There was a buzz on the campus the next day about a yoga meditation group visiting for free classes on stress management. Kel had heard about it from one of her professors Ms. Richu Gurunathan who had been doing this meditation for a long time now. So she called up Phil to ask him to meet her so that she could explain that they were going to join the classes.

Phil thought that this was not something that interested him but since she was so enthusiastic about it he thought let me tag along. They joined the class and found it to be refreshing. Both of them felt that they had been renewed and had a warm fuzzy feeling after the practice taught in the class. The instructor had said they could continue to do the practice if they found it to be helpful to them. They decided they would make it a part of their everyday routine. It had been 3 months now they had been practicing this is an esoteric form of meditation and it had helped relieve their stress from the environment.

Like them, there were many other students who also took on this meditation practice and had experienced a lot of bliss and peace in their lives. However little had they realize that it was the key to adventure which was going to happen in the near future and would change their lives for the better. It is said that everything happens for a reason. It looks so true in the lives of Phil and Kel.

The good thing about their campus was that it had its own beach and also the campus was full of greenery which added to the serenity of the place. Students would go down to the beach and sit there for hours by taking their yoga mats with them and doing their meditation in the morning. They had groups that would do this and some of them had students from various other departments such as Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Computer Sciences apart from Astro-Physics. These meditation groups were very few but were growing in numbers on the campus. Each day there would be at least two to three students joining the group to live a stress-free life and increase their focus to do research, in a busy city like Bombay.

The meditation groups were not just limited to congregating to do meditation but slowly they had become a network where the campus grapevine grew. The W******p groups were a buzz with campus talk. The groups broke through the seniority culture in the campus with juniors mingling with the seniors freely. In some of the sessions after they were done some of the juniors would ask for help in their research which the seniors proved to be quite helpful in guiding to the right source of information or another professor or another senior who had done some research on the subject. Sometimes they would help reach out to the alumni network which had professionals coming to help develop some of the research by getting corporate sponsorships. So it was not just meditation but everything connected to their students’ lives began to be supported here.

The strange Night

That evening Kel and Phil had strolled together to the Project Discussion Room to complete their respective project dissertations as the submission deadlines were coming near. Kel picked up a few snacks and a refreshing coconut drink from the local campus store. Did you look at the photographs I sent you from my telescope yesterday? Asked Kel. Phil thought we are in for a discussion on astronomy and astrology again. He replied Yes Ms. Astrology. Kel shot back Stop calling me Ms. Astrology I don’t like that name. Phil apologized as they entered the meeting room.

After their work on the dissertations they moved to the campus dining area as the dinner time was very strict it would close by 9:30 PM and they were hungry as hell. Kel asked Phil why don’t you join me for my “sky movie ” session tonight. Phil agreed. Kel brought her Telescope to the amphitheater so that they both could view the sky together. Kel was excited because this was the first time Phil had agreed to watch the skies with her which was her childhood passion. She thought she would show Phil some of the discoveries she had penned down in her “sky journal” which she penned down during her sessions.

The cool breeze in the mid of a hot summer night just increased their passion for each other. They watched the sky for a long time together and felt their love grow stronger. Kel said I feel really nice that you agreed to look at the sky with me. I showed you some of the discoveries I made recently. Phil said I loved it too, I did not know till you showed me that the imaginary astrological zodiac actually existed and we could trace it with your telescope. Let us do this at least once a week together Kel.

Phil bid goodbye reluctantly as the time for closing of the hostel gates was approaching. He went straight to his room. He liked listening to some light music before sleep. Kel had shared some latest soft music clips which she liked on his W******p and he wanted to listen to them before going to sleep. As he started listening to the music a strange tingling sensation started to happen near his neck and then he sat erect with his headphones in his ears. The sensation lasted for a few more seconds and he felt a very warm fuzzy feeling which he had felt in the first day of the meditation class. He thought was this the effect of meditation that was happening to him. After a while, he fell asleep in his bed.

Phil was climbing a mountain that was rocky but had a lot of greenery. He crossed one rough patch after the other and kept on climbing using his rope further till he was tired and hanging from the rope to rest. He took out his water bottle and drank some mineral water and then started to look around. Immediately above the rocky mountain, he saw a waterfall and besides it, he saw a cave with just barely space for a human to crawl through it. He thought let me climb up to it and rest there for a while.

He threw another rope towards the cave and tried it a number of times before it got hooked in a rock nearby. He tugged onto the rope a number of times to check if it was fastly secured by the rock above. He then tied the second rope around his waist and climbed to the landing where the waterfall and cave were situated. It was a nice resting place he thought and took a drink from the pristine white water from the waterfall. He felt energetic after drinking the refreshing natural water from the waterfall, he thought he had not felt so energetic and refreshed before. Something made the water in the waterfall magical he thought. He then knelt down in front of the cave to see if it was empty and if he could go inside. His torchlight did not show any sign of life and he decided to go inside.

He wiggled his way inside the dark cave and as he entered he had a strange familiar warm fuzzy feeling which he had experienced before. He was now inside the cave and saw that the room of the cave was not large enough for him to stand up. He was able to move around it and saw in the far left corner a resting place or a white rock which was flat at the top like a tabletop and had a cloth on it. There was a coconut pot nearby with some water inside. He thought how did it come here, was there somebody inhabiting the cave? Was it a human? As only a human would keep water inside a vessel to drink. Animals did not need utensils to drink. He smelled the water and it did not give any peculiar smell so he drank it.

He was sitting in the far right side of the cave with his backpack and water bottle. He had drunk the water in the coconut vessel and had placed it exactly where it was placed earlier. After a while, he felt he would rest as he had already climbed more than 1500 feet in the mountain. He wondered why he was not able to see this waterfall and cave from the bottom where he started climbing. He was lost in thought and almost fell asleep when suddenly he was woken up by a small thud-like noise.

He saw the cave suddenly illuminated with a bright yellow and white light which was emanating from some sort of a human-like form that was floating above the flat cloth near the coconut vessel. The light faded a bit but was enough for him to see the human-like form clearly from his eyes. He now saw that this was the form of a Sage and he was floating in the air and there was this aura of bright light which was surrounding him. He was having the same warm and fuzzy feeling which told him that he was safe in this place. The floating human form was looking directly at him and had a Rosary bead of some sort in his right hand. He was wearing yellow clothes which were spotlessly clean. In his left hand, he was holding a stick of some sort which Phil did not recognize.

The sage started speaking to him in a slightly soft pleasant voice. he said, “Son Welcome to my cave”. It is I who has brought you here as you are the chosen one. Phil thought who is this sage and why is he saying I am the chosen one? What have I been chosen for? he asked the sage. The sage replied smiling I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. You have an important task to carry out in this birth and that is why you have been born and is the purpose of this birth my child. Phil asked intuitively What is the purpose can you tell me? Sage said Yes son listen to what I have to tell you attentively. There is a grave danger to the world in the coming years. the world is going to see destruction that has never been seen before. Earthquakes devastate millions, Volcanoes in the middle of heavy population, heavy rains and flooding everything will trigger in due time. I with my divine powers was able to see these events in the future and with the use of astrological charts and my divine powers, I have placed divine structures around our Mother Earth which when activated will immediately nullify the destructive forces. 

Come to me to the land of Rishikesh there you will find me and I will give you further instructions on what you have to do in order to save mankind from destruction. So saying the sage vanished as he had appeared. Now there was no light and there was no human form for Phil to see. It was empty.

Phil thought for a while about what had been said to him and then he decided to climb down as the night was approaching. he traced his rope near the waterfall and climbed down to the second rope which was still hanging from the mountain.  He safely climbed down to the base rock where he had started his climb. He was exhausted and needed rest as he sat in the jeep to go to the hotel.

Phil woke up gasping for breath as if he felt the exhaustion from the mountain climb. He looked around and saw he was in his hostel room. he did not have any partner as it was the hostel policy to give independent rooms to students of PhD program. He looked at his mobile clock and it showed 4:37 AM. He bent and grabbed the water bottle lying underneath his bed and gulped down water.

The Dilemma

He tries to recall the dream that he saw just a few minutes before he woke up. He picked up a pen and pencil which he kept near his pillow as a matter of habit because he got many thoughts regarding his research after waking up in the morning. This morning was different because he had got a strange dream to write about.

He recalls that he was climbing a small mountain but he could not recall the location of the surroundings. Was it the Himalayas? He was not sure. He was climbing up and had found a waterfall which was quite unusual to be situated at such a height and even more unusual was the appearance of the cave which he could not see from the base of the mountain. He recalled he had felt the same warm fuzzy feeling that he had felt during the meditation sessions. Was this linked to the meditation that he was doing? Was this dream due to that practice? he had no immediate answer. He was able to remember how a sage had appeared floating in the cave and how he had started speaking to him asking him to come to Rishikesh as he was the key to saving the world from disaster. The sage had mentioned Astrological calculations and about his divine powers to foresee such events and to prevent them. He had mentioned placing some divine objects which needed to be activated by me What were those? He had not mentioned anything about them?

He started to have a streak of questions one by one as he recalled his dream half sitting on his bed. Why did the sage say I was the chosen one? Why was I chosen for this work? What divine powers did the sage possess? How could he float in air and defy all principles of physics? Is this dream real? Sage talked about Astrology in which I did not have any belief should I even believe this dream? Should I dismiss it as just a figment of my imagination? What about the warm fuzzy feeling that I am getting even now after the dream is over?

Did I see this dream because Sigmund Freud said dreams are a reflection of our actions and thoughts and I had associated with Kel who believed in Astrology so strongly?

What was the name of the sage? He did not tell his name? Can I take this dream seriously?

Where is Rishikesh?

Even if I believe this dream to be true I do not know who is this sage and where will I find him in Rishikesh?

With all these questions in mind, he starts to look up g****e to know more about Rishikesh. There was tons of information on the web. he came to know about stories from his search on how the Beatles had had a life-changing experience after going to Rishikesh. He came across a story about Steve Jobs and his link to Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and how this visit had changed his vision of building a Mac computer. He also came across the story of Mark Zuckerberg and how he was advised by Steve Jobs to visit Rishikesh and Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and his few months of the visit had enabled him to spearhead his social media business to the front of the world F******k.

He also saw videos of people giving their testimonials on their visits to Rishikesh and how it had transformed their minds by providing them more peace and giving them the right focus in life. He came to know of people who had sold everything they owned in the USA or other countries and migrated to Rishikesh to find that inner peace. There were numerous people like Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Movie studio artists, and even CEOs who had left their jobs and lucrative careers just to find inner happiness. He got to know that something was unique about this place which made it so unique where people went to find inner peace and happiness in this world. He thought he should at least visit it once even if the dream is just a figment of his imagination.

The real secret stories told by a few people on Youtube told him that there were secret caves in the mountains near Rishikesh where it was believed that the Sages were still meditating. Some videos gave accounts of some of the sages coming and mixing with the common folks and them taking them into the secret caves. Those accounts although seemed spammy but something told him inside that it could be true about this place.

Amongst all this searching for information about Rishikesh, he had lost count of time. His phone rang and Kel was on the other side. He picked up the phone and she asked what happened you have not come for the meditation beach session? I am outside the boy's hostel to come out. He promptly replied Kel we will not go to the meditation session today I have something important to discuss with you, I’ll tell you more once I meet you in a few minutes. Kel kept the phone thinking about what was so important that Phil was asking her to skip the meditation class today. He had never done this before.

A Decision to make

Phil came down and met Kel outside the boy's hostel and took her yoga mat from her. She barked out what is wrong with you why do you want to skip the meditation class today? He said let us go and sit in the canteen and I will tell you everything.

Phil found a quiet place near the garden of the morning canteen as he began explaining to Kel the dream he had an early morning. He explained how he saw himself climbing a mountain and he had gone into the cave beside the waterfall and later how the sage had appeared to him telling him that he was the chosen one for saving the devastation that is going to happen in the years to come. He also told her that the sage had told him to come to Rishikesh where he would meet him and give further instructions. After narrating his dream to Kel, he asked her what she thought of the dream that he had today.

Kel said did you actually see that dream or are you making it up to please me in disbelief. To which Phil replied why will I make up all this is honestly what I saw in my dream if you do not want to believe me then it's fine I will forget about it. Kel replied back No don’t get me wrong I was confirming it because I know you do not believe in occult science and astrology in specific. What you have seen in your dream when at what time did it happen? Phil replied must be between 4 AM and 4:30 AM as I woke up after that. Why do you ask?

Kel said my grandmother says whatever dream that you see during early morning becomes true and is to be believed.  I think what you saw was a message from a divine sage who is living in Rishikesh. You know I am from Dehradun which is just 20+ kilometers from Rishikesh? I have been to Rishikesh many times since my childhood. It is crowded now but in my early days, it was very vacant and peaceful with not so many westerners visiting it. But I think I am seeing these types of dreams now because of my association with you blurted Phil. Kel said well you can say I have an influence on you but not such a strong one to give you a dream of a sage. That has nothing to do with me.

Freud says dreams are not to be taken so seriously as they represent our subconscious mind. What if this dream is not true and is just a figment of my imagination? How do I know if this dream is indeed true? said Phil.

Kel said forget about Freud for a moment and think of it in this way if you go to Rishikesh as the sage has asked you to you have nothing to lose. You can go for some fun activities too such as river rafting and mountain climbing there and you can do camping beside the Holy River Ganga as well. How about that?

Phil said yes you are right I have nothing to lose if the dream does come true then It will bring me close to my destiny as the sage has told however if it doesn’t then I will at least have a good adventurous trip. Will you come with me Kel?

Kel was grinning already and said Yes of course I love going to Rishikesh there is so much peace and tranquility out there it is worth every chance that you get to go. Moreover, I want to be a part of your destiny as well as I know the dream is true and you will definitely meet the sage there. I will also help you with Astrology if the sage gives you any instructions so I can help you there as well.

Phil was now feeling happy and said okay our session ends in 2 weeks so let us plan out a visit I will find out and book some hotels and adventure sports operator tours as well for both of us.