The Legend of Vazhumuni, Our Friendly Thief in the Neighborhood
Soon after coming to Auroville, I had an encounter with Vazhumuni, a legendary thief who lived in the neighbourhood. Everyone knew him like a shadow in the forest. He made us befriend our own shadows, the primordial fears that lurk in the dark. Perhaps that was his function given by the Divine mother to train her children who came from all over the world to build her city, the city of dawn.
Sri Aurobindo began Savitri, his mantric portal to the New World, with this mysterious hint.
“It was the hour before the gods awake”
The hour is darkest before dawn and when people like me groping through the dark find our way to Auroville, the most reliable source of power in that journey is faith.
Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.
- Tagore
It is a foreknowledge that you will find your way, you are heading for something marvellous. You may be in the dark, haunted by fears, but your faith keeps you going.
Vazhumuni’s visits were in fact not during the hour before dawn, he came long before Brahma muhurta, the auspicious hour of Brahman. One of the blessings of taking birth in India is that you inherit her culture quite effortlessly and the notion of Brahma muhurta was one such, the most auspicious time for inner progress before the dawn.
“It was the hour before the gods awake”
Being an Indian, and well-immersed in Indian culture, Vazhumuni knew that he shouldn’t be challenging Brahma, in his hour of benediction. After all, it was not the nature of Vazhumuni to wait patiently for people or the gods to give him what he needs, he knew exactly what he wanted and he had no issues taking it without asking anyone’s permission. He knew his job well and practised it diligently.
After all, the Charter of Auroville says “Auroville belongs to no one in particular, Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole” and Vazhumuni was putting it into practical applications in his own innovative ways. Perhaps we can still wonder what would Vazhumuni say about the second line that says “But to live in Auroville you must be a willing servitor of divine consciousness.’
Whom did Vazhumuni serve?
Rudraprasnam says “taskaranam pataye namo namah” which means bowing down to the lord of thieves! This lord is none other than Shiva. So as far as Indian tradition is concerned, the matter is settled. Vazhumuni has powerful allies, even if he keeps a good distance from Brahma, the creator godhead, his lord is Shiva, fully legitimised by the tradition.
So Vazhumuni used to come much early, much before the Brahma muhurta, somewhere between 1 to 3 am. In the cosmic working of people’s destiny, everything had its right time, even thieves had their auspicious time for getting good results for their risky endeavour.
The first thing Vazhumuni does when he breaks into an Aurovilian’s house is to go straight to the kitchen. He knew Maslow’s hierarchy of needs instinctively, food first, safety and security need first, and self-actualisation can come much later. Once entered he will keep the door wide open so that he can run away anytime easily if the situation demands. Once settled, he will search the kitchen for food. He knew exactly his needs, unlike people who are always confused by the question “what do I really want in my life?” Auroville is actually full of people who are desperately searching for something that they can’t really find. You may call it self-actualisation or spiritual needs, but to be so desperate is quite different from being a Vazhumuni who knows exactly what he needs.
Vazhumuni was also friendly, if the victim of his adventure at night was way too scared, he will talk to them — perhaps to strike a deal. I came to know about this from a woman who used to live alone in the Bliss forest in a hut. Vazhumuni used to visit her hut and perhaps by his disappointment of not finding any food there, he will express his displeasure by murmuring stuff that was loud enough for her to hear but not clear enough for her to understand exactly what he was trying to communicate. Trembling with fear she would listen carefully and even try to talk back to him without much success in arriving at an amicable social contract that will be a win-win for both of them. This was the situation when I arrived in Auroville.
I met her in a common dining hall where she used to taunt a serious sadhak who was in his late fifties. She will ask him to come and stay with her in the Bliss forest so that it will be a good protection for her against Vazhumuni. But the man used to feel embarrassed and shrink and she would say loudly knowing his discomfort “Look, you don’t have to have sex with me” and laugh seeing him mumbling for an answer. When she came to know that I was looking for a place to stay and I had no money to offer she readily invited me to Bliss and I took it as an act of Grace.
I still remember cycling with her to Bliss forest and coming to that little clearing where stood this lovely hut. It was love at first sight.
My soul was leaping out with joy and I knew this is it.
But then she said this was her hut and she will show me another one nearby. It was a much smaller one of size around 10x10 feet where you can comfortably sleep. I was happy nevertheless, at last, I have a place to sleep without having to worry about the rentals. She told me about Vazhumuni and hoped that with my presence he may not trouble her. But that was not meant to be.
Within a few weeks, one midnight, I woke up from sleep hearing her screaming, calling out my name for help. I knew Vazhumuni was around and it was my hour of heroism. I saw myself shouting in high decibels with deep gutturals “What happened? I am coming, I am coming…” as if a powerful saviour was coming to help her.
I ran to her hut in the dark through a thin trail covered by trees and I could distinctly feel a part of me desperately hoping for him to run away. Perhaps that was precisely the reason for my shouting loudly so that he can run away thinking that I am a powerful man who is going to grab him. That will be a win-win-win game for all of us. Vazhumuni will not be caught, she will be saved from theft, and I will be a hero with the least effort.
What if I had gone to her hut quietly with the intention of catching Vazhumuni? That was way too scary for me to execute, physically I had never felt adequately strong to deal with thugs and bullies. Even during my school days, I kept a safe distance from the bullies. Now in the middle of the night, I was supposed to catch a thief?
I had always imagined thieves to be muscular and well built, and of course, with a moustache curved like a horn, like Veerachi Balan and carrying a deadly knife. You probably don’t know about Veerachi Balan, unlike world famous thieves whom our media celebrates, he was a local thief in the village where I grew up in Kerala. I still remember the night when my brother secretly told me on our way to a temple festival, pointing at a muscular man with a moustache who had a knife in its case well displayed on his waist belt — “That is Veerachi Balan!”.
He looked deadly, I secretly glanced at him with awe, and my nerves tensed with fear. It was quite a different experience than standing in front of a deity in a temple. Fear had such immense power, the moment was grabbed and etched in my memory by something in me, with all its associated sensations and emotions.
Now it was my turn in life to confront Veerachi Balan or Vazhumuni. The name doesn’t matter, the character is the same, a universal archetype.
My body was running towards her hut but my nerves and feelings were praying for Vazhumuni to run away.
Yes, the miracle happened!
By the time I reached he had run away and she was quite relieved. She said you sounded really like a big and powerful man, he will not come back again.
I was relieved, it would have been terribly embarrassing for me if Vazhumuni stood back to greet me.
What if he said “Hi, I am Vazhumuni”
Fortunately, that is not how such games are designed, the thief is supposed to run away and you should always give that chance. He knew the plot, and we all played it well and felt amazing.
Life was good.
But then, Vazhumuni took revenge.
One evening when I came back to my hut, I saw that the small metal trunk in which I had kept my little belongings was broken open and thrown aside. Most things were gone, including a pair of formal clothes that I had kept in case I need to look civilised. I had a small Philips Word Band radio and a calculator, everything was gone.
I was free from all my possessions, whatsoever I had carried with me.
Suddenly I knew I was initiated into a new way of living, a new degree of freedom.
The lady went to Auroville’s free store and brought me a few pairs of clothes.
I was getting initiated into the mystery of becoming and being a true Aurovilian.
Thanks to Vazhumuni and the woman who lived alone.
