Questforbrahman
- 1. The Quest For Brahman
- 2. Jignesh was a very curious young man. All the time he was questioning and wondering about everything. The thing he wondered about most was Brahman, the creator. Jignesh wasn’t sure if Brahman existed or not.
- 3. Jignesh lived in a place called Mohenjo-Daro, which is in India. Everyone who lived there strictly believed in and worshipped Brahman, except Jignesh. Jignesh’s brother, Naruna, looked down upon Jignesh for this. He called him an “ignorant being”. Jignesh wasn’t offended by this, for he knew that curiosity was much different than ignorance.
- 4. Everyone in Mohenjo-Daro knew about the pool in the center of the city. When children were very young, their mothers would tell them to never go near the pool, because it consisted of evil waters. There was a legend that if you fell in, evil spirits would devour you and keep you from ever being united with Brahman.
- 5. Many days Jignesh and his family would hear of several instances where the king, who was also a priest, would drown citizens of Mohenjo-Daro in the pool if they disobeyed the laws he enforced.
- 6. King Narayan was disliked by many because of his tendency to be very close-minded. He forced all citizens to go to temple every week, and celebrate all Hindu holidays. If they demonstrated disapproval of the religion they would be punished, and sometimes even killed.
- 7. One day Jignesh was at temple with his family, of course against his will. King Narayan happened to be the priest at his family’s temple. Jignesh was having trouble listening to Narayan talk about Brahman like he was so surely existant, so Jignesh took out his book and tried to focus on the words on the page.
- 8. Naruna noticed that Jignesh wasn’t paying attention so he snatched his book away, and failed to be inconspicuous about it. King Narayan saw and shot an angered look at Jignesh.
- 9. After the service, the King approached Jignesh. He asked him why he had been reading during the speeches. Jignesh told him that he hadn’t agreed with some of the things that were being said, and decided to focus on something else that wouldn’t make him as tense. This made the Priest-King livid. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and held it against Jignesh’s neck.
- 10. The king threatened Jignesh, telling him to admit that Brahman existed or to succumb to execution. Jignesh refused to lie about what he believed, even if it meant death. King Narayan eventually slashed Jignesh’s neck and left him to die in the pool in the middle of town.
- 11. As Jignesh’s life slowly slipped away, he gave in.