Thaipusam Feel

Artist Jeganathan Ramachandram reflects on Thaipusam, the festival in honour of Lord Muruga in this sketch and text.
Tissue paper Art

…this is about Thaipusam…it is about the evolution of the animal instinct that rose from the mind…

…this is about the celebration of the intuitive mind that transcends beyond intellectual limitations.

A friend asked “why do people go into a trance and dance their way to the top of the hill”

“I told him, “trance is quite similar to laughter…when the inner is in joy and experiences pleasure…it will turn into laughter and we move into a state of excitement that will shake the body and our hands and feet will also join in that joy.

When a person is in trance…they transcend the intellect and move into bliss and dance, for the mind rejoices without a thought …everything around ceases to exist and you are one with the energy that unites itself with the conditioned surrounding. This is why loud drum beats are played.

It is this reason they are dancing in a trance like state…they are in union with the self and the environment.

Of course those who are not within that state will find it difficult to digest since they are looking at it using their intellect…from what they have read and have been taught.

Babies go through this trance naturally almost all the time…they would suddenly laugh and move their hands and feet in joy. We know there is no religious thought or programming that invokes that move…it is happening naturally.

Not everyone out there is experiencing the trance. Some quietly walk for they are too aware of their surrounding and the intellect would not allow them to become free.

And there too are some who are unruly with false ego…they jump around and become a nuisance.

No system is “foolproof’ so please ignore that kind…enjoy the moment;