C6 Reminiscences

“I am hungry. Let’s make some pasta, " Aastha thought for sometime before cooking her favorite meal.

“I want to try something interesting. Reading a novel might help me with my creative appetite,” she ponders.

Excitedly, she reads her favorite genre when she envisions certain things. She begins -

“As I move through the dark corners of the tunnel, the dreaded spider mobs welcome me with their “other guests”. A bright beam of light glowing into a thousand splinters forges in with great pride unleashing its motive of tearing the density of the ever so mysterious clouded mist. Heavy spells of moist dampen the cracked walls, leaving room for morbid and mosses to settle.

The heights of the pillars show no limits to the sky and abound my imagination with thrill and excitement. The various colors of the rainbows give way to the dark black hues paving the way to some lighter shades.

I can hear the sudden hisses of the snakes while the cries of the small minions leave my heart foreboding. A sudden discomfiture shrieks my mind with words of fear.

At some distance of about 24 kilometers, I see a lace of beads, some of which might have been lost by now with the holy cross appurtenant to it.

Who on earth could have meddled with the holy beads?

Wait a minute. I cannot believe what I am seeing.

It is an upturned cross. Blood is oozing out of the cross. Instead of tears coming out of his eyes, it is fiery blood trickling down slowly”.

“Whoa, what happened?”

“Lights out”.

“All had to happen now”.

“Gosh, looks like something”.

“What place was that? Where was it? The place looked a little familiar. It looked like some Devil’s abode”.

“Why do I get hallucinations? I was in the middle of such a romantic twist in my novel. What a ruin? I don’t feel good about it”.

Aastha goes to the kitchen to drink some water. While quenching her thirst, she hears the phone ringing continuously. She quickly picked up the receiver to hear the voice.

“Hello, Aastha, it’s me Parth".

For some time, she couldn’t understand what to say. Her nervousness became apparent in her speech. She responded –

“How are you doing? Sir”

“I am fine. I wanted to invite you for a discussion with the group members about the new project. Please come to the Institute tomorrow. The discussion will be during lunch hours,” Parth continued.

“I will be present there, Sir,” Aastha responded.

Silence prevailed between them for around five minutes, when Aastha spoke again.

“And anything more, Sir”,

“You are literature,” he mumbled

“What did you just say?”

“I said that you are literature.”

“I take it as a compliment, Sir, thanks.”

A pause of silence swept across their conversation. The only sound that could be heard was that of her heartbeat. It started beating faster than before.

With no respite, she bids goodbye to Parth even though she doesn’t want to do so.

It was her day off from work. She visited the nearby church for some peace of mind. She also wanted some introspection on her recurrent dreams, some of which were nightmares. Passing through a street behind her home, she proceeds towards the Church.

A tall wall surrounding the Church reminds of the closed doors of eternity. Walking past the green bushes, one is led to a beautiful rising in the form of an architectural novelty that presents unto itself an archaic form of the spiritual realm.

Loads of green bushes and trees aptly surround a tall yet elegant tower protecting the inner walls of the god’s home wrapped around by a wall as soldiers guard the church against evil to ward them off.

The Church is studded with the holy white cross, the symbol of sacrifice and purity in its various forms and sizes. An invisible power seems to have been unleashed from the cross only to charge the sick, weary, feeble souls of the material world who enter the church.

The flowery designs at the central dome enthrall all those who would appreciate its beauty while the Priest as the messenger and agent of God bound by the duty of spreading the gospel of the lord looks contended amidst the crowd who attend the marvel of the Church.

People seem to fade into a new world that is opened by the gospel of truth propounded by the Priest. He begins -

“What is faith? How can we define it? Various people have various perspectives that define faith in line with their experiences.

The most discerning feature of faith is that it is evidenced in the court of ordeal and not in the vacuum of surroundings.

Human life is a story unfolding various incidents of faith. The ordeals of life create a story that is read by one and all howsoever stronger it is emotioned by the actor.

‘Faith” – on which the entire universe sustains, has been the guiding force for many who have nothing to lose.

To all of them, courage is strength emanating from faith. Faith alone keeps us on the path to the attainment of supreme peace, which is otherwise a difficult state to achieve.

Alas, Faith is God himself!"

And he ends his gospel with a line ‘Who all are interested in joining me for pastries and sweets?"

Aastha joined everyone for sweets and returned home. The gospel helped her immensely.

“There is so much love in me. I love myself more than before,” scribing in her diary, Aastha began her day with a refreshed mood. Everything seemed fine with her. She was happier than before. It is often said that a saint looks inside him. But she could never do that. It was one of those days when she wanted to reflect on her past. Her diary came to her aid. It was her closest companion in Delhi. She flipped the pages of her diary, a few of which were torn because of bad handling. She found a letter in the diary which she had received from Symbiosis Law School, whereby she was asked to report to them at the earliest.

Aastha looks at the papers she finds in her diary and recollects the times when she was initially thrown open to many adverse situations, which was a constant challenge to her.

In Pune, she had the accommodation of a small room, much like that of a Railway compartment which was at the center of the house. Noise, food odors, constant hustle and bustle, and an eccentric roommate were her companion.

Those days were tough. Every day was a gift of novelty. She topped her exams in the First Year of Five-Year course. She had a big friend circle in college which drew inspiration from the college name, SYMBIOSIS which means living together. It housed students from all corners of India and entertained international aspirants as well.

The crowd was young, naïve, energetic, and a bit crazy, crazy because of the whacky attitudes and appearances the youth portrayed while in college. She befriended all classes of people beginning from peons to the principal, students to teachers, poor and rich (this classification was not apparent though in symbiosis) legal and non-legal background, the last one being the most starked classification witnessed in last five years.

The education in Symbiosis was tough. Very often she would lose herself in the rabble of Symbians who would otherwise be recherche during the daytime. The crowd would spend their time at clubs, restaurants, pubs rather than in the temples of learning, which are smaller in size.

She used to join her friends at the Coffee shop around the corner of her Paying guest accommodation. It was one of the meeting points of the Symbians.

In the first year of college, she slogged for hours to learn new concepts of law and legal jargon so that she may have a good beginning of her law course. Gradually, with sheer hard work, she achieved a top rank in the first year of college. Reading and writing were not simple, as she was no genius at studies. Moreso, her problems were manifold. She had no foe. It was financial problems that kept her busy. Somnolence, lassitude, and disorientation were some of the other problems which she faced.

She did not confine herself to learning in College. She got a paid internship at a firm “Juris Corporation” in Mumbai for two months where she met a person by the name “Clary”. They became good friends and developed an instant spiritual connection with each other. Clary had a charisma that no female could deny. He was ‘enigmatic’ but equally boisterous. However, he was hideous and never confided in anyone. The bonding lasted for two months. During her internship with the firm, she learned about corporate work and compliance. Research became her forte. However, her work was not pleasurable, as her mind was fraught with disturbances because of financial difficulties. She somehow completed her internship amidst the worst financial situation.

Back home, her grandfather introduced her to everyone, saying that she pursued law because of his encouragement. But he did not provide her with financial support. Hypocrisy marked his demeanor. However, he was instrumental in her spiritual quests. He gave her scripture to read titled “Adhyatam Ramayana”. It was one of the most profound spiritual experiences gifted to her by her grandfather. She took it to Pune. She became more spiritual after reading it. The love for the almighty was so strongly aroused that she became emotionally attached to him. It was during this state that her ESP (Extrasensory perception) grew so much that she could hold intuitions about people and events. She could also spot the manipulations and evil intentions of the surrounding people. The Déjà vu also became a part of her everyday occurrences.

Once her roommates deserted her for one week. During the week, no one stayed with her in the room. Her bedside table housed the small idols of deities, the most prominent being that of Shri Radha Krishna. It was here where she used to meditate after offering prayers to the almighty. One night, something unusual caught her attention.

To her amazement, the door of the verandah that was locked before going off to sleep was slightly open. She immediately closed the latch of the door. Looking at the watch, she wondered who could have opened the door at around 3 am when it was closed at 10 pm.

While going off to sleep, she saw a shadow of a body half in size of hers on the wall. However. the incident could not affect her deeply despite being in fear and amazement.

Chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Ram”, she tried to sleep, but the struggle ensued for several hours. She could feel something heavy trying to overpower her. Everything became normal at Brahma Muhurat at around 4 am.

In the morning, she woke up tired. Turning towards the table, she paid obeisance to the almighty with folded hands when she became shocked to see the idols.

Someone had picked up the idol and placed it in a different place without disturbing other placements.

Astonished by the incident, she tried to figure out the chain of events.

“No evil force or spirit would even dare come near the idol of the lord, forget about disturbing its placement. Who can it be?” she thought.

There was no solace in her restless and inquisitive mind.

That evening, she received a call from her friend, who told her that a senior by the name of Boudhayan practiced meditation and could be of some help.

Boudhayan welcomed her with a smile and spoke to her about his spiritual experiences at length.

She narrated the whole incident to him. He then asked her to take a quick exercise. “Pick up three numbers from the set of numbers provided by me,” he said.

She picked up 3 numbers from the set and opened her eyes to see those numbers. It was -

9, 9 and 9

‘What is the meaning of these numbers, Sir? She questioned.

‘Turn the numbers upside-down"

She did so as directed. He showed her the numbers.

‘It is 6, 6 and 6",

“Do you know what do these numbers signify?” he questioned

“No, I am not quite aware of the significance”

His questions made her more anxious about her surroundings.

“Is something wrong happening to me?” she looked worried.

“Aastha, these numbers symbolize Devil’s presence in your life"

“At what time did you say you get up every morning?”

“At around 3 am. I am awake for one hour between 3 am to 4 am every day, she replied.

“The time between 3-4 am is Devil’s hour".

“What does that mean?”

“Do you meditate?”

“Yes, I try to meditate”.

“Since how long have you been meditating?”

“A week”

“Just a week… amazing”

“Why so? Please tell me, what did you figure out?”

‘I would suggest you stop your meditation with immediate effect"

‘But tell me the reason for such a response"

‘Aastha, if you don’t stop your meditation, you will be in deep trouble."

‘Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

‘Yes, trouble. You have been meditating for long and hence you have channelized all the spiritual power within you."

‘You have thus become the medium for good and evil energies and have therefore opened the gates to them."

‘Meditation could add to your peril. You may develop the urge to leave the material world altogether and align with the almighty forever. This is bad for you. More so, you may become a victim of higher forces or energies. It may completely drain your energies. There may arise a constant conflict of forces within you"

‘I understand your concern… but it will be difficult for me to leave meditation completely…"

‘I will not suggest you leave your prayers. Pray for a while but don’t get completely immersed into the spiritual nectar of devotion"

He further added - ‘The eternity is divided into energies, positive which we call ‘good" and negative, or ‘evil". However, the energy per se is neutral and gets manifested in the spiritual realm of the almighty."

Interrupting him, she continued - ‘All right, I will not meditate’.

“Coming to your studies, I hope they aren’t being affected.”

“Your parents have sent you so far only to seek good education.”

“How do you know so much about my family?” Aastha interrupted

“I mean, all families send their wards in such compelling situations to receive good education”.

“And I have heard a lot about your acumen in law. Would you like to join me in a moot court competition as a researcher, if need be?”

“Yes, sir. Why not? I would like to join.”

Saying so, she leaves for her home.

Back home, she stopped meditation as was her regular chore in those days and the results were amazing.

The bizarre experiences stopped disturbing her completely.

Towards the end of the five-year law course, she ranked in the top five in the college. Whereas, at home, the financial instability kept on mounting pressure.