Vardaan 1...The Ultimate Boon

Chapter 2: Not A Young Man But A Great Soul (Part 1)

Bad times had passed.

Often people call difficult times bad. Unknowingly they do not know that what they are calling bad times is difficult times indeed. Difficult times come in our lives and make our lives better in every sense. If we call that time bad then it goes by showing only bad things.

As Krishna Chandra and his family saw only bad things on that occasion, no one thought what that time was trying to explain to them.

Well, the bad times had passed.

A few months passed when strange thoughts engulfed the mind of young aacharya Krishna Chandra. Now everything was calm and orderly. Neither any unwanted thought came to his mind nor did he try to bring any such thought to his mind.

But the reality was completely different.

Where everything seemed calm on the surface, the sadness was increasing with each moment inside. The person to whose conscience was feeling all that was still unaware of that.

A few more months passed.

One day Krishna Chandra was coming back home from the palace. He heard a noise while passing through the street. At the end of the second street, he saw a group of children. That was not just one group. That group had been divided into two factions, which were not unanimous on a specific subject.

When the fierce debate between the two factions was at its peak, just then Krishna Chandra arrived there. He felt like listening so he stopped there and listened to the kids.

His only interest was to listen to them but when he realized that civilized debate could turn into an uncivilized fight at any moment, he reached for them with fast steps.

The fame of Krishna Chandra was no exception even among children. So as momentarily as they saw him, everyone calmed down and each of them bowed to him. He blessed them all with a smile.

Krishna Chandra asked them the point of debate.

Each one gave the information as per their point of view while giving him full respect.

After listening to everyone he smiled and guided them based on his knowledge. He kept his words so polite that no one's ego was hurt. The young aacharya did not teach anyone, yet he brought them out of the darkness of conservatism and brought them into the light of facts with simple explanations.

"Please do not listen to me. You are all intelligent, so test the authenticity of my words based on your understanding. If you think it is right, then accept it, and otherwise forget it as a waste." With these words, Krishna Chandra humbly concluded his address.

'What do you think?' everyone asked each other with a gesture, which Krishna Chandra sensed.

"Friends, God has given each of you an individual mind. So it is better that you ask yourself what is right and what is false?" Young aacharya gave the last advice and immediately left.

Coming across the street, he looked back and found everyone was thinking on his own. Now there was no dispute between them. Everyone was testing his very personal mind. That thing gave pleasure to young aacharya. He came out from the street smiling.

Krishna Chandra went home smiling.

After reaching home, he washed his feet and went to his room smiling.

'Smiling'

As momentarily as Krishna Chandra realized that he had been smiling continuously for a long time, he was shocked. He had an apprehension that proved to be true the very next moment.

After some time when the mother entered the room with a pot of water, she found the son wet from head to toe. Krishna Chandra was sitting in fear in a corner. With the help of his hands, he was holding his head. As if he was blocking the thoughts to come.

History was repeating itself. Questions of why & what was quickly raging in his mind.

"I am happy today...this...this is the same happiness that I felt a few months back. After that, I never felt the same happiness. What does it mean? Was I sad for the last few months? I am the biggest fool who was unaware of my sadness. What... what am I saying? ...No-no, I was happy yesterday also, and I am happy even today.... then why does today's happiness seem real and other happiness seems fake? As if earlier happiness was just a pretense and today's happiness is genuine. Yes, I am happy from my soul today."

"Kishu...Kishu..."

Hearing the words of Shakuntala Devi, Krishna Chandra's dynamic maze of thoughts stopped for a moment.

"Putara, what happened? Why are you sitting like this?...what are you thinking?...and this sweat?"

"Oh no, it's... it's the same situation as last time, that means..."

"...Kishu.....Kishu...Answer...putara." Shakuntala Devi shook him and his consciousness returned.

"...maataashiri (mother), I... I think...that phantom... again...Me..."

Shakuntala understood what had happened to her son on hearing the word 'phantom'. Very frightened, that gentle lady immediately stood up and took Krishna Chandra to the worship room with great care.

By making him sit in front of the idol of God, she gave him inviting water and also sprinkled it on him.

Beli Rama had left this water for such dire circumstances.

Krishna Chandra got some benefits after drinking water and listening to his mother's mantra by keeping his head in his mother's lap, but that relief was only for a short time. After a while, he was again in the grip of the same questions.

Helpless Shakuntala Devi came out and passed a message to the neighboring children in the name of Beli Rama. The children were very surprised to hear the worried mother because a little while ago the young aacharya had come to stop their fight.

What had happened all of a sudden after a while?

Beli Rama was in the other village. He was informing his yajmaan about the holy items which were required for a specific Yagya.

Seeing the neighbor's children running towards him, the words in Beli Rama's mouth were stuck with the imagination of some apprehension.

The children gave the message of Shakuntala Devi to Beli Rama and proved his fear to be true. Apologizing to the yajmaan, he stood up from his seat and sent his colleague to call Pundit Sugrivananda.

Beli Rama ran home immediately.