Becoming Immortal!

5

The Himalayas

All the mortals had deserted the hermitage by the afternoon. The only ones left were Parashurama and Gorakshak. It was a long afternoon, and Gorakshak lay in his hut; thinking of all that had passed.

His birth in Nepal as a scion of a rich family was the only aberration in his otherwise perfect life. As a child, all the love, attention, and comforts that he got, made him feel suffocated. He always felt as if he was living someone else’s life. It wasn’t until he first met the wandering ascetic Matsyendrak at a Shiva temple that he felt at peace. Gorakshak immediately ran to him and asked him.

“Why does it feel that someone has relieved my pain all at once?” The words were fresh in his mind to this day.

Matsyendrak had laughed and pronounced a syllable in Gorakshak’s ear: “Hroum…..”

Within a second, the whole universe seemed to dissolve for Gorakshak. It felt as if the whole world around him had spun into nullity. The next thing that he remembers was waking up in his mother’s lap. She just asked him to visit her twice every year, which he did religiously till she lived. For rest of the time, he was with Matsyendrak; wandering around the world, and learning hatha yoga from him. By the age of 18, Gorakshak had attained the level of Yoga that Matsyendrak could attain in 40 years. One day, Matyendrak asked him to take care of the hermitage, and went away, never to return.

Gorakshak always knew that there was an important purpose for him, but today seemed to be an anticlimax to his life. For the first time in his life, Gorakshak felt scared. Not of his death, but a life of unfulfilled purpose. He tried to repose his faith in Lord Parashurama, but the last yogic hurdle that he had to cross, posed a huge problem for him.

Late in the afternoon, he heard Lord Parashurama sing the Kathopanishad conversation between Nachiketa, and Yama – the lord of death. The primal human conversation about death made Gorakshak anxious. As he came out of his hut, Lord Parashurama was completing the wick for the large lamp that he used daily for the lamp ritual. He asked Gorakshak to fill the lamp with clarified butter. The slanting rays from the sun, as it appeared dipping over the Asta Mountains of the west casted long shadows amidst rusted reflections in water. It was the time for lighting the lamp.

Lord Parashurama indicated Gorakshak to pick up the big Damaru drums as he himself held the big bell in his left hand and the lighted lamp in the right. He started waving the lamp, as he rang the bell and Gorakshak played the drum by vigorously turning them up and down. The hymn today was different; it was for Kali than for Shiva like in the usual days.

He entered his hut, and among chants and pandemonium of the bell and drums, he held the lightened lamp high, and let the fire touch the straw roof. The straw caught fire immediately. He then moved to the next hut and repeated the actions till all the huts were on fire. He asked Gorakshak to dip the ends of his angavastram cloth into the lamp. After Gorakshak did that, he did the same with his angavastram. As Gorakshak’s clothes caught fire, he tried to throw the burning cloth away, but Lord Parashurama held it and tied a knot of the cloth around his waist. Gorakshak was wincing in pain now! Parashurama held Gorakshak’s arm tight and took him into his burning hut. Gorakshak screamed, and tried to escape, but Parashuram’s grip was too strong. Gorakshak felt his body burning. It was the pain of a thousand cuts, all at once. If there was a hell in this universe, it was this! As Gorakshak cried in pain, he sensed his skin melting like candle wax. It had become difficult to breathe, As he choked on smoke and fire, he saw Matsyendrak come to him and pronounce a syllable in his ears: “Hroum…”

Everything reverberated into that sound, and for a moment, everything froze in time. The next moment Gorakshak could sense was that Lord Parashurama was sitting in front of him in a meditative lotus position. He was blue color of the flame! He his arms, and legs. They were the same blue color as lord Parashurama.

Gorakshak couldn’t feel the heat anymore! The fire had probably purified him. He felt light and happy! All he could hear around was the sound of fire in the wood. It was a soothing music. He heard Lord Parashuram sing the first verse from Rigveda.

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् । होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥

I praise the fire, which completes and heads the divine ritual of life, and manifests the fulfillment of desires. (Rigveda 1.1.1)

He sat beside lord Parashurama, and among the burning fire and slipped into deep meditation. He was an immortal now!

The Million Years Old Kids!

Dakshineshwar

Biswada approached the door and switched the biometric lock on active mode. His body was scanned and his retinal code was matched. The door opened. Biswada spoke on the door. 

“Guest. Name RajatBabu. “

There were clicks from the cameras on the door. The lock device showed that Rajat was cleared to enter. Rajat entered into a tastefully decorated lobby.

“How is it so clean, Biswada?” Rajat was amused that it was spotless though there was no servant in the house.

“Oh! That’s because of the robotic cleaners. They are timed.” Biswada answered.

Rajat heard the voice of a child from one of the rooms upstairs. It was a soft voice:

“five ones are five….five twos are ten…five threes are fifteen….” It went on.

They moved upstairs. There was a soft yellow glow coming from one of the rooms – from which the voice seemed to be coming. Biswada rushed toward the room.

A child was sitting on the chair with back toward the door – studying from the book kept on the table.. Biswada ran toward him – “Son!” He cried.

The boy jumped from the chair – “Father!” He said

Biswada took the kids hands and pressed them lovingly. The child jumped suddenly with a loud shriek – “ohhh! It hurts father.”

The palms were bleeding right in the middle. It suddenly reminded Rajat of something.

The boy turned around. Rajat froze for a moment.

“Vibhu!” He cried in horror. He immediately turned to Biswada. “Biswada come and run. At once! He is no son of yours. He is a demon. He haunts the crematoria as a crying boy. Let’s go Biswada.”

Biswada seemed both shocked and angry. He was about to say something when Vibhu stopped him. He said to Rajat:

“Pankaj. You may be right in your way about me. But I am no demon. I have just come on the insistence of my gurus. Your friend is my friend. He is with me all the time, and as mother said –he is at peace. He is happy. I am the one who feels his agony all the time.”

Rajat looked at him. Suddenly there was a sound from the entrance.

All of them rushed toward the main enterance. There were four young boys – hardly six years of age and stark naked. – the Sanat Kumars.

“Rajat.” , spoke one of them. “Learn it that Vibhu is not wrong. As for you, go with him. He’ll take you where things would be clearer.”

“Go with him.” They said in unison, and vanished. 

There was nothing, but a blurred echo -  “Harisharanam”.

It was about time in which a cow could be milked. The Kumars never stay at a place longer than that, lest they might develop an attachment with the world! They are not of this world.

Deborah & Kali

London (continued from previous)

  John was her best known relative since childhood. He   always loved her like a daughter. After the sudden death of her parents in car crash when she studied in London, John had been her guardian and father figure. She always made a point to meet him every fortnight when she visited Coventry. Lately, on her insistence John had started dating Jennifer Brown, an upcoming pop singer. She wanted him to marry and have a life. Even though John was a bit reluctant in the beginning, but both of them had turned to have a good understanding. The relationship had clicked. Deborah was really happy!

“She is a bitch,” Deborah thought in her mind. “I never thought she could ever do this.”

Just as she entered the fast tube station at Paddington, she could clearly see that this had become big news. There were small groups of people standing by the TVs watching the news. She saw the news flash on the TV.

Dawson Case: Girlfriend Jennifer Brown found dead at her home.

Everything seemed so stunning. She couldn’t understand how the things were moving.

“Did she commit suicide? Stupid girl!  She never had her head right.” Deborah thought as she boarded the zero gravity tube.

In next ten minutes she would be at Coventry at the helm of affairs.

 

3
Bangalore

At the crematorium, as Rajat’s head lay by the sacrificial pit; his body was hung by the hook and his skin was removed. Vikas used the skin as his seat as his team members cut off the rest of body into pieces and chopped the bones off further so that they could be cooked. They gathered the blood in the cooking bowl in which they started cooking him. As the meat was ready, Vikas took a bowlful of cooked meat and with chants introduced it in the fire. As fire engulfed the meat, smoke appeared. The smoke increased till nothing, but a white blanket of smoke was visible. And then she appeared –

Around her neck was a garland of chopped heads, all drenched in blood. She looked fearful – completely black in color, with a shining skin. Her sharp teeth projected externally and invoked fear. She was the one who, thus, lived in cremation grounds, wandering with untied hair.

She carried heads of decapitated men and also, a sharp sickle-sword in her hands. She was smiling with blood drenched lips. On the whole she inspired fear, but at the same time she looked pretty in an unusual way.  

She wore ornaments, ear rings, armlets and girdles made up of dismembered parts of corpses. Her hair was long and beautiful. Sitting on a corpse, she shone like a sun and made fearful sound that rocked all the directions with fear.

Trembling with fear, Vikas and his team prostrated in front of her. She was looking all around in extreme anger, ready to devour the earth. Her shrieks deafened the ears of the sinners. In a single stroke, she decapitated Vijay, a member of the team standing to the left and drenched his blood in her pot. As she drank, blood drenched her hair as it flew from the corners of her mouth. Vikas and all others were trembling. It was the first time that they had invoked Kali. They never knew what would happen. Demigoddesses were comparatively more benevolent, but Kali was the ultimate power. No one could stand in front of her. As she finished the meal, she threw Vijay’s head on the ground and crushed into pieces .His decapitated body lay, still trembling on ground some distance ahead. She gave it a single blow of foot and it was gone. It lay there – still and dead. She roared like a lioness and then said – “The sinner could not control his senses. He was already dead when he tasted the meat before it could be given to the fire!”  

“Goddess, please forgive us.” Vikas prayed. His hands folded and his lips shivring in fear. “You know about everything in the minds of the people.”

“This isn’t a business Vikas.” Kali roared. “There are things that you don’t know. Everything happens for a reason. I don’t appear on the earth without a deeper cause. Never in this age have I stepped on the alter to taste flesh – but when I come, it’s an indication of great changes. Tell me why you killed this man?” She stopped abruptly.

“Goddess, I want to restore him with Pankaj’s soul.” Vikas answered meekly.

“Did you get paid for it?” Kali said in a loud serious tone.

Vikas knew that these are going to be the last words from his throat. He knew that this was not a business. How did he even think that he would escape the goddess with this? He had been a fool.

“Yes Goddess” He answered, just ready to be slain.

“Let this be a lesson for you. I told you that this is not a business. Your Guru took a word from you for this before teaching you this science. Tantra is to be used only for a greater benefit of humankind. Not for greed. Though there is a reason behind everything, but you won’t know that. You would get what you want, but there would be a price that you would have to pay. You will lose two people who are closest to your heart in return of this so that you never repeat this again.”

Kali immediately took Rajat’s fallen head and blew a whiff of air, and there he was, complete with all his limbs – just as he was before. The only difference was that of soul. He now had Pankaj’s soul in his body.

Kali Turned to Vibhu. “Give me your hand.”

Vibhu moved forward. Kali took his hand and immediately dug a black iron nail in his palm. Vibhu cried in pain.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die. I have tied Rajat’s soul with you. He will be with you forever. He was a good man. His soul would be free from all the sufferings. You would be the one who would suffer for him. As for this pain in your palm it would never go away.” Kali roared, rocking the directions and into the smoke from which she had materialized, she vanished.

Vikas looked at the horizon. The night had ended. It was the dawn.