … the council was coming under an origin of will … that extended beyond the village borders. He had drawn on the faces and body language of the district officers … but they were as puppets … expressing no will of any kind. Omkara had concluded therefore … that they were being strung along by the spirits that guided him. In this he was again wrong.

He reached the village … left the meat in his hut … and responded to the summons of the chief to go see him.

' I need your help,' the chief began, ' the rest of the council members want to take the government offer. Yours is the only remaining vote. We hope you will agree.'

Omkara allowed his spirits to guide him on his discernment.

' Papa … ' he began with a slight smile, ' we have lived here for … '

'Stop that!' the chief almost yelled. ' Its over … why can't you see that … the spirits are deserting us … we have to create a new way … maybe its the way of the town dwellers … but stop trying to tell me that I want to stay here … I don't … I want to go!'

Omkara stared at the chief without speaking. His pupils were dilated and he felt a shock climbing into his manasa … and blocking out all thought. He fought to regain control … but felt himself slipping. He struggled to make the effort.

' Its our life … '

' Yes … it is … and you make the decision now … for all of us … how we should live it. The government officers are saying … in moving to town … we will learn the social rules of the world … go to school … to work … contribute to the nation … that this honeymoon we live in … is over … we shouldn't block development … that we are wallowing in a deluded paradise of sexual freedom … while the rest of the world … is moving forward.'

' I'm not allowed my freedom to speak … this is intimidation …' Omkara felt hot about his face.

' Yes it is,' he replied, ' that's the new way … to live with the public volition of issues … not our own … to create an acceptance … and accommodate the new will of the spirit. The Shaman says its a new God … and he brings the ways of man.'

Omkara got up to leave.

' I'll find a new home in the forest. Anybody who wants to stay can come with me.'

' Nobody is staying,' the chief replied in a tone of irritation, ' we are all leaving.'

Omkara walked back to his hut. He was thoughtful. From above ... the rays of the sun was burning his visions that he relied on … and the music was slowing down. He took out his armband and tossed it away before entering his hut. His mind went back to the leopard that followed him that morning. He wasn't sure if he feared the leopard more or the world.

He lay down on the dry grass bed and pondered with bleary eyes at the roof. His spirits returned … but he raised himself from the bed to prevent them communicating. However they persisted … and in a vision … showed him the fish he was … hiding in the water and then … being dragged out into the world. It was like the way … Ramu … his dog … had grown from puppy to a hunter. It was the way of things …