Chapter 4: Bheema – The Watchful One
The fourth night was quieter than usual. Clouds floated across the moon, as if they too wanted to listen. The Listening Circle gathered under the Tree of Timelessness. Tonight, it was Bheema’s turn.
He padded in softly, nose twitching, tail swinging once, then still. He looked at each friend carefully—Mushak nibbling a dry root, Paravani preening a single feather, Simha sitting steady like a mountain, and Suka hanging upside down from a branch just for fun.
“Are you checking if we’re all safe?” Suka chirped, turning himself upright again.
Bheema’s ears perked. “Of course. That’s my job. Every path, every shadow, every sound—I watch. If fear comes, I must be ready.”
Mushak squeaked. “Do you ever stop watching? Even for a moment?”
Bheema wagged his tail once, serious but gentle. “Not really. Watching is love. To guard is to care.”
Paravani spread his feathers a little, teasing. “Ah, but what if nothing dangerous comes? Won’t you get bored?”
Bheema’s eyes shone. “That’s the trick. The edge is never boring. Even silence can teach you things, if you really listen.”
Simha rumbled with approval. “Speak, Bheema. Tell us what your Master has taught.”
The dog sat straighter, his red thread glinting faintly. His voice was calm, steady.
“My Master is Bhairava—fearless, wild, and kind in a way most don’t understand. He is the guardian of thresholds, the one who stands where rules break and doors fall away. And I, His companion, learn this from Him: When all procedures collapse, when the map ends, don’t run in fear. Look closer. That is where Truth waits.”
The circle grew quiet. Even the fireflies slowed their glow.
Mushak tilted his head. “Procedural collapse? That sounds scary.”
Bheema smiled, teeth bright but kind. “It can be. Imagine your little tunnels blocked, Mushak. Imagine your nibbling path gone. Would you panic?”
Mushak twitched his whiskers nervously. “Maybe… yes.”
“And then,” Bheema said softly, “Bhairava would appear. Not to scold, but to hold your hand and show you a new path—one you could never see while your tunnels were whole. Fear turns to freedom when you walk with Him with full surrender and honesty.”
Paravani’s eyes sparkled. “So your Master is like a storm that breaks old walls—but then He shows the open sky.”
“Yes.” Bheema nodded firmly. “He breaks, but to free. He frightens, but only to teach fearlessness. And He is loyal, more loyal than even I can ever be.”
Suka fluttered his wings, then landed gently beside Bheema. “You sound so serious, my friend. But your tail still wags. That means there’s love in all this guarding, isn’t it?”
Bheema leaned against him for a moment. “Always. Watching is love. Protecting is love. Even at the scariest edge, Bhairava never leaves. And neither do I.”
The friends fell silent again, but it was a soft, safe silence. The Tree of Timelessness shivered, leaves brushing one another like whispers. For a moment, it felt like something was preparing the ground for someone’s arrival, and the night was waiting on the other side.
Simha finally spoke, his voice deep but gentle. “The Tree listens again. And She waits beyond even Bhairava’s gate.”
Everyone nodded. They all felt it. The stories were leading somewhere greater—toward a Presence that none of them had yet named.
Bheema sniffed the air one last time, ears steady. “If you feel afraid,” he told them kindly, “just call my Master's name…Bhairava. The edge is not the end. It’s only a doorway.”
Suka gave a playful bounce. “And if I’m scared, I’ll sit on your back. You won’t mind, will you?”
Bheema’s tail wagged again. “Not at all. That’s what friends are for.”
The circle laughed gently, the fear dissolved, and the night felt safe once more.
Suka, again ended the meet with his song “We meet, we greet, we keep it sweet”.
- By prateek bajpai Shisya of Gurudev Shri Praveen Radhakrishnan