Tapan Kumar Pradhan

 

                                                  The Buddha Smiled

 

 

The world waited with bated breath

but the Buddha was calm, serene

like a lake of tranquillity

although there was no water in that lake

it was all sands, and sands all around

hot sands, dusty winds and dancing mirages.

 

The Buddha had his eyes closed

no movement, no murmur in those lips

no blinking of eyelids, nothing

 ruffled that calm countenance –

 

marching of troops, arraying of arsenal

surveillance of satellites, stacking of sand bags

arrival of ministers, helicopters, frantic phone calls –

The Buddha was unmoved…. Suddenly

 

the faint orange rays of morning sun broke into the cave

a white light glowed in the centre of the forehead -

Was it the moment before the enlightenment?

the heart beat was slowing down

Ida and Pingala, Yin and Yang

electrons in suspended animation

you could almost hear the anahata

in the secret chamber of the Buddha’s heart.

 

At eight hours five minutes sharp heart beat suddenly stopped

Shiva and Shakti were united, drawn magnetically into

the heart centre, electrons split, Kundalini fired

in a cataclysmic orgasm

shaking up the body in multiple tremors

pulsating through the myriad cells

 

In a blinding flash

the Third Eye blinked open

in a momentous quake

the earth was raised

a bellowing thunder

reverberated through the firmament

before a cloud of sand dust

engulfed the horizon.

 

Pokhran was born. Pokhran was dead

in less than a millionth of a second :

the hymen of secrecy was breached for ever

the infant had become a big boy

at once shy and bold

with the suddenly acquired carnal knowledge

of creation and annihilation.

 

And then the Buddha smiled.