CHAPTER 12
Happened but not happened
There are no common rules to identify a Siddha. Sometimes they may even take the form of an ordinary beggar and will shower you with blessings. No one can predict their actions, sometimes they throw away what you offer with love and some other times they will share it with you. They can take any form from humans to animals. They cure your disease and accept the same in their body and suffer for you. This understanding made me to look for Siddhas in all forms and walks of life!
Kottarathil Sankaran.
The telephone phone bell rang and Ashwini picked it up.
“Ashwini, Anand here … I fully agree with what you people said. I realized it with my experience here!"
Hearing his words Ashwini felt very much relieved.
“Anand, how is Dad?”
“He is here only, but I feel that he is not normal!”
“Any problem there? Please take care, right ... "
“Nothing at present . But I feel something very bad is going to happen soon!”
“What are you saying, Anand?”
“Really it is very bad Ashwini,. I have studied history, geography and science but I never thought there are many other subjects in this world quiet unknown to the mankind.”
“Anand, please tell me in a way that I can understand?”
"What should I say...Black magic, preparation of magic oils using dead bodies and so on...I mean, I have failed to know the truth about this black magic! Not only in India even in Srilanka, there are many people like this.”
“Well. You said something very bad is going to happen ...?”
“Yes, that's what very important for us now. They are planning to prepare one Ashtamasiddhi Oil to regain their lost powers and it seems like they need the body of an impaled person for this. As you know well it is very difficult to get such a type of body, so they are conspiring to sacrifice one of our servants for the purpose!.”
“Oh,god how cruel!.. how do you know this?”
"Ashwini, it is not important now, we have to stop this at any cost.”
“Mayamma is a very powerful black magician, she can even read your mind from where she is!”
Ashwini said.
“That's where god has helped us, at present she is powerless like a battery which is fully drained. We are lucky and we should not miss this chance and should make use of this chance to the maximum extend. "
“Oh,god this is quite surprising!”
“Yes. Normally these type of black magicians will hide their power somewhere where we will never expect or never heard of like in the grandma stories we have read, right?”
“Yes”
“That has happened here also, It seems like that she has hidden her entire black magic power in a pearl necklace and she kept it in the wooden box that she has stolen from Sankaran Ji. To our luck that green wooden box is now with us. Mayamma is has lost her ‘Maya ‘and is only’Amma’now without any powers… "
“Is that pearl necklace in the wooden box now, are you sure?”
“Don’t ask me, check with Sankaran Ji immediately by the by where is he now?”
“He is with us only... wait a minute I will ask him to talk with you”
Ashwini gave the receiver to Sankaran after briefing him what has happened.
“Hello,Anand,congrats!you have done a great job, that pearl necklace is in the wooden box only,Baba has saved us.…”
“Very nice, Ji, Mayamma has lost all her black magic powers and she is not able to find where her pearl necklace is! Now to regain her powers she is planning to prepare something known as Ashtamasiddhi Oil it seems and to prepare it, they have charted out a very horrible plan and are getting ready to go to Agasthyakoodam forest.”
“Anand, If we let them go to Agasthyakoodam, It is very dangerous for us all. Somehow we have to prevent them from it”
“Ji, the only way I know is to shoot and kill them on the spot Should I do it?”
"Oh,god, Anand do not think of doing anything illegal! I am sure Baba will show us a way out from this also so please be patient ..."
“That's right...Ji, but what else you expect from a person like me who is about to become a victim of black magic by a group of unscrupulous people who planned to rob me off the hard earned properties of my family?”
“Anand, do not worry Baba is with us to guide and show us the right way and the good karmas we have done will help us to come out of this!.”
“Ok,Ji, I will leave this place finding some reasons and will join with you all. But at any cost we should not permit these people to sacrifice the life of any one of our servants.That is very important for me.”
“Don't worry. Just come from there now, Let’s discuss and plan about other things here direct”
Anand placed the receiver in the phone and turned back. he saw a shocked Kanaran standing nearby him! Kanaran has understood what is going to happen and fell down at the feet’s of Anand crying. Anand has not expected this…
He asked Kanaran,
“Hey,Kanara,what happened why are you crying?”
“Anand Ji,, I was listening to what you were talking. That Sree and Mayamma are planning to go somewhere and they asked me to accompany them for help. Without knowing their treacherous plan I have also agreed to go with them, now only I know what is their plan…”
Kanaran was literally trembling with fear.
“Kanara,don’t be afraid. This is the time you have to act wisely. First I did not believed in this black magic and all but now I understand that there is some truth in it.One thing you have to remember is that now Mayamma do not have any power at all. So have no fear, go with them confidently!”
Anand continued…
“What I understand is first they will go to Agasthyakoodam to collect the black jasmine to control me and my uncle after that only they will move to the next stage but before that we will reach Agasthyakoodam and will stop them, I hope. You accompany them without any fear for self-defense you carry a knife with you and in case of an emergency, please do not hesitate to use it.Do not worry about anything, I will be with you and will sort out everything, okay?”
Kanaran shook his head half-heartedly to what Anand said.
“Be brave man...our success is only in acting wise and with courage”
After saying this Anand left the room immediately.
Sree was in the hall while he was coming out.
“*Hey,Anand,What happened, It seems that like that you’re going for an outing?”
“Yes...aunty, I miss the village river very much and would like to take a bath in it!”
“Oh, its good, take care but go and come back fast, Meenu is here to take care of you.Whatever you need please do not hesitate to ask her but what happens is whenever she sees you she feels very shy like a girl who see her fiancé for the first time..”
Anand quickly got ready with a counter dialogue and replied with a smirk,
“Yes,aunty,whenever I see Meenu, only Ashwini comes in my mind.”
“Anand, she is also your uncle’s daughter so there is nothing wrong in it” Sree said.
Anand left the bungalow with the thought “Oh,God, thank you for saving me from this bitch!”
Ashwini, Madhavan and Sankaran were anxiously waiting for the arrival of Anand.
As soon as Anand arrived they got in to his car.
“Where are we going now? “Anand asked.
“To the Samadhi of Baba ,my guru ... "Sankaran replied.
“For what Ji..?”
“We will first go there and offer our Pranams to Baba for the success of our mission then we can proceed to Agasthyakoodam.”
“But Ji you know, every second is very precious for us…”
“Don't worry, Anand, till now with the blessings of Baba everything is going on well so the rest of our mission will also be completed successfully. On our way, we can throw this wooden box in the stream as advised by Baba Sankaran said.”
“What about that pearl necklace...?”Anand asked.
“We have to throw that also in to the stream as somehow that also has become a part of the box.”
“Ji, we can throw away that pearl necklace, but shall we throw that precious silk fabric with rare information about this forest? “Anand asked.
“Anand, it is better that we do not act against the wish of Baba,as on now we all know what is written in that silk fabric so there is no need to keep it! “Sankaran said.
“Ji,if we throw that fabric in the stream, no one will believe us as there will be no evidence with us for the message written in it! “Anand said.
“Anand ,it is not our duty to make others believe, may be Baba is playing a game to destroy the evil forces like Mayamma..”
Now Anand did not find anything to ask as Sankaran has answered almost all of his questions with clarity.
While the car was crossing a stream over a narrow bridge on the way to Agasthyakoodam forest Sankaran asked Anand to stop the car for a moment, he got down from the car and threw the wooden box in to the stream as far away as he can ,he could see the stream water carrying away the box with force and within no time it disappeared from their eye sight. Sankaran got back into the car with a sigh and said,
“Anand, let us park the car here and start walking, first let us go to Baba’s Samadhi and then search for the area where there are Man eating trees in the Agasthyakoodam forest as early as possible.my intuition says so.”
Anand who was still with a mind, full of suspicion laughed at Sankaran.
Anand, still you do not believe in my words, right? “Sankaran said.
"Yes, Sankaran Ji, personally I am not able to digest what you say!”
“Anand you have seen with your own eyes how Mayamma was able to control your uncle, still you doubt what we say? “Sankaran asked.
“Ji, please do not misunderstand me in the case of my uncle, what I think is he is addicted to opium or brown sugar that is why he is acting like that and nothing to do with black magic in which I never believe! Sree might have used these to take his mind under her control.”
“Then, what about Mayamma and her pearl necklace you only said about it.”
“May be it is her belief a mere superstition!”
“Then what about Ashwini’s marriage how come she forgot you completely?”
“May be someone might have brainwashed her!”
"Do you believe someone might have hypnotized her to change her mind?”
"Exactly that is what I believe and I am very sure about it!”
“Ok , Anand if you do not believe in what we say, why you have accompanied us in this journey?”
“I just want to see that black jasmine if it is there and those man eating trees if at all they exist another most important reason is I do not want the life of an innocent person being sacrificed in the name of superstitions.”
“I cannot understand you, Anand after all the experience you had in Lakshmipuram you were talking like this without believing in the truth... "
“Ji, we live in a very modern scientific era and we are all well-educated if start believing in all this superstitions then there is no meaning in carrying our hard earned degrees…”
Anand’s words made even Ashwini and Madhavan to think for a while!
But Sankaran laughed and said,
“Anand, I am writing a book incorporating thoughts like that you have expressed. In that book there is also a mention about this silk fabric, I will definitely mention your comments also in it. I also planning to write about our experience in this forest. Let us wait and see who wins whether it is the Science, Spiritual Science or Mayamma’s Occult Science!”.
Anand remained silent without any expressions for what Sankaran said.
“Ji, write your experiences without any prejudice, I do agree experience is the true guru in any man’s life!.”
They continued their walk through the narrow muddy path.Baba’s Samadhi was about twelve kilometers away from there. Around midnight they reached Baba’s Samadhi.
A mud lamp was burning there as if someone just came there lit the lamp and went!
A Thatched hut was there nearby in a dilapidated condition. All of a sudden it started raining like anything. They took shelter in that hut.
“Doesn’t it look like that someone has just come and gone?”
“Yeah...Baba is like a god to those tribal people here in this forest. So any one of them might have come and gone.”
"Ji, It’s raining like anything... what shall we do?”
“We can't find anything here at this time of night. Let's stay in this hut for the night and start our search when it is dawn.”.
“Are you sure this is the Agasthyakoodam forest?”
“Yes. It begins from here…”
“Ji, where is that area in this forest where there are man eating trees? “Anand asked curiously.
“I do not know. By now Mayamma might have reached here already. We have to search in the morning and find that area!"
“So only in the morning only we can start the search, right?”
“Yeah...till then, let us lie down here and relax. I believe Baba will appear in any one of our dreams and will show us the right way and will guide us. If we take his advice there is no doubt we will win in this!”
Anand smirked a mysterious smile in that darkness which no one has seen, when he heard what Sankaran said.
“Baba will come in a ‘dream’ and will guide us,ok, let him come ....let us hope so”he said in his mind.
They took shelter in that thatched hut near Baba’s Samadhi. After a while they were in the laps of deep sleep. Ashwini was sleeping near Anand..
The weather was very cold and chill.
Ashwini shuddered in that sever cold!
Madhavan stripped his over coat and gave it to her,Anand gave her his shoe. Sankaran alone was sitting in front of Baba’s Samadhi meditating.
Seeing Sankaran smiled.
The night began to pass without the tick ticking of any clocks.
The hoots of chimpanzees and the roar of wild elephants disturbed their sleep now and then.
Anand could not sleep as he has never expected that he will have such a kind of experience in India when he departed from Srilanka.
He was rolling again and again without sleep. The others were in deep sleep due to the long walk they had.
Suddenly Anand heard the footsteps of someone walking nearby. He stood up and looked around at a distance he saw an old man walking with a lantern in his hand.
Anand was amazed about Who was going in the middle of the forest at this time of the hour.
He got up and walked towards him. He called him,” Hey... who is that?”
That old man turned back and looked at Anand. His head was covered with a white turban and he was wearing a white jubbah and Kavi dhoti and looked exactly like in the photo in Baba’s Samadhi.
“You..?”Anand asked with a little unknown fear inside.
He smiled and said,
“I am Shiva a traditional siddha practioner, I came in search of some rare herbs in this forest”
“At this time…?”
“If I go now only, the ‘forget me ‘plants will not work on me otherwise I may lose my way in this forest and will roam around here for my entire life without knowing the way out! “Shiva replied.
"Forget me...?”Anand asked with curiosity.
“Yes...haven't you heard about it?”
“Yes, I have heard about it, do you know where it is?”
“You can come with me I will show you, come. let's go…”
Anand with full of excitement followed Shiva.
“Are there trees here which swallow men? "He asked Shiva while walking.
“Yes. While coming, I saw one tree swallowing two people alive!.”
Devan got shocked.
"So, do you know where that forest is?"
“I'm a jungler... There isn’t a place that I do not know..”
“Who are those two people?”
“Some two women. They came to the forest to pluck the charming jasmine there and while turning back, an animal might have chased him it seems. They went inside that swallowing forest”
“After that?”
“Then what...They became prey for that umbrella plant and became plants themselves.”
“Can I see it?”
“That's right... You also want to become prey?”
“How did you see it?”
“When they were caught, I heard a moaning sound. If we faint on the smell of the plant only, it will get us. I had a smell killer in my mouth and went. I didn’t faint and I saw.”
“Can’t save them?”
“Why should we save them? It is good thing to become a part of a tree than to die and be reborn again as a tree?”
“So do you think what has happened is a good thing? "
“Is it not ..?Normally only people with negative intentions will be attracted towards that part of the area of the forest and mother nature destroys them!”
“But you said you went to that part of the forest, are you such kind of a person?”
“Who knows. Some people call me Siddha .”
“Siddha?"
“Yes, some people call me a lunatic...”saying this Shiva laughed.
Then he started plucking herbs from here and there and put it in his white shoulder bag.
Suddenly he saw a rabbit lying there dead under a tree.
He told Anand to take it in his hand.
“Why Shiva..?”
“Take it ... don't you want to see that tree which swallow human beings?”
“Are you going to show that to me..”
“Yes. I am going to take you there…please have this smell killer herb in your mouth "
Anand put the herb given by Shiva in his mouth and walked with him, They walked through so many creepers, shrubs and bushes. To Anand’s astonishment he saw that at some places the creepers give way to Shiva when he chanted some mantra as he has seen in some graphic movies. At last they reached under a tree, the branches of the tree tried to strangle Anand, Shiva immediately pushed it away with one hand and saved Anand from its clutches.
Everything what Anand saw was just like a dream to him.
“Shiva, I cannot simply believe anything what I see here... “saying this Anand looked at a grape vine, it turned back and looked at him as if it has eyes and it could see him. They stood under that big tree which has leaves many times larger than an elephants ears. Shiva told Anand to place the rabbit in his hands on one of those leaves the next minute the leaf enveloped the rabbits body and it disappeared within no time.
“Oh my god..” Anand was really shocked to see it.
“It is this tree which swallowed two people who came here hours before”. Shiva said. Sree's Mayamma's chappals were lying there nearby that tree as an evidence for what has happened!
Anand was not able believe his own eyes when he saw some flowers which were emitting light like fire flies.
“This is the forest of madness " said Shiva and showed him an area where there were so many jasmine plants.
Anand looked at the plants with surprise.
“ These jasmine flowers although white are called black jasmine and are very rare...if you give it to someone and if they smell it you can take control of their mind within no time. “Shiva said.
“Spit out that herb that I give you now”, Shiva said.
Anand did as Shiva told and the very next minute a thin white smoke enveloped Shiva and he vanished in that smoke. Anand without knowing what he is doing was laughing like he is mad and completely forgot who he is and where he is, started walking and reached under a banyan tree.
He was feeling very tired and fell asleep under that banyan tree in the forest…!
When it dawned, Sankaran, Madhavan and Ashwini started their search for the missing Anand. They saw some tribal people coming just opposite to them collecting fire woods, they enquired with them about Anand, they said that they have seen a person with the same identity under a banyan tree nearby. All the three walked very fast through that narrow muddy path and reached the banyan tree which the tribal people told them and found Anand lying there.
They woke him up, Anand blinked for a second and looked at them..
“Hey,Anand,What happened? Madhavan asked.
"Yes, I am…I am…Anand…,but who are you people? “Anand was in a total confused mental state.
“Anand, I am Madhavan and this is Ashwini and Sankaran Ji! What’s this...did you forget all of us? "
“That.. that .... I can’t remember anything?”
“Don't you know me? ... I am Ashwini. She tried to revive his memory.
“Ashwini…now I remember…but I don’t remember others! “Anand said.
Suddenly Sankaran remembered about the ‘Forget me ‘area in the forest.
“Ashwini, what happened is Anand might have entered that ‘Forget me ‘area in the forest perhaps that is why he is not able to remember us. However that is also good in a way to maintain the secrecy of that area otherwise people may misuse it!”
“That's right Ji... but we don't know what happened to Sree and Mayamma ..”
While they were discussing this seriously a very tired Kanaran came walking towards them.
“Hey,Kanara,where is Mayamma and Sree? “Madhavan enquired.
“I don’t know, Madhavan Ji. But on the way I met a Siddha who showed me the way to reach here and he told me that Sree and Mayamma will never return back and Anand Ji knows the truth about it!”
Hearing Kanaran’s words Anand could not control his laughter.
“Me? “he said.
“I know nothing. Who is that idiot who said that? “asked Anand.
Sankaran looked at Anand but he was very busy at searching the compass he has lost in the forest.
Madhavan asked.
“What are you doing, Ji? "
“Nothing Madhavan, I was thinking of my guru and was wondering how he has done this miracle of ‘that happened which seems to be not happened’!”
“Ji,I am not able to understand a word what you are saying.”
“Madhava, you will never understand all these without the help of a spiritual guru…”
“What are you saying, Ji...happened not happened?”
Sankaran stood silently in his ears the words of his guru echoed.
‘To every karma there is an equal and opposite karma, which is the principle of spiritual physics. The two karmas meet at one point and whichever is strong wins the game and as a result a good soul or an evil soul takes birth in this world. The purpose of the human birth is not to get involved in this game and this is possible only by surrendering at the lotus feet’s of the supreme…’
