The Remembrance
Oh! It's happening again, I am still frightened by the roars of thunders. It is just like yesterday, the day before and so on. It feels as if I'm still awake even though I surely know that I've fell asleep. Here I am walking into the same cave that I walked into several times before. The smell of rain, the faint chants ringing through my ears, the old hands touching my forehead, is this a dream or have I been here before? I remember those eyes! The dark cave being lit by a small flame, showing us the way. He is chanting without a slight gap, which I could clearly hear but unable to comprehend what they were. I still feel the wet floor, lying down and looking into those eyes. I feel those eyes watching me, like a guardian's but somehow it feels like they're the ones seeking help. "
Wondering in his sleep if it's a memory he was being forced to remember, " Oh my Mighty Commander, do not fret! By the power of Kaala-chakra, I will keep you safe till you return. Remember your purpose and you will not fail. I will keep you safe. " The deep voice filled with faith and hope, The blue eyes looking at me filled with trust, A face which speaks a thousand emotions, the same dream which wakes Abhimanyu up everyday. His thoughts wander around for a bit, but soon gets stuck at the time he had this dream for the first time.
" I was crying all night. Hearing a deep voice in my sleep certainly gave me a hard time to sleep. It was when I was 5 years old, hugging my mother in my sleep. But suddenly it happened. As I felt my eyes open, there he was! The man with the deep voice I have heard. He came close to me, tears in his deep blue eyes and saying, " Oh my Mighty Commander!" and I woke up. I couldn't describe what has happened to my mother no matter how much I wanted to. The dream never stopped and as I grew older, the dream has become clearer. 20 years have gone by and I still do not know what to do about it." He walks in front of a mirror, his eyes strained and feeling almost unalive. A distinct birth mark on his left shoulder, shaped like a small diamond and always a sensation of a sudden sting whenever he dreams.
"As days went by, I couldn't even have a normal sleep let alone a normal dream. I tried to talk to my father about it for many years but couldn't until I was 14. Even after I spoke to my parents, I never tried to seek any professional help. I couldn't help but isolate myself thinking about what was going on. But then, Anvitha came into my life and she always knew if something was bothering me. And then came Rahul, he's not the kind of guy who let's some bad thoughts bring his energy down. They made me the person I am now and I always want to share my happiness and my success with them. " He goes to work as usual waiting to meet his friends to work on his goals.
Abhimanyu works as a waiter for part-time while working on his dream of establishing a successful podcast channel. Him and his like-minded friends Rahul and Anvitha always wanted to do things a bit different. They wanted their podcasts to divert from the general stereotype of everyday lives of celebrities and wanted to add an element of mystery and fantasy to their podcasts. Although the three of them were friends from quite a long time, Abhimanyu never discussed his dreams or the voice he hears everyday in his life.
After a lot of work, they successfully begin their first podcast in their mid 20's on the 18th of October, 2061. But to make their first podcast interesting to the audience and sticking to their intent of adding mystery to their podcasts, after a lot of research they decide on their first guest. Abhimanyu begins hosting the 1st episode of the podcast, "Good morning everybody and welcome to the Discovery. Here we discover various things including ourselves and hopefully everything. Today we have a very respected and renowned person as our guest who is an excellent Psychiatrist and currently conducting his research on the effects of Psychedelic drugs which alter our perception on surroundings. His name is Dr.Chaturvedi and let us begin. "
As the podcast goes on, Dr. Chaturvedi explains about many things regarding psychedelics and how they affect our minds and the podcast also takes a dive into the concept of dreams and reality. Dr. Chaturvedi says, " The concept of dreaming itself is a fascinating subject because it is said to be caused by the effects of certain secretions of a gland called Pineal gland. The pineal gland according to some civilizations and beliefs, is considered to be the third eye. And certain dreams are considered to be the reminders of our past lives. But things get more interesting when we consider the fact that the pineal gland gets calcified i.e. hardened by calcium deposits and it stops functioning. So what becomes responsible for the occurrence of dreams? There are several unanswered questions about dreams. Do we dream in black and white or in color? Why can't we see ourselves in the dreams? Can we tell time in the dreams? Is there anybody who sleeps without dreaming?" And when Abhimanyu asks what Dr. Chaturvedi thinks about dreams, he replies, " In my opinion, dreams are the manifestations of the everyday, the situations we face daily and the blend of the emotions we feel during those situations. But even I am fascinated by the concept of dreams being the reminders of our past lives and if possible I would like to know the truth too. I am waiting to know the truth."
The podcast went on with many great discussions and each of the members shared their dreams and talked about them but Abhimanyu couldn't share his dream in front of his friends. But as the podcast ended, he approached Dr. Chaturvedi and asked him, " Doc, I have loved your presence and depth of your grasp on your field of expertise. There's something I'd like to share with you in private. Could you please make time for an appointment to listen to my request?" And the doctor quickly understood that there was something Abhimanyu was hiding and told him to come to his home after a week as the doctor had to complete a research article for publishing.
Although Rahul did not seem to notice their interaction, Anvitha asked Abhimanyu about what he has spoken to the Doc after the podcast has ended. Abhimanyu told her that it was not the right time to tell her but he promised to tell her everything once he got everything clarified. Anvitha always understood if something was off with Abhimanyu and was always there for him. The three of them finished their work and uploaded the podcast on social media, eagerly waiting for their first podcast to become a big hit.
The first episode of the podcast began to attract a wide range of audience from around the world and it quickly gained more and more views. Both Rahul and Anvitha really began working more on finding their next guest for the show but Abhimanyu is having a really tough time concentrating on work as the dreams and the voices have become even more frequent and have grown in their intensity as well. Three days after the first podcast, Abhimanyu began hearing the same deep voice even when he's awake saying, " Oh my Mighty Commander! Do not fret." And on the day before his appointment, he heard a female voice shouting in pain "RUDRAAA!" He couldn't take it anymore and calls Anvitha to ask if she could meet him.
She agrees to meet Abhimanyu and they meet at a cafe. She seems to be worried about Abhimanyu and when she asks him what's going on, he explains everything to her and tells her about his appointment with Dr. Chaturvedi. She asks if she could go with him but he rejects the request saying that it was something for him to do alone and promises to tell her what happens tomorrow. She agrees to it and says goodbye to him and returns home.
Abhimanyu prepares his mind to tell the doctor everything and see what would happen after that and he goes to sleep. "Oh my Mighty Commander, Do not fret! By the power of Kaala-chakra, I will keep you safe till you return. Remember your purpose and you will not fail. I will keep you safe. " The same words repeat in his dream but when he opens his eyes, he sees a huge dark cave, lit only by a stick with fire on its end and the same deep blue eyes looking at him with tears. He wakes up and gets ready to go to Dr. Chaturvedi.
As he walks into Dr. Chadturvedi's home, the doc welcomes him and offers him a cup of coffee and begins to ask questions about his visit and request of appointment. Abhimanyu doesn't feel comfortable talking about it for a while as that dream is attached to his parents. But after sometime, he slowly begins to talk about the first time he had this dream, " The first time I had this dream, I was crying all night. Hearing a deep voice in my sleep certainly gave me a hard time to sleep. It was when I was 5 years old, hugging my mother in my sleep. But suddenly it happened. "
" As I felt my eyes open, there he was! The man with the deep voice I have heard. He came close to me, tears in his deep blue eyes and saying, " Oh my Mighty Commander!" and I woke up. I couldn't describe what has happened to my mother no matter how much I wanted to. As time passed by, I began to dream the same particular dream frequently and as far as I remember, it was the only dream I have ever dreamed. Nothing else wandered around in my mind when I sleep."
" By the time I was 14, I finally decided to talk to my father about it and the words he spoke after listening to this stick with me even now. It was those words which made me strong enough not to get scared but accept and analyze it. He said, " The fact that somebody was saying that they would save you with their life on the line means that you are worth saving and much more kiddo. The net time you dream about that man, thank him for keeping you safe." From then, I started looking at this dream as a dormant memory buried deep within my thoughts. "
" But this dream influenced me to pursue it's true meaning and purpose , so much that I tried to find more about that dream but the only clue I could observe was, It happened in a cave, It was an old man with deep blue eyes who spoke those words and A female voice calls out "RUDRAAAA!" as if she was in pain. In fact, this dream was one of the main aspects of my life which made me choose this particular career. I wanted to meet people who experienced similar phenomena or at least people who could help me. I am glad that I am able to talk to you about this doc, partly because I believe you are the person who could help me figure this out. And there's also this pain doc, a sudden sting on my left shoulder. I have a birthmark which only hurts when I dream, specifically only at one point of the dream which is very vague and blurry."
After listening to this, Dr. Chaturvedi takes him down the basement of his house insisting that Abhimanyu must take a look at his research. The doc explains in detail, " Abhimanyu, do you know about the idea of Past Regression? It is a method of hypnosis used to bring out the deeply buried memories of one's past lives. As I have told in your podcast, I always wanted to unravel the secret behind the concept of dreams, let me show you the crown jewel of my research. Although it is still a product in development, I am fairly certain that it will do the needful in your case. And to answer your last doubt, in some cultures, distinct birthmarks are considered to be reminders of our past lives. For example, they could be the injuries of our bodies which led to our demise. Isn't that interesting? "
Listening to doc's words, Abhimanyu picked up a small vial on the table. It was filled with a liquid in the scarlet color. For the first impressions, it looked just like the normal vial but as doc explained about the drug, the whole perspective on that vial has changed. The doc introduced the vial to me saying, " This is the culmination of 8 years of my hardworking and lots of knowledge given to us by our ancestors. I present to you "The Voyage" I named it Voyage because it takes us on a journey to our past lives. "
He continued, "The ancient Egyptian civilisations were claimed to be using a primitive prototype of the similar drug I've formulated and even the whole concept of Past Regression was mentioned in several ancient scriptures of various religions. In fact, the Hindu scholar Patanjali mentioned the concept of prati-prasava ( reverse birthing) in his Yoga Sutra around 2nd century BC. Although the path I've chosen is slightly different, I'm fairly certain that my research will be fruitful. Now that I've heard you, I would like to help you to find your true purpose and reason of this constant remembrance. " saying this, Dr. Chaturvedi walked towards the table and pulled out a small box from one of the drawers. It contained three small pills in the same scarlet color as the vial. He offered Abhimanyu those pills and told him to take each pill every night before he slept for three nights. When Abhimanyu asked what those pills would do, the doc simply replied, " You will understand once you start using them. "
Abhimanyu thanked Dr.Chaturvedi for his help and requested him to keep this a secret. But as he came out, he saw Anvitha waiting for him. When asked why she was there, she just asked Abhimanyu to tell her everything that happened in this meeting. After listening, she said that even she came to a similar conclusion, that he needed to undergo a past Regression therapy so as to understand what was really going on. They both went together to meet Rahul but neither of them spo,e about this in front of Rahul as they decided to keep it a secret for now. Rahul mentioned about the next guest for their podcast, that the guest was going to be a physicist named Dr. Lauren Jose and also the first podcast has become a fan favorite for the audience and especially to those who love intriguing concepts such as life, existence and reality as such. The three of them celebrated their success for a while and later each departed their ways for the day.
The first night Abhimanyu took the pill, it seemed to not show much effect on his mind. There were only subtle advancements in his dream like hearing the female choice constantly calling "RUDRAAA!" And looking into the same deep blue eyes. He woke up next morning feeling a bit heavy on his head but everything seemed normal. On the second night fter taking the second pill, he woke up in the middle of the night to drink some water and wash his face. When he looked in the mirror, he saw an old man standing behind him saying, " The time is near my Commander, the time has come for your Voyage. " and when he looked back, there was nobody behind him. He couldn't even get a good sleep and could only have a couple of hours of shut eye.
But on the third night after taking the third pill, Abhimanyu began to lose his sense of reality and his dream seemed to be his actual reality. He could feel the cold winds, sending shivers down his spine. He couldn't even open his eyes for some seconds but as he opened his eyes in the dream, there was no old man whom he had dreamed of earlier. He could only hear a sound of what resembled a lion's Mighty roar. He woke up from his sleep quite surprised as he didn't anticipate for the sudden change of his dreams. But one thing has become clear to him, the drugs were no joke. They really seemed to be working and as the day has come, Abhimanyu headed to meet Dr. Chaturvedi waiting to unfold the true purpose of his dreams.
As he went inside the house, Dr. Chaturvedi was nowhere to be found but only there was a small piece of paper with "Find me in the basement" written on it. Abhimanyu headed on to the basement and the doc was preparing the complete reclined clinical chair for Abhimanyu. There were a lot of equipment used to monitor the vitals and oxygen levels and also a one minute timer to set the pace up for the past Regression. Abhimanyu explained the outcome of the pills and the change over of the dream itself. The doc was sure of the pills' efficacy but even he didn't anticipate an entire change of the dream.
He then began explaining the procedure to Abhimanyu, " Now you will be entering three states of consciousness, The conscious state, The subconscious state and The super-conscious state. By the time you reach your third stage, your mind itself will be sent back to the most suitable timestamp of your past life which enables you to understand the purpose in the best possible way. Now I will administer the Voyage and as the timer starts, within a minute you will enter the subconscious state from your normal and within 10 seconds after the second state entry, you will feel a sudden jump into the third or super-conscious state. While shifting states, your heart and your brain will be monitored thoroughly and continuously. And now I will begin the procedure with your consent.
Abhimanyu says, " I am ready doc, I am ready to know the truth, the purpose and I am ready to go. " A sudden prick is felt by Abhimanyu to his left arm as the Voyage is administered intravenously and within a few seconds, Abhimanyu experiences a phenomenon that is nearly inexplicable. "What is happening to me? I feel a strong pull away from my body. Am I still breathing? I can see Dr. Chaturvedi clearly. He is checking my heartbeat and my respiration. Wait, how am I able to see myself? I can see my body. What's happening now???? What is this sudden pull???" His thoughts fade away slowly as his mind enters the state of superconsciousness. Abhimanyu's mind, his consciousness feels a sudden propulsion and then he opens his eyes to a sight of complete disbelief. Abhimanyu experiences a phenomenon which bends the believed laws of nature. " What is this place? Where am I?? What is happening?? I am not able to speak, what is happening to me? Why are my eyes tearing up???"
