"When Virat woke up, he was in a night that was turning into morning."
He was lying on a huge bed, which, with his presence, wasn't all that big at all. Nearby, there was a basket containing fruits kept for him. The rumbling in his stomach told his hands to bring the fruits to his mouth, and Virat did just that."
After satisfying his hunger, when he looked, he found himself lying in a royal chamber of a palace. As he got up, the bed made a creaking noise.
"The moonlight entering through the window made his shadow appear even more immense."
"He walked to the window and began gazing at the moon. For a while, he just stared in silence, and within moments, his eyes released tears.
In the moonlight, they appeared like pearls."
On the 8020th day of the Dark Century, everyone in that ganv died from the plague.
Lekhaam arrived in Bhandesh to meet with Virat.
A large assembly was prepared, but Lekhaam refused to meet with anyone except Virat.
Virat was sitting alone in the garden, mourning. Lekhaam came and sat down next to him.
My name is lekhaam and,
"I am a mere magician who knew that a plague was about to strike your village.
I even warn the villagers , but alas, what has happened cannot be changed.
"Why did all this happen only to me?" Virat asked. "He said that it has been this way since the day I was born.
The day I reached the village, all this started. Now I feel as if I am jinx.
You are strong man,he said
"I know you are in pain, and your sorrow is immense. But now, you must decide whether to use this very sorrow as a crutch and merely get by in life, watching everyone die before your eyes, or to do something that can save this world from the destruction."
"I want to save this world."
Lekhaam looks at Virat, puts his hand on his shoulder, and says, "Tell me, Virat, are you with me in this?"
He looked into Virat's eyes. Virat saw a strange sense of familiarity and belonging in his eyes. Lekhaam's smile was one that gave absolute peace to the one's mind and soul.
Can things truly become the way they were before?" Virat asked sadly
"I won't give you false comfort, but we can certainly try."
"The effect of this plague is on everyone, but you and I are untouched. There must be some reason why we have been spared. "There must be some reason." He repeated
He says this while standing up.
"Think about what you have to do, but a little quickly. We don't have much time left."
"Lekhaam moved toward the door." When he almost reached the door.
He turned and said
Fallen leaves never return; their space is taken by the next."
Don't mourn those who are gone ,only worry about what to do next.
Wash away the dust of the past with today's water."
A cool breeze touched Virat; his long, dark, thick hair swayed gently.
Suddenly, a leaf brushed against his face and fell down between his legs.
Virat said, stopping him:
"Wait!
He pause for a instance then he said
"Even if it cost my life I will try."
I AM READY!
They started walking when the day began to start. After crossing hills, rivers, and waterfalls, evening was now approaching.
Virat asked, "Why have you brought me to this mountain, after all?"
"To test you," Lekhaam said with a smile.
Virat moved toward the edge of the mountaintop and said, "Then take it, I am ready."
Then Lekhaam recited a mantra and after that said the word 'Repeat'. As soon as he said 'Repeat', Lekhaam pushed Virat off the mountain top with the help of his magic powers.
He fell to the ground, his head split open, his eyes popped out. Blood was flowing everywhere from the spot where he fell.
A few seconds later, suddenly his body disappeared and then teleported back to the mountaintop, completely fine and unharmed.
Virat asked, "What did you just do?"
Then Lekhaam said, "I have cast a spell on you. With this spell, I have put you on repeat for this accident."
"What does that mean?" Virat asked.
"It means..."
Virat walks towards the edge, saying, "What is happening to me? My body was moving on its own," and Virat then jumps off the peak again.
Then the same scene is visible: Virat's whole body in pieces. Again, Virat teleports back to the peak, safe and sound.
"Now listen. This spell, on whomever it is cast, will keep making them repeat it until the spell breaks."
"And when will this spell breaaak?" Virat asks while jumping.
When Virat comes up, Lekhaam says, "This spell will break automatically in 24 hours but This spell will break if you stop it with your willpower. Otherwise, it will keep going until the next day."
Doing this, evening has already came, but the same thing was happening that had been going on for so long. Again and again, Virat would come up and then fall. Virat tried repeatedly, but Lekhaam's spell was very powerful.
But with every passing moment, Virat's efforts were increasing. This time when he came up, he tried to completely control his body. Virat dug his hands into the ground. Even the sorcerer felt that his spell might break now, but Virat jumped along with the rock he was gripping.
Falling repeatedly had completely exhausted Virat, but there was no lack in his determination. This time when he teleported, he remembered his family. Then that invisible force started trying to make him fall, and Virat jumped.
While falling, Virat grabbed the vines that were coming down the mountain, but they also broke, and Virat fell again.
He saw leaving the night and coming of the morning while falling from the mountain.
When morning came, he thought, "Now this is over," but his feet were still moving to fall from the mountain.
Then Virat screamed, "I can't control my body!" and he fell far down below.
Then Lakhaam opened his eyes.
When Virat came back up, he said, "I am not able to control my body."
"But my spell is not controlling your body," Lakhaam said.
"Then what are you doing?" he asked.
"It is controlling your mind"
"How is this possible? But my mind is fine, I can think, it's just my body that is out of control."
"That is not the case. You feel that way because I have programmed your mind for this task. Now you are saying that you are trying to stop it, but you are trying in the wrong place. You need to control your mind, not your body."
"But how?"
Virat jumped down again.
When he came back up, he was panting. He placed his hand on his stomach and said, "I am hungry," but then Mantra pushed him down again.
"Right now, his body and his mind are working against each other. And as long as this keeps happening, he will not be able to fully control himself. But I want him to realize this himself."
When he returned, he was shouting at Lakhaam, , "You said this would end next day!"
To which Lakhaam replied, "No, I didn't say that.
I said that the effect of this spell will last for 24 hours.
that means there is still a whole day left to pass."
Damn it.
In anger, he jumped off the edge of the peak. This time, he jumped by his own will.
Seeing this, a smile broke out on Lakhaam's face and he closed his eyes.
"This boy will make it," he said.
He appeared again in the top of the cliff, This time, he was deep in thought (or contemplation), and moving towards the cliff, he said, "I will jump," and taking a deep breath, he jumped.
For one hour, he kept jumping from the cliff, repeating, "I am doing this! Not the mantra! Not the mantra!"
By now, his fear of falling from the cliff was gone. The pain was still there every time, but it was acting like a balm.
He was jumping in many different ways: sometimes with a sudden run, sometimes screaming loudly, sometimes laughing, sometimes doing somersaults—like he was living his life. He looked happy while jumping.
When the midday sun climbed overhead, Lakhaam woke up and saw Virat slowly approaching the cliff. He jumped with his arms spread wide and his eyes closed, and then he came back up. His attention was completely focused on this action; he didn't even notice or remember Lakhaam's presence, and he fell like this once again.
But when he came back up the next time, the matter was different.
He closed his eyes and stepped forward. Just as he reached the very edge of the cliff, and the next step would have sent him down, he withdrew his foot.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Instead of focusing on falling or stopping, his attention was on the surrounding peaks, which he had seen countless times while falling. He had seen these peaks from every possible angle—sometimes the earth was above, and sometimes the sky was under his feet—but now everything had become straight.
That day, Lakhaam saw two shinning suns together.
Lakhaam called Virat near him and asked him to sit down.
📝 First Lesson
Lakhaam: Your mind, you see, it doesn't know whether what is happening is real or an illusion. It sees and hears what is around you, and it accepts that as the truth, and that is what you become. When you start your journey, that is when you become what you are meant to be.
When you think you are a son, and you are human, and you repeat every day that you are a son, a human, a warrior, that repetition makes you what you think. When you think you are weak, you become weak; when you think you are strong, you become strong. The mind creates the mystery, the illusion.
Just as I programmed your mind through magic repetition, your mind thought that your sole job was to just keep falling. It doesn't know if the thoughts are yours or someone else's, that's why it only listened to me and kept falling and falling. You must make it understand, you must separate those thoughts—your own thoughts from the thoughts of others.
The way I programmed it, you can program it too. But we need to get out of this programming, but not by fighting it.
When you were trying to get out of this programming by using your physical strength, you were struggling a lot. But the moment you tried to understand that programming, you became free from it.
Mind controls your body. In mind, thoughts appear. Who controls them? Where do they come from? Who controls your thoughts? Do you control your thoughts or does somebody else?
Is it that simple, or is it though? When you try to control them, they suppress, and they will oppress someday, just like a spring. If you apply pressure on a spring, it will bounce twice as your pressure. So what do you need? You need to understand your thoughts, you need to understand you and yourself. Don't be your body. Don't be your mind. Be what is beyond mind.
After hearing the words of Lakhaam, he simply said, "What is beyond mind?"
Lakhaam: You, yourself, and your soul (the Atman) is what is beyond the mind. Be that soul that operates your existence. Now it's your turn to write your own existence.
Virat: "Where can I find the Atman?" he asked with curiosity.
Lakhaam: It is in existence, yet it is not to be found anywhere. Nobody could find it. Everybody tried and failed. But my friend, even I tried and failed. And I won't tell you not to try; everyone does.
Virat: "What does what you are telling me have to do with the destruction of me and this world? I have to save this world!" he said, standing up.
Lakhaam: "And how will you do that?" Lakhaam asked. "If you don't know who you are and for what purpose you are doing all this, you will never achieve this goal."
Virat looked at Lakhaam, feeling despair and hopelessness, and sat back down.
Virat: "How will what you are saying is going to help?" he asked this time, softly.
Lakhaam: To find who you are.
"How will I do this?" Virat asks
Find your divine purpose.
But how? Virat asked How will this happen?"
Lakhaam: Through unlearn. There are a billion ways to learn something, but if you neeed to unlearn then it's only one way, and that way is meditation.
If you unlearn things. You will find Your
Divine purpose.
Your spiritual practice (Sadhana) begins today. If you fail, no one will be able to save this world.
Saying this, he left his spot and said, "Wait for me right here. I will come tomorrow."
Virat sat there watching him leave, as if lightning had struck him. Slowly, the clouds covered the sun, and drops of water took the place of light. The face that was first receiving sharp light was now being hit by sharp raindrops.
And suddenly, Virat remembered one thing Lakhaam had said.
(Fallen leaves never return; their space is taken by the next.)
He realized that just as new leaves replace old leaves, today, the drops had taken the place of the light. And it was the moment when he understood his divine purpose that he should follow, and he closed his eyes.
Many days passed. By now, every person living in Bhandesh had been affected by this disease, and it was rapidly spreading across the whole world. But there was no sign of Lakhaam.
Virat was still sitting there, as if he had made a resolution that he would not move from this spot until Lakhaam returned. His body had become completely emaciated, but he had not broken his meditation. The rain would wash away the dirt and dust accumulated on his body.
Insects would bring food for him, but he would not move from his spot. The entire nature had spread around him.
On the 8050th day of the Dark Century, Lakhaam arrived. Virat sensed the vibration caused by the movement of his feet.
Lakhaam stood in front of him. Virat's body had become so weak from lack of food that it was difficult for him to even lift his eyelids, but somehow, he managed to raise them.
"I found it! I found it!" Virat spoke fainty.
"Very well" ,he appreciated him .