The Saga of the Three Wise Monkeys

 

When I was about 10 years old, My neighbour, a nice Tamil Maami(aunty), had in her home a wooden carving of the Three Wise Monkeys.  Of all things in my world then, that was most beautiful to my eyes.   She explained to me that they were Mahatma Gandhiji’s Monkeys- that they meant to remind us to not see or hear or speak Lie.   Over the years, it graduated from the most Beautiful to the Cutest thing anyone could carve.  Monkeys are cute, at least they are in pictures and carvings and such things.. having to deal with one on a trip to the temple is … scribbles for another blog.

 

I got curious (For those who don’t know much about me… The curiosity that killed the cat, was ME).  I had to find out where the three monkeys came from?  What was their story? How and When did they become Gandhiji’s property? I had to share what I found after going through the Internet.

 

I was amazed at how Monkeys had some form of prominence in every South Asian culture I read about. There is some place or other where Monkey seems to occupy the place of reverence in these cultures.

The Chinese and Japanese Astrology has twelve animals associated with it, with the Monkey being one of them.  A person born in the Year of the Monkey is supposedly the kind that were always on the go, inventive and great fun to be with. They are said to possess the personality of the kind who know exactly what they’re doing, they know what they want and usually know how to get it.   

In Japan, those who follow The rules of placement, the conterpart to the Chinese Fengshui, consider the Northeastern direction, Kimon, as the direction where the demons gather and enter. The guardian of this direction was the Monkey.  The Japanese word for Monkey was Saru which is a homonym for the the word which is pronounced as saru that meant “to expel”. The Monkey was therefore the Expeller, Dispeller of the demons hence the Guardian, the protector.  In Shinto/Taoist/Buddhist(not sure of this info) shrines he is invoked in forms- as Masaru(literally Great Monkey) or is carved on to Pillars as the Munamochi-saru(Pillar-supporting Monkey).  They also have a festival known as the “Day of the Monkey” when prayers are offered at the Shrines.

In Hindu pantheon, the monkey god,  Hanuman, is associated with strength and devotion to duty. There are so many stories about him in the Ramayan’s the 5^th book, called the Sundara Kanda.  He is also mentioned in the Mahabharath, where he humbled his younger sibling Bhima(both being the sons of the Wind God – Vayu).

The Origins

The three monkeys  is believed to have originated from Japanese word play. The names of the monkeys in Japanese are- 1.Mizaru- covering his eyes, See No Evil   2.Kikazaru- covering his ears, Hear no evil  3.Iwazaru- covering his mouth, Speak no evil.  This is considered the Golden Rule in Japan. 

It is said that in the 8^th century AD the three wise monkeys were introduced in Japan by a Buddhist Monk from China. For those following Shintoism, the Monkeys were considered Divine Messengers. For the Tendai Sect of Buddhism the three monkeys represent  Santai(three truths of emptiness, conventional existence and middle way)

It is said, there were three animals that accompanied Sanzo Hoshi(Yuan Chwan, is that the famous Huien Tsang we read about in School? I wonder), a Chinese Priest who went to India in 629 and returned to China in 646 AD with many Buddhist Relics and Writing. One of those animals that went with him on his travels was the Monkey.  

The Story

Here is a story associated with the monkeys that is narrated by the priests at Mountain Shrines.

A Long time ago there lived on one side of a Mountain , a wise and good Monkey King.  There was a Great Evil on the Other side.  The Kings councilors, were three very old, wise monkeys.  By tradition, only they knew the existence of this Great Evil. They knew that if anyone heard or looked on this Evil, his heart would be hardened and woe would befall the Monkey Kingdom.  One day while they gathered a rare wild flower for the King, they heard a shriek. They peered through some bushes to check what it was and unwittingly gazed upon the great evil. One covered his eyes but he heard. One covered his ears but he saw. One covered  his lips to push back this dreadful secret deep within himself although he saw and heard. They knew their hearts were spoiled forever.  They huddled together on a drooping willow branch, chattering and whispering dolefully for hours. By nightfall they decided to follow the counsel of the one who had seen and heard all but would not talk about it and by emulating him, they kept the secret sparing the King and his people a terrible fate.

How did they become associated with Gandhiji?

This was supposedly told by Majorie Sykes. She came to Madras(now Chennai), India to teach after obtaining a Teacher’s Diploma from Cambridge in 1927, went on to Shantiniketan during 1938-47. She came to Sevagram in 1948 to work in the Nai Talim School. Later she worked at Hoshangabad. She passed away in April 1996 in England

 

“Most of the people who came to see Gandhi sought his advice on something or the other. But one day came a party of visitors from China. "Gandhiji, we have brought you a small gift," they said. "It is no bigger than a child's toy, but it is famous in our country." To Gandhi's delight it was a set of the three monkeys that were later to become so well-known.

 

What are my thoughts?

 

I think it’s a good rule to follow in Life.  I have a general hesitation to use the word Evil, as to me evil is an overused term to describe that which doesn’t fall into our understanding or our way of thinking about life.  The word I generally use is Disharmonious-anything that removes the sense of peace within our selves and the world around us(and I don’t mean minor everyday annoyances and the drama of our lives).  I do know that there are times when no matter what you heard or saw, keeping the mouth shut is a good thing to do.

 

With that I end this Monkey Saga. If any of you reading this, have additional information or find that anything I have put in here is wrong, please do let me know. Hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed trying to find answers to my wonderment.

 

Peace Always

Mithuna.

(Sources : 1. The newsfinder    2.The three monkeys 3. Wiki )