Stairway To Heaven

Swamy Jeetendra looked around the huge gathering with a sense of pride and achievement. The place was colourful and a holiday atmosphere prevailed. His brow wrinkled as a young child who was confronted with this multitude for the first time in its life started crying. Gurvananda, his chief troubleshooter looked anxiously at his guru, noted the wrinkled brow and signalled the disciple monitoring the live feed to quickly identify the source of this irritating sound and take action. The disciple panned the camera and discovered the crying child. Suitable instructions were passed and the mother and child’s darshan of the Guru was expedited. The guruji gave his benedictions to the mother , chucked the child under the chin and dispatched the mother and child on their way. Guruvananda knew that the mother would be escorted out of the pandal all the way till she made herself scarce from the congregation.

Once again that look of serenity returned to the face of the Guruji. Swami jeetendra . He was lulled into a light doze by the respectful murmur that was going on in the Pandal.  That was the best part. No one could tell whether he was awake or asleep. He had learnt this art when he was under training in the National Defence Academy. The Drill instructors were always roaming the corridors and would penalise anyone who was sleeping and so it was a challenge to cheat- to sleep and not get caught. ‘Why did I join the Army?” he thought. Then his mind went further back in time when he was a boy in his teens. He had never liked things that were run of the mill. Moreover joining the army seemed to be a right idea at that time. That strong feeling of patriotism pervaded all his senses. Besides there was nothing to keep him at home. Did girls come into the equation? He honestly evaluated his feelings and came to the conclusion, “ Girls are always in the equation – whether you like it or not. Maybe as a growing boy his harmones screamed for some closeness from the opposite sex. But as he grew older he felt himself retreating into his shell. After his training he joined the elite commando regiment of the Indian army. It was always his contention that when one sets out to do anything in this world it is best done in the right and in a fashion which is different and “Hatke’”. And so his opting and subsequent absorption into the Commando Regiment.

Long absences , isolated vigils and devising methods to keep sane made him start liking his own company – in fact he preferred it. At that time his task was the ruthless killings of terrorists(They deserved it!). Normal run of the mill activities left him unhappy and dissatisfied.His mind started drifting into the metaphysical realm. His mind was full of questions - Why are we? What are we ? How are we? In fact he was so confused that he started searching for answers from the old scriptures and modern writers alike. In freewheeling discussions he questioned the very existence of man. Someone told him that helping others would show him the path to attainment of Moksha. But in his case nothing seemed to work. All he thought about having a guru also did not work..

Added to this was the restrictive work atmosphere. It was frustrating when the seniors refused - to distinguish between good and bad and right and wrong - the time had come to cut his own path through the morass of deception, wrong doings and sin. That is when he had an insight into what he must do. He tendered his resignation to the army. It was not accepted. Rather than take recourse to falsehoods to get out of the army - like many of his peers did, when they got a lucrative, well paying job - he decided to argue it out with the authorities by stating the obvious. His logic was that when he wanted to join the army they welcomed him with open  arms. Why did they not  show the same magnanimity when it came to letting him go. To his credit truth won out and he was free from the clutches of the army in a short time. The next two months were spent in introspection and examining various options available to him to attain his goals. A trip to an isolated place was the next logical step. The Ashram at Dehradun beckoned him. For the next two years he meditated in the lap of the Himalayas. His physical appearance also changed. Frequent fasts, self denial and eating frugal meals thinned down his already gaunt tall frame further. Added to this was the long hair on his head and his beard. The frequent prayers and penance gave his eyes that intense look which people find so intimidating and women find so attractive. Visitors to the Ashram started finding solace in his discourses. His following slowly grew . Ordinary people who wanted to find an easy solution to the problems came to him in large numbers.They christened him Aakash Baba. Aakash baba's fame spread across India and by word of mouth to people across the world. His following got an international flavour when a cricketer from the neighbouring country came to him to deliver him from the poor form that he was having at cricket. The reply that the baba gave to the cricketer is still quoted in the many books published to celebrate the life and times of Aakash Baba.

The Baba was made famous by the fact that unlike the others who use media to spread their message ,television was banned from his discourses. Also, unlike others he refused to attribute his new found wisdom to some sudden revealation. "I am not here to tell you to give up anything" he used to say. I have no interest in making you follow any particular regime. All I am asking you to do is introspect and work out for yourself as to what you are doing is right or wrong and by extension are the people around you also following the rule of existence on this earth?. And if they are not - then what is your duyt towards yourself and the world? How have you ensured that they behave as per the tenets of humanism? These simple but effective words won the hearts and minds of his followers.

The insistent chanting of baba,baba baba... and the discreet pressure on his shoulder by Guruvananda woke up the Babaji from his light doze. Once again he scanned the crowds with a feeling of satisfaction and pride. He had arrived on the spiritual scene and with his frugal and healthy habits he was going to be there for a long time. Finally he had made a difference to the lives of the people around him. But sometimes he had these urges which threatened to undo all the good work that he had done . It is another story...