The Journey Beyond Bhuloka

by Krutant Iyer

  “That’s what I fail to understand. This has never happened before.” Vajra said.

  “What now? Will I need to go back to the top level of the jungle to get the Ashwagandha herb again?”

  “There’s no point doing that anymore,” Vajra said. “If you ingest the paste again, it would adversely affect your life force.”

  “You mean to say, I will never be able to awaken my Siddhi? Then, what about the Eye of Indriya I possess?” Murari asked, fighting back tears.

  “Eye of Indriya was bestowed upon you by the divine tree. It draws a very minute level of power from your basic Siddhi that’s present in every living creature – your ability to walk, talk, and listen,” Vajra said.

  “How is this possible? Why only me?” Murari asked.

  “I do not have an answer at the moment. But rest assured, I will find a way to awaken your Siddhi.” Vajra said.

  “Teacher, does this mean Murari won’t be able to train with us?” Mitra asked. He was genuinely upset about Murari’s plight.

  “As the type of Siddhis in all of you differs, you will anyways be training individually, to grasp better understanding and control over your respective Siddhis,” Vajra answered. “While I can show you the basics of using your respective Siddhis, your growth solely depends on your perseverance and practice.”

  The three boys looked at Murari, who was still coming to terms with this unexpected setback. They felt for him but knew they couldn’t do anything about it. His only hope now was if Vajra could find another way to stimulate Murari’s dormant Siddhi.

  “Don’t be disheartened. Siddhi is not the only power that dominates the world,” Vajra said.

  Murari looked up.

  “What else could be as powerful as Siddhi?” Murari asked.

  “The power of Kalari,” Vajra answered.

  Saying so, Vajra walked back and stood beside the boulder

  “Watch this carefully.”

  He curled his hand into a fist and with one swift motion, brought it down on the boulder. The boulder shattered, as tiny pieces of stones from its body flew all over the surrounding area from the impact.

  The boys were awestruck by this display of sheer strength.

  “This is the power of Kalari,” Vajra said. “There are many types of Kalari. But I will be teaching you its two basic techniques – Meipayattu, the technique of attack and defence in hand-to-hand combat, and Angathari, the technique to gain mastery over your weapons.”

  “Wow, this technique seems awesome. When can we begin our training?” Ballu exclaimed anxiously.

  “It’s getting dark now. Let’s head back to the beach and prepare for supper.” Vajra looked up at the misty sky. “Meet me here tomorrow morning. The time for the theoretical lesson is over, tomorrow your training begins.”

  ✽✽✽

  Nava

  The Training Begins

  They had been at it since early in the morning.

  It was getting increasingly difficult to concentrate with every passing moment. For some reason, all their senses were on full steam, even as they tried in vain to put a lid on it and focus their mind. They could hear the mosquitoes buzzing around their ears, the chirping of birds, and the rustling of leaves, as the cold wind blew through the woods.

  While Murari would occasionally scratch his head, Ballu couldn’t help but itch his back. Even Mitra and Raaka were finding it difficult to maintain their concentration.

  “That’s enough,” Vajra said. “You can open your eyes now.”

  The boys gladly did so. At the moment, they really envied the life of pirates. They slept without a care in the world. How the boys wished, they could get a good night’s rest as well.

  It had been over a week already. They were following the same routine every day.

  Vajra used to wake them up when it would still be dark outside. They would quickly freshen up and follow him to the clearing, where he made them sit cross-legged on the jungle’s floor, and practice breathing techniques. Then he would get them to close their eyes and meditate on the flow of Siddhi within their body. But, try as they might, they weren’t able to focus at all.

  “If you aren’t going to take this seriously, you will never be able to gain control over your Siddhi,” Vajra said.

  “Teacher, we are trying our best to focus. But there are a lot of distractions around, making it difficult to concentrate.” Ballu complained.

  “These distractions are the hurdles you need to cross if you wish to be a Siddha. Did you think it would be easy?” Vajra thundered.

  The boys shivered in their seats.

  “That being said, I can see this isn’t working. I need to come up with a better way to teach you to cultivate your energies,” said Vajra. “Alright, go ahead and help those slobs prepare lunch. I will join you shortly.”

  The boys gladly got up and stretched their legs, before making their way towards the tunnel.

  Murari stayed back.

  “Can I ask you something?” Murari spoke to Vajra.

  “Sure. Ask away.” Vajra said.

  “Why you are training me in controlling the Siddhi. I wasn’t able to awaken it after all.” Murari wondered.

  Murari was still coming to terms with the fact that he could not awaken his Siddhi. As Vajra looked at him, he understood his plight.

  “This training doesn’t require you to realize your Siddhi. To master this technique, a person must remain still to be one with nature, and learn to channelise and merge the nature’s energy with their own physical energies and Siddhi.” Vajra explained. “In your case, even if your Siddhi may not have awakened, your physical prowess can still be improved considerably using this training.”

  “Does that mean, I can still be as powerful as you. Even if I can’t use Siddhi?” Murari asked, with a glint of hope in his eyes.

  “A person can get as powerful as he wishes to.”

  That seemed to bring back some of the spark in his eyes, which had been missing since the previous week.

  “Now run along and help the others prepare lunch.”

  As Murari crossed the tunnel, Vajra walked in the opposite direction, making his way into the jungle.

  Their stomach was growling with hunger. With the boys helping them, the pirates had managed to catch many fishes and prawns. The cooked meal lay in front of them, tempting them to dig in, but they couldn’t. Vajra had not returned from the jungle yet.

  While it was not so difficult for the boys to hold on, it was absolutely killing the pirates to hold back. But the fear of Vajra kept them from doing anything that they thought would irk him.

  As they sat, ogling at the cooked fishes in front of them, Vajra emerged from the tunnel.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting. It took me much longer than expected.” Vajra said apologetically.

  No sooner had Vajra put the first morsel into his mouth, the pirates fell upon the food like hungry wolves, fighting over each other to grab hold of the bigger fishes and prawns. The boys couldn’t help but laugh on seeing them fight over the meal, especially when there was enough for everyone.

  After their meal was done, the boys expected Vajra to lead them back to the jungle for more meditation. Grumbling in protest, they wished that he would start training them in harnessing their Siddhi already. But to their surprise, Vajra asked them to get as much rest as possible and told them that their training would resume after sundown.

  They couldn’t believe their luck. But, instead of sleeping, the boys stayed up listening to the stories and adventures of the pirates. They were so fascinated by their stories of exploring new lands, and the picture painted by the pirates’ narrative in their minds, that the boys resolved to travel the Loka after completing their training and finding Murari’s grandfather.

  Vajra had been sitting silently with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall on the far corner of the beach, which seemed to have become his preferred spot. Though, he had not spoken or shown any interest in the stories of pirates, every now and
then he would grunt softly, making the boys wonder if he was doing so in his sleep or on purpose.

  As the pirates lit the bonfire, their giant shadows cast over the rocky walls of the island. Vajra woke up from his slumber and after freshening up, led the boys through the tunnel, back into the jungle.

  But this time he did not stop at the clearing as always. Instead, he kept marching ahead and entered the jungle. The boys were puzzled at first but followed after him silently.

  They parted the creepers and shrubs along the way and reached the edge of the ground level of the jungle. The last time they had reached the edge, they had to walk on the narrow ledge to gain access to the second level of the jungle, but this time Vajra seemed to have led them to a different section of the cylindrical jungle.

  They saw a pond, quite similar to the one they had come across on the second level of the jungle. But that’s where the similarities ended between the two. While the pond on the second level was shallow, with clear water, and was devoid of aquatic life; this one had Crocodiles strolling all around it. Some of them could be seen inside the pond, with only their heads and eyes rising over the pond’s surface.

  Two branches from the tree that was closest to the pond, extended over its expanse, one over the other, reaching all the way to the edge of the rocky wall.

  The boys felt a gush of uneasiness sweep over them.

  Vajra directed them to climb the tree and stand at equal distance from one another on the extended branch.

  Ballu, who was ever eager to please Vajra, volunteered to go first. He climbed the tree expertly as he had been doing since he was a child. But as soon as he took the first step on the branch, his foot slipped off it and made him lose his balance. He would have fallen into the pond, had he not grabbed hold of the branch over his head.

  “Oh – did I forget to mention, I have coated the branch with oil to help with your training,” Vajra said, feigning vagueness.

  “You will need to be very careful while standing on it, lest you fall and become a scrumptious meal for these hungry Crocodiles.”

  One by one, the boys climbed the tree, and slowly managed to take their positions on the branch.

  The boys stood in the order as directed by Vajra – starting with Ballu, followed by Raaka, Mitra, and Murari. They held on to the branch overhead for support.

  “Alright. Now I want you to find your balance, and bring your hands down,” Vajra instructed.

  “But Teacher, we will fall if we do that,” Mitra said.

  “Not if you do it right,” Vajra said.

  They slowly let go of the branch overhead and brought their hands down in resting position.

  “Now, close your eyes and focus on your Siddhi. Once you do that, I want you to absorb the natural energy around you,” Vajra said. “It is difficult to nurture nature’s energy when compared to the physical and mental energy. Once you have gained mastery over this, I will teach you the techniques of Kalari.”

  Saying so, Vajra left.

  The boys were left with no choice but to follow their Teacher’s instructions. They closed their eyes and got to it. This time, their life was on the line, if they failed to keep their balance and focus on harnessing the natural energy.

  Vajra had not really gone off. He was observing everything from behind the cover of the woods.

  As the night progressed, the muscles in their legs stiffened and started throbbing with pain, but they persisted. They knew that even if one of them lost balance, the others would suffer too. They would have never thought that staying still would prove to be so tough.

  Slowly, their efforts started paying off, as the natural energy started gathering around their body.

  Originally, Vajra had planned to use this method to only prompt them into taking the exercise seriously, but he had not anticipated them to be able to harness the power of nature within one night itself.

  By morning, the boys were not only absorbing the natural energy but also circulating it through their body, making their energies one with nature itself.

  “I see you have succeeded in channelling the energy,” Vajra said, as he emerged from the woods.

  The boys opened their eyes slowly on hearing his voice. Ballu shifted a little to relieve the uncomfortable numbness in his legs. As soon as he did so, he slipped off the branch and went crashing into the pond. The rest of the boys too fell into the pond, losing their balance as the branch shook under the impact of Ballu’s fall.

  Terrified, they kicked their legs and tossed their arms around wildly, making their way out of the pond before the crocodiles could come for them.

  Once they were back on the safety of the ground, they ran to a safe distance, getting as far away from the pond as they could.

  Vajra burst out laughing, looking at the scene. The boys turned around and saw that the crocodiles had not moved from their position at all. It was as if they were completely oblivious of their surrounding activities.

  “What are you so afraid of?” asked Vajra, “These Crocodiles are harmless.”

  Saying so, Vajra struck his lathi twice on the ground. As soon as he did, a heap of rocks stood in place of the Crocodiles.

  The boys finally understood that Vajra had tricked them into training.

  “Congratulations boys! You have successfully managed to harness the power of natural energy.” Vajra said.

  “Teacher, how did you turn the crocodiles into a pile of rocks?” Mitra asked.

  “What you just witnessed was the result of me combining my power of Indriya with natural energy provided by the surrounding.” said Vajra, “Combining the two entities allowed me to cast the illusion.”

  “When you cultivate your Indriyas to the highest level, you, too, can manipulate other people’s senses.”

  The boys finally understood the importance of their training.

  Vajra led them back to the beach, and asked them to freshen up and have their breakfast. After they had rested for a while, he began instructing them in the art of Kalari.

  For the first few days, Vajra taught them basics of Meipayattu, the hand-to-hand technique of Kalari. He would have them spar with each other in a group of twos. The boys proved to be quick learners and within two weeks, their strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes had enhanced manifold. This was partly made possible due to them being able to channelise the natural energy into their unarmed attacks.

  Happy with their progress, Vajra decided to take their training a notch up by having them spar with the pirates. To make the sparring contest even, the pirates were allowed to wield their weapons, which had earlier been handed over to them.

  Even with their weapons in hand, the two dozen pirates faced a crushing defeat by the boys, who managed to subdue them within moments, without using their weapons.

  That night, the boys and the pirates sang and danced on the beach, as had become the routine. The pirates had come to like the boys, who were always eager to listen to their stories with fascination, and the feeling was reciprocated by the boys.

  Vajra was happy with their progress but was also worried it as he had not been able to find a solution to awaken Murari’s Siddhi yet. Nevertheless, he hadn’t lost hope.

  He decided to pace up their training by continuing it on the third level of the jungle. Looking at the pirates and the boys dancing in a carefree manner, he also made his mind to release the pirates, and give them their ship back. They had already served their purpose, and he and the boys would be gone for a quite a while. There was no point in keeping them around anymore.

  He called Ballu, and relayed his intention to him, asking him to convey the news to the pirates.

  Ballu ran back to the pirates, and excitedly relayed the message of their freedom. But instead of being jubilant, the pirates lost their spirits and became glum.

  The captain of the pirates approached Vajra.

  “Sir, may I have a word with you?” he asked, hesitantly.

  “Speak,” Vajra said.

  “As free men of th
e seas, we have always sought adventure on our journey. Originally, when we had set sail, we didn’t have any destination in mind and had taken to the seas to explore new lands and culture. But over the years, we lost our path and resorted to pillaging villages to survive. We have been doing that since as far as I can remember,” the captain of the pirates said.

  “Why are you telling me this?” Vajra asked.

  “The time we spent here on this island, with you and the boys helped us regain our perspective and reminded us of our purpose,” the captain answered. “Which is why today I stand before you with a humble request as an explorer and not a pirate of the sea.”

  Vajra didn’t respond but gestured him to continue.

  “Basis what we have seen and heard over the past month, it has become evident that there is are Lokas out there that we didn’t even know of. We would never get to visit these Lokas or experience the life there on our own. Hence, it’s my humble request to not send us away and allow us to accompany you and the boys on your journey.” The captain got down on the ground and bowed his head as he spoke the words.

  For a moment, Vajra was taken aback by his unexpected act.

  “There’s no gain for you by staying here. Instead, if you leave here, you can once again roam the Bhuloka as you see fit. What’s stopping you?” Vajra said.

  “Sir, how can we go back to the same Bhuloka, knowing what we will be missing out on.” The captain of the pirates said, without lifting his head.

  “You believe there’s different Loka out there just because you heard it from a bunch of kids,” Vajra said.

  “No Sir, in all my years on the sea, I have never heard stories about the existence of another Loka. Had I not met you and come to this mysterious island, I would have continued to roam the seas obliviously. But now, I am prepared to stake my life to be part of this adventure.”

  “I am not sure why you insist on tagging along, but let me tell you this – I do not have much tolerance for ineptness. If I am to allow you to come with us, I need to know you will not slow us down,” Vajra said.

  The captain of the pirates lifted his head in delight, “No Sir, I will make sure, we do not slow you down.”