Month: July 2023

Connect, Control – Part 2; Boons, Blessings, Curses & The Sakki Test

Vikram M R, , , , , , 4 Comments

The test for the fifth dan in the Bujinkan is also called the “Sakki” test. Sakki here generally refers to “intuitive ability”. For those that are not a part of the Bujinkan, I am describing the test. The test involves two people, one administering the test and another who is being tested. There are other people around who determine if the person passed the test or not. The person administering the test and those determining if the test was a pass or not are all holders of the 15th dan, which is the highest rank in the Bujinkan system (there are a couple of other higher administrative ranks).

The person taking the test sits in an approximation of the Vajrasana and the person administering the test stands behind her or him. Both the individuals have their eyes closed for the duration of the test. The person in Vajrasana is hopefully in a meditative state. The person standing behind her or him cuts down at her or his head with a padded/training sword. The expectation is that the person in Vajrasana should sense the attack based on the intent of the person cutting and move out of the way just in time (not too early either). If he or she moves in time and does not get hit, the test is a pass, else it is a fail, and the person has to try again. When it is said “move”, it could be a roll, break fall, getting up in time, or anything else. The “pass or failure” in the test is determined by the other 15h Dans who are observing the test or by the Soke, Hatsumi Sensei himself.

The key for this test is to “sense the intent of the cut”. The intent is present before the action of cut and hence the person will always survive being hit if he or she moves in response to the intent and not in response to any other of the five senses. The stimulus from these five might not allow time enough to get out of the way of the sword.

From my teacher and all my seniors and mentors, who have greater experience with the Sakki test, I am given to understand that the test is for both the person cutting and the one evading the cut. While the person who passes the test is the one who evades the cut, the true challenge apparently is for the one cutting. It is the responsibility of the person cutting to establish a connection with the one taking the test. If they can establish the connection, they are also successful in transferring the intent to the person, which triggers the movement. So, the test is more to allow the person being tested to realize that he or she has the intuitive ability and can trust the same, it is not to test the extent or timing of the same. This in turn puts the responsibility of the passing or failing on the person delivering the cut. So, if the person fails, it could mean that the person cutting did not have the connection with the person taking the cut. And this is perhaps why many people who have given many cuts to different people think it is a responsibility to “give a good cut”. I have seen people tell each other that they are sorry that they could not give a good cut as well. There are a lot of videos of the Sakki Test on YouTube, which one can look for to get a sense of the same. I am not going to link any as it is impossible to decide which one is the best representation of the same. 😊

The challenge in the test is that all external disturbances which could distract one from the task at hand, the test, is removed, as are all other stimuli like sound, sight, smell and touch. Pure instinct might be triggered if one is not thinking of the same, but just thinking about it makes it very hard and the removal of the five conventional senses acts in the same way.

Thus, the key to the entire 5th dan test is the “connection” between the tester and the tested. And this important aspect of the test led to this article. I will hopefully elucidate this key concept with what has been normal behaviour in Hindu culture over a very long period of time.

Anyone who has watched even a few episodes of the many “Mythological” serials on the various TV channels would have seen one character or the other seeking the Aashirwada (or Aashirwad) of many others. An Aashirwada can be considered a “Blessing”. The act as seen on TV would generally involve one character who is either younger by age or achievements or abilities, touch the feet of another character or perform a prostrated namaskaara at the feet of the other, either in greeting, farewell or to specifically seek the blessing of the other person. The other person obviously has greater experience or wisdom in any of the attributes just mentioned and offers blessings.

Credit for the images (left to right) – From “Enter Drona”, Mahabharata – 5 & “Hanuman to the rescue”, both published by Amar Chitra Katha

Some of the oft uttered blessings we see are (this is a very small sample set) –

  • Aayushmaan / Aayushmati Bhava – Have a long life
  • Vijayee Bhava – Be victorious
  • Yashaswi Bhava – Be successful
  • Keertiman / Keertimati Bhava – Be well known / achieve fame

These examples are from Hindi. But the same can uttered in any of the many languages in India. Most importantly, this is not an act just seen on TV or web series. Seeking the blessings/aashirwaada is an ancient practice that all of us continue with to this day. We specifically seek the blessings of elders and gurus. As we get on in our years, we might have to bless the youngsters in the family, and this need to be ready to pass on the blessings is what prompted this article.

Are the blessings just words that are uttered? Like wishing someone well? Or can they genuinely have a beneficial impact on the person who has received the blessings? And if the effect has to manifest in reality, what are the requirements on the part of the one giving the blessing and the one receiving the blessings? These are questions I do not have answers to, and any answers for the same would be welcome. But I do have some thoughts on the matter which I shall share. These are purely opinions based on personal experience, observation, and martial training.

Blessings are important to different people to varying degrees, depending on their upbringing, life experiences, association with specific individuals, association with places and objects linked to individuals and associations of many other types that people can think of. Places are considered sacred or blessed based on their association with Divinities or events that are associated with the same. Sites of old family homes are also considered blessed due to association with one’s own grandparents and ancestors. In these cases, the effort put into the journey to get to these places itself becomes achievement of an “experiential blessing”, where the experience of the journey is part of the blessing.

Either way, whether the blessing is from a person or due to a journey or a location, the connection is key. Belief is a connection, or at least the “option of giving a connection a chance”. Based on this observation, in my opinion, the blessing is no different than the ability to transmit intent in the sakki test, with the “connect” being the key aspect in both. In a conventional setting, the “intent” is the good will or desire for success of the one seeking the blessing. I opine that just as one can transmit intent in the Sakki test, the good will can be transmitted if the “connection” between the one blessing and the one seeking the same is strong. And just as the intent in the test can move a person, the will of the person blessing, can positively impact the one being blessed. This will be explored further below, with boons and curses.

Blessings of a more specific nature and perhaps of a more powerful variety can be called “Boons” and the opposite of “Boons” are “Curses”. Blessings are much simpler and seen in all human interactions where elders and teachers “wish for” or “bless” their wards, students and juniors, a favourable outcome in life. Let us consider “Boons” and “Curses” for a further exploration of connection and control.

Once again, anyone who has read stories from Hindu culture will surely have noticed the following two things. People meditate and perform penance(s) to earn “Boons” that grant them abilities beyond those of normal humans, and make the ones earning the boons almost equivalent to Gods. On the other side of the same, great Sages “Curse” people and even the Devas and Gandharvas for their indiscretions and mistakes, the consequences of which are dire and painful, and have to be endured for long periods of time.

A Boon is called a Vara in Kannada or maybe Var (if the language is closer to Hindi than to South Indian languages). Varadaana or Vardaan is the granting of a boon. A Vara is more than a Blessing in the stories. It grants the one receiving the same special abilities. These could include very long life spans, protection from harm from all but a few forms of attack, great knowledge or wisdom, incredible strength beyond that imaginable by any mortal human, or the ability to possess, use and retrieve weapons of unimaginably destructive potential.

Obtaining a Vara is no easy task. Firstly, one needs to demonstrate the eligibility to request a Vara and then also demonstrate the traits needed to wield the ability granted by the Vara. One requests the granting of a Vara by great beings that are not human or are superhuman; Varas are granted by the Devas or Lord Brahma or Lord Shiva. Even earning their presence requires expending great effort over long periods of time. Getting these divine beings to appear before one where the request for the Vara can be made is the demonstration of eligibility to ask for a Boon.

A common feature we see in many stories is that the means to request the presence of a divine being is meditation, also referred to as penance. This is shown as meditating on the God whose presence is being requested with singular focus for long durations of time, with no breaks. In the case of Arjuna when he was on a quest to acquire the Paashupataastra, Lord Shiva tested him by appearing in human form and forcing him to fight, and thus reveal his abilities, apart from just the meditation. Based on my understanding, the qualities that are demonstrated while performing Tapas (meditation) are, perseverance, dedication, focus, drive, resistance to pain, self-control and most importantly, letting go of the self **.

If the God whose presence is desired is impressed or convinced by the qualities seen, she or he appears to the person performing the meditation and grants them the opportunity to request a Vara of their choice. The letting go of the self is shown in some stories to be so complete that anthills or trees grow on the person, as if they were just a rock and not a sentient being anymore. There are also cases where there are multiple tests like with Arjuna that have to be overcome, apart from the meditation; these could be as diversions or disturbances to the meditation or something that needs to be endured in one’s life (the duration may vary).1

Image credit – “Dashaavatara”, published by Amar Chitra Katha (Kindle edition)

Many individuals request immortality and are denied the same as it goes against the natural order of things, and are told to request something else that will aid in the ambitions of their lives. A miniscule sample of Varas requested by individuals are mentioned below. Observe that these Boons could be granted to extraordinary individuals who went on to become “villains” in their lifetimes due to tremendous ego post the acquisition of the Vara.

  • Taarakaasura requesting Lord Brahma to be unkillable by anything other than a son of Lord Shiva (when Lord Shiva a widower and in deep meditation for ages).
  • Arjuna requesting Lord Shiva to grant him the ability to use the Paashupataastra.
  • Hiranyakashipu requesting Lord Brahma to be unkillable by any human, animal, weapon, during the day, at night, inside or outside any structure.
  • Mahishaasura requesting Lord Brahma to be unkillable by any male.

Credit for the images (left to right) – “Prahlada” and “Arjuna’s quest for weapons”, “Mahabharatha – 20”, both published by Amar Chitra Katha

A Curse is the opposite of a Boon. A Curse is a called a “Shaapa” in Kannada and Shraap or Shaap in Hindi. While a Vara bestows a specific ability or protection to an individual, a Shaapa or Curse causes a specific & severe problem to the individual who has been cursed. Many a time, once the curse is uttered, the person who is cursed is penitent and begs for forgiveness. When this happens, the person who has uttered the curse also states a remedy to the same. But there is definitely a long period of suffering involved before the curse is lifted.

Credit for the images – “Yayati” published by Amar Chitra Katha

In this last aspect a Shaapa is like a Vara; in one case it takes a long time of repentance with inconvenience to serve out the time of the curse and in the other, one needs to endure a long time of inconvenience to be eligible to ask for a Boon. So, in either case the qualities one must acquire and demonstrate are the same, even if the origin of the demonstration is opposite in nature. Surviving a curse has a root cause beyond oneself while the effort to gain a boon lies within oneself. In a way a curse is surviving an uke’s (opponent’s) attack while a boon is being a tori (defender), voluntarily against an uke. Striving for a boon also has an aspect of the Musha Shyugyo (warrior’s journey) in that the journey begins voluntarily and the person who ends the journey is much changed from the one who started the same, due to the trials and hardships endured during the same.

From my recollection of stories from Hindu culture, curses are uttered by great Sages or Maharishis who have several years’ worth of Saadhana (practice in the right rituals, meditation and scripture) and knowledge. They utter the curse due to a grave indiscretion or blunder on the part of the person who is being cursed. These mistakes generally stem from an inflated ego after great achievement and this mistake then messes with the natural order, or rhythm of goings on in the universe. A tiny sample set of curses are mentioned below.

  • Durvasa cursing Indra to lose his strength, ability and “Tejas” (radiance or vitality)
  • Agastya cursing Nahusha to live on Earth as a snake until he is relived of the same
  • Shukracharya cursing Yayati to perpetual old age unless one of his sons is willing to exchange his youth with him
  • Apsaras and Gandharvas are cursed on many occasions for losing a sense of space and propriety while performing the arts in the presence of others
  • Ahalya & Indra being cursed by Rishi Gautama for their infidelity

Credit for the images (left to right) – “Nahusha”, “Hanuman to the rescue”, both published by Amar Chitra Katha

A curse has consequences for both the person who utters the same and the one who is cursed. Perhaps this is true in the case of a boon as well, but may not be apparent in the stories as the entities bestowing the Vara are divine and there is no comparing such a being to a human, and so consequences are hard to identify. However, a curse, even when uttered by a Maharishi, is still by a human being acting against another human, even though the one uttering the curse is a highly evolved and accomplished human.

A case of the person cursing another and paying for the same is seen in the story of Rishi Brighu cursing Lord Vishnu for not receiving him as a good host should, when he visited Vaikunta (Lord Vishnu’s abode). Rishi Brighu, in his arrogance cursed a God! One of the Trimurthy no less! Lord Vishnu accepted the curse and touched the feet of the Rishi, but while doing so, he blinded the eye that existed in the foot of Brighu. This eye had allowed the Rishi to walk fast and almost float on the ground while not having to use his two normal eyes while moving about. But after this incident, he was forever slowed down and a great deal of his arrogance went with his extra eye.

Image credit – “Venkateshwara Taanada Chitragalu”, published by Pioneer Publications – above image depicts Lord Vishnu accepting the curse by Rishi Brighu as described earlier

I have not heard of any stories other than this one that explicitly mention the consequences of uttering a curse or bestowing a boon on anyone, for the person who delivers either the boon or the curse. When I mean consequence in this case, I refer to the ability or skill or strength that is expended in making the boon or a curse a reality. But this can be inferred from the story of the great sage Vishwamitra.

Before he became the Brahmarishi Vishwamitra, he was the king Kaushika. The king Kaushika wanted to become a Brahmarishi who would be considered an equal to the Brahmarishi Vasistha. So, he performed severe penance and meditated for years to achieve the abilities of a Brahmarishi, one of which was a complete control of one’s senses and desires. On three occasions, after developing great abilities on the path to becoming a Brahmarishi, he had to expend the gained abilities to succeed in activities he indulged in.

Once, his meditative focus was broken by the extremely beautiful Apsara, Menaka, which whom he later had a daughter. This was a case of not having mastered his senses and desires. Next, after achieving great prowess through meditation, he expended the same in creating a second Swarga (roughly translated as Heaven or the abode of Lord Indra) for the King Trishanku who wanted to enter Swarga without first dying. On the third occasion, he expended the abilities developed through austere meditative penance in trying to show low, the King Harishchandra, whose values he wanted to see broken (Vishwamitra failed and Harishchandra never strayed from his values).

In all three situations, Vishwamitra lost the abilities already developed and had to start with a great deficit on the path to becoming a Brahmarishi. He eventually did succeed, but the concept is quite clear. Acting on a boon or a curse, if we can consider the creation of a second Swarga as a boon and causing hardships to Harishchandra as a curse, results in the great Sage expending abilities developed over many years. It takes equally long to develop the same abilities again. I personally think a good analogy here could be an accident endured by a sportsperson or a martial artist. A lot of time is spent in recovering from the injury first and then even more time is spent is training the body and mind back to the peak they had once scaled, if this is at all possible.

Alternatively, it can be considered as the effort one has to spend in achieving a successful attack, like a flurry of punches and kicks at great speed or relentless grappling, both of which require a vast investment in money, time and effort to execute in the first place, and then to survive with successful execution; then there is the risk of injury and failure, which require more time and energy to overcome and try again later, if necessary. In a modern context, it is like investing in an expensive weapons platform like a drone swarm; losing it in a failed mission and then having to invest in a better platform and further resource expenditure in creating or refining doctrines for the usage of the new platform.

So, the boon or the curse, requires the person who bestows either to have already achieved complete control over the self and several other aspects of the universe. An extraordinary example of this would be the boon given by Maharishi Durvasa to Kunti. He was pleased with her attention to duty when she was in charge of his hospitality when he visited her father Kunti Bhoja. So, he granted her a boon which allowed her to summon the Deva of her choice to bestow a child on her, and she could do this 5 times! So, Maharishi Durvasa could grant the ability to summon a Deva to a human being! This means that we cannot even begin to comprehend the abilities that Durvasa possessed!

Image credit – “Bheeshma’s vow”, “Mahabharata – 2”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

This example brings into focus another aspect of a boon or a curse. The person bestowing either, on another individual, can actually control multiple aspects of the universe and get them to behave differently for specific individuals for several years at a time. This of course is impossible for mortals and the examples from the stories are all of extraordinary humans who are on par with the Gods or the Gods themselves, when they are uttering the boon or the curse.

But let us look at this from a more mundane everyday aspect. But before we consider examples from our everyday life, I share an opinion of mine. Boons, curses and blessings are transactional in nature. These are received in response to specific actions. The person receiving any of these will have performed a series of actions for a duration of time, which results in the person towards whom these actions were directed, bestowing the boon, curse or blessing. But there is a difference between blessings (aashirwaada) and boons (vara). The shaapa is not something one works towards but is the result of an indiscretion and perhaps a result of not letting go of one’s ego and NOT working correctly towards whatever the objective was.

A Vara is something specific that a person wants and can be granted by a superior or divine entity. In order to gain an audience and demonstrate eligibility for the vara, she or he performs the requisite actions, which can be physical or meditative in nature. But a blessing need not be something that is specifically worked towards. One performs one’s duties or responsibilities with complete focus and attention to detail. This is a demonstration of great self-control and management of one’s reaction to given surroundings. The individual(s) who are on the receiving end of this diligent activity are greatly pleased by the same. This results in the impressed person offering a blessing as a reward in return for the services or whatever else was received.

So, an aashirwaada need not be sought after, but is received as a reaction to a job or an activity well done, where as a vara is something that is sought after and activities are performed towards that objective. Consider this, the boon bestowed on Kunti was actually a blessing. Her hospitality towards Maharishi Durvasa was not with the objective of a boon, but just a job well done. In response to this, she was blessed by Durvasa with the boon. Now consider the Tapasya performed by any great Asura, say Hiranyakashipu, this was with the specific objective of achieving a boon which bestowed great abilities on him, which would in turn allow him to defeat the Devas.

A simpler example of a blessing would be an elder blessing someone younger with a long life, when the younger person touches her or his feet. The blessing in this case is a reward for remembering that this is the right way for a youngster to greet an elder. This system is also a good positive reinforcement in preserving one’s culture and way of life.

With the above observation, we can consider a few situations from daily life, which could represent boons, blessings and curses. We have all experienced appreciations and rewards at work. These range from appreciative emails to merchandise to pictures on a “wall of fame”. These are more common compared to promotions and pay hikes. They are handed out more often as they are less expensive to organizations and also reinforce (hopefully) behaviour that is preferred. We also tip generously depending on the quality of service we receive at hotels and restaurants. These, in my opinion, are analogous to blessings as they are in response to an impressive activity.

Now consider promotions and pay hikes. These are much harder to come by and are objectives which require a plan and set activities that demonstrate eligibility. An individual spends a few years understanding what the parameters needed for either of these are, and working towards the same. It requires networking, measurable achievements and the sheer effort to achieve visible experience. So, the pay hike or promotion here is a vara/boon and the activities are the tapasya or saadhana that goes into achieving the same. This is because it is a specific objective that is worked towards.

What about shaapa and curses? The explicit situations that define these are cases where one has to leave a job or bear the cost of activity or behaviour that lead to integrity issues. These can be one misusing client data or accepting bribes at work to alter expected decisions. It is a negative consequence of errors at work. When these are inadvertent, the curse could be very minor, like a mail with an apology which smooths things over.

But a curse could also be invisible and long term, which is also realized much later. These could be situations where one’s relationships are broken due to too much self-indulgence in career related objectives, or a sportsperson suffering debilitating injury due to not enough breaks or insufficient detraining time. This is akin to the statement “the path to hell is paved with good intentions”.

A last point regarding blessings here. Many of us would have experienced situations where we receive appreciation mails or certificates and don’t really care for them and are definitely not motivated to either repeat the same kind of hard work or keep up the level of effort that resulted in the appreciation in the first place. This happens for many reasons, especially if there is a statement like “we need to do even better the next time”, which makes the appreciation more of an expectation setting. This could also be as there are blessings given when one is working towards a boon (appreciation instead of a pay hike). Why would this kind of mismatch occur? I opine that this is due to what we discussed initially about blessings, boons and curses. A distinct lack of “Connect”. Individuals know when the appreciations are just a matter of course after some time and also when they come from senior leadership who have no visible impact on their work lives. All they do is append a signature to a set of words composed by someone else. So, there is an attempt at a blessing, but the lack of connect, renders it empty of any effect. This connect I am referring to is the rapport that any leadership develops with its teams and how it is nurtured through trials and tribulations at work.

Having considered how blessings can be rendered pointless, we need to consider cases even from the stories in Hindu culture where boons could end up being curses. Remember the blessing that became a boon to Kunti by Maharishi Durvasa? Kunti after the rishi had departed, either in innocence or curiosity invoked the boon, with Lord Surya, before she was married. This resulted in the birth of her son Karna, whose life was partially responsible for the great carnage in the battle of Kurukshetra apart from being an extraordinary tragedy on a personal level. So, a blessing was a boon, the use of which with no negative intentions still became a curse not only for Kunti but for entire kingdoms!

Image credit – “Bheeshma’s vow”, “Mahabharata – 2”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

Similarly, Ashwatthama is cursed by Lord Krishna at the end of the Kurukshetra war. He is denied the release of death and is functionally immortal for the rest of the Yuga cycle. An additional point is that a wound in his forehead caused by removing a jewel that was present there would never heal. This was a jewel that always granted him good health. If one recalls, all the great Asuras asked for immortality from Brahma to compensate for the Amrita the Devas had. But when the same was not an achievable boon, they asked for other great abilities that enabled them to subjugate the Devas despite the Amrita. So, Ashwatthama was granted immortality, which was considered a desired vara by many, as a curse! An extension of this could be that the boons achieved by the great Asuras always resulted in incredible pain and hardship as a result of the wars they unleashed. So, a boon for them became a curse for many others. And this resulted in the many avataaras of Lord Vishnu to slay these Asuras. So, the line between a boon and a curse is thin, but not invisible.

The means to assuage this problem also returns to the twin concepts of connection and control. One needs to continue with the self-control one possessed before receiving the boon after the act, perhaps to a greater degree. This is because the person enhanced by the boon possesses a far greater potential to cause damage to the universe around her or him. In other words, her or his ability to control the surroundings requires an equal increase in self-control to prevent her or his boon from becoming a curse for others! And in order to keep the control of others benevolent or at least less harmful, the ability to connect with others and better feel or empathize with their motivation and desires is vitally important. So, a boon or a blessing, degenerates into a curse over time with a lack of connection and control.

A modern-day example of a boon tending towards a curse is international monetary aid. We hear terms in the media of some countries being “addicted to monetary aid from the IMF (International Monetary Fund)”. In Indian media this is used in the context of countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In the case of Pakistan, the country has never developed a governance system that allows the country’s economy to expand and its populace to prosper. It has approached the IMF multiple times, every few years, to save it from economic defaults. The aid package from the IMF is a boon which is used with no connect with the needs of the country and its populace, and becomes an addiction, and this is a curse.

This observation can be expanded to the economic and military aid the USA provided to the various dictators in South and Central America, Africa and the Middle East during the Cold War years. The aid allowed friendship between the dictator (not the country) and the government of the USA, but this allowed the USA to control the dictator keep the socialist and communist rebels at bay. However, this control did not allow prevention of atrocities on the population of the countries. So, the boon of aid led to “control through benevolence”, of the dictator, but the same became a curse in the long term for the populations of several countries. This is not unlike blessings from fake spiritual Gurus who are basically conmen. They have wonderful words and can connect with people, but their intent can only generate empty blessings which are definitely not boons but could be curses, as they have no control over anything, not even themselves.

The converse of this could be true as well. And we can consider something I have heard from a very senior practitioner of the Bujinkan as an example of this. My mentor says that in all your interactions with people, try to connect with them, get a sense of their requirements, what makes them happy, what really troubles them and the like. This connect is to be done in earnest, not with an objective of studying them, like one might study bird behaviour. This kind of connection could turn to a good rapport or friendship and lead to us providing really useful suggestions while not seeming superior or overbearing. This leads to them remembering the connection and might result in their feeling responsible for helping us when we need the same. This is “control through gratitude, camaraderie and responsibility”*. The words used are the same as those used in the earlier paragraph, but the context is entirely different! My mentor says that this is an objective of all Bujinkan practitioners and should be a key goal of training. He says that one should be able to control rooms full of people with this ability to connect. But of course, a connection on this level is really hard to achieve and requires self-control abilities that sometimes seem to be just wishful thinking. 😛

One last point regarding control here, at a level simpler than the one mentioned in the previous paragraph. From being generous with tips to approving promotions to enforcing a separation from a job to sending appreciation mails, all these instances stem from a connection, but can only be enacted when there is control over multiple aspects to ensure the desired outcome, be it the situation (appreciation mails), budget (pay hikes), seniority or responsibility (promotion or separation) in organizations. When this control is employed, it could lead more connect and even better control, like a virtuous cycle.

The appreciation mail that is not of any motivational value is a case of control without connect, control of the situation where one is aware of the outcome that warrants the appreciation and the ability to send the same, but no connect that adds value to the words of appreciation.

This aspect of control is also true in the martial arts. I have discussed connect and control with respect to the martial arts in greater detail in my previous article, the link to which is seen in the notes below***.

In conclusion, it seems quite clear that the concept of self-control and connecting to others and one’s surroundings as a precursor to control over others and the environment, even in a benevolent manner is something that humans have considered and chased after for a very long time. It is something that never ends and requires perpetual reinforcement, in the form of case studies which are what the stories from Hindu culture are. And their application spans everything from fighting and conflict management to daily life.

Notes:

*One of the Gojo we are taught in the Bujinkan states “Fumetsu no fusei”. This roughly means “give and give” or “endless giving”. It could mean that one thinks of giving and not the return on investment. This is one of the paths perhaps to the point mentioned above. But then, there is also a concept called “Sente” which is roughly “not making the first move” because one might then become the Uke or attacker and present openings to the opponent/defender. These two points appear to be contradictory, but they depend on the context in which they are used. So, the intent – whether it is benevolence or malice – becomes the key factor while deciding whether “fumetsu no fusei” or “sente” is in action. I have discussed the Gojo in an earlier article, the link to which is seen below.

The Gojo – A personal understanding

**I have discussed the concept of “letting go of the self” in a separate article, the link to which is seen below.

Jibun No Kesu – An Exploration

***The link to the article where I discuss in greater detail the application of connection and control in the martial arts is seen below.

Connect, Control – Part 1; “Connect, Control = Shatrubodha in flow”

1There might be other ways to achieve boons, like the story of the birth of Dattatreya. I am referring to the more common ones in this article.

Connect, Control – Part 1; “Connect, Control = Shatrubodha in flow”

Vikram M R, , , , , 7 Comments

An interesting connection between Budo and Bharatiya tradition

There are two concepts that are taught in the Bujinkan system of martial arts which are very simple to state but extremely difficult to express and achieve. The two concepts are “Connect” and “Control”. These concepts are mentioned to everyone practicing in the Bujinkan from their early days as practitioners and fairly often. But they are only expected to be practiced in earnest after several years of experience. Let me attempt to express what these concepts mean (at least to me), how they are intended to be understood and the context for the same.

I will start with the concept of “Connect”. There are four other concepts that have been shared as part of the training in the Bujinkan over the last seven or eight years. I have heard these from my teacher and mentors who in turn have heard the same from Soke Hatsumi Sensei back in Japan. These concepts are,

  • Do not use strength (Chikara Janai)
  • Do not fight (Tatakai wa Janai)
  • Match the Uke/opponent (Awaseru)
  • Do not sever the connection (En no Kirinai)

The original Japanese phrases that convey the idea are also mentioned above. There are several practitioners with vastly greater experience than I that have written about and explain each in detail. I would encourage everyone to read the same. I am not going into the etymology of the same and will stick to learning from my own personal training and experience.

When the statements “do not use strength” and “do not fight” are mentioned, they do not in any way denote or promote pacifism. They are referring to how one should not have an ego driving their actions in the fight. Using one’s physical strength might win an individual some fights. But it will not necessarily win all fights. One will always face opponents who possess greater physical strength. In a situation where there are multiple opponents, it is highly unlikely that one’s physical strength will match up to the combined strength of the opponents. Further, physical strength will wane to varying degrees for individuals with age. The well-known and obvious solution to this is the development of skill through a lot of training. Martial skills developed through training augment existing strength and also help overcome the strength of the opponent. It is also a means to reduce one’s own dependence on strength.

With the development of “skill” and a drop in the reliance on strength, one aspect that usually comes up in many martial arts, including the Bujinkan is to “use the opponent’s strength or intention against herself/himself”. This leads into the notion of “not fighting the opponent”. There are also statements that state, “Do not trouble the Uke (opponent)”, “Don’t do anything the opponent does not want to do”, “Let the opponent fight herself/himself”.  All of these lead to the same aspect relating to a physical conflict; “even when in a fight, do not fight”. So, what does this mean?

Based on what I have understood, this refers more to one’s state of mind in a fight than the physical actions in a fight. It has more to do with not looking to do violence against an opponent and not refraining from the same. I have delved deeper into this aspect in my older article, “Ahimsa and the Martial Arts – Part 1”, the link to which is present in the notes to this article, seen below. Not fighting an opponent, in simple terms, means that causing harm to the opponent should not be the objective, surviving the fight with as little damage to oneself is.

The moment the objective relates to the opponent, like “causing harm to the attacker” or “winning against the uke”, the ego takes over and becomes a motive which leads one to focus on a specific outcome. This is because winning or getting the opponent to fall or be locked or hit or get injured have specific definitions which need a series of actions, all of which the opponent will also strive to counter while trying to cause harm to the defender (tori). Getting these actions right is very difficult and leads to a slippery slope which might not be possible to overcome.

However, if survival is the only objective, one only needs to focus on not letting the attack succeed. This makes a lot more space available in a fight. Also, the attacker needs to do all the work, while the defender only needs to get into a safe space, albeit continuously. This moving to a safe position opens up the opportunity to gradually move in a way that causes the opponent to just wear out and stop the attacks or lose the ability to do so, which could be due to losing her or his balance, getting hit due to being open while attacking and the like. Either way, the danger due to the attack is mitigated. In short, while only the uke was attacking, the defender (tori) was only staying alive and not fighting, even if it does not appear so to an outside observer. It was all in the state of mind.

Thus, not using strength is about using skill in a conflict and not fighting is about not having an objective vis-a-vis the opponent, but instead moving to stay in the safest possible space during a conflict. Thus, the skills to develop are, to move oneself physically to a safe place and to not have malice towards the opponent.

There are two parts to developing the ability to move in a manner that allows one to be safe. The first of course, is a lot of training, years of practice and experimentation with different people of varying levels of experience in physical conflicts. This includes armed and unarmed fights with and without armour, depending on what is available. In the Bujinkan, this generally does not include modern day firearms and historical weapons which are discharged. But there are other martial arts that do include these, based on the little that I know of these artforms.

The second aspect is to move exactly when necessary and neither too early nor too late. Moving too early means the opponent can correct or change the attack and moving too late means facing the brunt of the attack. Moving at the right time, or more practically, moving as close to the right time as possible, depends on realizing when the attack is coming and having a sense of what the attack is aiming to do. This knowledge of course, is not exact and the prediction of the same is not a precise science. It is a feeling one gets by being in a conflict and over time becomes a “gut feel” or “intuition”. Thus, knowing the timing and danger of any attack is about being aware of the opponent with the experience of having been mindful of many other opponents in the past.

All of this, in concert, means that one should be able to get a read on the opponent while being in the fight. In simpler terms, one needs to be able to “connect” with the opponent to be able to identify when to move and where to move, to stay safe during a physical conflict. If one can largely be able to connect with the opponent and move as required to stay safe, one will have matched the movement of the opponent and thus mitigated the threat posed by one. This is what is meant by the third concept above, which is “Awaseru”, or, to match the opponent.

If one does achieve Awaseru, the next harder concept reveals itself. This is to keep the connection and not lose it. This concept of keeping the connection is called “En no kirinai”, which roughly translates to “do not sever the connection”. If one can connect with the opponent and match her or his movement, the realization of the same, as soon as it occurs, triggers the possibility of breaking the connection as well.

Awaseru, when it does happen, allows one to reduce risk to oneself while the opponent is expending efforts to reverse this and in all likelihood exposing herself or himself to an attack. This might happen over the course of two or three attacks. Once an opening is exposed, there are two possible situations. The first is to exploit the opening to end the fight if possible. But then, this exploitation of an opening might not work as expected because the opponent is very good or too tenacious. In either case, the fight might not end. This is the second situation.

When the fight does not end, the defender should not press the attack unless there is another clear option to do so. If the attack is pressed without a certainty of success (which is very difficult) the uke and tori have switched roles and the opponent can now exploit openings the defender offers. So, not only has the connection been lost, but the opponent can now apply awaseru!

So, if the opponent continues the fight despite realizing one is exploiting openings he or she is revealing, the connection needs to be maintained, matching needs to continue, until a time when the fight logically ends. The realization of awaseru being successful leads to a heady feeling and a possible superiority complex of being able to carry out a successful counterattack. This needs to be guarded against and awaseru needs to hold firm. This, is En no Kirinai in practice. Of course, all this is easy to put into words, but much harder to practice, for identifying when a fight starts or ends is entirely subjective and depends on the fighters and the situation (space and time) the fight is occurring in. The fight only ends when the combatants genuinely are no longer trying to cause physical harm to each other. The connection with the opponent needs to continue until this happens and even possibly after, to ensure that the lull in the fight is not the opponent regrouping for another attack.

This continuous connect with the opponent is Shatrubodha. And Shatrubodha allows control of various kinds, both on the self and the opponent(s). This is good segue to explore the concept of Shatrubodha in greater detail. A last observation before we switch though.

The first two concepts of not using strength and not fighting are not relevant in the context of sport combat. A fight as part of a sport has many rules to protect the fighters, like time limits, a referee, a scoring system, a defined space for the fight, emergency personnel on standby and most importantly weight categories and segregation between the fighters on the basis of gender*. So, the use of strength is completely valid and fighting is the objective. These aspects relate only to a situation where there are no rules protecting individuals. Of course, this does not preclude using skill in conjunction with strength and this happens all the time. The other two concepts of matching the opponent and keeping the connection is valid irrespective of whether the fight is a sport or not. Great sportspersons use these concepts to achieve great heights in their respective fields. These concepts are useful even in non-combat sports, like cricket, badminton, tennis etc, where matching with the opponent and realizing what they might do, due a connection, helps a great deal.

Shatrubodha is a word I have heard from time to time in India over the last year or so. It is generally used by the non-left way of thinking. I heard it on YouTube first and then saw it on a few sites online. It is said by some that it was used by Chanakya in his exposition on statecraft. But I am not sure of this and have not researched if he really used it as part of his work, the Arthashastra. Nor have I spent time verifying if there is anyone who has firmly linked this concept of Shatrubodha to Chanakya.

Shatrubodha, or Shatrubodh (as it might be pronounced by speakers of Hindi) means “a sense of the enemy”. “Shatru” means enemy and “Bodh” is a little harder to translate. It could mean “a sense of”, but I have also seen it translated as “knowledge” or “perception” or even as “information”. Based on these, I opine that “Shatrubodha” could be considered as “knowing the enemy”. It could also be worded as “having a perception of the enemy” or “being aware of the enemy”.

When Shatrubodha is used in the context of an enemy of a nation or a culture or a civilization, it is used to mean that one should always keep an eye on the enemy however possible. It also means that one should study and research the enemy in all possibly ways, irrespective of whether the enemy is an individual, a group of people, another country, an organization or even just a value system or way of thinking that is inimical to one’s own culture and way of life.

From the perspective of martial arts practice, based on my personal experience with the Bujinkan, “Shatrubodha” is the same as having a feeling for what attack might originate from the opponent and when the same might happen. This is what allows us to practice the angle or distance to use and timing to apply in any movement that is made in defence or to protect against any attack. Over time this is what manifests as “Sakkijutsu” (intuitive ability) in martial movements.

Apart from the timing and distance, one other thing that is used in the martial arts is “rhythm”. Any training session or a fight between individuals or between groups has a rhythm. This is visible even in sport fighting and non-combat sports as well. There are intervals when the fight or action on the field is intense and at other times, it is visibly tentative when the two sides are probing and testing each other. There are times when one fighter is aggressive when she or he senses fatigue or confusion in the other and this could lead to an end of the fight or a change of pace if the aggression fails and the other fighter also senses the change in rhythm and changes tack.

This rhythm is keenly influenced by an awareness of the opponent, by having a perception of her or his intentions and by the experience of what she or he can throw at the defender. This sense of the opponent is Shatrubodha and is a vital part of the martial arts. It could even be expanded to say that this is very important in all conflict management situations, even if it is not related to physical conflicts, like a contentious business meeting, a dispute between relatives or friends and the like.

The “sense of the opponent” is something that needs to be obtained by being open to the opponent, her or his movement, rhythm, intentions and like. This being open to the opponent is nothing but the “connection” or “connect with the opponent” that we discussed earlier. It is not being open to the attack without any protection and thus being open to physical injury or worse.

Also, like we discussed earlier with the concept of “En no Kirinai”, this connection or Shatrubodha has to be incessant, or at least until a given fight or conflict is mitigated to an extent where the probability of any physical or other harm is miniscule. Further, being able to connect also requires not having an intention of hurting the opponent, in other words having no intention of fighting or employing strength and being able to match the opponent. So, Shatrubodha is not about defeating an enemy, but about being aware of the enemy at all times and ensuring self-protection.

We can now consider the other aspect that is key in the Bujinkan system of martial arts, which is “Control”. And “Control” begins with “Self-control”. The concepts of not fighting the opponent and not using strength against the same, is about exercising self-control. Further, matching the opponent and connecting with her or him or them while they try to do one harm is self-control that is very difficult to achieve. The urge to fight back to cause the opponent harm is extremely difficult to overcome. Hence, the need for self-control. The ability to achieve this self-control being very difficult is the reason why it is referred to as an important concept. It is a concept that one chases all through one’s training life and comes close to achieving but never does do consistently to one’s own satisfaction. This last bit is based on personal experience and there might be practitioners out there for whom this is child’s play.

Extending this a little further, the advantage of self-control and connecting with the opponent is that one is supposed to be able to nullify a fight with minimal effort, as against using strength or violence against the opponent. This is not to say that one should desist from violence even if that can save one’s life and is the only option that seems to be available. In such a situation one is of course free to adopt that approach and survive. The objective is simply that, to the extent possible one should try to minimize effort in a conflict by avoiding a fight and strength. Instead try to connect with the opponent and get the conflict to dissolve (this is not the same as defeating the opponent).

So, by controlling oneself, one gains the opportunity to achieve the first concept of “connect with the opponent”. Connecting with the opponent in turn leads to the advantages discussed earlier. A little extension here with regard to “self-control”. In order to control oneself, one needs to know one’s own desires and the need to act at certain triggers. This is the origin of deciding where one needs to control one’s actions and motivations. This act of knowing oneself is called “Swyambodha” or “Swayambodh”. This is the opposite of Shatrubodha. It means “knowing oneself” or “being aware of oneself”. So, Swayambodha and Shatrubodha lead to one another. Awareness of oneself allows self-control which allows connection with the opponent which leads to Shatrubodha, which leads to control of the conflict and hopefully its mitigation.

Like we discussed earlier, when one can match the opponent by connecting with her or him or them, one can move in a manner that minimizes the potential harm to oneself. If this can be done in a dynamic and consistent manner, the opponent has to expend a lot of effort in trying to cause harm to the defender. This effort on the part of the opponent reveals openings that can be exploited. Over time and multiple moves, this danger becomes apparent to the opponent as does the lack of success in the expended effort and hopefully leads to a diminishing of the motivation to press on with the attack. Of course, there is also the option of attacking the openings that are revealed and ending the fight. So, by connecting to the opponent, one can stay safe while making the opponent work hard and unsuccessfully. This is achieving control of the conflict situation; where one is safe and can create opportunities to end the conflict. Connection leads to control and this leads to an even better connect. So, it is a virtuous cycle.

If one has heard many individuals and researchers associated with think tanks or evocative retired personnel from the defence services in India, they all emphasize on one thing. This is that people in defence planning need to, from time to time, research and document all the threats, both internal and external, to the country. Based on this assessment, they need to plan and devise strategies to counter each of these threats over time. Considering that these identified threats evolve continuously, one needs to cultivate and work with experts on each of these identified and potential threats. This is nothing but connecting with the enemies of the country to control the threats and identify ways to mitigate the same. The identification of the threat is Swyambodha here and gathering information about the threats, Shatrubodha. The fact that one studies the threats is the act of connecting with the opponent and devising mitigation plans is the control of the risk posed.

While the above is more of a strategic activity, practicing the same in one-on-one (maybe many-on-one) martial arts training sessions is tactical in nature. Of course, in the latter scenario, it has to happen during a fight while the former takes much longer and might last years or decades. The learning from the martial arts can be expanded to conflicts one faces in life, where it is well known that one should try putting oneself in the shoes of the other, to mitigate the conflict and this starts with a realization of one’s ego.

So, in conclusion, based on the above discussion,

Connect, Control = Shatrubodha (with Swayambodha as a precursor)

Notes:

  1. As part of Bujinkan tradition, we have a Kamidana in the dojo. The Kamidana is an equivalent of the “Mantapa” which many Hindus have in their Pooja Rooms at home. In the Kamidana is kept a mirror, the Japanese word for which is “Kagame”. One of the reasons for this mirror being present is to remind oneself when one bows to the Kagame at the beginning of every training session, that one is bowing to oneself, as the superior warrior (or at least the spirit of one) resides within and the attempt is always to reveal and express the abilities/qualities of that warrior.
  2. A SWOT analysis is similar to Swyambodha with a bit of Shatrubodha thrown in (The “T” in SWOT), while the model of Porter’s 5 Forces could be mainly Shatruboda with an element of Swayambodha thrown in (the aspects internal to the industry or the organization).
  3. *There are of course mixed gender events these days, though they are far fewer than segregated events.
  4. Some senior Budoka I have trained with feel that “self-control” is the only real control there is, for one can never control anything in this universe other than oneself.
  5. A couple of interesting observations relating to Shatrubodha that I have seen in works of fiction are mentioned below.
    • In the final book of the expansive Fantasy series, “The Wheel of Time”, called “A Memory of Light”, one of the main characters, called Matrim Cauthon tells another character that he needs to go out into the battlefield and be in the thick of things to get a sense of the fighting. Matrim Cauton is the finest General in the land and he says this as he feels that he needs to understand the flow of the battle to identify the best moves to be made. This is as good a depiction of “Shatrubodha in flow” as I have ever seen. This could be because the author of the series, Robert Jordan (pen name of James Rigney Jr.) was a veteran himself.
    • In a book written by Fredrick Forsyth, I currently cannot recall which one, a character states something on the lines of Israel’s foreign policy being that there are no countries that are friends, only enemy states and neutral states, and so they will spy on everyone. This is a wonderful expression of always having a keen focus on Shatrubodha!
  6. If one has heard Mr. Rajiv Malhotra (search his name on YouTube and Amazon to have a look at his vast body of work) speak, he often refers to how incredible the Shatrubodha of the USA is. He says that at any time, there are universities and think tanks in the US, which are generating what he calls “disaster literature” regarding other nations and cultures. Here, he refers to how closely institutions in the US study societies and nations other than themselves. They use these observations to generate data regarding the negatives of that civilization which can then be used for information and narrative warfare as and when needed, to further US interests. The above is perhaps similar to how the British back during the days of British Raj studied Indian culture with great interest and used that information not just to govern the country but also to control the populace, by dividing and ruling when necessary and by setting up narratives that showed British culture in a superior light compared to native traditions.
  7. Seen below is the link to the article where I discuss my ideas about Ahimsa in greater detail. https://mundanebudo.com/2022/10/13/ahimsa-and-the-martial-arts-part-1/
  8. Apologies for the wordiness of this article and repeating the same ideas over and over. The flow of a fight and the objectives therein were too important to not emphasize with repetition.