Son of Bhrigu

by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE

  It was then that she remembered one more thing about the Dandaka forest. She had read about it in one of the ancient texts. The thought chilled her.

  It had been created by Shukracharya.

  Chapter Forty-nine

  About the Sangha

  The Gurukul

  ‘Now that you are here in the Gurukul,’ Jignesh said, ‘let me start by telling you about the Sangha and the Gana .’

  They had walked down from the central avenue between the classrooms, past the Kshatriya training field, where Virendra was putting Arjun through his paces, and were now strolling in the shade of the trees lining the river.

  Maya recalled that Tiwari had mentioned the Gana during their drive to Panna. He had also mentioned that her father was a member of the Sangha , but had not elaborated. The story of what had happened in Allahabad had taken over her thoughts and she had not wanted to discuss anything else after that. She now listened attentively as Jignesh spoke.

  ‘You know, of course, about Shukra and the Saptarishis,’ Jignesh began.

  ‘I know about Shukracharya,’ Maya replied. ‘Ratan told me. And I have read about the Saptarishis in the Mahabharata and other ancient texts.’

  ‘Very well. Let me tell you about what happened at the start of Kaliyuga, 5,000 years ago. You know that there are seven levels of the lower planets, or the netherworlds. You would have read about them in the scriptures.’

  Maya nodded. Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. These were the seven levels of the netherworlds, each one inhabited by a different set of beings.

  ‘Good. If you know this, then you also know that, of the seven levels, Vitala is where Lord Shiva resides as Hathakesvara , and Sutala is occupied by the son of Virocana — Bali — whom the Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu had pushed into the netherworld. Bali had always been a pious man and a devotee of Lord Vishnu. The only reason he was relegated to Sutala was because Indra feared that his own kingship of the Devas was threatened. The other five levels are occupied by the Daityas, Danavas and the Nagas. When Kaliyuga began, the Devas and the Saptarishis withdrew from this world. It was then that Shukracharya decided to take advantage of the change of ages and open the gates of the five levels of the netherworlds where the Asuras and Nagas live. His plan was to release them upon our world, Bhu-lok , which they would rule along with the netherworlds.’ Jignesh looked at Maya to see if she was following the story so far.

  Satisfied that her entire attention was focused on him, he continued. ‘It was then that the Saptarishis warned Shukra against going through with his plans. Faced with their collective powers, Shukra had to admit defeat. He disappeared for 5,000 years. Fourteen years ago, he reappeared in Allahabad. You know what happened next.’

  Maya nodded, Tiwari’s narration of the unpleasant events in Allahabad resurfacing in her mind. She pushed them away with an effort.

  ‘Is that when the Sangha was created?’ she asked. ‘When Shukra disappeared 5,000 years ago? To ensure that Shukra never followed up on his plans?’

  ‘Indeed, that was when the Sangha was created,’ Jignesh agreed, ‘but not just to keep Shukra in check. The Saptarishis wanted to ensure that the world would remain safe, even during Kaliyuga, when the worst manifestations of evil would materialize. When Kaliyuga began, they chose a group of men and women to be their representatives and handed over the responsibility of protecting humanity from evil to them. Some of these chosen ones had yogic powers and others were Kshatriyas. The Maharishis and the Kshatriyas have worked together ever since, as members of the Sangha , to form a protective shield around humanity. Those spirits you encountered last night,’ Jignesh gestured in the direction of the hill beyond which the clearing lay, ‘they didn’t just appear out of nowhere. They are around us all the time, mostly invisible, sometimes wreaking havoc, sometimes benevolent. But they are there, nevertheless. Who do you think keeps humanity from seeing them?’

  ‘The Sangha ,’ breathed Maya. The presence of an invisible, secret Order, thousands of years old, protecting humanity without anyone knowing of its existence was an amazing revelation.

  ‘The Maharishis and Kshatriyas of the Sangha have three responsibilities,’ Jignesh continued. ‘The first one is to protect humanity from evil spirits and demons. Many members of the Sangha work as teachers in schools and universities across the country, discharging this responsibility with the help of the youngsters who pass out of Gurukuls like this one, graduating to become members of the Gana. Together, the Sangha and the Gana extend a protective shield over humanity, keeping evil away. Your father, your late history teacher, Dhananjay, and Ratan are all examples of Sangha members engaged in this task.’

  ‘You mean some of our teachers in school were — I mean are — actually members of the Sangha ?’ Maya was astonished. She would never have believed it.

  ‘Correct. The second responsibility of the Sangha is to train the sons and daughters of Sangha members, who are born with the necessary abilities and powers to grow into either Rishis or Kshatriyas; future members of the Gana . Many of us work in the Gurukuls scattered around India, training these youngsters. And, the third responsibility is to actively seek out children, born in sadh families, who have the potential to be trained to be either future Rishis or Kshatriyas. The children who are thus chosen are sent to one of the Gurukuls, where they undergo training, after receiving permission from their parents and an undertaking that the existence of the Sangha and Gana will not be revealed by them, ever.’

  ‘Who are the sadh families?’ Maya wanted to know.

  ‘Normal humans,’ Jignesh replied, ‘who do not possess the powers that either the Rishis or the Kshatriyas command. I will tell you more about sadhs later.’

  ‘But why keep the existence of the Sangha a secret?’ Maya was curious.

  ‘It is important to remain unknown,’ Jignesh explained. ‘With our powers and our numbers, we would not be welcome in the sadh world. Not in Kaliyuga, where everyone is suspicious of things they do not understand. Some sadhs would consider us gods with our superior powers and abilities and worship us instead of meditating on the true Supreme Consciousness. And there would be others who would fear us, doubt us, and worry that we are a threat to humanity. It is better to serve humanity and fulfil our destinies by remaining unobserved and unknown. The Saptarishis set this down as a guiding principle of the Sangha when they created it, 5,000 years ago. The Sangha has rules and we all abide by them.’

  Maya silently contemplated the immensity of the scale of the Sangha . Just how many youngsters were out there in schools all over the country, keeping humanity safe? Her mind boggled.

  She felt honoured to have the opportunity to become a part of this Order. A fierce determination rose within her. They had said that they weren’t sure she was going to make it.

  Well, she was . Whatever it took.

  Chapter Fifty

  First lesson

  The Gurukul

  As Maya and Jignesh stood talking, the sound of a motorboat came to their ears. The sun had risen higher in the sky now and tourists would have entered the park, hiring jeeps for safaris along the trails within the forest, or taking motorboat rides down the river. Maya could imagine just how amazing that experience would be, motoring down the river, watching its placid surface being broken by the occasional fish, looking for crocodiles.

  Meera, the girl who had woken her up this morning, had helpfully told her to avoid swimming in the river because it had crocodiles. What a brilliant place to get away from the bustle of city life!

  ‘Tourists.’ Jignesh turned up his nose.

  They passed a student who was sitting cross-legged, her eyes closed, chanting the same mantra that Maya had heard when she first entered the Gurukul last night. Tiwari had told her it was chanted non-stop.

  ‘Do tourists ever venture into the Gurukul?’ Maya wanted to know.

  ‘Of course not.’ Jignesh sounded most indignant. ‘A powerful mantra has been used to create an illusion of
impenetrability along the riverside. This has ensured that no one will even contemplate pushing through the forest that goes down all the way to the river’s edge.’ He indicated the bank of trees along which they were walking. ‘The Gurukul is well and truly isolated from the rest of humanity, in keeping with our principle of invisibility. And, as you have seen, all along the boundary of the Gurukul, there are students posted, in rotational shifts, whose sole responsibility is to create a second protective shield that ensures that intruders of the non-human kind are also kept out. The mantra that they chant is for this purpose.’

  Maya now realized why Virendra had brought Arjun here. It was the safest place on Earth.

  Was it possible that Shukra had not appeared last night because he knew this? Or was there another reason?

  Maya brushed her thoughts aside. Jignesh was speaking again.

  ‘Time for your first lesson,’ he was saying. ‘What is your understanding of yogic powers — the siddhis?’

  Maya was flummoxed by this unexpected question. At first, she wanted to blurt out that she had no clue. How was she to know anything about yogic powers? Then, she remembered that she had read a lot about the Rishis of old who had meditated, often for hundreds of years, to acquire special powers. She expressed her thoughts to Jignesh.

  ‘Quite correct,’ Jignesh sounded impressed. ‘That was possible in the previous yugas, when the lifespan of humans was longer by multiples of our current lifespan. In Kaliyuga, it would be impossible to attain the siddhis through pure tapasya. So, how do you think youngsters like yourself have acquired powers that would have taken yogis hundreds, if not thousands, of years to attain through meditation in the ancient past?’

  Once again, Maya didn’t have an answer. But she ventured a guess. ‘Genes?’ she suggested. ‘As you said just a few minutes ago, the sons and daughters of the members of the Sangha are also members of the Gana. They must have inherited their powers from their parents, and their ancestors, including those who lived thousands of years ago.’

  Jignesh nodded. ‘That’s the logical answer. Logical and scientific. And adequate for sadhs. But not for us. Genes are important, there’s no doubt about that. Because there is a reason why each of us is born into the lineages that we come from. And if you are going to be a Rishi, you need to know the truth.’ He gave her an appraising look. ‘You seem to be quite familiar with the ancient texts.’

  ‘Dad made me read them,’ Maya admitted reluctantly, remembering how much she had resented the lessons. ‘He taught me Sanskrit and then made sure that I read all the books he gave me. The Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranas and the Vedas. All original Sanskrit texts.’

  Jignesh raised an eyebrow. ‘You must have hated it,’ he commiserated with her.

  Maya was taken aback. It was the first time Jignesh had really understood anything about her.

  ‘I did,’ she agreed. ‘I didn’t understand half of what I was reading. I never knew why Dad insisted on it. It was the only thing I can remember that he imposed on me.’

  ‘Well then,’ Jignesh resumed, ‘a lot of what I am about to tell you might sound familiar, since it is straight from the texts that you have mentioned. If you didn’t understand what you read earlier, you will now, since I will explain it to you.’

  Maya eyed him doubtfully. This was beginning to sound ominous. Her Dad had also promised to help her understand the texts. ‘Read them first,’ he had told her, ‘get acquainted with the stories and the verses. I will explain everything at the right time.’

  It had never happened. Perhaps he would have followed up on his promise, had he lived . . .

  But her concern now was that this lesson might turn out to be as boring as it had been back when she had read the texts for the first time. It was like being back in one of Sumitra’s classes, where she would simply read out extracts from the text book. It was guaranteed to make any teenager go to sleep. Only, there she was one in a class of thirty. Here, she was alone with Jignesh.

  She tried to look interested and attentive.

  ‘To begin with,’ Jignesh continued, oblivious to Maya’s apprehensions, ‘you have to understand that we don’t look down upon sadhs . Truthfully, there is no real difference between them and us. We are not superior to them in any way just because we have powers that they don’t. We are human beings just like them. And every single human being on the face of the earth has the ability to attain the siddhis . It is just that most people are too caught up in this material world, too busy with their little attachments, their myriad distractions, to be able to focus on the means to acquire the siddhis . In ancient times, it required tapasya , a complete focus and commitment. In today’s age of short attention spans, how many people have the ability to focus on non-material things? That’s why we have the Gurukuls. We choose youngsters who have the potential to be groomed, who we know we can teach and who will willingly learn to focus on the truth without allowing distractions and attachments to divert their focus. And, sadly, we have found that those who do not have the powers are almost always those who are not interested in making the effort to acquire them. We call them sadhs, to distinguish them from those who enter the Gurukuls.’

  Jignesh looked at Maya to see if this was getting too heavy for her.

  From the expression on her face, it was.

  ‘There’s another factor that plays a major role in the acquisition of yogic powers in Kaliyuga, and differentiates sadhs from Sangha and Gana members, but we’ll talk about that some other time,’ he said, hurriedly changing the theme. ‘Let’s move on to mantras.’

  Interest flickered on Maya’s face. Jignesh was encouraged.

  ‘Did your father teach you any mantras?’ he enquired.

  Maya shook her head. ‘Never.’

  ‘Then, how did you know the Narsimha mantra last night?’

  ‘I read it in the diary that I showed the Council. The one I picked up from Dad’s study table.’

  ‘I didn’t mean just the words. You know Sanskrit, so the words and their meanings would be clear to you. I meant the intonation, the articulation of the syllables, the exact pronunciation. How did you know that?’

  ‘I heard Ratan reciting the mantra and simply followed his lead.’

  Jignesh took a deep breath. He could see that Maya wasn’t getting his point. ‘Let me explain,’ he said. ‘Do you remember the story of the creation of Vritrasura?’

  Maya nodded, eager to display her knowledge. ‘When Indra killed Visvarupa, his father, Tvasta decided to create a demon to kill Indra. But he ended up creating Vritrasura, who was destined to be killed by Indra.’ It suddenly dawned on her. ‘Oh, I understand now. It was Tvasta’s mispronunciation of the name “Indra” that led to the mistake.’

  ‘Very good.’ Jignesh was impressed. The girl was sharp. ‘So you see,’ he concluded, ‘the correct articulation of every word is the key to the success of any mantra.’

  He showed her a book he was carrying. ‘There are six categories of mantras which the Sangha and Gana members use.’ He counted them off on his fingers. ‘Mantras to remove anxiety and instill peace, defensive mantras for protection, offensive mantras to destroy or chase evil away, mantras for creating an illusion, mantras for manipulating matter and, finally, mantras to activate the siddhis . The mantras for peace of mind are the simplest and require the least amount of yogic power. The mantras to activate the siddhis are the most powerful and require the highest level of yogic power.’ He handed the book to her.

  ‘Now,’ he said. ‘Let us practice some of the mantras to remove anxiety and create peace of mind.’

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Kapoor’s Investigations

  Dr. Gupta’s Institute of Mental Health &

  Behavioural Sciences

  New Delhi

  Raman Kapoor strode into the lobby of the psychiatric hospital and headed for the reception.

  The young girl behind the counter looked up, a terrified expression on her face as she noticed his uniform.


  Kapoor smiled at her, trying to be affable. ‘I wanted to meet one of your patients,’ he told the receptionist. ‘A man by the name of Rakesh Saini. He was brought here for treatment two weeks ago.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ the receptionist stammered. ‘I’ll have to call Dr. Gupta first and request his permission.’

  Kapoor nodded. ‘Certainly. I’ll be happy to meet Dr. Gupta in person and speak to him.’

  The girl made a quick call as Kapoor made himself comfortable on one of the faux leather single seaters in the lobby. ‘Dr. Gupta will see you now,’ the receptionist called to Kapoor as she put down the phone.

  A white uniformed attendant approached Kapoor and motioned to him to follow her. Kapoor rose and accompanied her to the lift, which took them to the second floor. The attendant led him down a corridor to a room at the end and knocked on the door.

  ‘Come in,’ a muffled voice floated out from inside the room.

  The attendant pushed the door open and gestured for Kapoor to enter.

  ‘SP Raman Kapoor?’ Dr. Gupta looked up from his desk as Kapoor walked into the room. The attendant disappeared, shutting the door behind her.

  Gupta was a medium-sized man with a slight paunch and thinning white hair. Kapoor guessed he would be in his late fifties, perhaps pushing sixty. The psychiatrist had quite a reputation in the city and was well known for the work he had done in helping people with depression and other psychological conditions. His hospital was famous for treating not just celebrities and the rich but also offering treatment to people who couldn’t afford it.

  ‘What can I do for you?’ Gupta came to the point after the initial greetings.

  ‘I wanted to see one of your patients,’ Kapoor told him, as both men sat down. ‘Rakesh Saini. He was admitted here two weeks ago.’