Ilachikumar

In ancient times, there lived a businessman named Dhandatta in a town named Ilavardhan. His wife Ilachi gave birth to a very lovable and handsome boy. Being the only son, the parents deliberately kept him nameless as was a custom in those days. As a son of Ilachi, he came to be known as Ilachiputra. He was reared with loving care and attention in the midst of luxuries. In due course, he grew to be a handsome youth and as such started being called Ilachikumar. His parents were now eager to have him get married. Being the only son in a well-to-do family, many people were interested in having their daughters marry Ilachikumar. His parents prepared a list of selected names and asked Ilachikumar to choose the one that he liked the most. However, Ilachikumar could not make a selection.

One day a party of acrobats came to the town. In those days there were no stadiums where acrobats could play. They had to show their skills on the open streets. Beating drums in a token of their arrival, acrobats planted poles in an open area off the main street and connected them with ropes. Many people assembled there to watch the show. The acrobats ascended the pole one after another and started demonstrating their skill by playing on the rope. They were walking and jumping over the high rope. People were very fascinated by the performance. Ilachikumar also had come there to watch the show. While watching the performance of the acrobats his attention was drawn to the young girl of the acrobat chief . She looked very beautiful and was dancing very gracefully to the tune of the drums with ringing jingle bells on her feet. Ilachikumar was so mesmerized by her beauty and charm that he could not move his eyes from her.

At the end of the show, the acrobats came down the rope and started collecting money from the people who had assembled for the show. People were very pleased with the performance and paid handsomely. Thus collecting a goodly amount of money, the acrobats left the place and everyone went home. Ilachikumar also had to go home. He was however so fascinated by the girl that he remained absorbed with thoughts about her and could not think of anything else. At lunchtime, his parents called him to join them. There too, he remained silent and finished lunch without uttering a single word. His parents had never seen him so serious and wondered about his absent-mindedness. His father asked him about the reason for his seriousness but he kept quiet. After the father left, the mother lovingly asked him to speak about whatever was on his mind. Ilächikumar said that it was no use telling her about it. As she repeatedly asked him, he finally replied that his heart was attracted to the acrobat girl and he wanted to marry her.

His mother was taken aback to hear that. She said that she could get him very beautiful and lovable girls from well-to-do families and asked him to forget the wretched acrobat girl. He replied that no other girl would attract him and he wanted to marry only that girl. Realizing the firmness of his mind, the mother told her husband about their son’s intentions. Dhandatta was shocked to hear this. He tried to dissuade the son from his intention but Ilachikumar remained firm. Dhandatta was a sensible man. He could see that Ilächikumar would not be at peaceful without that girl. He did not want to lose his son for the sake of prestige. He therefore called the chief of acrobats and requested him to give his daughter in marriage to Ilachikumar.

The acrobat, however, said that he could not do that because he was bound by the convention of his tribe. Dhandatta thought that he might be looking for money for the girl. He therefore offered to give as much wealth as the acrobat wanted for agreeing to marry his daughter to his son. The acrobat however declined his offer and replied that he could not break the convention. Dhandatta then asked him about his tribal convention. The acrobat said that he could give his daughter only to the person who could win an award from a royal court by pleasing the king with his acrobatic skill and would give dinner to his community from the prize money. Dhandatta was disappointed to hear that because it was apparently impossible for his son to fulfill that condition. He explained to his wife what had happened. She called her son and said that the girl would marry only to an expert acrobat and asked him to forget her.

Ilachikumar did not give any reply. He however could not change his mind. He felt that he would not be able to survive without the girl and was willing to make any sacrifice for her. He was even prepared to learn acrobatic skilsl for that purpose. His parents were baffled by his silence but thought that he would come to his senses in due course. They felt confident that Ilachikumar could never become an expert acrobat. As Ilächikumar continued to remain absent minded, they tried to divert his mind. All their efforts failed and Ilachikumar stayed bent upon getting that girl somehow. When the acrobat group decided to leave Ilavardhan, Ilachikumar secretly slipped out of his home and left town along with them.

He discarded his fancy clothes and donned the coarse clothes of the acrobats. He started learning their skill. He was smart and used all his diligence to learn acrobatics. The girl fell in love with him and helped him in all possible ways to learn the skill. With her help, he easily mastered the skill and soon became an expert acrobat. When the group reached the city of Benatat, he requested the father of the girl to organize a show at the royal court there. Thereafter, the chief went to the king and requested him to watch the performance of the young acrobat and to award a suitable prize, if it was thought fit.

The king agreed and accordingly the acrobats fixed the poles in the compound of the royal palace where the officers of the state and elite of the city were invited to watch the performance. The king occupied his seat in the balcony of the palace. Bowing to him, Ilächikumar went over the pole and then jumping onto the rope, he started displaying his acrobatic skill. He walked on the rope with ease and grace. He also performed risky jumps and somersaults. It was a superb performance. No one had ever watched such acrobatic feats. Every one was highly fascinated by his skill. Ilachikumar felt gratified by the appreciation of the people. He thought that it was enough to please the king as well He came down and bowed to the king again and requested an appropriate award.

However, the king was more fascinated with the young girl than the performance. He thought that he could easily gain her if he somehow got rid of the acrobat. He therefore pretended that his mind was occupied with the problems of the state and he could not give attention to the performance. He requested Ilächikumar to show his skill again. Accordingly, Ilachikumar got on the rope again and displayed his skill. At the end of that show the king pretended to be drowsy and asked him to do the performance again. Ilächikumar could not believe it. He suspected that there was something wrong somewhere. However, since he was keen to gain his long cherished goal of marryingthe girl, he decided to try again.

He again started the ropewalk, which to him was as easy as walking on the ground. He triumphantly looked around. From that height he noticedthat a beautiful woman was offering sweet food to a monka little distance away. She was in the prime of her youth and was very attractive and highly graceful. Ilachikumar was surprised to observe that the monk was not even looking at her. He was amazed to see that while he himself was hankering for the acrobat girl, the monk remained totally unaffected in the presence of the lovely woman. He was struck by the detachment of the monk. He compared the girl of his choice with that woman. The acrobat girl was no doubt attractive but the woman was far more attractive. What was the force that kept the monk aloof in the presence of that woman? In addition, while remaining aloof, happiness was evident on his face! This detachment of the monk raised a quick train of thoughts in the mind of Ilächikumar.

“How come I do not get detached even though I have been repeatedly asked by the king to show the performance!” He recalled the excuses of the king for making him perform on the rope again and again. He suspected that the king was in all probability attracted to the girl and was waiting for him to fall from the rope. “In that case I will never secure the girl for whom I have abandoned my home and my parents.” The happiness that he was looking for was an illusion. At home, he had been somewhat exposed to religious principles. He had learned about the soul within the body and its immense capabilities. He realized that his achievements as an acrobat must have been due to that inner capability. That monk could remain unaffected because he remained tuned to his soul and stayed vigilant about the pitfalls. “As an acrobat I also have to remain constantly vigilant because the slightest unawareness on my part can result in a fall from the high rope and result in my death. Why then should I not use the same vigilance for the sake of spiritual uplift?”

He had treaded a long path of spiritual pursuit in an earlier life. The impact of that achievement was lying subdued within waiting for an opportunity to manifest itself. The sight of the monk provided the needed catalyst. He became fully awakened realizing that he was the soul and all the other situations were simply illusory. While on the rope, he dwelt deep into his Self and attained omniscience. Then he quietly climbed down and bid farewell to every one as he left the place.