THE CURSE OF BRAHMA (24 page)

Brahma raised his brows at the lord of the devas, ‘What can be so urgent that you can’t stay back for my disciple’s initiation?’

Indra did not fail to notice the stress Brahma had put on ‘my disciple’, but he was too far gone to back track. ‘I have something pressing to attend to, My Lord…something that requires my presence there.’

Indra turned towards Amartya, making a herculean effort to mask his outrage at the youth. ‘But I wish you all the best, Brahmarishi Amartya. May you be the light that shines on all of us in the near future!’

Amartya couldn’t help noting the emphasis Indra put on ‘Brahmarishi’ while addressing him. But his innocent mind supposed this was part of Indra’s genuine feeling of happiness for the honour bestowed on him. He bowed towards Indra, even as Indra bowed to him and the other gods present, before leaving the ashram.

Brahma looked at Indra’s departing figure. He shook his head and returned to sit down at the ceremonial fire. Shiva looked kindly at Brahma. ‘Indra still needs to learn temperance, Brahma. Forget it. He will get over this as he has got over other issues in the past.’

Vishnu’s face was a mask of hidden feelings. He disagreed with Shiva’s assessment. He knew Indra wouldn’t get over this particular issue that easily. For all of Indra’s greatness, his vanity would not allow him to accept Amartya’s elevation to a brahmarishi. But Vishnu decided to keep his reservations to himself. He didn’t want to create any more discord during the event than had already happened owing to Indra’s unexpected behaviour.

Brahma motioned to the devas present, as also the senior members of the ashram, to sit down in a circle around the ceremonial fire. Dusk was approaching and the initiation ceremony had to be completed before it was dark. Then he looked at Amartya who had been somewhat pensive in the wake of Indra’s hasty departure. ‘Amartya, your initiation as a brahmarishi will follow a three-part process.’

Amartya listened attentively. He may have been on the verge of becoming a brahmarishi—the most powerful order of people, just below the three supreme gods—but in his mind he still considered himself to be a student of Brahma.

Brahma was saying, ‘Firstly, you will purify yourself with a dip in the holy waters of the river behind the ashram compound. As part of the purification process, you will perform the Acamana ritual. This, you will do alone while we wait for you to come back here. Once you return, Shiva and Vishnu will convey to you the two most potent mantras in the universe—Bal and Atibal. This will be part of your final formal education before you become a brahmarishi. After that, I will bind my mind to yours,’ and share with you the secret of harnessing the universal force of Brahman.’

Amartya bowed to the three gods, who would together complete the formal education he had embarked on twenty years earlier. It was time for his purification.

Amartya doffed his angavastram and laid it neatly on the bank of the river. The water was ice cold but years of training his mind enabled him to wade into it, without any visible discomfort. When he was waist deep in the water, he stopped. In order to perform the acamana, he kneeled down till he felt his right knee touch the river bed. His left foot was kept flat and along with his right knee helped him maintain his balance. He filled the acamana-patra with water from the river, and cleaned both his hands by sprinkling them with water from the patra. Then holding the acamana spoon in his left hand, he poured a few drops of water into the right palm. While focusing his gaze on the water, he chanted the mantras of the sandhyavandana, the evening worship; simultaneously sipping water from the Brahma-tirtha (base of the right thumb). At the end of the acamana, he put both palms of his hands together in front of his heart, and chanted the final mantra:

Aum tad visnoh paramam padam
sada pasyanti surayah
diviva caksur atatam tad
vipraso vipanyavo
jagrvamsah samindhate
visnor yat paramam padam

The entire Acamana process took the better part of an hour and by the time he was done, dusk was approaching. He waded out of the water, his mind and body, both feeling completely purged. He wore his angavastram and moved in the direction of the ashram, where everyone was waiting for him to return.

Brahma nodded in satisfaction as Amartya joined them around the ceremonial fire. ‘It is time to convey the two mantras of Bal and Atibal to you now,’ Brahma said, his excitement as great as if he were going through the process himself. He remembered how he had felt when Shiva and Vishnu had conveyed the potent mantras to him thousands of millennia ago. He thought he observed the same symptoms of anticipation and excitement on Amartya’s face.

Shiva and Vishnu edged closer to the fire, as they were the ones who would lead this part of the initiation.

‘Release your mind of all thoughts,’ Shiva instructed.

‘Focus your energy at the base of the fire,’ Vishnu joined in.

Amartya did as he was instructed, his face aglow in the reflected light of the blazing fire. Brahma poured ghee in the pit to keep the fire burning with intensity.

‘Observe my actions and perform the same body and hand movements that you see me doing,’ Shiva guided Amartya. The two types of gestures were instrumental in the success of conveying the twin mantras. The body gestures were called the ‘anga nyaasa’ and the hand gestures the ‘kara nyaasa’. In all there were six gestures and all six had to be executed while uttering the seed letters, called bijaksharas. The six bijaksharas accompanying each of the six gestures were klaam, kleem, kloom, klaim, klaum and klah.

‘Repeat after me,’ Shiva commanded as he started chanting the first part of the twin mantras.

Klaamityaadi shadanga nyaasah; Klaam angushTaabhyaan namah;
kleemtarjaneebhyaan namah; kloom madhyamaabhyaan namah;
klaimanaamikaabhyaan namah; klaum kanishTakaabhyaan namah;
klaah karatalakara prushTaabhyaan namah;Klaam hridayaaya
namah; kleem shirase svaahaa; kloom shikhaayai vashaT;
klaimkavachaaya Hum; klaum netra trayaaya vaushaT; klaah,
astraaya phat; Bhoorbhoovassuvaromiti digbandhah

‘Now focus on the following thoughts and repeat after me,’ Shiva’s voice was steady as he inducted Amartya.

Amrita karatalaardrau sarva sanjeevanaadhyaa avagha
harana sudkshau Vedasaare mayookhay, pranava maya
vikaarau, Bhaaskaraakaara dehau, satatamanubhaveham, tau
balaatibaleshau Om Hreem, maha deyvee, hreem mahabalay;
Kleem chaturvidha purushaarthe siddhi praday; Tatsavitur
varadaatmikay; Hreem varenyam Bhargo devasya varadaatmikay;
Ati baley sarva dayaamoortay Bale; sarva kshud bhrama
upanaashinee; dheemahi, dheeyo yonah jaateprachuryaa;
Prachodayaatmikey,
pranava Shirasaatmikay, Hum phat Svaahaa

Amartya felt his body and mind respond to the intonation of the powerful mantras. A strange vitality filled up his being. A power such as he had never felt or imagined before this day, suffused his senses and he felt his chest would burst, with the twin forces of Bal and Atibal beginning to dwell within him. He controlled the feeling of panic gripping him as he felt his entire being expanding with the power seeping inside him. It took all his will to continue staring at the blazing fire and not get distracted by the strange sensations. Suddenly he sensed that Shiva had stopped chanting the mantras, and the steady voice of Vishnu had taken over the final part of the process of conveying the two potent mantras to him.

‘Amartya, repeat after me, and feel the force of Bal and Atibal enveloping you all over,’ Vishnu murmured gently, the soft tones of his whispers sounding eerily loud to Amartya in his current trance-like state.

Evam vidvaan kruta krutyobhavati, Saavitryaa Eva saalokataam
jaayatee, ityupanishad Shanti paath:Om aapyaayantu mama
angaani vaak praanashchakshuhu, shrotramatho, balamindriyaani
cha sarvaani, sarvam Brahmaupanishadam, maaham
Brahmaniraakuryaam, maa maa Brahma niraakarot-
a-niraakarana mastu, a-niraakarana may astu. Tadaatmaani
niratay yay upanishatsu, dharmaastay mayisantu tay mayi santu,
Om shanti shanti shanti…

Amartya repeated the final three words of the mantra—shanti…shanti…shanti. (Peace! Peace! Peace!) The feeling of panic that had gripped him earlier was replaced with a sense of tranquillity. He flexed his muscles unconsciously. They didn’t feel too different. His chest, which had seemed like it would burst during the chanting of the mantras, also felt the same now. In fact, he didn’t feel any different apart from the feeling of serenity that enveloped him. It was then that he noticed his skin; it looked like it was shimmering with a bluish tinge. It was fascinating to behold. However, before he could dwell further on it, he was jolted back to reality by the voice of Brahma.

‘Amartya, you are now imbued with the power of Bal and Atibal. From this moment on, you are no longer a mortal. You have all the powers of a deva and there is no feat of strength and valour that will any longer be impossible for you to perform. But in order to be a brahmarishi, you must now learn how to harness the universal force of Brahman. With Shiva and Vishnu’s permission, I will now teach you how to do this.’

Shiva and Vishnu nodded their assent for Brahma to start the ultimate part of Amartya’s induction as a brahmarishi. And Brahma began the fantastic process that would change Amartya forever, making him amongst the foremost rishis of all time—a brahmarishi!

‘Feel the force of Brahman around you, Amartya,’ Brahma murmured softly. ‘Brahman is everywhere….it is Brahman that makes the sun shine and give life to the mortals. It is Brahman that nourishes every living being in the universe, and Brahman that makes the water flow in the rivers and the air in the environment around you. Brahman is infinite…it carries within it the secrets of the past, present and the future. There is nothing in the universe that has ever happened, or will ever happen, that is a secret. All of it is contained within Brahman itself. Brahman is an advanced state of consciousness. When you are one with Brahman, you will be able to feel everything around you as you have never felt before; and be one with the infiniteness of existence. Since Brahman is infinite, when you control the force of its energy within your body, you will not grow old or sick or frail. You will continue to exist forever.

Brahma paused, seeking the mind of Amartya through his cosmic vision. He was astounded to see how receptive Amartya was to the understanding of Brahman. It was as if Amartya had left himself completely open to the desire for knowledge; to be one with the infiniteness of existence. That was the core of Brahman, and it was exceedingly strong in Amartya. Satisfied that Amartya was now completely geared to receive the secret of harnessing the force of Brahman, Brahma focused on the innermost root of his own consciousness and released at once the entire knowledge of Brahman from his mind into Amartya’s consciousness. There was a sound like the clap of thunder as the knowledge of Brahman travelled from the guru to the disciple. A blinding spectrum of blue light enveloped Amartya, appearing to the devas present, as though it would consume the young man with its intensity. The scorching blue light raged around Amartya for a few seconds, till not even the outline of his body was visible, and then when it seemed that the young man had vanished, the blue light dimmed and entered his being through every possible pore in his body. Amartya the man was gone forever. In his place was the formidable and awe-inspiring aura of Brahmarishi Amartya.

‘Open your eyes, Brahmarishi Amartya.’ Amartya opened his eyes to see his former guru talking to him. It took him an instant to realize that Brahma’s lips were not moving. Yet he could hear him.

‘Yes, this is cosmic telepathy,’ Brahma smiled. ‘You will take a while to get used to your new abilities, Brahmarishi Amartya, but it will happen soon.’

‘So how do you feel now Brahmarishi Amartya?’ Brahma smiled as he continued to communicate with him through cosmic telepathy.

‘I…I feel the same, Gurudev. I mean my mind feels more peaceful than it ever has and there are a lot of strange sensations I am experiencing right now, including hearing your voice in my head, without you speaking…but apart from all of that, I feel the same at a physical level,’ Amartya looked embarrassed as if by feeling no different he was perhaps letting down Brahma and the other two Supreme Beings.

Vishnu laughed. ‘Amartya, do you know that as of this moment, you are equal in strength and ability to Vashishtha and Vishwamitra—the two greatest brahmarishis of all time?’

Amartya was bewildered. He found Vishnu’s words incredulous. Vishnu divined his thoughts. He was quick to make up his mind. He looked around the assembled devas, and his eye found the person he was looking for.

‘Agni,’ he called out to the deva standing at the far edge of the ashram compound.

Amartya looked at the deva Vishnu was addressing. Agni was considered amongst the most powerful devas in Indralok; almost on par with Indra. He had an athletic body that sparkled with the brilliance of a raging fire. Amartya knew Agni was one of the most accomplished destroyers of enemies in Indralok, and Indra used his services mainly when dealing with the most potent asuras. Very few people knew that Agni was Indra’s twin brother, and those who were aware of this, also knew that Agni was possibly as powerful as Indra himself. He wondered why Vishnu had called for Agni, specifically at this moment. He received his answer in the next instant and it shook him to the core.

‘Agni, I want you to attack Brahmarishi Amartya with your most powerful weapon, the Agneyastra,’ Vishnu commanded.

Agni stood dumbfounded. Vishnu was asking him to attack a brahmarishi. Not only was this against the law but it could also be fatal for Agni. After all, brahmarishis were the most powerful beings after the three supreme gods.

Vishnu guessed Agni’s dilemma. He sought to comfort him. ‘Don’t worry. I will not let anything happen to you,’ he told Agni reassuringly.

Amartya watched speechless. He couldn’t believe that Vishnu had just asked Agni to use the deadly Agneyastra on him. But what shocked him more was that Vishnu was speaking of protecting Agni rather than bothering about him. He looked at Brahma for guidance, who merely smiled and said, ‘No matter what Agni throws at you, don’t panic. Just focus on your inner core and weave the protective shield of Brahman energy around you.’