Stop! whispered my old Mongol guide, as we were one day crossing the plain near Tzagan Luk. Stop! He slipped from his camel which lay down without his bidding. The Mongol raised his hands in prayer before his face and began to repeat the sacred phrase: Om! Mani padme Hung! The other Mongols immediately stopped their camels and began to pray. What has happened? I thought, as I gazed round over the tender green grass, up to the cloudless sky and out toward the dreamy soft rays of the evening sun. The Mongols prayed for some time, whispered among themselves and, after tightening up the packs on the camels, moved on. Did you see, asked the Mongol, how our camels moved their ears in fear? How the herd of horses on the plain stood fixed in attention and how the herds of sheep and cattle lay crouched close to the ground? Did you notice that the birds did not fly, the marmots did not run and the dogs did not bark? The air trembled softly and bore from afar the music of a song which penetrated to the hearts of men, animals and birds alike. Earth and sky ceased breathing. The wind did not blow and the sun did not move. At such a moment the wolf that is stealing up on the sheep arrests his stealthy crawl; the frightened herd of antelopes suddenly checks its wild course; the knife of the shepherd cutting the sheeps throat falls from his hand; the rapacious ermine ceases to stalk the unsuspecting salga. All living beings in fear are involuntarily thrown into prayer and waiting for their fate. So it was just now. Thus it has always been whenever the King of the World in his subterranean palace prays and searches out the destiny of all peoples on the earth. BEASTS, MEN AND GODS by Ferdinand Ossendowski
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:18:26 +0000