The dogs. Everywhere in India, there’s one constant: dogs. Whether they be stray dogs, farm dogs, pet dogs, the common thing is that they bark. They bark at night in uncontrollable, unimaginable volumes, durations, to an extent that you cannot escape them. India is a vast country. It has its diversity of culture, of physical beauty. One common thing is that at night dogs bark: long and loud.
So naturally, I felt irritated by that. I would scream, I would squirm, I would wake up. I would probably try to shout at them to stop. All to no avail, of course. This has been going on for years. And had you asked me about my experiences visiting or living in India, that was one small aspect I would always include.
Until last night.
Last night, Lakshmi and I went to a symphony. We didn’t need to dress up formally. We didn’t need tickets. We didn’t even need to leave our bedroom. We were sleeping happily, and then the symphony started. The dogs closest to where we are living were guarding against some unknown attacker, someone who was violating their space, and they needed to teach the intruder a lesson.
So when the intruders… maybe they barked. We don’t know. They could have been anybody: space aliens, bears, other dogs, raccoons. In the dark of the night, they could have been ghosts. Or it probably was just the mist swirling in these mysterious Himalayan mountains. Who knows? What we do know is the dogs close to our home barked, and surrounding farms’ dogs barked even more. And it went on.
What used to be such a disturbing event miraculously transformed into a symphony. So there we were, lying in bed. We couldn’t do anything, but we didn’t want to do anything. There was no resistance. We didn’t want the dogs to stop. We didn’t even want them to continue. It was just there.
Often when we are lucky, we wake up to a symphony of birds chirping, and we get on our knees and say what a wonderful thing it was. And that’s exactly what happened late last night, into the early hours of this morning. We enjoyed the symphony of the dogs. We did not wake up. We did not curse at them. We simply readjusted under the covers and happily listened to, enjoyed the patterns of the barking, the various instruments; it seems like in a symphony… or maybe was it a chorale? Was it A Cappella? Certainly, there were no drums.
And after all of that, when the last bark was heard, we smiled, turned, and went back to sleep. Sure, we woke up a little late, later than normal, but we woke up refreshed. We woke up without any resentment of having our sleep disturbed. We woke up just simply pleased.
Now, will this happen every single night when we hear a dog bark, or will we always see the beauty of it? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Right now, at this moment, as the early morning mist slowly evaporates and the sun decides on whether to peep out onto another beautiful morning, I know that in our hearts there is not an iota of resentment of having our sleep disturbed last night. There is only simple gratitude for having experienced something so natural, something so beautiful, an offering, a present. And for that, we are grateful.
Thank you for sharing – I am glad you are enjoying the symphony of dogs now! This is also relevant for our current living environment – so full of love and also of chaos with loud overhead construction noises, the sounds of little ones and the constant chatter of friends and their friends coming through and things everywhere. It’s a symphony of new memories and experiences.
Thank you, Dost. ‘Love and chaos’ leading to ‘a symphony of new memories and experiences’ : Love it!
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you made peace with the dogs. This reminded me of when I was 5 and very scared of a hail storm and you invited me to imagine that the loud sounds were drummers. That made it feel more comfortable and less scary.
Dear Song, you nailed it: seeing (perceiving) things differently allows us to feel comfortable, less irritated and maybe leads to acceptance? Thanks for reading.
This touched me deeply, Uncle. 🙏 Sometimes life gives us the same situation again and again until we learn to see it differently.
The dogs didn’t become quieter. The mind became quieter.
And perhaps that is the real spiritual transformation — not changing what life gives us, but changing the way we receive it. What was once disturbance became a symphony. ❤️🙏
U – YES!!! You get it, perfectly! Thanks for interacting.
Very nice!
Living in harmony with nature and all it encompasses is what India taught to the world!!
Yes, C garu, living in harmony… it is a bit tough, but in the end, very rewarding. Thank you for your comments.
Sounds like you meditated through the dog barking. Isn’t that what you are taught when you start meditation classes. Watch your thoughts, don’t welcome them, don’t encourage them. Just keep observing them and let them go. That is what I was reminded of when I read the line “it was just there”. No wonder you woke up grateful. You already meditated in the middle of the night 🤣.
Thank you, Anu, for reading and engaging. That is so insightful of you. “Meditated in the middle of the night” – indeed 😀