Buddha Smiled Poem by Dr 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 halted 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 its myriad cells

In a blinding flash
Third Eye blinked open
in a momentous quake
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.


*******

(The poem won Commendation First Prize in All India Poetry Competition 2013.)


Note: "Smiling Buddha" was the code name of India's first ever nuclear explosion at the Pokhran Test Range on May 18,1974 at 8: 05 am.)

Ida & Pingala: - Subtle energy channels in human body, corresponding to Active and Passive principles, in Indian Yoga philosophy.

Yin & Yang: - The Male and Female principles (opposite, yet complementary)in Chinese philosophy

Shiva & Shakti: - The masculine and feminine aspects of God/truth/reality - latent Transcendent Knowledge and its manifest Creative Power

Anahata: - Continuously soothing astral sound heard at the Heart Plexus by a deeply meditating person (lit. "unstruck sound")

Kundalini: - Coiled spiritual power lying dormant at the base of the spine.

Infant & Big Boy: - Allusion to "Little Boy" and "Fat Man", the two nuclear bombs detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, in August 1945.