Meetei Puya and Meetei tradition

Longjam Devadutta *

Meetei traditional culture, spiritual sites and custom are all written in the puya and some are unwritten. Many important events and incidents, that are definitely going to happen in the near future are also predicted in the puya with aphorism and ambiguous statements.

Puya is the Holy literature of meeteis. The words in the puya are the utterances of supreme being who was neither born nor dies even though he had appeared in the human form as human being and that is why he was called SIDABA. He was the manifestation of supreme one, Almighty God, Creator of the universe and he had to accomplish the purpose of his manifestation at any moment to many forms at any place as he desires.

All human gods are born and they are the incarnations of supreme one and all had expired. Puyas are written by human Gods with the knowledge of supreme being. Some puyas also are written by god - like preceptors with the knowledge of human gods. Now-a-days there are many books in the name of puya fabricated by men.

The words and statements of puya are ambiguous and full of aphorisms. For example the statement of puyas -

"closing of western gate opening of eastern gate" - i.e. Nongchup Pan Thingba Nongpok Natei Kangba in the spiritual language (lai lon), and Nongchup Thong Thingba Nongpok Thong Hangba in the ordinary language (Singlup Lon) can only be interpreted by a preceptor having the grace of god.

It is not the geographical east or west. It is not the east or west showing the direction of places, etc. It is not the bridge constructed over the rivers and it is also not related with the door of any building. In no way it is related with any state highway or international highway nor it is related with the opening of any international highway connecting different countries. It may be the spiritual door of the west or the east. It might have link with the entry of Mr. Shanti Das Gosai from Bengal (now under Bangladesh) before about three generations from now, to our holy land - Land of God - LAIGI LEIPAK-SANA LEIPAK. There may be only one spiritual east and the rest may be the spiritual west. No ordinary human being can give the limit of NONGCHUP THONG NONGPOK THONG. It may be difficult to interpret the spiritual meaning of the above statement but preceptors having the grace of god know it very well.

Meitei Puya

Some extracts from the puya and from the discourse of other scholars, experts. etc are mentioned below.

1. Religion is vital for existence but to the real and pure Yaihan (Lainingba, Sadhu) who can live without food and water for many years there is no religion. Such Sadhus can live on earth as long as they desire but it is very difficult and tedious to find and see them.

However as good luck would have it if a person finds such a Sadhu the person will get fruit immediately and all the diseases of the person, if any, will be cured. Some persons who had dared to face death of offering their souls to god for spiritual reasons had seen such Sadhus.

One preceptor Mayengbam Ebotomba, also known as Brahmachari from Wabgai Kadachit once met two such Sadhus at Koubru hill top before about fifty two years from now. Both Sadhus did not look like mee-tei. However Brahmachari asked the senior Sadhu in me-eteilon, "How old are you Baba".

Sadhu replied, "only two years old". Brahmachari was surprised and thought without expressing any word - how the aged Baba can only be two years old. Sadhu further said, "Taibang gi chahi natte laigi chahini" (It is not human age it is spiritual year). Brahmachari again asked, "how long you will be living Baba" (kayam kuina hingkhigani).

Sadhu replied, "....till idle of breathing" (Ningsa honba tandri-faoba). Senior aged Sadhu was not moving at all from the place he was sitting and he did not eat/take anything for last so many days but the young Sadhu was eating hill earth (chenabak) and small plant fruit (kangrou) by moving around.

Brahmachari further asked "...which god you are worshipping, Baba". Sadhu said very politely, "we are not worshipping 'That" you are.... we are worshipping Ei Kouba Mapu...we are coming here to see the ............. that you have left ......."

2. Human life is rare to get and human birth is not ea-sily born. Many married couples are not able to get any child even after many years of couple life. There are thousands of birds, animals, insects, fishes, etc and all are having god inside them. All human beings must love each other because the souls inside their physical body are the same i.e. God inside them are the same. Is there any difference between God (soul) inside the cow and God inside human body or between God inside Tomba or Chaoba and God inside Bolai or Nityai ?

3. Nobody knows what will happen today and what will be tomorrow and particularly what will be the fate in the next moment but the self (God) inside the body knows it. One should not forget the self. If he remembers the self at least during the three times of the day i.e. dawn, noon and dusk, he may get his blessing at the precarious moment. The supreme master enshrined inside the body only knows the sorrows and sufferings of human being.

4. Life is not for today only and birth is not for once only. Life is to be spent for a long time by saying today, tomorrow with devotion to the supreme master who is driving the blood inside the body (Ebuthoubiriba) making the breath inside the body (Ningsabu Honbiriba), blowing the wind outside by making day and night and also giving the last birth present birth and next birth.

5. Of all the wealth available in this world the wealth of devoting the supreme master, who is giving the wisdom by shining inside the body is the most important. One should devote by giving full concentration with mind, thought, body and soul. The habit of giving full attention with all the senses while working, studying or worshipping will develop the health and by keeping this habit with constant vigil the instinct of hankering after the outside objects by the senses will gradually reduce.

6. Character and behaviour is the lamp of life. One's own behaviour or character and style or way of talking should not hurt the feeling of others. More important is that one's own habit or personal internal secret shall not give trouble to its own body or shorten its life.

7. The supreme one who is formless and birthless appears on earth by assuming various forms out of his will and also incarnates in the world from time to time for the purpose of protecting (i) Yairon (Dharma) (ii) those who follow it and also to destroy the wicked who threaten it.

8. Spiritual knowledge is the basis and culmination of all knowledge and must be devoted to impart that knowledge knowing which everything else becomes known. Even Japanese management lays emphasis on spiritual values. For the management of big scheme or project the authority must first lay emphasis on the original spiritual values related with the aborigines of the place.

9. People used to say, "God is only one". But there are so many Laishang for different sects say pagoda, church, temple, mosque, etc. Devotees of one sect are not performing their Laining Laishon at the Laishang of other sect. It is a tradition that every community on earth is performing all its religions rites in its own traditional way inside its own Laishang. In this context the vision of 'only one God' is not seen.

10. Spiritual value is always related with the original religion of the community. Our Holy places, our Divine places and our sacred places of spiritual interest are always related with the god and goddesses of meetei not with the god and goddesses of Greek community nor with that of the Hindus.

Everybody knows our holy places and Divine Abodes had been given the fictitious names of other's faith e.g.
Hiyangthang Ereima Lairembi (Ma Basanty/Durga Ma),
Nongmaiching (Baruni),
Mongbahanba Umanglen (Mahabali),
Sangkai Kaina Yumpham at Kaina (Yairipok) -
sacred Divine place of Eputhou Pakhangba (Laipham of other's faith) Engoulok -
Kwalok -
Thongam Montum -
Koubru Laikha (Mahadeva) etc.

The above holy places of meetei had been in their divine abodes since the period of Leishem Chak (Shristy Yug) i.e. at the time of creation of mother earth before human gods/human beings were born. Now the time has come that our intellectuals, our respected resource persons and high status people must know the quality of our original spiritual value.

11. We are not against any religion. We respect all religions. We respect the faith of any community and we also regard the rights and tradition of all religions. However when we talk about our own Laining Laishon with malice towards none some people call us 'Fundamentalist', many intellectuals term us 'Religious Extremist' some had blamed us with pretext that we are building 'communal feeling' and even some authority called us 'fanatic/communal group'.

It is very unfortunate for both. Is there any community in this world who has shown its own culture and tradition as that of others' faith by suppressing its own Identity ? Is there any community in this world who has performed its own religious functions and rites by using the language of other's faith discarding its own mother language? Yes, there is. There is a peculiar community in this world surrounded by nine rows of hill.

Is there any one who can look into the collapsing behaviour and manners of people related with the deteriorating divine culture and tradition from its further damage and detrimental effects in the name of development and modern civilisation, say adopting and imitating the tradition of other's faith at the cost of one's community e.g. one of many examples, a very petty example say Biren Chongtham, Brajakumar Luwang, A.K. Fernandes (Where AK from Akoijam)

12. Almost all the people of the world are very much particular in naming their kids as name shows (i) the nation (ii) dynasty (iii) community (iv) clan and (v) identity. So it is customary that name of the person should be in accordance with the traditional ancestral names of the respective community or society. Addition, alteration etc., in the names deviating from the traditional ancestral names are not usually done in any society.

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* Longjam Devadutta wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was webcasted at e-pao.net on 06th October 2009.

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