Waiting for My Second Personal Meeting with Om Swamiji

“Tomorrow you will not be able to meet Swamiji as He already have meeting with 75 people.” An office staff told me when I asked for the next day appointment after the discourse.

“The day after tomorrow I will be leaving early so, please give me tomorrow morning time with Swamiji.” I requested.

“Fine. I will adjust your meeting time with a person who is staying for a longer time in the ashram. Please reached sharp at 8:30 near meeting room.”

Next day, the calendar showed the date 2nd June, 2019 and the watch showed the time 5:45 a.m. I had just finished my prayers. I placed my charity bag on my left shoulder and walked out in search of a cow, a dog and some grain eating birds. I fed the cow. I placed the grains on a nearby rock. Nevertheless, I could not find a dog. I went downhill near Giri river, I went uphill until I reached a neighbor’s house, I looked behind the bushes, I searched below the parked cars, and I hunt near the dining area. Surprisingly there was not a single dog! 

At last, I saw a stray dog and fed it some biscuits. The watch showed 8:15 a.m. After I washed my hands, I went to the dining area. The queue was so long that my turn would not come before 9:30 a.m. What was my preference - breakfast or the question whose answer I wished to know? 

Without wasting another minute on food, I moved towards the meeting room, thinking that I would have breakfast after the meeting, it would end up soon.

Every day I had my breakfast between 7 to 8 am, which did not consist of light food like poha, idli, upma etc. but full meal consists of roti, vegetables, dal, curd, salad and fruits. My hungry stomach was saying it was the food time, eat like a king! A tug of war started within my mind – what did I want- food or question? A part of my mind warned me if food were not taken on proper time, it would be converted into stomach ulcer, which I was prone to. Another part of my mind told me to relax, as a shot of steroids would resolve every useless problem. First shouted food was the most important thing in life. Second part calmly replied to eat the delicious food once you were back home but now focus on question whose answer could not be find on any internet page or in any book. Finally, my mind decided and commanded that you were here for the question only so focus on the question and not on food.

To my utmost surprise, the opening was made with group meetings and not with personal meetings. Five groups went in turn by turn. I waited and waited. Then personal meetings started. I was hoping that my turn would come first but I was the last to meet Him. It was around 11 a.m. when I was called in for the meeting. Until that time, I was empty stomach and whether I had taken one or two sips of water, I could not recall now.

Two years later, I came to know that it was a special initiation, which needed to be done empty stomach. I was in His leela shetra and it was His leela!

Once again, I am on a waiting mode, this time it is very long and very tough. It is tough because from the past three months I have not eaten chole bhature. ;)

Pic : It is not an owl but a cat on the tree near meeting room in ashram. :)

I Am Most Attached to My Spiritual Experiences.

“I am really surprised to know that you can’t remember what you have recently written on your blog.” My mentor said a bit agitatedly to me.

“After writing I forgot what I have written. It is a boon as well as a bane.” I replied and tried to pacify him on hearing the words of praises about my latest post of which I could not even recall the topic. He made fun of me that I could not remember what I had jotted down a day before.

I wrote about my spiritual experiences on my blog so that I could easily forget them. These experiences were like heavy weighted baggage and I had to put them down to feel light so that I could move forward with ease. In general, spiritual experiences were like milestones on a highway but most of the time a seeker like me made a grave mistake of being attached to them by constant contemplating on its beauty and magnetism. Then, the milestones turned into traps. Suppose while travelling in a train, I spotted a beautiful lake with lotus flowers amongst the mountains, not only I kept brooding on it even after moving away from it but also had a strong desire to go back to enjoy that scene for some more time. The striking scene constantly kept hitting my head, which I found almost impossible to shed off, ultimately became a shackle because of my mere ignorance.

Nevertheless, as I advanced in practice it really became difficult to be detached from those experiences as they were about my weakest point. I had to walk through once again down the memory lane where even my shadow haunted me. Even if the spiritual experiences were the most pleasing, delightful and gratifying, they haunted me like ghosts in a dark room. It really became hard to ignore them and forget about forgetting them.

Till date I have had numerous spiritual experiences. In my dreams, I had seen various idols of Lord Hanuman, colored full vision of Lord Dattatreya, Glimpse of Ma Kalratri and many times had darshan of Om Swamiji. In meditation, I had seen different coloured lights like yellow, white, and a mixture of red, indigo, blue coloured dots, lines of various sizes sometimes crossing each other, a triangle, vision of Om Swamiji’s silhouette, vision of Ma Kalratri’s fierce eyes, Ma Katyayani’s delicate lips, Ma Skandmata’s greenish sober eyes, Ma Shailputri’s third eye, myself adorned with jewellery as Goddess, Mother Divine’s meenakshi eyes and Mother Divine’s attractive face from front as well as from side.

Nearly a decade back, I had experienced bliss, a mini Samadhi. ;) In which, I forgot to breathe, I could not see or hear anything and found myself immersed in ecstasy. Besides this, I was also blessed when Swamiji was 24 years old, an astral body experience, and His tears, Him as Shiva and Shakti. I was whimpering from the past seven months while chanting and meditating, my eyes welled up on remembering God and sometimes it became difficult to control my tears even publicly. Above all, I had telepathy with Om Swamiji. :) Sometimes the reception is weak on my side because of my negative thoughts. ;) Soon, my name will appear in Guinness Book of World Record for wide range of variety in spiritual experiences. ;) The most surprising fact was that I never had any spiritual experiences, neither in dream nor in meditation, related to my deity whom I worshipped day and night. In meditation, only I saw various intensity of brightness and different sized indigo dots of the same color as that of my deity. Moreover, this color was considered as the rare color to be seen in meditation. The vision of this color in meditation gave vairagya quickly.

Was I puffed up with spiritual pride after acquiring a few experiences? My pride had enhanced the feeling of separateness from others as I looked upon others with contempt. My arrogance became a serious obstacle to God's realization. It was an unhealthy attachment, and it was blocking my vision to see through. My lower nature was not purified yet.

The spiritual experiences were like fragrant garlands, which became tight shackles for me as I kept thinking about them and was not able to focus on my object of meditation. I was giving too much importance to them and felt that I was distracted from my path. I was unable to remain indifferent from these experiences. I found it difficult to interpret and contemplate them. I could not understand tenses till date then how could I understand the deep meaning of these spiritual experiences. ;) They were the silver lining, which was even thicker than my negative emotions like anger or egoism. I had to wipe it so that I could progress further. These visions and spiritual experiences would come and go, but they were never the goal of my meditation. I was working hard to substitute them with higher thoughts. I had to diligently remove conceit and boastfulness, to realize Divinity. Detachment from spiritual experiences whether pleasing or horrible was necessary for spiritual progress. It is truly said that the less attached you are, the more peaceful you are!

Swami Vishnu Devananda in Meditation and Mantras says, “Looking back to past experiences gives life to the memory-picture, reinforces and pulls the mind away from its true nature. A sage never looks back; he concentrates only on identification with the Absolute.” My final and true goal of meditation was the direct experience of God. Meditation was the treacherous path of difficulties where each hindrance served only as a challenge to goad me onto a higher achievement. I jotted down all my experiences so that I could overlook them and started afresh as an infant who did not have an iota of idea about what spiritual experiences were. Just innocent I in MA’s tender lap! :)

Last time when I was in ashram, in one of his discourses Swamiji said, “Spiritual experiences are like a breeze. They come and go. Only for a small period, you experienced the coolness. However, the presence of Mother Divine is as if you have switched on an air conditioner. The cool air is always there.” (Sorry I could not remember the exact words said by Him, but this was the gist.)

Even after thorough search, I could not find the air conditioner button. I had full faith that whenever I would be ready, He would turn on the switch for me. :)

Pic : Pixabay

A Big NO to Retirement

‘Retirement’

This word never existed in my parent’s dictionary. They worked hard throughout their lives for their children, for their families and for the society. Even after retiring from a decent post and having ample of funds, my father continued to work day and night. A few years later, he fell sick. However, his illness was never a hurdle in his work routine. He used to open his office at 9 a.m. and closed it around 7 p.m. without taking a break on Sundays and holidays like Diwali, Holi etc. His philosophy of life was ‘Work is Worship’. To cope up with my father’s hectic schedule my mother would always be busy with cooking, home management, creating beautiful articles of knitting, stitching and embroidery, attending friends and relatives and doing charitable work. She had not retired even now. I am surprised to see a septuagenarian working hard even at this age to manage her funds, to learn accounting and to write with keypad on online platforms.

Betty White said, “Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren't going to get rid of me that way.”
Retirement can be defined as a time to enjoy life and relax, without any pressure from work. My life is dedicated to society and social causes, and I truly enjoy it. I totally agree with Toba Beta who in ‘Master of Stupidity’ said, “You get old faster when you think about retirement.” Irrespective of my age, I will continue to do my charity work without getting tired and retired from it. For the constant supply of funds in my various acts of kindness, I have to hammer away to maintain a balance between the cash inflow and cash outflow. I will go on to generate and share funds till my last breath.

I will not retire from cooking various dishes, trying new recipes and experimenting with new foodstuffs. Cooking is my lifeline as it is an art, science and craft of food alchemy. It is like a food adventure in which I adore losing myself in the rituals of chopping, sautéing, simmering and garnishing. It is a great stress buster. Moreover, I love to satiate myself with my culinary skills as well as by savoring delicious dishes. Food provides nourishment for the body, but cooking provides nourishment for the soul. Dishes cooked by me have special powers to bless the famished with prosperity and happiness. I cannot back from using my special powers for the welfare of the society.

Whenever I entered a property, just in a glance I can scan it and can tell the monetary position, wealth accumulated, happiness status and other things about the residents or its owners. I can suggest rectification for their welfare and betterment. I cannot retire from giving advice based on my knowledge of Vastushastra. With my jyotish gyana (knowledge of astrology), I can suggest native to do some charity and if he does it, he definitely feels better. It is my intuitive power or the power that I have accumulated from my nonstop charity work, I do not know.

I cannot retire from planting trees because if we wish to breathe in fresh air in future, we have to plant trees and some more trees. Moreover, retirement is just out of question without developing a new variety of mango tree, which can be harvested in winters. ;)

I love teaching and I love teaching yoga very much. Retirement from teaching and learning new practices in yoga is just not at all feasible as I wish to be a be a great yogi. I will practice it till I shed this body. Although I have taken a break from teaching yoga because of my health reasons.

When I started writing in 2009, I never thought that I would be writing continuously for more than a decade. Writing has helped me in improving my command over the English language and enhanced my vocabulary. It has also helped me in throwing away those emotions, which are baggage and bondage for me. Most of the times, when I write I am getting rid of my load. Yasunari Kawabata quoted, “I wonder what the retirement age is in the novel business. The day you die.”

I will even work after leaving this body. Whoever will chant ‘Chole Bhature Ma ki jai!’ I will quickly reach near that devotee and will elatedly bless him with prosperity, wealth and happiness. Tau phir bolo............;) Seriously speaking as the lineage guides me while doing charity, I will be guiding the generations to come after I shed this physical body. Sandra Day O'Connor said, “I need to retire from retirement.”

This very moment I will love to retire from cleaning utensils because then I will not have to eat the frog in the morning. ;) :D

Pic : A sunset of retirement on the vast canvass of life! :)

My Tiny Steps Towards Sainthood

“I will never allow you to take sannyasa (renunciation). You can do whatever prayers you like to do in your room and nobody will disturb you.” Ma (my mother) instructed me on seeing my inclination towards sannyasa. Newton’s third law is ‘for every action there is equal and opposite reaction.’ I decided I would become a saint without taking sannyasa. I threw my bed out of my room and declared that I would sleep on floor from now onward. She tried hard to convince me to sleep on a low height bed, bed with wheels or any designer bed that fit in my Sankalpa. But I was adamant. This happened almost one and a half decade before. Till date in summers, I slept on cotton durrie and in winters on a cotton gadda (thin mattress).

When I became comfortable with the change in my sleeping habit, I challenged myself by saying goodbye to the slippers. Like saints, I began to live barefoot. Most of the time I did not wear any footwear. These restrictions I followed in my house and only my close relatives knew about it. I lived like a queen in the outer world, but I lived like a saint in the four walls of my house!  

When last time I attended Swamiji’s discourse, he looked towards me and said, “Sannyasa lene ki jaroorat kya hai (What is the need to take sannyasa)?

Pic : Pexels

This is How I Awakened My Kundalini - From Root Chakra to Crown Chakra

As my past was haunting me, I could not sleep. I was trying hard to slip into dreamland, but I was failing repeatedly. That night, I took a bold decision. From quite some time, I was struggling between my materialistic and spiritual desires; whether should I struggle more on the materialistic path or should I focus my time and energy wholly on my spiritual path. Finally, I decided I would be concentrating fully on my spiritual journey. My courageous decision was that I would awaken my Kundalini Energy, which once awakened could not be made dormant rather had to be worshiped daily without failing for a single day. I opened a book by Swami Sivananda whether that was online in pdf format or in paperback I could not recall now. I reached that page on which Kundalini awakening pranayama was written. (This pranayama is also mentioned on page no. 93 in the book ‘Japa Meditation : The Easiest Way to Calm The Mind’ authored by me.

I inhaled and exhaled as per the mentioned instructions. I hardly did that pranayama for ten times or even less then did I feel a throbbing sensation in my Muladhara Chakra. I could distinctly feel that I had awakened my Kundalini. My body was like dry twigs that just needed a spark to ignite. In Bliss Divine, Swami Sivananda said, “When there is throbbing in the Muladhara, when hairs stand on their roots, when Uddiyana, Jalandhara and Mula Bandha come involuntarily, know that Kundalini has awakened.” This happened sometime in 2011 or 2012. At that time, I did not know who Om Swami was, but He knew me well and showed me the correct path because He knew more about me (my past lives) then what I knew about myself.

In the following days, I became more confirmed as I felt jolts in my legs just before slipping into the sleep. One day in dream, I felt an electric current passing through my spinal cord. I also experienced bliss for near about 60 seconds in which my breathing stopped completely, and I felt immense joy. That was just a drop of nectar, but my heart was yearning for the ocean of nectar – Samadhi. Some months later, I felt involuntary body movements, which became vigorous with each passing day. For many years, my stomach got upset very frequently because of Kundalini jumping at Solar Plexus Chakra or because of my somewhat bad eating habits I did not know.

These days, most of the time my Kundalini was at Heart Chakra as I could feel the burning sensation there and I cried horribly while meditating. Sometimes I felt difficulty in breathing and many times coughed in deep meditation, which meant that my Kundalini was active at Throat Chakra. Generally, while worshiping Devi my Kundalini arose to Eye Chakra and during astral body experience, it reached Crown Chakra and I felt a fountain of ecstasy and joy. Finally, dhoodh mein ubal aa he gaya (Milk boils)! ;)

Pic: Pixabay

Praise is Necessary -To Keep the Wheels Turning

Two thousand rupee note flickered under a raw peeled onion!

Instead of putting the currency in moneybox, he put in on an aluminum plate and used the onion as paperweight so that it may not fly with the gust. I gave a tip of rupees two thousand to a redewala, a street vendor. He reluctantly took it. He neither expressed gratitude nor smiled. I was bewildered. It was a quite big sum of money for him as he could only sell ten to fifty rupees of his freshly prepared foodstuffs to a single customer. Even then, his face was stern!

While munching the mirchi bada (potato stuffed green chili fritter) which I bought from him, I decided to minutely observe him for some time to find out the reason or at least one reason to bring a smile on his face. Although the fritter was too tasty, but it was too spicy for me. I had a burning sensation in my mouth. To neutralize it, I needed something sweet to eat or to drink. I saw a sugarcane juice machine on a nearby stall but there was no vendor to sell it. On asking the stern-faced vendor, I came to know that he also owned this. I gave order for two glasses. He prepared it while attending the customers on both stalls. While slowly sipping the deep-green viscous liquid, I found out that he had good cooking skills, fine managing ability but poor communication skills.

I met him for the first and this would be the last time. Before leaving this place, could I bring a smile on his face? I went near his stall and smilingly said, “The mirchi bada was very delicious. I really enjoyed eating it.”

He beamed.

After all, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace said, “In the best, the friendliest and simplest relations flattery or praise is necessary, just as grease is necessary to keep wheels turning.”

Pic : Pixabay

My Journey from Foodie to Sainthood

“Jija ji (Brother-in-law) is out of the town!” My mausi ji (maternal aunty) uttered as soon she entered our kitchen and saw a deep-frying pan filled with hot oil on the gas stove.

“Yup, one hour before he left for three days tour to Chandigarh.” I replied and inquired, “How do you come to know?”

“Kadhai (deep-frying pan) was on the fire just a few minutes before as fumes are coming out of it. You must be frying something.” She smiled while replying.

“I just prepared paneer pakodas (cheese fritters). Do you want to taste?” I served freshly prepared pakodas with coriander chutney to her.

She took a bite and said, “So, for the next three days you guys will be partying.”

We laughed heartily.

My father loved to eat simple food- chapatti, dal (cooked pulses) or seasonal vegetable. However, my mother who was a foodie would always serve him chapatti, dal, stuffed vegetables, vegetables with curry, salad, fruits and freshly prepared cheese. Although, he never relished eating fried food like puri, bhature, pakode, samosa, tikki etc. On festivals, he just took a morsel or just a tiny piece of fried food and never asked for more. Whereas I always wondered why he made so much of money day and night if he did not want to eat delicious food. What is the need to do so much of hard work if he just wished to eat dal and roti? At that time my philosophy was chole chature khaoo prabhu ke gun gao (Relish chole bhature and sing the glory of Lord)!

Not only that he never eats oily, junk, processed, canned or frozen food but also, he never criticized the food on his plate. Whatever my mother served him he would eat it without commenting on it. Only occasionally he would say, today salt was more in veg if by chance, there was some extra salt in veg and my mother had forgotten to taste it before serving. Simple food gave him strength and vigor to work for prolonged hours. Throughout his life, he had a very good control on his taste buds, which was the underlying reason of his success in academics as well as in business.

My nature, my values, my attitude towards other people and my perspective towards life was more like that of my father. As I had worked with him for ten long years, so my style of working was also inspired from him. I was his carbon copy except his food habits. A trait that I could never acquire from him.

I was a foodie until I did a 40-day Sadhana in which I ate meal only once in a day and that too phalahara (without cereals and pulses). The Devi did not appear as distinctly as before, but I could fit into my purani (old) jeans. ;) During the last days of Sadhana, I experienced two unique experiences. Someday, one I would share with you, readers and the other one I would keep intact in my heart forever. :)

Pic : Phalahar at The Ancient Barbeque, Gurgaon in 2016.

My Second Trip to Sri Badrika Ashram

“What?” I exclaimed as T.T. told me that the ticket I was carrying with me was not a confirmed ticket of first class but 47th in the waiting list. I was shocked. I was surprised. I thought that a ticket was booked only for a confirmed ticket. I overlooked the microscopic W.L. letters written on the right-hand side of the ticket. At that time, I was standing on Kalka railway station to catch a toy train to Solan.

“Buy a passenger ticket from the ticket window and get into the last passenger compartment.” He calmly suggested.

With my luggage, I almost ran towards the ticket window at the farthest corner of the station. The ticket window was open, but the staff member was not willing to give tickets, as he was busy with some other work. I repeatedly requested him to give me ticket as early as possible. He gave me ticket after ten long minutes. Holding that precious piece of paper, I ran back on the long platform to catch the train, but it had left the station just a few minutes before.

Should I take the taxi to Solan? The construction work of flyovers was going in full swing and if there was so much rush in rail then it must be thrice on roads. Traffic jams on hills meant that I would go through severe travel sickness. To avoid uneasiness of travelling in terrain, I decided to get into another train which was about to leave after one hour. To my utmost surprise, there was no space in any compartment in that train too. I somehow get in and find a place to stand near a wall. There were people on the seats, in between the seats and their bags and baggage on the over-head racks, below the berth and scattered everywhere on the floor. I thanked God that at least I found a place to stand in this jam-packed train.

After one hour the train started, more people get into and there was no space left to move even an inch. A few minutes later, an elderly woman asked me to move a bit. I twisted and turned to make space for her movement. She opened the door, and a foul smell made me realize that I was standing, taking the support of the toilet wall of the compartment. I remembered my deity that I was not going to stand alone in this mess, you have to accompany me and felt the same what I was going through. Every time someone opened the door, the stinking smell made me felt that I was not alone; my deity was with me holding my hand and comforting me.

I was hopeful to get a seat on the next station when somebody would get down, but I did not get any seat on that day. I was unlucky to get the seat, but I was lucky to have the company of my deity. I was standing for near about four hours until I reached Solan and took a seat in my pre-booked taxi.

As soon as I reached the riverside of the ashram, I gave my bags and baggage to local guide and started running towards the ashram as only a few minutes were left in the start of the discourse. I ran madly on the hard ground, in between the rocks, uphill without stopping for taking a breath. Even if I was short of breath while climbing the hill, even then I kept pacing forward until my breath became a bit normal and I could resume running again. I ran, I ran, ignoring the ache and heaviness in my legs until I reached the discourse room before closing of the doors. As I occupied the seat in the last row of the hall, I was sweating heavily, and my face was crimson red.  

I had His darshan, His sweet smile washed away all my tiredness! :)

Pic 1: A view of Giri river near Sri Badrika Ashram

Pic 2: A view of Sri Badrika Ashram

My World - Ma, bhai and….

 

The day he died, I realized that he was an integral part of my life. Before that, I never felt that he was an important part of my tiny world.

Since childhood days, Ma (my mother) and bhai (my brother) were always with me to share life stories, to relish meals, to play indoor games, to do art and craft work, to listen to radio, to solve my emotional problems, and to have fun in every moment of this blessed life. But my father was never there to enjoy those precious moments with us. As he was always busy in making money, working for success in his career, winning numerous awards including the highest fellowship award in his field ‘B.P. Pal Fellowship’ and in obeying his father’s orders. He never had the time for us. Moreover, I could count on my fingers those vacations or festivals on which I spent some time with him. However, he was always there in my life to feed me bitter medicines, to make me recite tables while standing close to a wall on a cold night, to scold me on my slightest mistakes. An emotional bond was never built up with him. It was like that seed, which never germinated!

The tears welled up in my eyes as I opened the office file and saw a note in his handwriting on the third page of the same file. He had jotted down some important points on the border of the page, which made my work easier. He was there to guide me with his scribbles but was not present physically. Taking the file with me, I hurriedly left his room and came to my room to calm my emotions. They subsided a bit. Soon after this, I needed a diary to consult some business-related issue; I gathered my courage and went back in his room to get that. As I opened it, I found a newspaper cutting, on which a quote was written which highlighted the importance of hard work over destiny. On every document, on every page, on every diary and on every journal contained his teachings, his guidance, his advice, his instructions and his suggestions. These all were there, only his physical body was not there!

For the next two months, I struggled with my emotions and when I found that I was not able to focus on my business, I shifted into a property where I had never spent a single minute with him leaving Ma and bhai behind. On that day, I understood that I had a much stronger emotional bond with him than what I had experienced with Ma and bhai although I never realized it till, he was alive. It was my sheer ignorance to overlook the thick, dense and blooming tree that was fully grown in my heart!

From the past ten years, after he fell severely ill, my daily routine was to enter his room at 8 am and leave his room around 7 pm. All day long, I took care of him and his business. I was his peon, his cook, his typist, his accountant, his wealth manager, his risk manager, his general manager, and his personal secretary. When he saw that I was serving him while forgetting myself, he gifted me a property. He had a very strong desire that I must progress spiritually which he could not do because of his busy schedule and his strong materialistic desires. In the gifted property, I did most of my Sadhanas and Devis always gave darshan to me. Swamiji too visited me in an astral body in the same house.

After He blessed me with the astral body experience in which I felt that my Kundalini rose up to the crown area, only His Padam Feet are my world! :)

Pic – Unsplash

Vision of Ma’s Third Eye - My Kundalini rose to Agya Chakra

One eye!? Why I couldn’t see another one?

While meditating I saw only one eye, which was quite different from my earlier experiences when I saw both the eyes of various Goddesses very clearly. I was having a vision of only one eye near about 7-8 months back. It might be a fake experience as I might have dozed off. I reflected that I might be too tired because of workload. Moreover, I was writing and commenting too much on os.me and other social media sites, which could be effecting my concentration. Therefore, I was not able to focus properly which resulted in this weird experience. I ignored it.

Twice more I saw one eye. Now, I was sure it was a spiritual experience as my mind was always filled with divine joyfulness and a deep sense of calmness. Was it a third eye?

I asked Google Baba and came to know that it was Ma’s third eye or one’s own third eye, which meant that my Kundalini energy rose up to Agya Chakra and my third eye had started activating. Seeing an eye in meditation meant that, I could now connect to my inner self or higher self as the eye was the window to one’s soul. Some yogic masters considered seeing an eye as a very good sign of progress on the spiritual path. In our body, there are seven energy centers where the nerve points meet. The Agya Chakra is the sixth energy center located in the middle of eyebrows and it is also known as the trikuti, the seat of the mind. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Third eye is equivalent to intuition. It develops when one is more centered and content.” With focusing on eye chakra one could rose from lower perception or limited perception to the higher perception as well as one could be full of devotion, love, calmness and deep joy. Om Swamiji said, “It is the absence of all bookish knowledge and it is about becoming that knowledge. It is the awakening of insight.” According to Swami Vishnu Devanada in the book ‘Meditation and Mantras’, he told, “He who meditates successfully on this centre destroys the karma of all past lives and becomes a liberated soul. Intuitional knowledge is obtained through this chakra, the seat of primordial power and soul. It is here that yogis consciously put their prana at the time of death.”

Sadhguru explained, “There are two ways to open the third eye. One is to burn everything in the body to create a vacuum inside so that the door of third eye is opened inwards. The second way is to build a pressure inside and let the door open up outside.” I followed the former way and most of the time felt that a kangri, a pot filled with hot embers was burning inside me, which was consuming all negative tendencies, and creating a partial vacuum inside me.

The confusion arose in mind because I saw a normal eye unlike the third eye as depicted by painters - a vertical eye. Since ages, what artists had imagined, I was experiencing quite different from that. It must be their imagination only but what I was experiencing was a reality.

Sometimes, I felt that Lord Vishnu resting on Sheshnaga, a 1000 headed serpent in kshirsagar, the ocean of milk was wrongly depicted by painters. It should be as Bhagwan was sitting on His table and chair, His eyes fixed on laptop, typing with lightening speed and forgetting about Himself – His health, His exercise, His recreation activities and thinking only about the welfare of His devotees. :)

P.S. : For all those who are interested to know more about my ‘Foodie Ashram’ project, I would like to share Aarti with you. ;) :D

प्रभु आइये, प्रभु आइये,

छोले भठूरे खाइये।

फूला फूला लचीला,

हमें बनाइये। 

प्रभु आइये, प्रभु आइये,

गुलाब जामुन खाइये।

रसीला रसीला मुलायम,

हमें बनाइये।

Translation

O, Lord, Please visit us,

Have a hearty meal of chole bhature,

Make us fluffy and flexible.

O, Lord, Please visit us,

Have a hearty meal of gulab jamuns,

Make us sweet and spongy.

Pic : Pixabay

360 Seconds with Om Swamiji - A bunch of spiritual experiences in my lap

Believe it or not!

I was blessed to have only 360 seconds with Om Swamiji in two private audiences in Nov,18 and June, 19 each 180 seconds long. I did not have ‘Om’ in my name like other devotees, I did not have white or ochre robe, I was not in any Om Swami Team and I did not reside in Sri Badrika Ashram. I did not have the quantity time like all of you had. Still I had a bunch of spiritual experiences in my lap and one of them was extremely rare.

He initiated me when I did not know anything about initiation. I only knew that I was asking a tough question which Guru answered only if the disciple had served the Guru for at least 12 years. I was very happy when He answered my question in my second audience with Him. Near about after one year I came to know that, I was initiated and I had to chant the mantras without using ‘Om’ in the beginning of any mantra. Last year in July, I came to know that I was initiated to Level 5 of initiation. When there is such a long queue for Level 1 initiation, I was surprised to be blessed with such a higher level of initiation. He is karunamaye!

You all would be surprised to know that I had never touched His feet physically though I touched His feet mentally numerous times in a day. He had never placed a mudra on my Sahasrara Chakra. Although I felt all the time, He surrounded me like an aura, a protective spiritual covering, which always helped me in growing spiritually and continuously guided me on the treacherous path.

He was so kind that He had blessed me many times in dreams, gave darshan in meditation, visited my house in astral body many kilometres away from ashram and bestowed the vision of various Devi’s whomever I worshiped. When He was 24 years old, He chose me as His disciple long before I chose Him as my Guru.

He graced me with quality time instead of quantity time. It was the most beautiful gift He had gifted me. Only quality time and not the quantity time created a deep and loving bond between Guru and disciple.

To be blessed with more quality time with Him, I woke up between 2-3am and sleep at night between 10-11pm sometimes rather most of the times without any nap during the daytime. Out of which I spent 7-8 hours in mediation or chanting, 1-2 hours in charity and rest in money making to keep the charity work going without any hassle. I worked very hard day and night to utilize every minute of my time so that I could have quality time with Him because even a fraction of His second counts!

Quite often in life, quantity has very little quality, and quality has very little quantity. After all it's not the quantity that matters, it's the quality that counts. Steve Jobs said, “Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”

One more private audience with Him and I will be self-reliant to open a ‘Foodies’ ashram in which chole bhature and gulab jamuns will be served as prasadam, by creating a blue ocean as no other ashram served them as prasadam. :D Prebooking starts now! ;) :D

P.S. : 1. This is my experience, yours may be different! :)

2. While searching quotes on internet, I came across an interesting quote that I could not resist to share with all of you. In Killosophy, Criss Jami quoted, “A lonely day is God's way of saying that he wants to spend some quality time with you.” :)

Pic : Quality over quantity created by me.

Breathe Smile Meditate Let Go

 

I could not smile. I did not know how to smile. I knew how to laugh, laugh aloud heartily.

“Chandrika, were you howling a few minutes back?” A batch-mate inquired while I was sitting on the stairs with my friends near the main entrance of the college gate.

“Yup!” I replied. My contagious laughter was a soul elevator, which could take my whole group onward and upward.

“You would not believe I heard your laugh on the opposite gate, about 400-500 meters away and guessed it must be Chandrika, as no one else could laugh so loud.” She said with surprise in her voice.

“Chandrika, I came here to check whether your laugh has created crevices in the old walls and ceilings of college building.” A senior colleague teased me when I was working, as a lecturer and I were cachinnating with the staff members of my department in a free period.

“Chandrika, you teach yoga or laughing?” A middle aged woman who was interested in joining my evening yoga classes asked. “Both.” I replied, as my hearty laugh was a gift of the soul as pure as ringing bells in a temple.

People recognised me because of my noticeable, full of joy and warm-hearted laugh.

Breathe Smile Meditate Let go

I could breathe with ease.

I could meditate for hours and hours.

I could let go of anything.

But I could not smile.

Smiling was a big missing point in my meditation.

I attended the online Creative Writing Course about mastering the craft of writing compelling fiction and non-fiction by Sadhvi Vrinda Om ji. How much I learnt creative writing I could not say but I definitely learnt the art of smiling from her. During the course, I was watching her smiling baby face minutely, her bright, brilliant, and broad smile. She was beaming. She was dazzling.

While meditating, I tried to copy her winsome smile. With practice, I learnt to smile like her. I could Breathe Smile Meditate  Let go very easily. In May, 2020 in my mool Sadhana, Goddess manifested three times, two times I saw the front view and one was side view. However, I was not satisfied with the vision. I felt as if I was watching MA in black and white T.V. I want to see HER in colour T.V. And then in 3D. :D  

Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

Unbelievable - The Lineage was Guiding Me

“Madam, 2021 was the worst of year of my life.” Today morning, a young man told me on phone. I met him near about a month back while I was travelling to Bhangarh with my mother. He was inviting my family on the b’day party of his twin sons as they were born on 1st January, 2020 and it was their first birthday.

On our route, near Rajgarh my mother wanted to use washroom that too in a western style as she had arthritis. My driver and I checked the toilets on petrol pumps, hotels, restaurants, schools and every other place where we saw a board ‘Toilet’ but all were in Indian style. We were searching from the past half an hour but could not find a suitable one for her.

While moving on a congested street with heavy traffic, we noticed a marriage palace and I got down inquiring. The employee getting out of the building refused. On hearing my voice, a young man came out and asked me, “How could I help you?” I explained the situation. He said, “Yes, they have a washroom in western style.” And gladly allowed us to use it.  

 I elatedly called my mother from the car as I had found one. While the young man and I started talking about our family, career and the place of work. I came to know that he and his wife both had government jobs. They had a marriage place, which was quite big and had modern amenities. As he told his full name, I took out a gold bangle and handed to him. He hesitantly took it. Then he refused to take it. I said, “Keep it as a remembrance that we meet up. It will be auspicious for you.”

“Will you please share your mobile number with me?” He asked.

“Sure.”

He repeatedly invited, “Please visit us again, today evening on your return journey.”

As I moved out of the marriage palace, I pondered what instigate me to give that bangle to him when he was financially sound, both husband and wife were earning good and had a decent marriage palace. The God wished so, so I did!

As the roads were bumpy, I took another route back home.

Today, he called me. While conversing with him, I came to know that the twins were weak and fell ill frequently. And he had a seven year old daughter who got fever after the birth of his sons. Her health deteriorated and she started having seizures, hallucinations and confusions. On diagnosis in Jaipur hospital, he came to know that it was brain fever. She was admitted in the hospital for two months and he could not sleep during that time, as he had to take care of his daughter even during the night because she could get a seizure attack any time. Now, her daughter had recovered somewhat. She could attend school, could write but not as beautifully as earlier, she could not remember for long time as her memory had been affected. The doctor told him that he was lucky as out of 25 cases 10 died, 10 became mentally retarded and hardly 4-5 cases survived. He prayed day and night for her recovery and spent near about 7-8 lakhs on her health.

“It was not the good time rather worst time of his life!” I thought.

Even if I was going a charity blindly, the lineage was guiding me. Unbelievable!

Pic : For more than three decades, I had this euphorbia in my garden but it bloomed only once. Unbelievable! 

WiFi Connection with God

“Immediately stop fasting on Thursdays!” I tried to ignore it but it bombarded again in my mind. “You should keep fasts on Wednesdays and worship Lord Ganesha.” These words were said to me near about four years back by one of my relative. Most of the time business related problems distracted me in my meditation but this was the first time a relative was disturbing me. Once again, I tried. This time a bit gently by changing direction of the flow of thoughts. “Where is that Pandit ji now who advised me to keep fast on Thursadys? How caringly he taught me to do chanting, to do hawans, to keep fast and to pray!” Although I was an advance practitioner now but how could I forgot him who taught me the basics. Whether he is alive or........? My heart skipped a beat, and I shivered a bit with unknown fear.

To know about his whereabouts, I called a management member of the temple where he used to work earlier. Almost a decade back, he left that mandir, I became busy with my business, and we lost contacts. The management member gave the number of an employee, the employee gave the number of his relative who was presently working in the same temple and the relative gave Pandit ji’s number. I dialed his number. Will he be able to recognise me?

“I am Dr. Saini’s daughter who used to live in University.”

“Who? Sweety?” He used to call me ‘Sweety’ though my nick name was ‘Cutie’, maybe he found it difficult to pronounce it. Anyhow ‘Sweety’ was much better than ‘Qweti’, ‘Kutti’or ‘Tutti’.

I was disheartened to know that he was going through severe financial problems. His relatives had deserted him. He was presently living in Dauji, a small town near Vrindavan. I sent the money through Money Order as his bank account got closed due to non-maintenance of minimum balance. I asked him to open a new bank account so that I could online transfer Rs. 21000/- per month in his account, an amount more than my personal expenses. He was elated. ‘Give more to others than you keep it for yourself’ was my mantra of life.

I had a WiFi connection with God which worked 24 x 7 x 365. Prayer was the WiFi connection to Him- super-fast, always-on and free. He was always available, and I could stay in constant contact with Him. I could communicate directly with Him and if I listened carefully, I heard Him speaking to me. I could keep uploading prayers for others and could keep constantly downloading peace and His blessings.This was not the first time I got the signal from God to help somebody in need. Every now and then images of the needy persons flashed in front of me, and several times the guiding voice clearly instructed me about the exact amount. Some said it was Devi’s voice, some said it was Guru’s voice and some said it was your inner voice. Whatever it may be, I believed that it was Guru’s voice because after chanting the suggested mantras by Him, my prayers started speaking to me, the voice became clearer and more prominent.

In the book, ‘A Prayer that Never Fails’ Sadhvi Vrinda Om mentioned, “There were times during my japa when I could see people’s faces - someone in need, someone who was sad, someone going through a tough phase in life, someone I could help. My abilities were gradually growing to a degree where I could gauge what people were going through and what help they sought from me. This amazement at the accuracy of my reading surprised me as it surprised them.” I experienced somewhat quite similar.

Earlier I used to pray for any living being whom I found in distress. One day, I felt that I could not breathe properly when I saw a tree completely covered with dust near a stone mine. I prayed to God for rains so that it could wash away thick layers of dust. I felt piercing pain when a owner of a black horse hit the nail in his body before nailing it in horseshoe. I prayed for the black horse. I saw a bitch bleeding profusely, a savage man had raped her. My heart bled. I prayed for her. I saw an elderly man with both his hands plastered. I felt the pain he was going through. I prayed and prayed for him. R.A. Torrey said, “Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power.”

Prayers washed off the impurities of my heart, it steadied my mind and prepared it for the reception of divine guidance. Swami Sivananda says in ‘Bliss Divine’, “Prayer is communion with God through single-minded devotion. Prayer is spiritual food for the soul. Prayer is spiritual tonic. If you pray regularly, your life will be gradually changed and moulded. Prayer should be life long, and your life should be one long prayer.” Prayer should always be one’s first response to every situation. Therefore, pray and pray neither for the earthy pleasures nor for heavenly pleasures with sakam bhava but for the welfare of other beings, deep spiritual enlightenment and for His grace with nishkam bhava.

Pic : Pexels

A Glimpse of Ma Kalratri

Buuuurrp! Buh-UUuurrp! Buur...BrruUUUUuuuUuuUp!

I was experiencing severe motion sickness as if I was travelling in a hilly area though I was sitting on a red asana in my prayer room. I was undergoing sever discomfort because of bloating, nausea, stomachache and a mild sensation to vomit. Because of unceasing uneasiness, I forgot the mantra that I was chanting! It was not a long mantra or a difficult mantra. It contained just three words. I tried hard to recall the mantra, but I failed. It occurred on my second day of my forty days Sadhana.

A few days earlier, I saw a video shared by our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on social media about Ma Kalratri, the seventh form of the nine forms of Goddess Durga which is worshiped on the seventh day of Navratras. As depicted, Devi looked stunning in blue color and I was attracted to the color more than the form. I could not resist myself from worshiping a Goddess who mounts on a adorable donkey instead of a ferocious lion, fierce tiger, aggressive jackal or feral bull. She was irresistible!

“MA, I drop all the fruits of this Sadhana. Please help me in completing this Sadhana.” I visualized a dark-complexioned Goddess with untied hair with left hands carrying hooked vajra, curved sword and right hands in abhyamudra and varadamudra riding on a gentle donkey and prayed, when I found it was almost impossible for me to sit further to complete my chanting. I opened my eyes, picked up my notes which were lying nearby and started reading the mantra from it. Nonstop burping distracted my attention from even reading a easy mantra. I could not focus. I could not peruse.

“MA, PLEASE HELP ME.” My heart cried aloud.

Once again, I gathered courage, put my index finger below the first word of mantra and read it aloud like a nursery kid. Moved my index finger below the second word and then the third. On that day, I completed my chanting like a child who was learning to read words by joining letters. Once again, I became child. Once again I became innocent. The innocence of child erupted a fountain of warmth, love and bliss in me.

Although my burping problem continued throughout this Sadhana still Ma Kalratri was very kind and blessed me with her glimpse. One day in meditation I saw her wide open, big, fierce eyes just like they are depicted in her pictures. Afterall, She is also known as ‘Shubhankari’, one who blesses Her devotees with auspicious results.

A Hungry Wolf in Suit N Boots

“You have won the case against Department after four years of continuous fight in the High Court, your file is still pending in this office.” A bureaucrat taunted me while fiddling with his smart phone. He stopped playing with it, placed it on the table, and ironically said, “The work is neither done on the papers nor on the site. Then what is the use of wasting so much time, money and energy.”

His words deeply pierced me. I was hurt. Truth can be costly, but in the end it never falls short of value for the price paid. He was crossing his limits even though I could not say anything to upset him as my important business file was on his table.

That day, he kept me waiting for a long time because of a useless reason. He was interested in chatting with me about my life, goals, assets, family and more although I was only interested in moving my file from his table to the next level, to get my work done as quickly as possible although quickly word was out of fashion in Govt. Departments were everyone work as lazily as a snail.

While conversing with me, he came to know that I was single, rich and presently residing in Gururgram, a city that never sleeps and drinks red wine to quench its thirst. His hungry eyes moved down from my face and his flirting sentences became obscene. At work place, I always wore body-concealing dresses with full sleeves, high necks and loose fit. Nevertheless, he was a hungry wolf in suit and boots!  

I am not a sheep! I am a lioness. However, it was not the proper time and place to show my bravery prowess but to act like a fox carefully, smartly and tactfully. I could not slap him, scream or shout at him as half the staff members of the Department knew me. Any sort of expression of anger from my side would create a scene in the office and in return would spoil my reputation. I opted to stay calm in the ocean of chaos of emotions.

Moreover, I was surprised with his guts. The office in which we were sitting was situated in my ancestral city where my grandfather was one of the respectful person in the town, my father was known for his honesty and truthfulness and everyone in due respect called him a ‘Dakter’(doctor) in spite of calling him by his name. And I was known as ‘Dakter ki beti’ (daughter of a doctor), kind and simple to whom many so called well wishers gave ‘free ki advice’ to own a luxurious car instead of Innova.

Holding a file for no apparent reason, marking it to the wrong person, passing it from one table to another, not passing it through proper channel and putting a pointless objection verbally were common traits of government employees but this officer was different. He was keeping back my file just to have a gala time with me. He was a smoker. He was an alcoholic. He was flirtatious. And may be a womanizer!

He offered me to go out somewhere. I declined his offer, as I had to attend an important meeting whether it was a genuine reason or I just made an excuse to avoid him, I could not recall now. I had less than two hundred friends on Facebook and I did not make friends so easily nevertheless to buy time I asked him, “Let’s be friends on Facebook.”

“Friend zone!” He said and a cunning smile appeared on his not so ugly face.

After all a wily officer was to be handled carefully and smartly.

The whole evening I kept wondering how to put a stop on his advances. Who could put a pressure on him – a local leader, politician, friend, relative, neighbor, his senior or his wife? His raunchy talks kept bombarding my head like firing bullets making me uncomfortable and tensed. I could not sleep at night. I kept turning from one side to another. I was damn tensed. At midnight when I could not bear the heaviness in my head, I decided to login my social media accounts. I kept clicking this or that button. I surfed and searched. Many times, I went through my friends list on Facebook if by chance I missed out somebody’s name that could help me. When I saw hungry wolf’s name in my friend’s list, I clicked to see his profile. I further check his friends list may be somebody I knew.

I was surprised to notice a young guy was a mutual friend of hungry wolf and my cousin. Without wasting a second, I emailed my cousin to inquire about that young guy. He replied that the young guy was his langotiya yaar, his childhood friend as well as college buddy. Hungry wolf and his langotiya yaar were from the same college and now in the same Department but in different cities.

Ghode ki dhai chaal! (a unique and very tricky move of knight who can move two and a half steps and can jump over any other piece(s) in chess.) I played chess on the board of life.

One year later, I emailed my cousin.

Now a days, hungry wolf is in the jail as he has been caught red handed in a bribery case.

He replied

LOL

Pic : Unsplash

My Writing Journey - From Pencil to Keyboard

Would she slap me? 

With red ink, my English teacher drew a round circle around the word 'ther' on my class work notebook. She wrote 'i' in between letter 'e' and 'r'. This was my fourth mistake in the same line and ninth mistake on the same page. Agitatedly, my teacher corrected a few more grammatical and spelling mistakes. While circling the word 'cheld', her patience gave way to anger and she shouted, "You make so many spelling mistakes. Your English is very poor." Instead of saying, I would improve them, I smilingly said, "Actually ma'am, my mother tongue, Hindi is also weak." Amused with my sense of humor or my presence of mind, she wrote 'Good'. At that time, I was in third standard.

In my primary section, I wrote with pencil in my notebooks and with red pen, the teacher used to draw at least three big round circles in each line. In all most all the pages, the red color was more prominent over the dim black shade. In my middle class, my genius mother tried hard with love and compassion through simple methods to teach me tenses when she found that I was not able to learn them in school but unfortunately, she could only teach me eight tenses. Tenses used to give me tension! In my higher standard, my language teacher always coaxed me to write more sentences in essay and all the time encouraged me to describe the topic in detail. As my mind would become blank like a dry river or ideas would not flow from it like a frozen river however, with great difficulty, I could write an essay having just two-three small paragraphs.

After I completed my college education, a dense cloud of tension enveloped me and to escape from the world of reality I immersed myself in the world of fiction. I decided to read books- one book per day. ‘Read, Read and read’ became my mantra and I read anything and everything including mythology, spirituality, astrology, Vastushastra, business, historical fiction, romance, drama, thriller, classics, Hindi Literature and just anything that I could grab. I read thousands and thousands of books on various subjects including English Literature.

In 2009, I was in an emotional turmoil because of my bottled emotions. To vent them out, I started a blog with a tag line ‘When I can’t speak, I write...’. The tears that never flowed out of my eyes became my words. Anais Nin said, “The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.”

On a keyboard, I started writing random ideas that pop up into my head because water only flows when faucet is turned on. Many known people made fun of me because of my amalgamation of past and present tense in the same sentence, improper use of commas, not able to properly express the subject matter. I was too bad in basics what to say about the advance writing skills. I decided to keep moving ignoring every comment on my writing. “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” ― Anne Frank

Seeing me struggling hard to improve my writing skills, my brother who had a excellent command over the language advised me some good points on creative writing. It should have a beginning, middle and an end. The opening should be like Dan Brown’s novel ‘Da Vinci code’ in which the readers were in awe and were eager to know what would happen next, the middle should be like Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ novel where readers could connect themselves with the happenings as well as surroundings and the ending should be like Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’ in which readers could not predict the end, a totally unexpected end or a lesson that left a lasting impression on reader’s mind as in Eric Segal’s ‘Doctors’ which was concluded as ‘Science cannot comprehend a miracle’. Make a blueprint and then erect a building on it! However, the epic ‘The Ramayana’ was popular since ages because at 75% stage of the book, the protagonist Shri Rama lost all hope, he was tired, his wife was abducted, his younger brother was unconscious after a severe injury from a deadly weapon, and he was almost on the verge of losing the battle of life. There was no hope of his revival. The hero of the story hit the rock bottom. Hanuman ji brought sanjivani booti (magical herb used as medicine) for his brother and gradually, the protagonist was back to fight again with more valor and courage. This script structure was followed in all Hollywood Superman and Spiderman movies. Along with him, my maternal grandfather who was a retired English teacher also motivated me to write continuously for betterment, in my own unique style without copying any celebrity author.

Several years passed when one day...

“When bhai (brother) has edited it then why are you showing it to me?” My mother said to me after reading the first line of the post.

“Bhai hasn’t read it. He is busy.” I replied.

“You have written it!” She said with a surprise. “And bhai has not edited it.” Now surprise was more in her voice.

I nodded.

“You can’t write such a beautiful and elegant line.”

I tried to convince her that it was written by me, no one had read it, and she was the first reader.

She read the second line and found a silly mistake, which convinced her that I had written it.

This major change came in my writings after I had gulped down almost all works of Somerset Maugham – short stories as well as novels.

For many years, my brother and my mother were my editors. Now, I edit my writings on my own.

Now, shout-outs, featured posts and competitions on os.me encourage me to write more and better. I am participating not to compete with anybody but with myself. If I could write better than my previous post then I am a winner! If the flow of ideas stop and I stop writing then I would be a loser!

After all, “A word after a word after a word is power.” as believed by Margaret Atwood

Pic : Pixabay

A Big Responsibility on Little Shoulders

“Do you need a guide?” A boy who looked like seven years old asked me.

I doubt your geographical and historical knowledge.

“What is your age?” I inquired.

“Thirteen years!”

His stunted physical growth astonished me. Neither he had proper nutritive diet to fill his little belly nor he had decent clothes to cover his undersized body like a professional guide. Although he would not be able to share something new with me as I have already visited many forts in the nearby area as well as I had a good knowledge of architect, Vastushastra principals and vegetation. Moreover, his accent was ambiguous and a face without a smile. A jhola chhap guide. To support him, I asked him to guide me through the narrow alleys of one of the most haunted forts of India- Bhangarh Fort.

As we strolled, he started narrating, “There used to be the bazaar on both the sides of the lane. The perfume bottle was purchased from the same bazaar by princess Ratnavati’s maidservant on which, the tantric did the black magic after she refused to marry him. Because Princess disliked him, she broke it as soon as she came to know about his plans. The tantric cursed the whole kingdom of Bhangarh before dying. It was deserted overnight.

“As you can see the chhatri (a shelter home/ small hut made up of stone) of the tantric who was in desperate love with the extremely beautiful princess.” He pointed at the far off place on the top of mountain.

As I have already read this on internet before visiting that fort, I was much interested in knowing about him rather than about the ruined building, which sang the songs of bygone, was now a desolate place inhabited by ghosts at night that nobody was allowed to stay inside this fort before sunrise and after sunset.

“Do you go to school?” I asked.

“Yes, today is Sunday. That’s why I am here to make some money?” He replied plainly.

“What did your father do?”

“All the time, he drinks tea.”

Further, he told me that he had a big family to support which includes his parents, four sisters and a younger brother and they reared five buffaloes however, they sold their milk to a nearby dairy to make their living.

Instead of him, I was telling him colorful tales, interesting folklore and mythological stories related to the deity, figure, animal or flower engraved on the on the walls of temples built in Nagara style in the compound of the fort. To break the all-pervasive spooky aura, I kept him engage in the sensational gossips on how to explain in detail to his prospective clients so that he could make some more money. Not only I taught him the art of clicking good photographs but also the skill to make boring places interesting with the magic of words.

After the trip, I paid him Rs. 200 as his fees, handed over my pair of gold earrings to him and asked him to present them to his elder sister at the time of her marriage. I was quite surprised to notice that no emotion appeared on his face, neither happiness nor gratitude but as he walked towards the main gate, I could sense that he had a big responsibility on his little shoulders.

Standing under a magnificent banyan tree close to the entrance of hauntingly beautiful fort, OSHO’s words rang in my ears, “Don’t think it as charity but share your things with others without expecting anything.”

Pic 1: Bhangarh Fort, Alwar district, Rajasthan

Pic 2 : Huge Banyana tree near Bhangarh Fort, Main Gate.