Kalka- Simla, an Exotic Rail Journey

 

Kalka- Simla, an Exotic Rail Journey

“I listened, motionless and still, and as I mounted up the hill, the music in my heart I heard, long after it was heard no more,” captivating lines by the iconic poet William Wordsworth and a fitting description of the wondrous train journey from Kalka to Simla.

 Indian Railways proudly proclaim that it transports ‘an Australia’ everyday on its wheels, no mean feat! However these days airlines and roadways have built robust infrastructures and provide product, price, place and promotion (the 4 Ps of marketing), luring travellers away from the sedate pace of rail travel. Nevertheless, the narrative to unearth landscapes as a train motors through the serpentine bends on some steep, fascinating and enthralling routes in our vast country remains the domain and bulwark of the Indian Railways. A backpacker uncovers diverse landscapes while undertaking a rail journey. Steep mountain slopes, narrow valleys, dense jungles and wide seas are just some of the jewels waiting to be discovered as one chugs along the rail routes.

The Gen X or Y perhaps are perhaps unaware of two momentous events which transpired at Simla. Aeons ago in the summer of 1945, it was at Simla that Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India discussed the Cabinet Mission plan with various stake holders who were at the forefront of India’s struggle. Exactly 27 years later, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan inked the Simla pact on 2 July 1972, paving the way to end hostilities between the two warring and sparring nations. India had earlier vanquished Pakistan in December 1971 in a war that resulted in the creation of the new nation state of Bangladesh. This Queen of Hills served as the Summer Capital when Indians were the subjects of the British monarchy and was the seat of the estimable Railway Board. Today it houses the academy for the probationers of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service.

A vacationer who cherishes a journey through picturesque valleys, up steep pathways and through foggy meadows, would certainly not be disappointed as he or she travels in the narrow gauge train on the Shivaliks from Kalka to Simla. This stretch from Kalka to Simla along with the little toy train, a legacy bequeathed by the British, has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

The train journey from Kalka to India’s erstwhile summer capital Simla at the crack of dawn is quintessential rail-travel on the hills of India. The erstwhile quaint town is today a hustling and bustling tourist spot, located in the north-western ranges of the Himalayas at an altitude of 2,213m. The toy train weaves its journey from Kalka, a town in its neighbouring state, Haryana and terminates at the enchanting Simla.

The Kalka – Simla rail line is a narrow gauge railway which traverses a distance of 96km. This 96-km long railway track was constructed over 889 short to long bridges and passes through 102 tunnels in the foothills of the Himalayas; the longest tunnel is located at Barog. 

 A Twist in the Tale – Barog Tunnel

 On this enchanting trip famished tourists break journey to savour delicious parathas and fried eggs, cutlets and piping hot tea or coffee in a restaurant at Barog. There is mystique and majesty attached to the place. Cool breeze wafts in and one can hear the sounds of chirping birds and a rivulet as the Sun plays hide and seek.

 The Barog Tunnel passes through the fissured sandstone and has a tragic tale associated with from during its construction. Colonel Barog, who was supervising the construction of Tunnel No. 33 committed the cardinal mistake of boring the tunnel from both (opposite) ends of the mountain, a strategy adopted to expedite construction.

 The crew was divided into two halves, and started the digging and blasting work for the tunnel from the opposite ends. The Colonel instructed the crew members to bore the tunnel and according to his calculations both the ends would intersect at the centre. He thereby envisioned a single tunnel in the amphitheatre of his mind.

The workers kept on boring from either end, but did not meet even after crossing the centre of the mountain. After some time, the workers became restless and questioned the decisions taken by Colonel Barog.

The Colonel too realized that on account of his miscalculations, the alignment of the tunnels had gone awry and the two ends of the tunnel did not meet. His miseries were compounded as the British government decided to levy a hefty fine on the Colonel for profligacy of public property and wealth. It was a double whammy for Colonel Barog as the Government took umbrage and the staff became hostile. In sheer despondency Colonel Barog snuffed his life through the barrel of his gun.

On this picturesque path ply several trains including the Kalka-Simla Express, Himalayan Queen, and Shivalik Queen Express. The journey is enduringly enchanting at a slow pace as the train ascends the slope rhythmically through stations such as Dharampur, Solan, Kandaghat, Tara Devi, Barog, Salogra, Totu, and Summerhill to reach the summer capital. The journey, which snakes its way through imposing mountains leaves an indelible impression on the minds of the pilgrim.

Silken and pristine mountains, breathtaking lakes, salubrious climate, and alluring greenery –Simla offers on the platter all that a tourist pines for. 

The breathtaking beauty of the city and the places in the vicinity never cease to leave the traveller spellbound. There is this magical quality in air which endears Simla to the visitor compelling them to visit time and again.

There are around eighteen tourist spots which are habitually visited by sightseers. The more celebrated among them are the Summer Hills, the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Annandale, Jakhoo Hill and Temple, Tara Devi Temple, Chail (the Palace of Maharaja of Patiala), Gaiety Theatre and the Viceregal Lodge. Summer or winter, a stroll along Mall Road with a stop by for a hot cup of coffee is a must do. Come winter and Kufri tops the list of must-visits.

Though tourists throng the Queen of Hills by road, rail and by air, the journey by rail through the thick forest cover and clouds floating through the coaches has an old world charm which leaves an ineffaceable impression on the febrile mind of the tipper. Thus seize every opportunity to visit Simla by rail for the amazing magical quality attached with the rail journey.

“Trains are wonderful.... To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers, in fact, to see life.”- Agatha Christie

Sridevi: Remembering an Actress in Pursuit of Perfection

 

Sridevi: Remembering an Actress in Pursuit of Perfection

 

“I am missing you Papa,” whispered the legendary Sridevi over the phone on 24 February 2018 to her husband. This was how Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan affectionately addressed her husband Boney Kapoor, a prominent producer/distributor of Bollywood.

Meanwhile, ‘Papa’ had arrived at Jumeriah Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai in the evening of that fateful day and the couple spent close to an hour in the privacy of their opulent room number 2201.

The actress went to bathe and freshen up before the glitterati couple stepped out for dinner. Those were the ultimate private moments the couple were to spend together.

Sanjay Kapoor, youngest brother of Boney Kapoor was to break the news to media, the film fraternity and the news starved electronic and print media that his sister-in-law, the talismanic actress had succumbed to a cardiac arrest.

The Dubai Police and local doctors were not in agreement with the assessment of the Indian actor as the toxicological and autopsy reports revealed suspected drowning with traces of alcohol and water in her body and lungs respectively. This activated the churn-mills of social media and trolling began incessantly; imputing various theories to the tragic demise of the first female superstar of Indian cinema.

She was supposed to be a fitness freak, with a regimented schedule. How could this happen, was the general refrain among the legions of her followers. Humans are after all mortals and perhaps nemesis is written on our epitaph the very day one arrives on this planet.

Madhuri Dixit, her compatriot and a competitor wept inconsolably as the entire dazed nation joined in unison to maintain solemnity of the tragedy. Serpentine queues had formed to bid her adieu as she was cremated with full state honours at the Ville Parle crematorium in Mumbai and her ashes subsequently merged with the ocean at the scenic Rameswaram Coast of Tamil Nadu.

The monarch of Indian cinema arrived on planet earth on 13 August, 1963 in the temple town of Sivakasi (also known for the fireworks manufactured there) in Tamil Nadu.

Sridevi, during her career spanning over four decades produced an array of fireworks and electrified the silver screen with stellar performances for which she was feted with the Padma Shri in the year 2013.

The actress known for loads of talent, and a taste for gyrations and immaculate dancing skills was decorated with the ‘Order of Afghanistan’ for her portrayal in the movie Khudha Gawah, where she played heartthrob to on-screen hero Amitabh Bachchan.

Rewinding to past as it happens in the movies, it is noteworthy to mention that the estimable Sridevi began her career as a child artiste at the tender age of four in the Tamil movie Kandan Karunai aeons ago in 1967.

“I lost out on going to school and on college life but I got into the film industry and worked without a gap - from child actor I went straight to heroine. There was no time to think and I was grateful for it,” said the enigmatic enchantress, Sridevi.

She essayed the role of Lord Muruga in Thunaivan, a Tamil movie and soon made her debut in Tollywood as a child artist with the 1970 Telugu film Maa Nanna Nirdoshi.

The year 1979 signified political turmoil, at the national level when the first non- Congress government lead by Morarji Desai (who headed the Janata Party Government) at the centre collapsed on account of machinations and political intrigues.

Meanwhile, Chaudary Charan Singh was anointed suzerain of the country but could never face political vote in the Parliament. This was also the year that the first woman superstar and the highest paid female artiste of Indian cinema migrated from the safe confines south of the Vindhyas to make her maiden presence felt in Bollywood, in the blockbuster Solvan Sal. However, she was accepted by the film industry with the epoch making Himmatwala, co-starring the fabled Jeetendra.

For her unforgettable roles and impeccable performances, Sridevi won several accolades. She was to triumphantly win the National Award for the best female lead, apart from bagging two Filmfare awards in Bollywood and three Filmfare awards down South. The gifted actress was also voted ‘India’s Greatest Actress in 100 Years’ in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted in 2013 on the occasion of the centenary of Indian cinema.

The iconic actress was widely recognised by various media publications as a fashion statesman. Her taste in clothes was varied and ranged from stylishly casual to opulently majestic.

In fact she made her debut as a fashion model in the year 2008. The actress modelled clothes for designers Priya and Chintan at the Lakme Fashion Week. The superstar received the ‘Ultimate Diva’ award at the Ciroc Filmfare Glamour & Style Awards in the year 2015.

Though she acted in around 300 movies, some of her notable films which won her both popular and critical acclaim included Shekar Kapur’s Mr. India in 1987, followed by Chandni and Chalbaaz in the year 1989 and the sensitive portrayal of mother and daughter in the Anil Kapoor starrer Lamhe 1991.

The actress was to win critical acclaim for the poignant role of an adult who never grows up but remains at the age of six and is rescued from a brothel while her predators are on the prowl, in Sadma along with Kamal Haasan in the year 1983. Another role was that of a demure and petrified Marathi woman in English Vinglish, where she discovers her inherent strength by attempting to learn a foreign language, English, much to the consternation of her uppity husband.

She was to enact in varied roles with élan and panache and her final film was Mom for which she won the National award. Sridevi and the late actor Vinod Khanna were posthumously remembered by a grateful nation with Dada Saheb Phalke award for their contribution to Indian cinema.

“Where are the rivals? There can be rivalry only between two equals. My only rival at the moment is Sridevi. I’m constantly trying to upstage her… I’m constantly trying to upstage her…I’m doing it to the point of obsession,” remarked the artiste who was perennially in pursuit of perfection.

 

 

 

 

Kailas Mansarovar Yatra

 

    Kailas Mansarovar Yatra

“Shiva Tattva is where there is no mind and the moon signifies the mind. When there is no mind then how can this ‘no-mindedness’ be expressed? You need a little bit of the mind to understand, experience and to express. The no-mind, infinite consciousness requires that little bit of mind to express itself in the manifest world. So, to express that inexpressible, that little mind (crescent moon) is on Shiva’s head. Wisdom is beyond the mind, but it needs to be expressed with a tinge of mind and this is symbolized by the crescent moon,” says the spiritual master H.H. Sri Ravi Shankar.

There was once a blue stock student who passed out with distinction from an estimable college in Delhi University. Numerous opportunities beckoned him -the Civil Services examination, joining a corporate house, or turning to journalism among others. Instead he embarked on a peregrination to the lofty peaks of Mt.Kailasa.

Meanwhile a friend who was well ensconced in the hallowed portals of Rail Bhavan, commanding humungous power was unexpectedly diagnosed with osteoporosis. In order to overcome the pain of the condition, the doughty fighter enrolled herself at the Bihar School of Yoga, which did ameliorate her condition. She learnt that some of her course-mates planned a trip to the majestic Mt.Kailasa and a dip in the Mansarovar Lake. The brawny warrior ignored all aches and witnessed the grandiose peaks of Mt.Kailasa.

A third friend, himself a mini czar in the travel and tourism business and living life king-size awoke one morning with a seizure and slumped into his bed. A chord struck in his mind and he resolved to “feel pristine nature” after he was sufficiently recovered.

They all faced existential crises and sought a certain fulfilment in life; they were determined to experience something out of the ordinary. Though all 3 were at different stages in their lives, by merely gazing at the sheer majesty of Mt.Kailasa, they experienced true celebration in their mind and soul; something they had never experienced in the ho-hum existence of everyday drudgery.

The pristine snow clad peaks of Mt.Kailasa stand tall at a dizzy 6,638m. This august Kailash Range (part of the Gangdisê Mountains), is nestled in the Trans Himalaya in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

This undefiled peak is located near the holy Lake Mansarovar and Lake Rakshastal, in the vicinity of the interminable Asian rivers like the imposing and exalted Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra, and the Karnali (also known as Ghaghara, a tributary of the Ganges in India).

It is noteworthy to mention that Mt.Kailasa is considered to be the sacred cradle of four prominent oriental religions, namely Bon, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

The mountain itself derives its name from the word ‘kelasa’ or crystal. Preeminent authors of Tibetan-English history and literature have also mentioned the word ‘kai la sha’ for this towering mountain, which essentially is a Sanskrit word.

The Tibetan name for the mountain is Gangs Rin-po che. Gangs or Kang is the Tibetan word for snow peak, analogous to alp or hima; rinpoche is an honorific meaning ‘precious one’. So the combined term is loosely translated as ‘precious jewel of snows’. Tibetan Buddhists refer to it as Kangri Rinpoche or Precious Snow Mountain. Bon texts have christened the peak as Water’s Flower, Mountain of Sea Water and Nine Stacked Swastika Mountain.

For those professing Hinduism, the peak is the home of the Hindu God Shiva and it is widely believed that Lord Shiva resides there; for Jains it is where their first leader was enlightened; for practising Buddhists it is the navel of the universe; and for adherents of Bon religion the mountainous range is the abode of the Sky Goddess Sipaimen.

There are numerous sites in the region which are associated with Padmasambhava, whose tantric practices in the consecrated sites around Tibet which are credited with finally establishing Buddhism as the main religion of the country in the 7^th-8^th century AD.

Years back on account of hostilities between India and China, the pilgrimage to the legendary abode of Shiva was curtailed (from 1954 to 1978). Thereafter, a limited number of Indian pilgrims have been allowed to visit the place, under the supervision of the Chinese and Indian governments, via a lengthy and  hazardous trek over the Himalayan terrain, travel by land from Kathmandu or from Lhasa where flights from Kathmandu are available to Lhasa and thereafter travel over the great Tibetan plateau by car.

The voyage spans over four night stops, finally arriving at Darchen at an elevation of 4,600 m, a small outpost that swells with pilgrims at certain times of the year.

Despite the existence of minimal infrastructure, modest not opulent guest houses are available for foreign pilgrims, whereas Tibetan pilgrims generally sleep in their own tents. A small regional medical centre serving far-western Tibet and funded by the Swiss Ngari Korsum Foundation was built here in 1997 to house pilgrims.

Circumnutating the mountain, of which a part is an official park, is to be executed on foot, by pony or by domestic yak. It takes around three days of trekking, going past the Tarboche (flagpole) to cross the Drölma pass at 5650m.

An interesting facet for all pilgrims, troupers, mountaineers and those pining for inner peace to absorb is that Mt. Everest stands erect at m 8,848m in height, with the summit being scaled by over 4,000 people. The awe-inspiring Mt.Kailasa is 6,638m and yet its summit is yet to be conquered.

It is said that in 1926, Hugh Rutledge, an English Civil Servant and mountaineer studied the north face, and proclaimed that it was ‘utterly unclimbable’ and thereafter considered an ascent of the northeast ridge, but gave up the plan.

In 2001, reports emerged that the Chinese government had accorded permission for a Spanish team to climb the peak, which caused an international backlash. Chinese authorities disputed the reports, and stated that any climbing activities on Mt.Kailasa were strictly prohibited. Reinhold Messner, an explorer and mountaineer unequivocally condemned the reported Spanish plans, and was to remark that, “If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people’s souls. I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder. Kailasa is not so high and not so hard.”

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves,” was to remark the icon Edmund Hillary. The trip to Mt.Kailasa and Lake Mansarovar fall in that category.

MY STORY

 

MY STORY

“Hey Bala, hold on for five more days,” my maternal uncle, Vasudeva Rao bantered with my mother. It was December 9, 1962.  

Meanwhile the mood of the nation was sombre that year as the country was inflicted with several wounds in the theatre of war by our northern adversary China during the Indo-China conflict.

Kanpur, like rest of the country was gloomy after the ignominious defeat.

Much like Abhimanyu in his mother’s womb, I seemed to have been privy to the conversation between my mother Bala and uncle Vasu but was determined to step out of the safe sanctuary of my mother’s womb. And thus, I arrived on planet earth on the December 14, 1962.

“So, this was the essence of holding on for five days,” I mused as I recalled those lines verbalised by my maternal uncle.  

This latest arrival to the Valluri menage was called Ravi and soon the Sun appeared in the skies of Kanpur and there was brightness everywhere.

But this celebration was short-lived because as a child I was afflicted with a mysterious ailment, later diagnosed as malabsorption.  

My harried parents were informed by the medical fraternity that malabsorption syndrome was a digestive disorder which prevented my body from effectively absorbing nutrients from food that I consumed.  

My frail heath was to give sleepless nights to my economist-father and medical social worker-mother. I frequently fell ill and was administered allopathic, homeopathic, ayurvedic and home-made remedies but all in vain.

As there seemed to be no panacea for the pestilence in Delhi, it was decided by all well-wishers that I be examined by a group of doctors at the estimable Christian Medical College, Vellore. Soon I was Vellore bound by Grand Trunk Express, accompanying my mother and younger sister. We reached my grandparents’ plenteous bungalow at Madras (now Chennai).  

 The 1^st Tipping Point

Later that evening four of us, my maternal grand-aunt, my mother, my sister and me were packed-up and on a train to Mysore rather than Vellore.

This was to be my first encounter with a godman, Ganapathi Sachhidananda Swamiji. He was once a postman but now as a messenger of God performed extraordinary miracles like producing ash out of thin air, creating objects from nowhere and walking through the sacred fire during Navaratri and Shivratri festivals.

Swamiji produced a talisman and sacred ash at the highly venerated and auspicious Chamundeshwari Temple and blessed me.

Within a few months’ time I rediscovered my mojo and went on to be admitted to the renowned St. Xavier’s School, Delhi. Miraculously I had rediscovered my health and over a period of time began acting in one-act plays and dabbled in writing one-act plays. Somewhere down the line Swamiji took me into confidence and said softly, “I will not remain your Guru, you will find another in due course of time.”   

The words of the clairvoyant Swamiji came to pass and our family drifted away from Him.  

But armed with his blessings and the prayers of my mother (who had immense faith in the Goddess of Heath – Velankanni in Tamil Nadu), I was healthy once again. Apart from performing well academically, I participated in several music and theatre workshops organised by noted artistes. National School of Drama and other theatre centres at Mandi House, New Delhi were almost my second home much to the consternation of my father who opined that I was going astray.

After my schooling, I graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and pursued advanced education in Business Economics from the same university. My passion for writing and acting in plays continued and I forayed into Hindustani classical music as well.  

Like any youngster, I was bewitched by smart girls and dreamed about those in my neighbourhood, my school and college. I had the opportunity to act with the renowned Ashiqui girl, Anu Agarwal in a play called Panchva Sawar at Hindu College.  

Those were pre-globalisation days and career opportunities were limited to medicine, engineering, chartered accountancy and if fortuitous, becoming a bureaucrat.

I was admitted to RAU’s IAS coaching centre (a brand name even back then) and cracked the Civil Services Examination. I could not fuel my interest in theatre and film making any longer. Though I attained a reasonably high rank and had the opportunity to join the Indian Police Service (IPS), I chose instead to become a railwayman as an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS).

Invariably, majority of officers serve on just a few zones, but I took up responsibilities over the years and worked on eight zonal railways and served at MILRAIL (Army Headquarters) where I was decorated with the Chief of Army Commendation medal for services performed when Operation Smiling Buddha 2 – Pokhran 2 occurred.

But unfortunately for my parents, my wife and children, I was becoming addicted to Bacchus and soon turned an alcoholic. It was not long before I was the laughing stock friends and colleagues.

The 2^nd Tipping Point

The Indian Parliament was attacked on December 13, 2001 and Indian defence forces and Railways were involved in a massive exercise to guard our frontiers by running troops specials in the herculean Operation Brasstacks during my posting at Bikaner.

One evening, as the sun sank in the Thar desert, my father was taking his customary evening walk when a stranger tapped his shoulder and suggested that I undertake the Part 1 course of the Art of Living in order to overcome the vice of alcoholism.

This was my father’s only meeting with the stranger. My father, an agnostic by training and attitude was flabbergasted at this encounter, but in my arrogance, I refused to be drawn into any course and mindlessly continued drinking.

The following year we were transferred to Jaipur and my wife finally succeeded in enrolling me for the Part 1course, the very same one mentioned by the stranger! In the wintry chill of November, she took me every day for the course. This was my first exposure to yoga, pranayama, meditation and the unique, rhythmic breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya as cognated by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

My recovery was delayed as I did not pursue other courses of Art of Living, but the seed for rehabilitation was planted as I practiced the breathing technique daily, unflinchingly.  

In between I had some really inexplicable experiences. I took these as singular signs to give up alcohol. Sometime in November 2006 I had apparitions of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Satya Sai Baba for almost a month and suddenly on December 6, 2006, I eschewed drinking and have been sober since.  

Rebirth

This was my rebirth and I began writing for Life positive E-magazine and Free Press Journal about my alcohol dependency and subsequent recovery. 

I showed these articles to Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who goaded me to keep writing and suggested that I narrate my story and also mentioned that my works would shortly be published as books.

 I have been able to write eleven books (4 fiction and 7 non-fiction and all edited by my wife) and have become a faculty of the Art of Living. The non-fiction works are on the vagaries of the human mind, techniques of yoga, pranayama, mudra pranayama, meditation, and Sudarshan Kriya. They are replete with real life stories of how seekers, devotees, stock individuals and savants have benefitted by taking up various courses of the Art of Living. Some of the books are peppered with Zen stories and deal with the benefit of living in the present moment.

Further I have forayed into writing about my travels in India, visiting known and lesser-known places which will be of immense value and s interest to a traveller. Personalities and their thought process have always fascinated me and I have ventured to pen my thoughts on little known facts on prominent and people behind the veil which a reader would find fascinating.

In the meantime, I switched gears and began to write fiction. These are two collections of short stories, drabbles and plays heavily relying on the epic Mahabharata and juxtaposing the talismanic characters in present day situation and as to how would they react – for instance how the Pandavas, the Kauravas and lead women characters like Draupadi or Kunti would combat situations in the present-day.

Most recently I have authored a spiritual fiction based on a real-life story of a Chinese woman (a prosperous techie) who rose to dizzy heights, lost everything and travelled westwards to like the ancient Chinese traveller Xuan Zang 1400 years back. This young woman encounters riveting situations to plug in the gaps of her life.

I would say that the prayers of my parents, my grandmother and my wife and the grace of the Master paid dividends as today I counsel addicts, conduct courses of Art of Living and also fuel my passion for writing.

Rejigging my life has been nothing short of a miracle.

*Love you Zindagi*

 It was 23rd March 2020, when Lockdown started in India.. No one was knowing at that time what was written in future.. Everyone was clueless.. After Many setbacks above 68 lakhs humans lost life worldwide, We are those who are seeing March 2023 are Thankful to God for this Life.. and Life should become smooth for All....                               

*Love you Zindagi*

”Is there a God?”

 n the morning a man asked Gautam Buddha, ”Is there a God?” 

And Gautama said, ”No, there is no God.” 

In the afternoon another man asked, ”What do you think about God?” 

Gautama said, ”Yes, God is.” 

Buddha's disciple Ananda, who was continuously with him, was in. He started having a migraine. What kind of man is this? In the morning he says, ”There is no God,” and in the afternoon he has forgotten completely, and he is saying, ”There is God.” 

He waited for the time in the night when there would be nobody around, but before that a third person came in the evening, sat down and asked Gautama, ”I have no conception either for or against God. Just help me to understand.” 

And Gautam Buddha did not say anything to the man, but on the contrary simply closed his eyes, remained silent. Seeing this, the other man also closed his eyes and sat. He thought perhaps Buddha was going to say something in his silence and they both remained in silence for two hours. 

The man felt so beautiful and so fresh and so young, so rejuvenated, that after two hours he opened his eyes and he was a changed man. He touched Gautam Buddha’s feet, thanked him and told him, ”I was not expecting that much. You have given me more than I had asked. You have given me a taste. I had come only to ask a question; you have taken me to the experience itself. I will remain grateful to you my whole life.” 

In the night Ananda said, ”You should at least think of me. The whole day I have been in such a trouble.  What kind of man are you?  In the morning you say no, in the afternoon you say yes, in the evening you don’t say anything, but just remain silent – and that fellow gets the answer and you have not said anything.” 

Buddha said, ”The first man, to whom I said, ‘There is no God,’ was an atheist, and he had come to get a confirmation of his atheism, that if Gautam Buddha also is an atheist, then there is no problem. Atheism is certainly the right approach. There is no God. 

”The second man had also come for confirmation of his own prejudice. He was a theist and he wanted support. They were not seekers, they were only asking for consolation. They had already got the idea; they were simply asking me to support their ideas. They were satisfied with their ideas without ever moving into any new space. 

”But the third man was really a seeker. He plainly said, ‘I don’t have any idea for or against.’ For such a man only silence is the answer. And because he had no prejudice, seeing me closing my eyes and becoming silent, he immediately understood the hint. He closed his eyes and he went deep into silence. Although I had not said anything to him, he went away immensely richer than he had come. 

”And Ananda,” Buddha said, ”you should not be disturbed, because none of these questions were yours. It is not your problem.” 

Ananda said, ”It is not my problem, but I have ears and I am always close to you.” 

Buddha said, ”You will have to learn that I don’t have any fixed philosophy so that I can hand over immediately ready-made  answers. I have to see the person, his capacity. I don’t want to insult anybody. I don’t want to give something which they cannot understand, which is going to be over their heads.”

Karma accumulated

 *After Shri Krishna killed Kansa, he went to the jail to release Vasudev and Devki, his mother and father.*

*Devki mata asked eagerly, "Child, you are God yourself, and you have divine powers; then, why did you wait fourteen years to kill Kansa and release us"?*

*Shri Krishna replied, ′′ Respected mother, forgive me. But why did you send me to the jungle for fourteen years in my last birth?*

*Devki was very surprised and said, ′′ Krishna, how is this possible? Why are you saying this?"*

*Shri Krishna replied, ′′ Mother, you will not remember anything about your previous birth. But you were Kaikayi in your last birth and your husband was Dashrath".*

*Devki was very surprised and asked curiously, ′′ Then, who is Kausalya now?"*

*Shri Krishna replied, ′′ Mother Yashoda. The fourteen years of mother's love that she was deprived of in her last life, she got it in this life ′′*

*Everyone has to bear the fruits of their karma, even the gods cannot escape from it.*

*Keep an eye on what karma you want to accumulate.*