Ilesh Topiwala finds himself questioning his own mind as Kunal Mistry introduces him to the world of Maya, where truth and reality can't be taken for granted
BY ILESH TOPIWALA | MAR 16, 2009
"Where's my ring gone?" Kunal Mistry doesn't say anything. He points to a particular spot on the man's neck. The man looks at where Kunal is pointing and suddenly gasps in shock. There, looped into necklace is his ring. He looks to Kunal for answers, but Kunal just smiles and walks away.
When talking to Kunal it quickly became obvious that he's well versed in the scriptures of most religions as well as being a very deep thinker. Born and raised in London, Kunal found himself drawn to the question of reality and how we as people perceive it from a very early age. Using the principles of Maya and Karm Yog (the path of selfless action), Kunal's mission in life is to challenge your own perceptions of reality and question the capabilities of the human mind. Whilst I am familiar with some of the basic principles behind what he was saying to me and not completely ignorant towards religion, this mission statement from him could only lead me to say...huh? Clearly I needed to do some research; something I can't help but think what was his aim in the first place.
What's a Mayanist?
Kunal doesn't like to be called a magician. Instead he much prefers the term Mayanist. No, not the ancient civilisation that had a thing for human sacrifice. In his own words, Kunal explains "Maya is the Sanskrit word for 'the physical and mental reality in which our everyday consciousness has become entangled'. It is an illusion, a veiling of the truth that is often mistaken as the fundamental reality of our world. By understanding Maya, I'm trying to show what can happen and what the human form is capable of when we begin to strip away the layers, or pierce the veil." So it's more like an illusionist? "Not quite. Illusionists entertain in the art of illusion, and that's their main purpose. The world is bound by magic. If you can look outside of magic being contained as only an art medium, the goal is to understand magic for what it is. Then you begin to see it in everything. What is magic? My aim, when I perform, is to get people to understand that beyond truth, beyond reality, there is a permanent constant and that is where we are. That's what I mean by being a Mayanist."
Against the norm
Some people want to be a lawyer; others want to be a doctor. None of these are professions for Kunal to follow; he just wants to help people change. It's not every day one gets to see a young British Asian man with this level of talent and humility, but as I watch Kunal perform his effects on people I can't help but sense that there is definitely something different about him. The way he draws a crowd around him before leaving them completely speechless when he shows them something they didn't think was possible...it has to be seen to be believed. Whether he gets a good or bad reaction doesn't make a difference to him. He knows that he's made that person question the reality of what they've just seen, what their own mind is trying to comprehend, even if only for a second. That's all he does. He poses to you a question about what you perceive to be real then walks away, leaving you to ponder the answer. To quote The Matrix; "Welcome to the real world!"
