The eternal mystery of rebirth was so seamlessly de-mystified by the man through his own unique experience.
Vivekanand Jha: Yesterday was an extremely troublesome day for me when the death of a close acquaintance, through Covid 19, was revealed to me. The honourable gentleman, a professor of Philosophy -both Hinduism and Buddhism-had left for his heavenly abode almost a fortnight ago. The man concerned, enjoyed some sort of celebrity status in Indonesia, Magnolia, Japan and some other countries where Buddhism is devoutly followed as the state religion. Tragically, the concerned gentleman, had lost his son couple of years ago, which resulted in his wife too, dying out of sorrow later. Left alone, the philosopher-Professor was heart-broken, yet he exhibited poise and calmness at his face. Interestingly, he had said before leaving this world that he would not like to trouble anyone when he would finally breath his last. Indeed, he never troubled anyone: afflicted by the Covid he left the world without anyone even joining his funeral procession. In fact, the very broaching of this news, was a trigger for my deep dismay, as the enigma of the conundrum of the life’s eternal mystery –which continued to caste its spellbinding impacts on me –once again took me in its shadowy thrall. Being a serious student of Metaphysics, a researcher on ‘rebirth’, the underlying cause of the universe, the mission behind the subsistence of this universe, the incident of the sad, untimely demise of the professor philosopher, aggrieved me so deeply that, soon emerging from my customary recitation of Gayatri Mantra, i felt deeply perturbed as few questions started bombarding my mental space: Why did that Professor-philosopher, who lead a noble life, died so unedifyingly and that too, in not so palatable manner? Why did he lose his entire family in no time for fault of whom, remained a conundrum to me? If the good deeds-as the Professor-Philosopher had been known to have followed results in such ends, where is the raison de’tre of the Law of Karma’s? How the doctrine of Bhagvatam, which unambiguously emphasises on the exhaustion of the fruit of one’s Karma, in this very life itself, sustains in this very incident when the Lord says so emphatically, ‘ Abashya meb bhoktavyam Kriti karm subhasubham’, is tenable against such a living evidence of Professor -philosopher calling his earthly life quits with his entire family, was a big blow to me as a student of Metaphysics.
Suddenly, I recalled my own meeting with Mr Bruno, a German citizen, almost more than a decade ago, when I had visited Ramjhula of Rishikesh. It has been my nature to visit Rishikesh, the spiritual citadel of the world, intermittently. Suddenly, as my intrinsic nature goes, to befriend the foreigners, i greeted a stranger, who later revealed his name was Bruno, a German citizen. He took me aside, while sitting under a tree, Bruno had shared such captivating details of his life that almost left me mystified. Incredibly, he divulged to me about his last seven lives. Surprisingly enough, one of his previous births was in India. Interestingly, delving deep into his early childhood, he said that how since he was five years old, he lived a disturbed life: some bizarre incident that would happen with him, which even though appeared in comprehensible to him at that very moment, would soon reveal its significance later. Puzzled, when he joined a government job, one of his colleagues with whom he had shared his enigmatic life, had advised him to visit Shirdi, as well as advised him to contact one Mr Murthy, a world renowned astrologer for unraveling the mysteries that had enveloped his life. While on his way to India, he stumbled upon a man, who was Russian, he had a rush of some sensational nostalgia, which later became clear to him that Russian was his wife in the previous birth. On reaching Shirdi, he had again a bizarre notion that he knew this place before. It became obvious to him a while later that he was born in Shirdi in the previous birth. Later when Bruno met the astrologer Murthy in Bangalore, he was amazed that the latter had so lucidly explained him the riddle that had engulfed him in its shadowy tentacles all throughout his life.
We almost sat for around two hours, as he unfolded the truths of his life that so unambiguously corroborates the doctrinaire belief of Hindu philosophy of rebirth. Despite being in thrall all this while, i sought to facilitate his conversation with my brother-in -law, a scientist of Bhaba Atomic Research Centre. After he had asked so many questions, which Bruno had so lucidly dealt with, he too, being a rationalist, appeared dazed by such revelations. Returning to Mumbai–i stayed in Mumbai in those days–i called up the astrologer Murthy, who showed an instant reminiscences of his meeting with Bruno. When I sought to be enlightened more on the eternal Hindu philosophy of rebirth, he had asked me to come to Bangalore for face to face discussion on the same which, unfortunately though, I could not. I had requested Bruno, after hearing his mesmerising story that i intended to pen it, to which he had said that he too intended to write his own story, thereby politely refusing to concede to my wish. The question of Law of Karma continues to boggle my mind for ever and, unless i experience the reality, my quest for unraveling the same will continue. Vivekanand Jha, an author and a Public Intellectual, is also an avid student of Metaphysics.
