Roj Jamyad Mah Meher, 1381 Yz.
As we approached we saw that there was a massive iron frame on the ground where the boulder had stood. This was obviously a strong door leading to an underground place. To our surprise we saw that there were steps leading down and the steps were illuminated by electric lights on the side, even though we had seen no evidence of electric poles or cables on the entire way. The Mahatma started climbing down the steps and we followed closely. As we reached the bottom, we saw the way barred by another massive iron door. The door obviously had some type of spring mechanism, because the Mahatma pressed a particular part of the door and the door swung open.
We entered a very large room. On both sides of the room, large iron cupboards were placed. In these cupboards were placed thousands of volumes of books of a most ancient time. The volumes were not of paper but were actually cowhides (vellum) on which the words had been inscribed. The Mahatma explained to us that this was the collected wisdom of the ancient sages of India, covering every topic and skill, collected over thousands of years and safely stored here.
As we moved further inside the room, the Mahatma led us to another very large cupboard. As he opened it we were dumbstruck. The cupboard was filled with large ingots of gold. On other shelves there was a dazzling array of diamonds of the most amazing brilliance. We had to close our eyes in the face of such sparkle. The Mahatma explained that the gold was processed and made at the laboratory we had seen earlier, but the diamonds had been extracted in several mines across the country over many hundreds of years. ‘We store this here although it has no value for us.’ Then he said: ‘take whatever you want from this store, gentlemen.’ We looked at each other and then replied to the Mahatma: ‘O wise one! What knowledge and guidance we have received from you over this day is more precious than this whole treasure house put together. We cannot take anything from here but your divine blessings.’ The Mahatma was very pleased to hear our reply. Soon it was time to go back.
As we made our way back, the Mahatma carefully pressed the spring mechanism to shut the iron door, and then we climbed back up the stairs. He then carefully handled the ring and chain and slowly the massive boulder slid back to its original place, leaving no trace of the treasures below the ground. We then walked back to the shore through the bamboo forest and descended to the boats and began our journey back to the lake shore. On the way back I asked the Mahatma as to how there was electricity in the basement but no sign of any electric poles or cables anywhere on the island. The Mahatma smiled and replied that the electric supply was sourced through dry lead batteries which also powered the mechanism to open and shut the doors. He explained that the knowledge of electricity was an ancient one which they had perfected many years ago. In this manner, we discussed many other things and shortly arrived at the shore from where we were taken back to our original resting cottage. The Mahatma requested that we stay the night at the cottage and then leave the next morning.
As we returned to the cottage we found the table had been set and a wide array of dishes had been prepared for us, as in the afternoon. We gave full justice to the dishes and then rested on easy chairs put on the verandah outside, discussing all that we had seen and heard on this eventful day. As we were talking, Rustomji mentioned that it would be a good idea to get the British District Commissioner of Lyallpur, who happened to be on good terms with Rustomji, to meet with the Mahatma. I warned Rustomji that we should take the Mahatma’s permission before doing so. We decided to ask the Mahatma about this the next morning and retired to bed. The next morning, we woke up very early, at 3:30 am and after having a bath, were ready by 4 am. Shortly the attendant came to our cottage, bearing the Mahatma’s call for us to come meet him. As we walked back to his cottage, we saw the Mahatma standing on the verandah, waiting for us. Our tonga was also standing by.
The Mahatma greeted us and reminded us to send the myna to him quickly. We agreed and then broached the topic of getting the District Commissioner to visit the Mahatma’s orchard. The wise one agreed at once. We asked when we could return, to which the Mahatma replied that he would send word with the helper who would carry the myna to the wise one’s orchard.
We offered our sincere thanks to the Mahatma for the great hospitality he had provided and also for the immense wisdom and amazing things he had shown us. He merely smiled and said: ‘this is all yours to enjoy.’ As we sat in the tonga we found that the helpers had loaded up the tonga with two baskets of the best fruits and sweet meats for us. We once again thanked the Mahatma for his parting gifts and set off for Lyallpur, which we reached at about 9 in the morning.
The next day I went to meet Rustomji to remind him to make quick arrangements to send the myna to the Mahatma. The same day, the district commissioner had also come to Rustomji’s bungalow for some work. We sat down and discussed all that we had seen and experienced with the commissioner, who was most amazed at the experiences we had had. On the Sunday following that day, we made arrangements for a helper to take the myna to the Mahatma’s ashram. The next day, we received a letter from the Mahatma inviting us and the commissioner to visit his garden the next Sunday. We could hardly wait for the day to arrive.
[to be continued…]
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram
MAR