The Mists of Brahma

by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE

  Maya told him everything. But this time, she did not break down. A hard lump seemed to have formed deep within her; a cold knot that seemed to have soaked up all her emotion. It allowed her to think more clearly. She needed to, if she was to carry out her plan effectively.

  Satyavachana shook his head when she finished. ‘A great tragedy,’ he said. ‘I don’t blame you for going there. But I wish you had told me. I would have come with you. You know that.’

  Maya nodded. But there was no time for regrets.

  She told Satyavachana what she planned to do.

  The Maharishi’s bushy white eyebrows shot up in surprise as he listened to her.

  ‘Audacious,’ he said when he had heard her out. ‘Audacious. No other word describes what you wish to do. It has never been attempted in the history of the Sangha. Child, you want to play with fire. Are you sure you really want to do this?’

  ‘I see no other way, Mahamati.’

  Satyavachana nodded. ‘Yes, of course. Given what you want to accomplish, there is no other way. But there is also no guarantee that you will succeed.’

  ‘I have to try, Mahamati. There are no guarantees in life. You have taught me that. You have also taught me that if I want to achieve something, I have to take the initiative.’

  ‘Yes, child, but what you plan to do is not what I had in mind when I said that. Your plan is downright dangerous.’

  Maya shook her head. ‘No, it isn’t,’ she said stubbornly. ‘We all know the story, Mahamati. And it does not involve a teenage girl in any way. So I know I will be able to do it.’

  Satyavachana sighed. ‘I know I cannot dissuade you, child. You are obstinate. That can be a strength, but I hope in this case it will not be a weakness for you.’ He looked at her. ‘You are sure you will be able to remember the mantra?’

  ‘Yes, Mahamati. I am confident.’

  ‘Then will you accept one piece of advice from me? It does not involve abandoning your idea. But it will help you accomplish your purpose.’

  ‘I always value your lessons, Mahamati. There is no one in this world that I trust more.’

  ‘Good. In that case, travel in your atmic form, not your physical form. You have learnt by now to cloak your thoughts so no one can sense them. I have also taught you to disguise your atma so no one can detect it. I have tested you, and you were able to hide your atma from my eyes every single time. If you go in your physical form, you are doomed to fail. But if you travel as an atma, there is a chance you might succeed.’

  Maya recognised the wisdom in his words and nodded. ‘I will do that, Mahamati. But can you please go to the Gurukul and manage things there while I travel? You’re the only one they will listen to.’

  ‘I will. But hurry back, Maya. There is a limit to how long even I can hold them off without an explanation.’

  ‘Maharishi Ratan will understand, Mahamati. And so will Arjun’s uncle. I am fine with your sharing my plan with them. But no one else.’

  Satyavachana bowed. ‘Your wish is my command.’ But his tone was not mocking. He looked at her, his expression grave. ‘Take care, my child. I want to see you back unharmed.’ He shook his head. ‘Only you could have come up such an idea. But I will say this: if there is anyone who can pull it off, it is you, Maya. I always believed in you and I still do, no matter what the Sangha says. But be careful.’

  ‘I will, Mahamati. Thank you so much!’ She bowed, her palms folded in a namaskar.

  ‘Come inside the cottage. You can leave your body here while you travel. Maharaja will ensure that no one disturbs you. I will leave him loose to prowl around outside. He is very fond of you anyway, so he will not stray too far from your side.’

  With these words, Satyavachana vanished.

  Maya looked at Maharaja, who stood beside her, gazing at her affectionately, his tongue lolling out. ‘Maharaja,’ she said softly, ‘watch over me, won’t you?’

  The dog wagged his tail happily and barked. Maya took that as a yes and went inside the cottage.

  She lay down on the rough wooden platform that she had noticed on her first visit here as an atma.

  Satyavachana had been right. What she was attempting to do was almost unthinkable. But it was the only way she could atone for her mistake. She had been responsible for Arjun’s death. And this was the only way she could make it up to him. She knew the risks. But she was going to do it.

  Maya uttered the shaanta kaaram mantra and closed her eyes. Soon, she was in a deep sleep.

  Her atma emerged from her body and rose into the air, passing through the walls of the cottage to the forest outside. Maharaja stared at her atma and barked at it, then whined. He much preferred her when she could pet him and play with him.

  Then Maya rose above the treetops and was gone.

  Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

  The Journey

  Beyond Tapovan

  Uttarakhand

  Maya hovered above the glacier, at the exact spot where Satyavachana and she had stood two weeks ago.

  Without another thought, she dived into the glacier. This time, she didn’t need a mantra to dissolve her physical form in the ice. As an atma, she could travel freely through the ice at top speed.

  She focused her thoughts on the Mists of Brahma and, in an instant, had reached the spot where the glacier met the Mists.

  Emerging from the ice, she found herself surrounded by the familiar white fog, but it was very different now that she was in her atmic form.

  For one thing, she could see in all directions and right through the fog as well. Maya realised that the fog was absolute. It was not a screen, concealing events and periods of time behind it, as she had erroneously believed on her last visit here. All that existed here were the Mists. Nothing else.

  For another, the manner in which the Mists interacted with her atma was entirely different. In her physical form, she had felt the tendrils swarming over her consciousness, trying to extract thoughts from deep within. As an atma, she felt the Mists attempting to merge with her consciousness, but in a more subservient manner. The power of the atma, she realised, was something that even the Mists recognised. Maya herself had come to appreciate, if not entirely understand, the power within each human, sadh or otherwise. She knew now that sadhs remained the way they were because they either refused to tap into their inner power or were simply ignorant of it.

  But there was no time for reflections like these.

  Maya expanded her consciousness, seeking the oneness with the universe that Satyavachana had taught her to achieve. It was easier to do this as an atma, she knew, without the constraints and emotions associated with her physical mind.

  It wasn’t long before she felt the connection, and her consciousness expanded in a manner that she recognised from the innumerable practice sessions with Satyavachana. It was a curious yet comforting feeling, losing herself in the vast expanse of the universe, while being aware that she was much bigger than just an individual soul on a journey of rebirths.

  One last thing. She had to cloak her thoughts and make her atma invisible even to the eyes of the most powerful yogi.

  For she was about to meet one of the most powerful yogis to have ever lived.

  Now settled with her thoughts, cloaked and invisible, Maya turned her attention to her objective, the purpose for which she was here.

  The Mists immediately sensed her desire and made way for her, directing her consciousness to the place and time that she sought.

  The white fog around her began to thin and fade and Maya knew that she was approaching her destination.

  She floated along until the scene began to unfold before her.

  Maya had heard her father narrate the story from the Mahabharata many times before, but seeing it actually play out before her was an entirely different experience.

  Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen

  Waiting for Maya

  The Gurukul

  Panna National Park

  ‘We have to leave now,’ Jign
esh told Satyavachana. ‘In a few hours, the sun will go down and it will be too late to reach the cremation grounds. We cannot wait any longer. We have humoured you so far and acceded to your request to wait, but I must ask, why are we waiting? What are we waiting for?’

  ‘Mahamatra,’ Kanakpratap spoke up. He had been briefed by Satyavachana as Maya had requested. ‘Just a while longer. It is my responsibility to get my nephew’s mortal remains to the funeral pyre in time.’ He wished Yajnaseni was here, but there was no way of getting word to her in the Gandharva valley in time. He thought of how protective she had always been of Arjun and it saddened him to think she wasn’t here right now, to attend to her son’s last rites. Kanakpratap knew the news would shatter her.

  Jignesh sighed impatiently. He didn’t understand why Tiwari, Satyavachana and Kanakpratap were so keen to wait until the very last minute.

  ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Half an hour. And no more.’

  Kanakpratap nodded and joined Satyavachana and Tiwari in a discussion conducted in hushed voices.

  The entire community was waiting. Classes had been suspended for the day. Arjun had become quite popular in the months he had spent at the Gurukul and, of course, everyone knew that he was the One of the prophecy. The students and Mahamatis alike had turned out to bid him goodbye. Only, no one knew why they were lingering instead of proceeding for the funeral as originally planned. The Mahamati Council—or what remained of it at the Gurukul, with two members still in the Gandharva valley—had not shared any information other than the announcement that the departure of the funeral cortege had been delayed for a while.

  The minutes ticked by. Satyavachana looked around, an anxious look on his face. His concern was less for whether Maya’s plan had succeeded and more for her safe return from the Mists. Despite the abilities she had demonstrated, she was no Rishi and she was attempting a very dangerous manoeuvre. Not since the time that the Sangha had been originally set up had Maharishis travelled through the Mists with a purpose similar to Maya’s today. And he had never heard of an instance when anyone had entered the Mists as an atma. The sole reason why Satyavachana had suggested it was because it was the only way Maya could accomplish her objective undetected.

  ‘It’s time,’ Tiwari said despondently, looking at his watch. ‘We cannot hold on any longer.’

  As if on cue, Jignesh came up to them. ‘Well?’ he said, looking at each of the three men in turn.

  Satyavachana shrugged. ‘It seems that our expectations have not come to pass,’ he said cryptically. ‘You may proceed.’

  Jignesh turned on his heel and stalked away, issuing instructions to the Mahamatis to begin preparations.

  The three men looked at each other, the same question foremost in their minds.

  What had happened to Maya?

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty

  A While Longer

  The Gurukul

  It did not take more than fifteen minutes or so for the preparations for the funeral cortege to be finalised. Most of the work had already been done while they were waiting and all that was required was to put things together once Jignesh gave the permission to proceed.

  With Jignesh at their head, a procession of Mahamatis moved up the stairs that led to the Assembly Hall, chanting mantras and prayers as they walked.

  Suddenly, a ripple ran through the crowd.

  The procession stopped. The chanting ceased. Silence fell over the gathering.

  Maya had suddenly materialised out of nowhere and was standing at the doorway to the Assembly Hall. She was pale and looked exhausted.

  But she was here.

  Satyavachana swiftly pushed through the Mahamatis and made his way up the stairs to where Maya stood, followed closely by Kanakpratap and Tiwari.

  ‘Maya!’ Satyavachana breathed as he reached her. ‘Are you okay?’

  Maya nodded, swaying slightly. Kanakpratap caught her and steadied her.

  ‘Did you get it?’ Tiwari wanted to know.

  ‘Yes, Ratan,’ Maya replied with the shadow of a smile. ‘I got it.’ She looked at Satyavachana and smiled at him. ‘I did it, Mahamati. I succeeded.’

  ‘I knew you would do it,’ the Maharishi told her quietly. He looked at the other two men. ‘We have to stand back. She must do this by herself.’

  Jignesh came up, scowling. ‘What’s going on here?’ he demanded. ‘What is she doing here? We need to move quickly!’

  Satyavachana held out a hand. ‘We have waited so long,’ he told Jignesh calmly, ‘a while longer will not hurt. We were waiting for Maya. Now, we must allow her to do what she needs to do. And, for the good of the Sangha, let us hope that her plan works!’

  Jignesh’s face darkened, but he didn’t try to stop Maya as she entered the Assembly Hall and shut the door behind her. ‘I demand an explanation,’ he told Satyavachana, his voice hard. He looked at Tiwari and Kanakpratap. ‘The Maharishi is not a member of the Sangha, having renounced it of his own will. But you both are. Whatever the three of you have been conspiring about, it is time that you told me. I have been patient for far too long. Do not test me any further!’

  Tiwari nodded and looked at Kanakpratap, who nodded back. ‘As you wish, Mahamatra,’ he said. ‘We will tell you everything.’

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-one

  Maya’s Test

  Inside the Assembly Hall

  Maya shut the door of the hall and slowly walked to the centre, where Arjun’s body lay on a makeshift platform. For a few moments, she stood and gazed at his face. He looked peaceful.

  Was it worth doing what she was about to do next?

  But she had to.

  She sat down on the floor next to Arjun and reached into her inner consciousness, becoming one with the universe. Somehow, it was becoming easier for her to do this. Earlier, it took time, there was a bit of a struggle, but over the last two weeks, she had found herself able to do it effortlessly.

  Maya threw her mind back to the scene she had witnessed in the Mists. She had carefully memorised the mantra, every word, every syllable, the intonation, the speed. It was critical to get everything absolutely correct.

  She began reciting the mantra.

  Outside the Assembly Hall

  ‘You can’t be serious!’ Jignesh declared. ‘There’s no one in Bhu-lok who can pull this off. There never has been! Not since Shukra!’

  ‘We’ll see about that.’ Satyavachana’s face was grim.

  Jignesh shook his head. ‘You put too much faith in that girl,’ he told the Maharishi.

  ‘So tell me this.’ Satyavachana fixed Jignesh with a hard gaze. ‘If she does succeed, will you admit her back in the Gurukul?’

  Jignesh paused to consider this. ‘Yes,’ he said finally. ‘If she succeeds, she will not only have done the Sangha a big service, but she will also have proved herself to be worthy of the Gurukul once more. It does not exonerate her for her past transgressions, but I will accept her back.’

  ‘Good,’ Satyavachana replied. ‘There is still a lot that I have to teach her.’

  A pall of silence had descended on the gathered assembly. Initially, there had been whispered conversations as the students speculated about what was going on. The message had quickly gone around that Maya had entered the Assembly Hall by herself, but no one knew why.

  Suddenly, a loud gasp went up from the crowd and everyone looked at the entrance to the Assembly Hall.

  The door of the hall had opened.

  Maya walked out slowly, her gait unsteady. Her head hung low and she was dragging her feet.

  Satyavachana gazed at her anxiously.

  Was she just exhausted?

  Or had she succeeded?

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-two

  What Next?

  The Assembly Hall

  As Maya reached the topmost step of the short stairway that led down from the upper hall, she glanced back.

  A murmur went through the crowd.

  What was happening?


  To the astonishment of everyone gathered there, a second figure emerged from the open door of the hall.

  Arjun!

  He was alive!

  Arjun walked stiffly, blinking as he walked out of the dark interior of the hall into the sunshine outside.

  A loud roar went up and the crowd gathered outside burst into applause.

  Arjun smiled weakly at the rapturous welcome.

  Jignesh looked on, amazed, then he too smiled and started clapping. This was a moment to celebrate. The unthinkable had happened!

  No, the impossible had happened.

  Arjun had come back from the dead.

  Kanakpratap bounded up the stairs and put an arm around Arjun, even as Tiwari rushed to Maya’s side. Both children looked like they were ready to collapse.

  Then Arjun held up a hand, requesting the crowd to quieten down.

  There was pin drop silence.

  ‘Prapanchayati!’ Tiwari intoned, as he realised Arjun wanted to address the crowd.

  ‘Thank you all,’ Arjun said, his voice amplified by the mantra to the gathering below. He looked up at the sun, then at the trees, and the crowd assembled in front of the hall. ‘I can’t tell you all how great it feels to be alive. But more than me, you should be applauding Maya. If not for her, I would not be standing here before you.’

  He took Maya’s hand and raised it high. ‘Thank you, Maya,’ he said. ‘I owe you my life. Literally.’

  Maya smiled wanly as the assembled crowd clapped enthusiastically. They didn’t know what Maya had done or what had happened. But if Arjun was saying it, it must be true.

  ‘Let’s get you two to the Bhishajs,’ Kanakpratap said. ‘They will nurse both of you back to health in no time.’

  Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-three

  Maya’s Story

  Three Days Later

  The Hospital

  The Gurukul

  Panna National Park

  Loud peals of laughter floated to the ears of Satyavachana, Kanakpratap and Tiwari as they approached the room where Arjun and Maya were waiting to meet them.