The penance of Buddha boy in Nepal 2

We are in Pattharkot in the

Sarlahi district, at a site that has beenprepared for the Maha Matri WorldPeace Puja, where tens of thousands ofdevotees from all over Nepal, and theworld, have come to see and receiveGuru’s blessing. Not that it is essentialto be in his direct presence; many haveclaimed profound transformationseven at a distance, purely byassociation with him in thought andheart.Guru’s devotees extend far and wide,with many having become acquaintedwith his teachings on his website.Often, his followers have the dramaticstories to tell. Beside his broader baseof supporters, Guru has his regularcore devotees—made up of Nepalis aswell as foreigners—who say they havebeen singled out to form his vanguardor sangha, an entity charged withspreading dharma.It was at age 15 that Guru firstvanished into the jungles of Nepal, toensconce himself in the hollow trunk ofa giant peepal tree, to meditate, hesaid, in penitential atonement for thesins of the world, and pray for itsdeliverance from suffering andignorance. For six years, and oftenbefore the media’s prying eyes, he’sbelieved to have gone on without foodor water, evolving thereon from anordinary boy into the manifest divinitynow able to the touch the hearts of somany around the world.He had started out under his ordainedname—Palden Dorje—andsubsequently acquired various titles,reflecting his advance towardsBuddhahood. From Om Namo GuruBuddha Gyani, he was then calledBodhi Shravan Dharma Sangha, andfinally, Maha Sambodhi DharmaSangha or ‘The Great DharmaCongregation of the FullyEnlightened’—an extraordinary titlefor a 21-year-old, especially one as shyand soft-spoken as he, with only afourth-grade education.Guru’s strengthening powers over theyears were dazzling to hear of. Hewent underground at one point,purportedly persisting without air,even undergoing spontaneouscombustion, his robes consumed byfire and hair singed. For an hour, he’ssaid to have danced naked in theflames, holding his ritual bell andvajra. His story was made particularlyfamous worldwide by the DiscoveryChannel’s documentary The Boy withDivine Powers, which had begunfilming 10 months into his mediation,partly an effort to test whether thethen-Palden Dorje was reallyabstaining from food and water. Afterfilming 72 hours from a distance of150 metres, the team was allowed tomove closer to film for another 96hours, all throughout which themeditator did not move one whit.Producers and researchers consulteddoctors and scientists, who all affirmedthat the human body could not bearwater deprivation for more than fourdays. But there he was, doing just that,not merely surviving, but thriving,becoming healthier and morebeautiful as his divine attributesunfolded, and the secrets andunderstanding of the entire universewere revealed to him.But in almost direct proportion to thisgrowing fame worldwide, localopposition to Guru has been mountingfrom influential sectors, with whatseems to be an intent to suppress, ifnot eradicate, the phenomenon.But his influence, nevertheless, hascontinued to soar. The scale of thepuja in Pattharkot—presently the soleearthly refuge for the Guru and hisnascent sangha—stands as evidence tothis. The air here is alive withchanting, music, and the smell ofincense. There aren’t many facilitiesfor devotees, to be sure, but there is apervading sense of peace and serenitythat compensate for any lack ofmaterial comforts—it is anundercurrent that binds us all, localsand outsiders, regardless of where wecome from, the language we speak.An American devotee with bright blueeyes hidden behind horn-rimmedglasses, sporting a long mustache andbeard, and clad in a loose dhoti andshirt is sitting on the ground eating. Heis known here for the tasty salads hewhips up, of the kind you can’t find inlocal kitchens. A woman from NewZealand, a clairvoyant medium andclairsentient, finds her visions comealive at certain points, and claims thepuja site vibrates with an energy farhigher than anywhere she’s been tobefore, bestowed with an energy thatis inducing profound changes andtransforming those in attendance. Wealso have, among foreign devotees, the‘Crystal Children’, who work on higherspiritual planes to heal. From dawn todusk, little groups meditate togetheron puja grounds. The followers are onein their devotion to Guru, and in theircommitment to study and spread hisword. They are all perfectly happy,perfectly at peace in this cocoon ofGuru’s making.When asked during a meeting in 2010if his teachings pertained to Buddhismor Hinduism, Guru had replied thatwhat he represented was BodhiDharma, which included all religions.“No one is excluded,” he hademphasised.In this sense, Maha Sambodhi DharmaSangha could very well be one ofNepal’s gifts to the world. All of Guru’sdevotees testify that he really is thethe greatest gift to humanity sinceGautam Buddha 2500 years ago. Guru’sfollowers exhibit a profound love andtrust in him, each professing to havefound in him a certainty, a clarity thatthey felt lacking in the worldotherwise.This is what brought young Q here allthe way from his native France,spurred as he was by the desire towash himself of falsehoods andembrace the Guru’s truth, to knowMaitreya, the Buddha of this Age. “Thevery first time I heard aboutMaitreya,I knew instantly that my path led

straight to him.”

From AdiBaBa