Chapter 8

kṛṣṇa-hasta-saṃsthānam

The Black Hand Club

guru-kāṣṭhamaya-dvāra-vivaraṇena

Opening the dark heavy wooden door,

īṣad-prakāśita-bhūmikā adhastād nītvā

a dimly lit landing lead downward

bṛhan-mṛṇmaya-cakra-sopāṇam prati

to a wide spiral stone staircase

gevakula-gambhīratvam avatarati.

descending into the depths of the monastery .

Dakṣiṇapakṣe bṛhattare gacchati saḥ,

He kept to the wider right side of the staircase,

Śanaiḥ śanaiḥ adhastād-gatiṃ anubhavan,

slowly feeling his way down the worn stone,

dakṣiṇahastena pratidhṛtyātmānam bāhya-bhittim spṛśati.

and steading himself with his hand against the outer wall.

Alpa-dīpikā bhittyām sthāpitā

A small oil lamp inset into the wall

itastataḥ kimcit bhāti .

at irregular intervals was the only light.

Śītala-dṛṣad vicitrasvarūpikāsīt …

The cold stone had an odd texture….

prastarakaṇair añjanacarmeva.

pebbled like the skin of a lizard.

Parantu sikthamayalepanenopari.

but with a waxy coating.

Vartulam paribhaman avastāt sopānam gatvā

Turning round and round going down the stairs,

Saḥ kimcid naṣṭaḥ anubhavitum prārabdhaḥ.

he was beginning to feel a little disoriented.

Antataḥ prakoṣṭhā vivṛtā purataḥ,

At last, a room opened before him.

Jyotiḥ balataraṃ āsīt.

The light was brighter.

Katipayāḥ kāṣṭhamayapīṭhikāḥ mahākabandhāś ca.

Several wooden benches and a few large barrels.

Sapta muṇḍāḥ purastāt sthitavantaḥ

Seven bald people were before him.

pṛṣṭhataḥ īṣāt-śrutā gīraḥ āsan

Indistinct voices in the background

Anyajanopasthitim nirdiṣṭāḥ.

indicated the presence of others.

Jak svadakṣiṇahastaṃ dṛṣṭavān…..

Jack looked at his right hand…….

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Jack etat yavasurā-śītakaraṃ sthānam asti .

This place is beer cooler temperature.

kutra ca yavasurā bhavati ?

And where’s the beer ?

Sergei aham asatyam vacmi . yavasurā nāsti.

I lied. There is no beer.

atra kevalam cāyam bhaṅgās ca vartate .

There is only tea and cannabis. c1

J sādhu, aham tena jīveya .

OK , I can live with that.

S mām anugaccha . tat svasevanam eva asti atra.

Follow me. It is self serve here.

roṭikā uttamā atra asti.

The bread is absolutely the best.

J cāyam uṣṇīkṛnuyāt naḥ.

The tea should warm us.

S ām, adhunā āvām adāva pibāva ca.

Yes, now we2 will-eat and drink .

niścitam roṭikām svīkṛnu.

Definitely try the bread.

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roṭikā bahuvāram piṅgala-vastrāvṛtā āsīt.

the bread was wrapped many times in brown cloth.

tasyāḥ suṣṭhu vivaraṇam nāryāḥ iva apaveṣṭanam adṛśyata

watching it being unwrapped,

was like watching an exquisite striptease.

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śīta-pīṭhikāyām upaviśan,

sitting on a cold bench,

vṛddhe kāṣṭhamaya-kabandhe utpīṭhikāyām iva.

at an old wood barrel for a table.

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J ete janāḥ nidrāluh dṛśyante, mūḍhaḥ iva

These people appear sleepy , spaced out .

S te śirastrāṇi akhiladinam dhārayanti, sambhāvyam

They have probably had their skull caps on all day.

yadā te niyuktāḥ santi tadā mānasikaḥ caityabhāgaḥ

When they are jacked-in,

bahirgantum yantram ca praveṣṭum śaknoti.

the conscious part of their mind,

may leave their brain and enter the machine.

Arias teṣām cetanam prāptum prayatnam karoti.

Arias is trying to use their consciousness to become conscious .

ete janāḥ kalpitajagat kṛṇvanti ,

These people are building a virtual world ,

arias A.I. kartum iti abhiprāyaḥ (arthaḥ)

with the aim to make Arias an A.I.

parābuddhiḥ nūtananagaraṃ Tibet-bhāvena saha bhavati.

ParaBuddhi is a modern city with a Tibetan flavor.

bahūn janān atra ānetum iti yatāmahe.

We want to attract as many people as possible .

teṣām manāṃsi niyojayāmaḥ sambhāvyam api cetanam.

We are using their minds and hopefully their consciousness .

anyāni samsthānāni samānaṃ kurvanti

Other Hubs are doing much the same .

sarvasya samsthānasya svanagaram grāmāś ca santi.

Each Hub has its own city and countryside.

tvam mitrāṇi śatrūn api ca kartum samarthaḥ.

You can make friends and enemies.

pradhānatamām anveṣaṇa-karaṇārtham gantuṃ śaknoṣi.

And most importantly you can go on quests.

anveṣaṇam asti yatra asmākam kāryam kṛṇumaḥ

The quests are where we do our thing .

yatra janānām manāṃsi

viśiṣṭaprakāraṇena prayoktum prayatnaṃ kṛṇumaḥ

Where we try to use people’s minds in specific ways .

dhanāni anveṣaṇa-prāptyartham dadmaḥ

We give cash prizes for completing a quest .

mahādhanam spardhām pracodayanti

We encourage competition with large cash prizes .

te bahuvāram āśayā anveṣaṇam prayatnam kṛṇavan

They will hopefully retry the quest many times .

In Para Buddhi ,

kretum vikretum ca śakyate, gṛham me yathā.

You can buy and sell things , like an apartment.

i own one .

J kutaḥ dhanam āgataṃ gṛhārtham ?

Where do you get the money to buy an apartment ?

S ṛṇapattram āvaśyakam

It uses your real credit card .

bahumūlyam asti.

It’s expensive.

samūhāḥ api, teṣām kalpitajagatām prarocanam prabhūtam asti

Also corporations due a lot of advertising in these virtual worlds.

yathā dhaninaḥ bahutarām krīḍanti.

as wealthier people tend play these games.

J prarocanam ?

Advertising ?

S bahavaḥ janāḥ etad anupaśyanti

Lots of people see this stuff.

J Aho bata!

wow

S janāh tvaṃ apaśyaḥ prakoṣṭhe purastāt,

The people you see in this break-room ,

kimcid acetasaḥ bhavanti yadā pratigacchanti svacetanam.

get a little spaced out when they return to their brains.

te atra āgacchanti kimcit cāyam pātum

They come down here to drink some tea

athavā dhūmapānam kartum.

and smoke a little weed.

jānīse, viśramitum kimcit. pratyāgantum iva.

You know. Take a break. Reintegrate

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Muṇḍa-nārī āgacchati.

a bald-headed braless woman comes over

Zofia he śaṃkara, katham asti ?

Hey Sankar , how you doing ?

Sergei samyak

I’m doing well

Jophia, eṣaḥ jack asti

and Zofia , this is Jack.

Z he jack. kim kartum āgatavān atra?

Hi Jack. What brings you here ?

J Kevalam etat sthānam prati.

Just passing through.

Cpu-ānītavantaḥ.

We dropped off some CPUs.

S bhaṅgām ca mā vismara.

And don’t forget the cannabis.

Z deviyās puñya mātṛ

Holy mother of god.

laghu tasya atra asti

We were on rations.

yuvām bālau hasti-kṛtyām pra yuyukṣatathas

Do you boys want a hand job ?

S bhoḥ, katham arias karoti ?

Hey , how are things going with Arias ?

Z samyak karoti.

Going well , i think .

kṣematarām vadati adhunā.

He’s talking more smoothly now.

S kimapi pragati parāmanas-anveṣaṇena ?

Any progress on the Higher Mind quest ?

Z vaditum na śakyate. aham citta-smṛti-śāstram cakara.

Don’t know. I’ve been coding memory associations.

gantum arhāmi upari.

I’ve got to go upstairs.

yuvām bālau anantaram paśyāṇi .

See you boys latter.

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J kimartham vilakṣaṇa-nāmabhiḥ ?

What’s with the weird names ?

rahasye asmākam avatarasya nāmāni bahuśas pra yujāmaḥ

for-secrecy we often use our Avatar names.

J pramattam etat.

This is wild.

tādṛśam kutūhalam jīvanam bhavāti iti ajāni pūrvam.

I had no idea that life would be getting this interesting.

S etat rahasyam asti iti smara mama mitra.

Remember that this is secret my friend.

samūhasya janāḥ asmākam viṣaye bahu na jānanti.

The company men only vaguely know about us.

They think that we are hackers that get together and party .

J aham uttamaḥ rahasyena.

I’m good with secrets.

suṣṭhu, atra badal āgacchati.

Great , here comes Badal.

Badal he puruṣāḥ, tubhyam prokoṣṭham prāpnavam , jack.

Hey guys. I got you a room Jack.

dvāviṃśati-samkhyā dvārasya upari.

It has the number 22 on the door.

J dhanyavādaḥ. sapratyāśam tasmin snānasthānam asti.

Thanks. Hopefully it has a bath.

B paśyata, puruṣāḥ.

Look guys.

te rahasya-prakoṣṭham anu avindan.

They have discovered a hidden room,

tatra katipayāni śatāni buddhagranthānām santi.

It contains several hundred buddhist manuscripts .

Añjan icchan tvam prati-avekṣasva iti

Anjan wants me to check them out.

J Lhasam gacchāmaḥ iti amanye .

I thought we were going to Lhasa.

B granthebhyaḥ tad ālambate adhunā.

It depends on how interesting these books are.

S citram kartum icchāmaḥ pūrvam.

We will want to scan them before they leave.

B niścitam. kṛnu tat.

Sure , Get to it.

katipayāni dināni āvaśyakāni etat kartum.

We will need a couple of days to check them out.

yadi tāni kutūhalāni santi tadā vayam tāni kretum icchāma .

If they are interesting, we will want to buy them.

mama kāryam asti, punardarśanāya

I’ve got work to do. See you guys later.

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āgāmi-prabhāte, parigacchan.

next morning , walking around

J bhoḥ, jophia.

Hi Zofia.

Z he jack. kim kartum icchasi ?

Hey Jack. What are you up to ?

J kevalam bhramāmi atra.

Just walking around.

saptāham atra tiṣṭāmi iti dṛśyate.

Looks like I’ll be here for a week.

Z dhyāna-prakoṣṭham mayā saha gantum icchasi vā?

Would you like to walk me to the meditation room ?

J niścitam, kim tatra kartum icchasi ?

Sure, what do you do there ?

Z sādhu, dhīmahi tatra.

Well , we meditate.

J kim etat ?

And what exactly is that ?

Z tatraiva upaviśāva.

Let’s sit down over there.

tvam dhyānam pūrvam akar vā

Have you ever meditated ?

J na etat manye.

I don’t think so.

aham dharmikaḥ nāsti .

I’m not religious.

Z dhyānārtham dharmikena bhavitum na āvaśyakam

Meditation need not be religious.

prāyaḥ prathamata eva

It is generally excepted that the first step is to,

tava-tmāna matibhyaḥ ākarṣitum āvaśyakam

extricate yourself from the flow of thoughts,

ye adhastāt udgacchanti.

streaming up from the subconscious.

manaḥ śāntam, prakaṭam, buddham, asmin eva kṣaṇe bhavat.

A mind relaxed, clear , awake , in the present moment.

dvitīyam padam śataśaḥ gantum śaknoti.

The second step can go in a hundred ways.

ekataḥ prāṇam, matim

One way might be to ‘ observe ‘

cakṣuḥ śrotram ca avadhātum śakyate.

the breath , thoughts , sights or sounds.

avadhatte avadhānam.

Observe awareness.

anyataḥ bhinnāni vastūni antardraṣṭum śakyate.

Another way might be to visualize various things.

athavā mantram paṭhitum

Or chant a mantra

bījamantrāṇām vā āpam kartum ye guruṇā dattāḥ

Or repeat a seed sound given to you by a guru.

athavā tava bhāvān anyasmai prakāśayitum;

Or project feelings to others

mama sutamam anubhavitum tathā hi jīvitaḥ bhavitum buddhaś ca.

My favorite is to ‘ feel ‘ being alive, awake .

J aham bahu kapimanāḥ asmi dhyānārtham

I may have too much ‘ monkey mind ‘ to meditate.

Z etad mārjanaṃ bhavati.

That’s the rub.

J kim kapimanaḥ asti?

What, ‘ monkey mind ‘ ?

Z ām, 400 pound kapiḥ prakoṣṭhe asti.

Yes, that is the 400 pound gorilla in the room.

gantum adhunā śakyate mayā

Got to go now .

J dhyānārtham prāptiḥ bhavatu, jophia!

Good luck with your meditation Zofia.

Z punar-darśanāya.

See you later.

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granthaprakoṣṭham praviśan

entering manuscript room

Jack he badal, kim adhunā kṛṇoṣi ?

Hi Badal, what are you up to ?

Badal Namaste, jack. aham granthān paṭhāmi.

Hey Jack, I am reading the manuscripts.

J te kutūhalāḥ santi vā?

Are they interesting ?

B bahu kutūhalāḥ santi eva.

They are very interesting.

jñātum icchasi vā kim te vadanti iti ?

Would you like to know what the say ?

J ām, atyadhikam.

Most definitely yes .

B tat atra uktam yat te abhyāsam akṛṇvata

I think what is being said here is that,

they were doing a practice ,

na tu darśanam.

but not a philosophy .

teṣām abhyāsaḥ asti

And the practice is,

viśvāsanivṛttiḥ viṣayeṣu ye pratipattum na śakyante.

the suspension of beliefs in the non-evident ;

suspension of beliefs in matters that can not be substantiated.

āramanti nivartante vā nirṇayam

Ceasing or suspending judgment

yaḥ ādhunikasya anubhavasya parastāt gacchati.

about claims beyond present immediate experiences.

ataḥ saṃśayaḥ anubhūyate

And that the ambiguity felt

yadā kimcit aprakaṭam avyaktaṃ vā dhyāyate

when thinking about non-evident stuff,

duḥkham aśāntim ca kārayati.

causes anxiety and suffering.

sukhataram anubhavitum,

So, to feel happier,

prati-anubhave jīvitum arhati.

one should live in the world of immediate experience,

na viśvasiti asakṣyāsu śraddhāsu.

distrusting unverifiable beliefs.

te vadanti eva yat

They also say that,

tvam vastuprakṛtim anubhavam ca nirṇetum asamarthaḥ.

you can not determine the nature of things and experience,

anyataḥ

in other words ;

tvam vaditum na śaknoṣi etat satyam etat asatyam iti

you can not say that something is or is not,

athavā ubhayau staḥ na staś ca.

or that something both is and is not,

athavā kimapi nāsti, na tu na nāsti.

or that something neither is nor is not.

tvam kevalam

You simply,

dhyānāni asakṣyāṇi asādhayitavyāni ca

shun thoughts of the non-evident or the unsubstantiatable

viramase tathā hi anubhavam adhibhunakṣi.

and enjoy experience.

J sādhu, avagacchāmi iti manye.

OK , I think I understand that .

B atra mama priyatamam asti:

Here’s my favorite one ;

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bhavatu atra neti neti.

be here nowism

śobhā bhavati ‘atra netikaḥ bhavatu iti’ yat

the elegance of being a ‘ be here nowist ‘

atra kaścana viśvāsaḥ na āvaśyakaḥ

is that there need not be any beliefs .

na aśāntiḥ viṣayeṣu sādhayitum āvaśyakī bhavati,

no anxiety over matters needing to be substantiated .

kevalam kṣipa matīḥ bāhyataḥ

simply , shoo away the thoughts .

tathā hi bodhaya ādhunike kṣaṇe eva.

and be awake in the present moment .

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J Lhasam na gacchāmaḥ iti arthaḥ asti vā?

So does this mean that we are not going to Lhasa ?

B saṃbhāvyam. etad sutamam asti.

Probably , This is good stuff .

aham vindai yadi te vikretum icchanti,

I’ll find out if they want to sell them ,

yat ca rebeka kretum icchati tān.

and if Rebecca wants to buy them .

horadvaye aham tvām nivedāni

I’ll let you know in a couple of hours .

J kati pustakāni santi atra ?

How many books are here ?

B na bahūni.

Not too many .

tāni sukhena prakhareṣu upari sthāsyanti.

They should easily load on our mules .

J aham tān sthāpayitum prakhareṣu icchāmi.

I would like to help load the mules ,

sūcaya mām.

so let me know .

B sādhu, sūcayāni

Will do .

J gacchāni pṛcchāmi ca draṣṭum cet arias samarthaḥ asti

I will go and ask , if to-see Arias is possible.

B etat aham na kṛṇuyām , yadi aham tvām āsam

this I would not do if I were you .

op.

J kimartham ?

Why is that ?

B ātmānam prakāśayitum nāvaśyakam.

It will make you known .

janāḥ praśnān prachet tvadviṣaye.

People might start asking questions about you .

Wondering who you are ?

J hum….

B tvam akutūhalabhūt bhava,

If I were you ,

eṣaḥ prakoṣṭhaḥ

I would act uninterested .

ekaḥ bhavati yatra śrotrayantaṃ nāsti saṃbhāvyam.

This might be the only room that is not bugged .

J ohhh…

B europajanaiḥ nṛtyam bhojanam ca kṛṇu.

Go party with the other Europeans .

te manyante yat sarve yūyam mūrkhāḥ santi.

They think you are all degenerates .

J yeh……..

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gurukūlaḥ aṣṭābhiḥ triśata-phut-vāyu-paribhramaiḥ paritaḥ atiṣṭhat.

The monastery was surrounded by 8 , 300 foot wind turbines.

vāyuparibhramāḥ etat sthānam alpam dṛṣṭam akṛṇvan.

The wind turbines made the place seem smaller then it was.

sūryabhāḥ yāḥ vāyuparibhramaiḥ nimiṣanti

tam viśvastum akārayan jagati yat parastāt asti.

They made a soft pleasant very deep hum.

The strobing of sun light caused by the whirling blades,

reassured him of the existence of the world beyond here.

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sā upari hastau udasthāpayat.

She threw up her hands,

kim tad abhavat, cihnam avatartum iti

was she signaling a touch down

athavā sā āliṅganam aicchat iti

or does she want to be hugged ?

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atra krīḍan bhavati

He is a gamer .

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mahyam rocate jīvitum

I like being alive .

athavā jñātum yat aham jīvitaḥ

I like knowing that I am alive .

mahyam rocate yat aham buddhaḥ.

I like feeling awake .

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