Pralay- The Great Deluge

by Vineet Bajpai

  ‘Has Damini landed safely in Delhi?’ enquired Dwarka Shastri.

  Vidyut turned to the grandmaster irritably.

  ‘Yes. Yes, she has!’

  ‘Hmm…’

  Vidyut was getting agitated now. He needed answers from his great grandfather. He needed quick answers, several answers.

  ‘Baba, come on please…I need you to talk to me!’ exclaimed Vidyut, looking at his beloved great grandfather with exasperation.

  Dwarka Shastri was flipping the beads of the rudraaksha maala on his fingers. He was chanting his daily intonation of the very powerful Hanumanaashtak, the prayer of Lord Hanuman, like he always did in trying times.

  He knew certain revelations and explanations were now overdue.

  ‘Who was Lord Rama, Vidyut?’

  The scion of the Shastri clan, the prophesied saviour, the magnificent Vidyut was now much calmer, sipping on some tulsi tea. A few days had passed of him living at the matth and he felt much at home in the austere yet authoritarian cottage of his only living parentage.

  ‘Baba, seriously? That is where you are going to start from?’

  The matthadheesh grinned. Vidyut also spluttered out a short laugh, trying to not spill his tea. The air around the matth had been starkly tense for the last twenty-four hours. It was a respite for both the Shastri men to share a light moment.

  ‘No, but tell me, Vidyut,’ insisted Dwarka Shastri, ‘who was Rama?’

  Vidyut kept away his teacup.

  ‘You’re really asking me who Lord Rama was, Baba? You’re asking me to define the Maryaada-Purushottam, the Embodiment of Morality, the Model of Mankind, the Ultimate God-King, Rama?’

  ‘I’m not asking you to describe Him or to endorse Him. I simply want to know if Rama was human or divine.’

  ‘He was an avatar, Baba - the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in a human form. You know all this so much better than I do.’

  Dwarka Shastri nodded and continued, ‘now tell me Vidyut, did Rama make a few mistakes during His lifetime? He was incorruptible, perfection personified…but did He not make judgment errors also?’

  ‘Yes, He did, Baba. Despite being perhaps the most ideal of men to have ever walked on Earth, He made several mistakes. But wasn’t that the very objective of an avatar? The Almighty did not need to take a human form to destroy the forces of evil in this world. If we go by the conventional or popular perception of God, God could have simply struck them down by lightning! But the larger purpose, the teaching of an avatar and its human-like struggles is to set an example for mankind…that even the Creator suffered when the avatar came to this mortal world. Whether it was Rama, Krishna or the Prophets, Gurus and messiahs of any religion or faith, they all combatted life like any ordinary human being, and yet left their everlasting mark behind. Here the entire discussion becomes very intricate, because some beliefs indicate that these avatars were meant to show humans how they can rise and become Gods themselves! But like I said, that is a far more complicated discussion for now.’

  ‘Thank you for the detailed response, Vidyut. You are absolutely right. Having traces of divinity or spiritual evolution does not make one omnipotent, or all-powerful. Rama knew golden deer don’t exist. Yet He chased one. Couldn’t Rama see that it was actually a demon under the illusory golden hide of the deer?’

  Vidyut was listening. He now knew what his Baba was trying to say.

  ‘Nothing can stand in the way of destiny itself if it chooses for certain events to unfold as part of a pre-decided karmic scheme. If Lord Rama could make a judgment error, who is this mere mortal Dwarka Shastri? I am sorry I could not see it all coming, Vidyut. I could sense the presence of evil, but it was all under a strange veil,’ said the matthadheesh, looking deeply disturbed.

  Vidyut suddenly felt horrible at making his great grandfather, who was already reeling under guilt, stand trial for his failure to see through the dark deception that had seeped into the Dev-Raakshasa matth.

  ‘What happened in Constantinople, Baba?’ asked Vidyut.

  They had decided to take a walk around the lawns of the matth. It was also an effort by the great matthadheesh to reassure all the inhabitants of the monastery that everything was going to settle back to normal very soon. The grandmaster met his disciples and their families every now and then, smiling at them or raising his palm in aashirvaad or blessings. Vidyut playfully lifted a few of the children in his arms, making them laugh with joy and relief.

  ‘What transpired in Constantinople was something that changed the world forever, Vidyut. And it was not exactly in Constantinople. It was about a hundred miles from the city, in a town called Nicaea.’

  ‘Nicaea…?’ whispered Vidyut. ‘I have heard about Nicaea, Baba. It was where the great council of Christian priests had taken place, back in the 4th century. It was quite a milestone event, as it resolved some of the greatest debates within the believers of the faith.’

  Dwarka Shastri was impressed, as always.

  ‘You are quite well read, Vidyut,’ said the grandmaster. ‘Kartikeya and Pooja would have been very proud.’

  The matthadheesh and his great grandson looked at each other momentarily with moist eyes. This was the first time Vidyut had heard his great grandfather mention his late parents.

  ‘Thank you, Baba. Please go on…’ urged Vidyut.

  ‘Most people know about the Council of Nicaea and that it was a congress of Christian priests. But very few people know that Constantine held another clandestine meeting that very day. That secret and high-level group was gathered to discuss something that he believed was going to define the future of a peaceful, prosperous and conflict-free world.’

  Vidyut was listening carefully, wondering immediately how his great grandfather knew anything about the hidden chapters of the Council of Nicaea. He did not have to wait too long.

  ‘And even fewer people know that apart from his leading military Generals, high-priests, Roman and Egyptian mystics and the richest of merchants, there was one special attendee of that secret conference. One who Constantine trusted the most.’

  It was hard for Vidyut to keep up with everything the matthadheesh was saying. Nicaea? Constantine? An emperor’s secret manifesto?

  Where is all this going? How are Constantine and his world-view connected to me?

  Dwarka Shastri noticed the bewilderment on Vidyut’s face. He knew it was time the last devta heard everything.

  ‘What nearly no one knows is that Constantine’s special guest at Nicaea that day had ridden thousands of miles from the East.’

  Vidyut was listening with his eyes wide with anticipation.

  ‘He was none other than our magnificent ancestor, the hooded warrior-sage, Advait Shastri.’

  Harappa, 1700 BCE

  HIS GREATEST SIN

  It was time to deliver his end of the promise. Sura had kept his word and helped Vivasvan Pujari capture the mountains of brick and bronze. His army had also ring-fenced the construction site with thousands of fierce warriors, to ensure that Pundit Chandradhar and Priyamvada could not win it back. Therefore it was now Vivasvan’s turn to keep his word. It was time for him to commit his greatest sin among all.

  The erstwhile Surya of Harappa was going to offer Sura the lives of the very Saptarishi that he once worshipped like the Gods themselves.

  Not aware that his valiant and beloved son Manu was alive, Vivasvan Pujari continued to seethe with uncontrollable fury. He was going to unleash such cruelty and hate that this world had never seen before. And would perhaps never witness hereafter.

  He was going to permit the killing of the Saraswati’s sons. Even someone of his wisdom failed to foresee the devastation that would follow.

  Or maybe he knew.

  They made their way in the darkness, walking waist-deep through the freezing stream that gushed along the secret abode of the Saptarishi. It was a small band comprising fifty of Sura’s elite, nocturnal troopers. It was the demon-king’s idea to make a stealth approach towards the cluster
of forests and caves where the Saptarishi dwelled. Vivasvan knew it was a waste of effort. The Saptarishi would know about their progress from even before they took their first step. But Vivasvan Pujari also knew, that the Saptarishi were not the kind to flee. The holy Seven would either bring the creeping twines of giant trees to turn into serpents and strangle their attackers in the darkness, or command hundreds of wolves to tear their flesh apart. Vivasvan did not care. His asura brigade was working incessantly towards building massive mounds that would withstand and direct the Saraswati’s formidable flow towards the evil city of Harappa and its outskirts.

  His work was done already. He was going to fulfill his promise to his vile comrade, and then give up his body in a final yogic ritual of ascension of the soul beyond the realm of flesh and blood.

  Even now, even after everything that had revealed itself in the last few days, the great devta had not learnt the most vital lesson. Even now he had plans that he felt were going to fall in place as he envisioned them.

  How can a heart filled with hate and a mind poisoned with vengeance ever hope to have the universe on its side? How can blackened souls embarking upon violence against the unarmed and the innocent, hope to ever enjoy the favour of the Creator? The violent shall always be punished first. Punished foremost.

  They now stood exactly where Vivasvan Pujari had met the Saptarishi last. It was a cold night and, unlike his last visit, none of the magical occurrences of singing rivulets and chirping birds presented themselves. There were no giggling pebbles or neighing horses. It was a chilling, black dusk.

  ‘Find them!’ commanded Sura.

  The fifty fighters of the demon-king now unsheathed their menacing swords and began slashing their blades around wildly at every bush and every thicket. Sura himself was prancing around to look for even the remotest evidence of the Saptarishi’s presence. But to no avail. They were nowhere to be found.

  Just when Sura, Prachanda and their men decided to abandon their search and turned to Vivasvan Pujari with angry, enquiring eyes, they saw the devta staring in one direction. As they followed his gaze, they saw too. Those that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

  The Saptarishi!

  ‘They are not in their bodies,’ said the Surya of Harappa, his eyes still observing the Saptarishi from a distance.

  Sura, Prachanda and their men could not understand what Vivasvan had just said. As far as they were concerned, the Saptarishi were right there in front of them. They moved forward cautiously, their scimitars ready to strike the divine sages down. Sura’s breath was heavy with anticipation. He was going to destroy the last hurdle between him and the greatest empire anyone had ever ruled!

  The Saptarishi were now only a few steps away. One of the sages sat cross-legged at the bank of the cold stream. The other was in a trance on a rock clearing ahead of them. Yet another was in deep meditation perched on a low hill, while the other was in penance under a lush tree. All seven of them sat no more than a few paces away from one another. All of them appeared calm and undisturbed at the approaching assassins.

  ‘It’s no use…!’ shouted Vivasvan to Sura and Prachanda. He was still standing where he was when he saw the sages for the first time tonight.

  Sura turned impatiently, as Vivasvan Pujari walked slowly towards him.

  ‘It will be no use harming their bodies, Sura. They are not in them anymore.’

  ‘What are you talking about, O a-devta,’ the king of the asuras snapped back. ‘They are all there! They are alive…but not for long, I swear to you!’

  The demon-king turned to his men and yelled out an order that was routine for him, but one that stunned Vivasvan Pujari. Something the devta of Harappa had not anticipated.

  ‘I need their ashes on my body tomorrow morning,’ commanded Sura in his authoritative, gruff voice.

  ‘BURN THEM ALIVE!’

  Banaras, 2017

  THE NEW WORLD ORDER

  ‘When a monarch becomes too powerful and perhaps too narcissistic, he begins to believe that he is the hand of God. That everything that the Almighty wants to implement will be done through him as God’s medium. Alexander believed he was divine, till just before his early demise. The Egyptian pharaoh Ramasses II built enormous statues of himself to be worshipped as a God, and believed he was related to Ra, the Sun deity. Why, even as late as the Mughal kings we see this phenomenon. They gave themselves the title Jahanpanaah or Refuge of the World!’ explained Dwarka Shastri, as they continued their walk around the monastery.

  Vidyut was listening silently, attentively…nodding his head once in a while. He did not want to interrupt the flow of Dwarka Shastri’s discourse.

  ‘Constantine was no different. He waged war after war and conquered enormous territory. He began to consider himself above ordinary human beings, who, he started to believe, had a predictable pattern of social and political behavior. Just because he was able to unify a large empire comprising numerous smaller states under his suzerainty, he began to envision a unified world at large.

  He identified religion as the primary cause of discord between people. He observed that while regions and territories can be annexed and forced into unification, the same was not true when it came to faiths and religions. Constantine was well aware of the rise of Christianity despite the full might and brutality of the Roman Empire. So in order to realize his dream of a cohesive world, he decided to begin with religion.’

  ‘This reminds me of the Mughal king Akbar, Baba,’ replied Vidyut. ‘Even Akbar made an attempt to bring peace and harmony across his vast empire by rejecting the supremacy of any one religion and bringing together the best of all prevailing faiths. He even started a new religion, so to speak, called the Din-i-Ilahi or Tawhid-i-Ilahi.’

  ‘You are right. But there is a key difference. Akbar did not try to compel people into his newly founded faith. He never used force. Nor intrigue. But that was not the case with Constantine. He first brought two factions of Christianity together in the official Council of Nicaea. That was an easy project for him. It was on the sidelines of this Council that he commissioned the most ambitious and far-reaching politico-religious campaign in the history of our species. He unleashed a dangerous and unrealistic quest to establish a New World Order.’

  They were now back in the grandmaster’s cottage. Even though the 108 year-old master and commander of the Dev-Raakshasa matth had shown remarkable recovery from his illness, he was still weak. He rested for a while on his stately bed, before coming back to their discussion.

  ‘Constantine was a visionary no doubt, and his intentions were noble. Most importantly, he was among the handful of people over the last hundreds of years who were privy to the secret of the Black Temple. He wanted to do what he called ‘God’s work’ by appointing himself as God’s deputy!’

  Vidyut did not hear the whole statement of Dwarka Shastri. The mention of the Black Temple again made him jump.

  ‘Baba, before we proceed, you have to tell me what the Black Temple is! Balvanta dada mentioned it the other day at the ghaat. He said Naina keeps a satellite phone to stay in touch with the Black Temple. Then Romi was muttering something about it before he consumed that potassium cyanide pill. Now you allude to its secret that has remained hidden for hundreds of years. What is the Black Temple, Baba? How is it related to us? What is the secret it guards?’

  ‘The Black Temple holds in its heart the last hope for mankind. But please have patience, Vidyut. If I have not told you about it, there must be a reason. In just seven days from now you will not only find out what the secret of the Black Temple is, you are in fact the chosen one to protect it till the moment of salvation arrives for all of us. Not just all of us in this matth. Nor just for everyone in the holy city of Kashi. But all of us on this planet, Vidyut.’

  ‘In his unreasonably high confidence or perhaps arrogance, what Constantine did not foresee was that great visions can be shouldered and realized only by men and women worthy of that burden. Being someone who had himself
satiated all his desire for wealth, power and conquest, he attempted to build a framework that would survive beyond a few years only if none of the men involved in his grand scheme nursed any personal ambitions. How ridiculously naïve of a king who dominated a quarter of the known world in his time!’ said Dwarka Shastri.

  ‘It sure does sound silly, Baba. But what exactly was his grand design? What was the New World Order?’ enquired Vidyut, now sitting right next to the matthadheesh’s bed.

  ‘Was? Did you just say ‘was’, Vidyut?’ asked Dwarka Shastri, his eyebrows raised in amazement and mild rebuke at his great grandson’s choice of words. ‘The New World Order thrives like a ghost-shadow on this entire world, more powerful now than it has ever been. Isn’t this what all the signs have been telling you, Vidyut? Isn’t this what I cautioned you about on the fateful day you went to the Dashashwamedh ghaat to meet Romi Pereira?’

  Vidyut figured he had made a mistake. But more than that he recognized how very sensitive his Baba was to the mention and treatment of this name - the New World Order.

  ‘My apologies, Baba. That is not what I meant. Since we were talking about the times of Constantine, I meant to ask what his grandiose vision was? What was he trying to achieve through this Order?’

  Dwarka Shastri nodded and continued.

  ‘It was a bizarre, utopian dream. By a New World Order Constantine meant to rebuild the world, this time without barriers, without hate, without fault-lines and without identity wars between human beings based on ethnicities, nations, beliefs, colour or economic imbalance. The few years of peace he experienced in his own life of greatness and conquest were those when the people of his vast kingdom lived under one law, one monarch, one culture, one economy and most importantly, almost one religion. In his desire to do God’s work and to make the world a better place after he was gone, Constantine laid the meticulous foundation for the world’s most formidable underground organization in the history of the Earth. A brotherhood so powerful that it would pulverize humankind at large towards Constantine’s great vision of a uniform world – one government, one economy, one currency, one military, one culture and one God!’