I was immersed in the Rajasthani folk dance at Virasat in Udaipur when a foreigner caught my attention. He stared at me, smiled, and waved after the Bhawai dance by Vijaylakshmi Ameta. Intrigued, I was perplexed when he and his wife, Esther, approached me during the audience-invited dance.
As we exchanged introductions, Helmut's conversation suggested a familiarity that left me puzzled. I questioned if we had met before. He chuckled, recalling our encounter in Darjeeling back in 2014 at Hotel Shangrila, where we supposedly conversed on astral travel and Lobsang Rampa's books, especially the book "The Rampa Story".
Doubtful, I remembered a different foreigner from that trip, and he clarified that I knew him as Herbert during his previous visit. He explained that then he was seriously sick with kidney trouble, and during that time, he visited a Tibetan monastery seeking a cure from a monk with astral travel abilities.
Astonished, I inquired about his approach to Esther and the circumstances of the transition.
“ Yes, the head Llma had the power of astral travel.”
“I remember that's how we came to discuss Lobsang Rampa who left his old body and by astral travel got into a freshly dead body.”
Helmut laughed and said,” Yes from that Llama I learnt about astral travel.Initially I did some trial travel with Esther looking after my body. I was on the lookout for a fresh dead body. I chanced upon the body of Helmut who died because of falling down from a height in Darjeeling. I entered his body.”
“What about his family?” I asked.
“He was a divorcee ,came to Darjeeling to buy peace of mind.”
“ How could Esther know that it was you? "
Helmut explained that both him and Esther had discussed that issue.They then decided that when he comes back in new body then she would ask him a set of questions about which he only had the answers.“So when you returned as Helmut ,the body of Herbert was lying dead with Esther watching it?”
“Yes,we buried my old body in a graveyard in Darjeeling.”
After hearing the strange story, I wasn't in the mood to continue in Virasat. I needed some time alone to digest the concept of astral travel of the soul. Back in the hotel, I Googled to find any similar cases but unfortunately didn't find any. I was totally flummoxed by the issue; that guy had been discarding his old body as if he was changing into a new jacket, casually discarding the old one.
Note:
The story is inspired by "The Rampa Story" by Lobsang Rampa, renowned for "The Third Eye." Cyril Henry Hoskin, originating from Plympton, Devon, and the son of a plumber, adopted the name Lobsang Rampa.
In his 1960 book, "The Rampa Story," he asserted that a Tibetan monk's spirit inhabited his body following a fall from an apple tree in his home's garden. Hoskin consistently insisted that his books recounted true stories and vehemently refuted any allegations of a hoax.
3 comments:
Dr T Lobsang Rampa has authored classics. Dr From Lhasa is another brilliant book. Astral travel is well known in Bhartiya philosophy. Many great saints practice this and visit far flung places. In one of my visits to Bangalore in nineties, I, I had stayed at hotel Le Meredian. During a routine visit to the hotel's bookstall, I noticed a foreigner woman looking through the collection. She was wearing an offwhite silk saree and looked serene.
Later, I introduced myself to her and after dinner, we spent in talks till 2am. During this, she told me that she was a German and staying in this hotel for 6 months.
She narrated her experience of astral travel with a saint, to other planets. She shared many many things.
Even fiction stranger than fiction. Cannot assimilate the concept of astral travel.
A plausible take.. enjoyed the story... Mire power to your pen! - Harsh
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