On a journey into the other world
Malladi Rama Rao
Vijay Gokhale and P K Singh
If anyone asks me whether
I liked "The Last
Marathon" frankly, I have
no ready answer.
It took a
little more than a month
to read the book, though
generally I do not take more than
a couple of days to go through
any new acquisition. What made
me buy the book at the outset
was the picture of Meher Baba on
the cover. The back cover carried
a photo of Guru Nanak. That
intrigued me. So did the reviews
that appeared on the Amazon.
Without exception, the reviews
were lyrical in their praise of the
author and his narrative about a
journey into the world of the
paranormal.
The blurb sets the stage, by
grandly declaring "For those who
believe on God, no explanation is
necessary (on the astral world).
For those who do not believe in
God, no explanation is possible".
Clearly, the author, Ruzebeh N.
Bharucha is targeting the faithful.
Not the likes of me, who, while
believing in God, and accepting all
that mumbo-jumbo that goes in
the name of established religion,
are sceptical when it comes to
spirits and mediums, which is the
mainstay of this book.
Bharucha has no such qualms.
He believes in what he tells you
about speaking with the dead
ones. Well, neither he nor his
friends speak directly with the
spirit of the dead. They do so
through a medium, and by taking
recourse to a panchette as and
well as through automatic writing.
In the 60s and 70s, late night
'talking' sessions with souls was a
"regular show" in some university
hostels down South. Celebrated
author R K Narayan Ruzbeh N Bharucha was known to get solace by talking to his dead
wife.
Some ten years ago, while on a
visit to Meherabad, I witnessed
the auto-writing phenomenon
Bharucha presents
excerpts from a long
session he says he had
with Meher Baba. While I
have reasons to disbelieve
his claim, what he quotes
as excerpts from Meher
Baba - Speak, cannot be
brushed aside, well, not in
their entirety. Most of
these quotes tally with
what Meher Baba had
said in his discourses.
answering questions, and offering
predictions on mundane issues
troubling you –like, for instance,
'when my daughter will be
married'. The practitioner was a
person known to me as a devotee
of Meher Baba. He is a technocrat
who has settled in Nashik after a
long stint in Canada. He could not
explain how he came to 'acquire'
the art of speaking through auto
writing. "It is all God's gift", he
said exasperated at my insistence
for a rational answer. Was I
convinced? Frankly, no. My
scepticism remained
unadulterated, more so since he
claimed that his medium was
Meher Baba.
Ruzbeh N Bharucha
Bharucha presents excerpts
from a long session he says he
had with Meher Baba.While I have
reasons to disbelieve his claim,
what he quotes as excerpts from Meher Baba - Speak, cannot be
brushed aside, well, not in their
entirety. Most of these quotes
tally with what Meher Baba had
said in his discourses. Also with
Meher Baba's known aversion to
the stranglehold of the priestly
class on the faithful in all
religions. "Once India gets
independence, you get these
Priests, Dasturs and Mullahs
arrested and lock them up in
Yerawada (jail)", he told Gandhiji
as they met and discussed
matters of mutual interest while
on the London bound ship
Rajputana in 1931.
Was Bharucha putting together
Meher Baba thoughts to buttress
his theories? It may be unfair to
say so. There is no apparent
reason for him to cook up stories
since he goes out of his way to
familiarise the reader with what
other writers - Indian and foreignhad
said on this subject which is
no more than speaking
with the ghosts. It is this what
gives depth to Bharucha's work
and makes the reader to put
on a thinking cap as long
passages appear from
"Autobiography of a Yogi" (by
Paramahansa Yogananda about
his guru Sri Yuketeshwar), "Aliens
Amongst Us" ( by Ruth
Montgomery), " The Greatest
Healer Of Our Times" ( also by
Montgomery), "We Don't Die….
George Anderson's conversations
with the other side (by Joel Martin
A big plus for the book
under review are real time
experiences of families who
had lost their dear ones, and
the consolation they
received when the dead one
'returns' to speak about their
new life and the guidance
from their guides. The
whole effort is to deliver the
message: "Don't allow the
world to make you bitter.
Don't allow people and so
called loved ones to make
you petty. Always live life as
though your Master is
standing next to you, seeing
you, observing you,
nurturing you".
and Patric Romanwski),"Your Life
After Death" (by Harold
Sherman), and "The Tibetan Book
Of Living And Dying" (by Sogyal
Rinpoche) on birth, death, rebirth
and life in the 'other' world.
A big plus for the book under
review are real time experiences
of families who had lost their dear
ones, and the consolation they
received when the dead one
'returns' to speak about their new
life and the guidance from their guides. The whole effort is to
deliver the message: "Don't allow
the world to make you bitter.
Don't allow people and so called
loved ones to make you petty.
Always live life as though your
Master is standing next to you,
seeing you, observing you,
nurturing you".
In a nutshell, Bharucha's
contention is that there is life
after death. Rebirth is a must too.
And that the post-death world is
of several planes; it is larger than
this world by hundreds of times.
Life exists on these planes. Very
highly evolved souls live on them.
In the astral journey, the soul first
goes to the plane that
corresponds to its level of karma
and spiritual development.
What if the soul is unwilling to
snap life when death comes
knocking at the door? Then the
Guides (advanced souls) counsel
him, administer sedatives if
necessary, catch hold of him like a
baby and take him to the astral
world through a dark tunnel.
Then
he emerges into light and
progresses, like in a school, on
how to live in the other world. If
the soul is very gross, all his
desires are met and he is allowed
to saturate himself till he says "no
more my guides I know now this
is of no use".
As I reached the last page of
The Last Marathon, did I buy
Bharucha's narrative?
Well, not fully but substantially!