Experiencing a glimpse of Chaitanya-the christ consciousness

The Background:
Chaitanya (sanskrit term for consciousness) pervades every cell of the universe. Its not something that is restricted to humans or that can be calibrated or measured or quantified. However one can become more consciously aware of its presence by directing exclusive attention to it. For instance one can look at an object with eyes wide open, but unless attention is directed no information is gathered from witnessing a object. But once attention is directed, the details like shape, color, size are revealed through the consciousness of the observer. The fact also is that even the object is no longer the same, as consciousness has altered the energy pattern.

My Phone rang and a lady greeted me. She introduced introduced herself as the best friend of one of my client. In the next half hour of our talk, she poured her heart to me. Life seemed a bit cruel to her. She was desperately looking for some formula to come out of her depressing state. Her love life was in shambles.

I am attractive, and yet I am not been able to find a suitable partner. I want to raise a family. She said. I am not getting any younger. How can I attract someone in my life?

She knew I was no love guru who could offer tips to set her love life on tracks. Being a healer herself and coming to me with some serious recommendations, she probably understood a bit about my kind of work. However she wanted to be sure about my approach.

I offered to help her to sort her energies, which at the moment appeared to be foggy, scattered. During the course of our discussion, I came to understand that she was a bit concerned about stepping out of her belief system. I sensed that it would be futile to argue about belief systems. Only a powerful experience can inspire one to trash out a rigid belief system. She later fixed up an appointment with me on a weekend.

I stepped into a cozy drawing room. There were books everywhere. I offered a energy healing session with no claims. I told her just submit to the session without any logic or probing mind.

She was defintely seeking clarity in her life and wanted to bring about balance and harmony. The session began with a meridian line combing. Her body was aching all over. There were blockages at several points, and she at times howled in pain. I told her to relax and breathe in deeply and breathe out the pain.  After around 20 minutes of body combing, her pain began to ease out. 

I began to do the yogic massage on her. Starting from the toes and upto the crown, the meridian lines were thumbed, combed and pressed. She began to respond to the deep stimulative flow of prana. I matched my breath with hers, though it seemed a bit shallow. it was just about ok. Being in sync was important. 

As she lay down, floating in the energy stream And then I cupped my palm over her eyes. I entered into a deep state of meditation. I didnt know where i was sitting. Everything came to a stand still. The silence seemed palpable and amplified. My Breath was just not happening. We both had entered into a sacred space. 

A few minutes later, she opened her eyes. She looked spaced out as she muttered- "I have never felt so peaceful and calm, I saw a huge and powerful white light in front of my Brow chakra. My eyes were closed, and the light was just intense and yet powerful."

I told her that she had an experience called 'pratyaya' of the divine consciousness, and she had to thank her masters and guides present in the session for this wonderful experience. She asked me again, what had I done and how did I contribut to her experience. 

I had no answers, for I was in a state of surrender where no thoughts had pervaded my conscience. In that deep state, there were no prayers or words too. In those precious moments, the divine consciousness within us had reflected itself, and she had seen is a glimpse of the big white light in front of her. I told her to remain in a state of deep gratitude, and silence, which is best way to acknowledge the divine within us.  I am thankful to all those masters who were present during this session for giving her experience when she was in a desperate situation. If only she wakes up to realize what she saw, she will do everything possible to explore and realize her true calling which is realizing the self. I left her home, giving her a mantra to help her fine tune her energies. 

Divine intervention

My mobile rang as I just about to pay a bill at the Carrefour cash counter. Shanti was on the line, her voice sounded quivery. I sensed some trouble. She then began to narrate me about an accident that happened that evening. Rashid one of my colleagues had fallen from the top of a 12 foot ladder while cleaning an Air conditioner duct. Apparently he fell awkwardly on a hard floor. The bad news was that he was in a critical condition and had to be immediately rushed to Rashid Hospital.

All of us at office began to call each other to know more about his condition. The news came out from one of our colleagues who had rushed him to hospital. Rashid had landed on his back, and in the process his skull, cranial and lumbar region of his spine had a series of cracks. Broken ribs and fractured right hand added to his misery. I wanted to rush to see him. But was told that he was now under intensive care and no visitors were allowed.

For, the Next few days, I kept calling Rashid's brother to seek more update about his condition. I began to pray for Rashid from the very moment I heard about his accident. Rashid was sedated and was prevented from making any movements, and was being fed liquid food through a pipe in his throat.

I went to visit Rashid on a friday morning. When I reached his bed, it was quite shocking sight. His face and body had swollen beyond recognition. There were half a dozen pipes pierced into his body, and that were fed to bio-feedback machines. His vital signs were being monitored carefully. He was awake and made feeble attempt to wish me and shanti at his bedside.

It was hard to come to terms to see a man so lively and jumpy, how confined to a hospital bed. It occured to me at that moment, that I could only assure him that he will be alright. But were we just giving him hope without knowing the facts of his medical status. The doctors that I spoke to, were planning to operate his cranial and lumbar section and surgically align them. Apparently his leg movements weren't normal.

As I stood and watched Rashid, I recalled Sai Baba saying 'Hands that help are better than hands that pray'. Without hesitation, I put one hand on his head and the other on his chest. Everything around me appeared to come to a standstill. I stood there as if warped by time. I didnt know how long I stood there and prayed while my hands intuitively moved along his body. I had no clue about the extent of energy that was passing through me. But as an energy worker, I believe in the power of intent, which is above all healing techniques, art forms, and scientific explanations. Having personally experienced profound healing, I trusted this universal core from where we all derive our strength and love.

We were getting ready to leave the ward, as the nurse politely told that she wanted to treat Rashid. So I held his hand to say bye. Rashid began to gesture with his hands and mutter something. He was barely audible and I couldnt understand what he was trying to say. It was time to leave and so I again assured him that everything will be alright and he should just rest instead of straining himself to communicate.

Three days later, I got a call from Shanti and she was saying that Rashid had called office and he sounded and felt better and rather excited. He also had made a special mention about the brief time I had spent with him. He seemed curious to know what I had done to him. Rashid as I know as a person, is completely ignorant about the possibility of energy transmission through a fellow being- which we call in our parlance as healing. His conservative upbringing and lack of exposure meant that he was completely unaware of this possibility. And probably even if explained, he would frown upon it.

In midst of all hectic work , I did not get in touch with Rashid for a week. It was Friday morning again, and I recalled my pending visit to the hospital.

I walked down to the intensive care ward, and made my way to the ward where Rashid was supposed to be. I was surprised to see someone else had occupied his bed. On enquiring with the staff nurse, she told me that Rashid had been shifted to another ward which was opposite to us. I walked down and read the sign board, it was quite encouraging as I figured out that he no longer required intensive care.

I reached the designated bed of Rashid. The bed was bare and there was no trace of him. I asked his whereabouts and gathered from another patient that Rashid was being ushered aroud on a wheel chair by a relative. Making my way through the long and well lit corridors, I looked around for my man. A few minutes later, i saw a familiar face. He flashed a smile. As I went closer i could notice that Rashid appeared different. The swelling was gone. His frail body had shockingly shrunk. But the smile showed some promise of recovery.

He extended his hand as i approached him and began to chat up with me. His brother by then had wheeled him back to his bed. As soon as he rested his head on the pillow, he appeared more relaxed and then resumed his outpourings of his experiences in the past 4 weeks.

Somehow he couldn't get over the topic of what exactly happened the previous friday morning. I too became curious to know what had actually transpired that morning. He recalled the previous night before I had visited him in the morning. All his vital signs had apparently dropped to frighteningly low numbers, he had become very weak, and he seemed to have lost hope of recovering. There was a duty nurse at his bedside who refused to leave him unattended. There was a bit of panic in the ward, as duty doctors kept dropping in to monitor his situation. He began to shudder as he recalled that night, and began to wonder what could have happened to him.

And then he paused for a moment, and said "you did something to me' and I felt that i was sinking into the bed and disappearing. My body didn't exist anymore. Much later, that evening my doctors and nurses were pleasantly surprised to see that all vital signs showed a remarkable recovery and everything was normal. To me, it was like a magic. I felt like I was born again that evening. I felt a renewed surge in me to come out of my suffering and start living. I have got a second innings in my life. I am thankful to you and god".

But still his question remained, what did you do? i pondered for a moment. I had no explanation. I had merely prayed and put my hands on him. I had no clue if there was going to be a divine intervention that would transform him. But the fact remains that a mystical and profound healing had taken place. He had witnessed it. It was intensely personal and direct, and yet beyond all words and desription.

I kept my language simple and direct as i told him. Not that there was a need for explanation. But it was important for Rashid to know how profound his experience was.
"I prayed for you with deep intent" and the rest is divine intervention. It took a little while for my words to sink into him. He became reflective as if he had awakened. His eyes began to sparkle. I cant forget the look he had in his eyes. There was a deep sense of gratitude.

A week later, Rashid was released from the hospital. The hospital charged him 6000 dhs for surgery on his neck, which was covered by the insurance agency. while the charges for 40 days of intensive care was waived off as it was treated as an emergency case. Rashid was able to walk with some aid, and a few days later gained enough strength to walk by himself with no sign of a
crippling injury that he had come out of a few days back.

All the money in the world can't buy one an experience of a powerful healing to come out of a life threatening injury and return to normalcy, defying all medical explanations.

I had only piece of advice for him. Just remember this event and explore purpose of your life and find out who you are. He nodded his head with this sense of gratitude for the divine. Rashid left for Bangladesh for a month long leave to spend some time with his family. If this profound experience has sunk in, he will probably appreciate life with more awareness.

Experiencing Divine Timing & Mystical Symbolism: A baffling, and real experience in the life of a Yogi

Bangkok, Thailand
March 15, 2008,

What is that red mark on your forehead? asked ‘Rekha’. I walked closer to her so that she could point out to me what it was. She repeated her question and pointed out to the mark. I told her I had no clue about it. Maybe it’s the red marker ink, you must have accidentally brushed your forehead with it?

Red Marker? I didn’t use one today, I told her. Oh, may be you scratched yourself hard with your finger nails? Rekha was giving me all possibilities she could think of. I appeared totally lost as I touched my forehead again to probe for some sort of blood clot induced pain. I couldn’t feel any. I didn’t recall scratching myself on the forehead that morning. I dismissed the red spot to be something trivial, and resumed talking with my hosts. Ten minutes later, I made my way to the washroom in the vicinity.

My thoughts were pre-occupied with the workshop event that I had conducted for over 4 hours in the morning. I had shared some yogic techniques and insights with a bunch of keen aspirants. As I stood in front of the mirror, I couldn’t help but admire my self-designed T-shirt that read in big bold font -VIVID REALITY.

Giving my face a nice little rub with running water and soap, I leaned forward into the mirror to take a good look at the spot that ‘Rekha’ had mentioned a little while ago. The washroom was dimly lit but good enough to show me that there was something more to the red little spot that seemed quite remarkably noticeable. It was a blood red spot but there was no trace of blood clot or pain related from such an occurrence. The spot was just about an inch above where my eyebrows met. I tried hard to rub off the mark with more soap. But surprisingly it wouldn’t go away. My thoughts by then were rummaging through the events that unfolded in the morning.

It was a bright and pleasant day. I arrived early with my team of friends and workshop coordinator at a hall in sukumvit 63, a downtown residential locality in Bangkok. The place seemed nice and big enough to comfortably hold the 22 attendees who turned up for the 'Wisdom of Yoga' workshop.

As people began to trickle in slowly, I took a walk near the outdoor swimming pool. Stretching my limbs and limbering around a bit, I warmed up for the event. There were no occupants at the pool and I was enjoying my solitude and quiet little time. As a part of my morning ritual, I looked up to salute the Sun. My prayer this morning was a bit more intense. I had to draw some inspiration for I had the onus of relaying an ancient wisdom. And it would be no easy task to demonstrate the wisdom of yoga to newbies in a span of few hours. I felt like a wave trying to measure the ocean. I decided to make a fervent plea to the universe to relay its immense, treasured wisdom and channel it through me, on this occasion.

The sun this morning was even more special in every sense. I recalled how great seers of the Himalayan tradition have mystically connected with the sun energy and expressed their profound experiences. I sincerely believed in this science. The binary spot emanating from the sun had always triggered a deep sense of connection with the source of prana. Being an ardent student of the esoteric Surya Vigyan (solar science), I always enjoyed sun gazing. Spanda, the subtle creative vibration of the universe is palpable through the sun energy. I prayed to Lord Bharga, the sun god and sought the divine grace. After remaining in deep silence for a few minutes, I returned to the hall to proceed with the workshop.

Returning from my memory flashback, I now gawked at the little mysterious symbol again, reflecting in the mirror. It was small 'u' shaped and positioned horizontally. My knowledge of traditional kundalini science told me that the position aligned with the makara point in the Ajna Chakra (third eye or the brow chakra) and also it corresponded to the Sanskrit symbol of the makara which is the last part of the monosyllable ‘OM’.

Interestingly I had seen followers of a religious sect called ‘Vaishnavas’ (followers of Lord Vishnu) in India who wear this symbol called ‘Vishnu Tilak’ on their foreheads. They apply clay or turmeric in two vertical lines, which is connected at the bottom, forming a simple U shape. This is called urdhva- pundra.
Skanda Purana, an ancient sanathana dharma scripture elaborates on the virtues of ‘initiates’ who mark their foreheads with the ‘Vishnu tilaks’.

I have never been a follower of any rituals and the mystical appearance of the ‘Tilak’ came as a pleasant surprise, and also the symbol that had appeared on my forehead matched with the traditional ‘Vishnu tilak’. I froze in deep contemplation. A little while later, I stepped out of the washroom in excitement, knowing well that there was something mystical unfolding within me.

Bangkok is a beautiful city. Despite its tourist centric, commercial outlook, it carries the vibrancy of a huge populace that is ever ready to play a warm host. Their attitude, welcoming smile, and high levels of social consciousness add more charm to their rich heritage. The visit to Bangkok made me feel like ‘home coming’ and the ‘tilak’ is also a traditional Indian symbolic welcome marked on a guest’s forehead when he/she enters our country. I observed the ‘tilak’ again, I was overcome with deep emotion and eyes began to well. How does one feel when the divine responds in such a visible way? There is no way I can sum up my experience in words. I just immersed in the state of deep joy and remained in gratitude for being able to connect with the divine power within me.

The startling fact was that I had received a distinctly visible ‘Vishnu tilak’ from no material source. And what baffled me further is that the mystical symbol was visible to everyone and hence made it very credible and crushed even an iota of doubt arising within me.

All scientific phenomena, reasoning and logic fail to answer this occurrence from a clinical perspective, while my firm deduction could only zero in on the power of the almighty sun which painted the tilak on me this morning. Though it may sound too esoteric to believe for any hard core, lab oriented scientists who delve in reproducing the event for proof to fortify their concepts and theories; this personal occurrence reaffirmed my strong belief that there is much more to science than all the labs can offer us. All it requires is to be ready to make a quantum leap and absorb the infinite possibilities emerging from the womb of this universe, which is mystically reaching out to people who are ready to for take the inner journey of merging their awareness with the unitary, infinite and absolute cosmic consciousness.

The tilak humbled me and reconfirmed to me that the universe was reaching out to me in response to my ardent yogic path work. Many attendees at the workshop told me later that they felt a deep connection within while they enjoyed the beautiful flow of the workshop.

I had just assumed the role of a conduit, allowing the universal knowledge to flow through me. Just by divine timing, the Vishnu Tilak adorned me for 2 days till the workshop culminated. And the third morning, it vanished without a trace, leaving me back with an experience of divine timing and mystical symbolism.