Kathmandu, April 29: “Meditate! Keep on meditating!”, Guru Marpa exhorts his foremost disciple Milarepa whenever they happen to meet. If Guru Marpa, to his disciples, was known to be a taciturn teacher who always uttered cryptic exhortations, then Milarepa was the ever-zealous disciple.
For Marpa, like all religious Gurus, wanted to put Milarepa through a baptism of faith so that his chosen disciple would be spiritually perfect before he finally transmits his spiritual power and knowledge to him.
Milarepa, being the conscientious disciple, strives his very utmost to live up to his Guru Marpa’s exhortations. However, for Milarepa, following his unpredictable Guru’s instructions in both letter and spirit was easier said than done. In order to find a congenial environment to do continuous meditation, Milarepa heads for the vast mountainous wilderness. There, sans food and shelter, he engages in severe meditation. For food, he depended on nettles and for shelter, the caves and the cliffs.
On top of all this, Milarepa’s Guru, Marpa, not only asks him to undergo one severe penance or the other whenever Milarepa goes to meet his Guru for further spiritual instructions, but also keeps silent to all his chosen disciple’s repeated pleas to reveal to him the Ultimate Truth.
The songs of Milarepa, are said to be the virtual outcome of Guru Marpa’s adamant silence on the one hand and Milarepa’s deep yearning for spiritual awakening and fulfilment on the other.
Milarepa’s anguish, self-doubts, trails and tribulations, joys and sorrows, even after so many centuries, are well-known to the Tibetan people and the Nepalese communities living in the trans-Himalayan region of the nation. The main reason being the popularity of Milarepa’s songs which, till date, are still sung and, where possible, enacted out in dramas among these communities.
For Kathmanduites, the Studio 7 has come up with a drama production for the year 2000 entitled “The 100,000 Songs of Milarepa”. It may be noted that last year, Studio 7 produced a drama depicting the life story of youthful Milarepa and his determination to undo the sad load of “black deeds” he had done during his life time.
The drama, being enacted in the Naga Theatre of Hotel Vajra, not only succeeds in portraying Milarepa’s trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows but also helps to create the right emotional atmosphere for the viewers. While the main messages of the drama—the preciousness of life and for a determined person, nothing is impossible—do get through to the audience due to the histrionics of the actors and actresses, the choreography should also be commended in that the costumes, clothes and stage never fail to transport the spectators to Milarepa’s time, clime and place. Especially when the story unfolds as Milarepa goes out to the wide wilderness in search of Ultimate Truth. There, he encounters demons, gods, beasts and men from all walks of life and enchants and comforts them with his Songs of Wisdom. And to help the audience attune to the drama are Chiring Jhurme and Chiring Paljor who not only sing Milarepa’s songs (in Tibetan language, of course!) but also play Tibetan percussion instruments like the “damboyen”, “ghywang”, “pewang” and the “lidbu” (flute). However, the only discordant part of the drama—which, apart from the songs sung in Tibetan, is in English—is that one needs to get attuned to the varying versions of English dialogues being delivered by the actors and actresses. Maybe it is due to the mix cast—both expatriates and Nepalis—of the production.
Nevertheless, the Studio 7’s drama is worth seeing by Kathmanduites and expatriates alike. The next shows are on April 30, Sunday; May 5, Friday; May 6, Saturday and May 7, Sunday.