A wise man once said, "Necessity is the mother of invention". Hmm, it does sound convincing, doesn't it and perhaps its true. But one of my "sending" sessions with a man whom I think might be wiser has put me in a dilemma. Is it necessity after all or is it something closer to desperation?
Fire has been hailed as man's first and maybe greatest invention or rather discovery. One question which has sent me hankering restless after an answer is how it was discovered. Was it the cold? Was it an encounter with a forest fire? Or was it mere chance? Or was it Divine Intervention? Our wise man's story goes like this. (It has been modified a bit to make more logical sense.)
The year was 400,000 B.C. It was excruciatingly hot. He was walking alone down the banks of the almost dried up river. He needed to wet his already parched throat before thirst killed him. Others called him "Mumbo Jumbo", but he called himself the "Mumbmaster". The reason was simple. He was the undisputed stud of the cave-ship. The women, the lady monkeys, they all wanted him. But this time it was different. Her name was "Mumbi Jumbi". The subtle exchange of glances, how his stomach did a triple flip when he lay his eyes on her you-know-what. They all suggested that what he felt towards her was much more than the usual "common decency", it was a feeling which we would later call LOVE.
As Mr. MJ tread alone daydreaming about his lady love, he felt a searing pain on his face as if someone had slapped him right across his face. No, it was not a slap. It was rather connected to some abnormal smell emanating from the forest nearby. The forest suddenly brightened up into a colour of dazzling yellow and there were tongue shaped yellow-orange "things" dancing about. It was hot and it was bright.(
Read forest fire) MJ thought his time had come, the time to leave his earthly abode and he knelt down in awe and submitted to the Almighty. But then slowly it came. It was the sweetest of smells he had ever smelt. It was the heavenliest feeling of them all. A waft of smell which literally swept him off his feet. He was flying now, right amongst the clouds like he had always dreamt.
No this is not the story of how the Wright brothers invented the aeroplane. Then he flew higher aiming for the stars and he was almost touching the freckled white ball in the sky. Then suddenly there was darkness and a sense of pellucid peace and calm.
When MJ woke up again the forest had completely burned down and what was left was mere ash and charred rocks. What he thought was a near-death experience was actually the result of the phenomenon in the woods and the "intelligent" MJ knew it. What was the source of this olfactory stimulant which sent him into this magical reverie? MJ started smelling everything that was left of the woods and it all smelt repulsive. Then he picked up an almost burnt glass blade and brought it upto his nose and he knew. This plant which years later would be called Papaveraceae was the source of absolute nirvana.
He smelt hard and good but it didnt send him flying. He needed to recreate the "incident" to get the desired effect. But he just didn't know how to do it. He blew on it, used the gas release device from behind, jumped on it, spatted on it and even peed on it, all in vain. Exasperated and frustrated, he threw a large stone at the rock nearby. As the stone hit the rock, the sight amazed him. There was a momentary light (
read spark). Was that the answer? Did he have to rub stones. He was elated and as he persevered for another two days, found the right stones, the wood and yipee, he had the first man-made fire burning right in front of his eyes. He burnt what was left of the grass and inhaled the smoke and he was flying again!
And that ladies and gentlemen is the story behind the discovery of fire!
P.S. Post dedicated to the Mikemaster, a man who might be a descendent of the Mumbmaster himself.
P.P.S. This might also explain how Gautamji became Buddhaji.
