Chapter One

The First Encounter

Southern India

Wandering through the crowded and dusty streets of Bangalore - a southern province of India. I sit in small taxi cab. The driver who barely speaks English, drives through the busy streets, with one hand on the wheel and one hand one the horn. All the drivers in India communicate, almost telepathically, as they quickly drive around freights carts being pulled by stock. We come to a sudden stop at an intersection, and I move my head to see out of the front window. A cow is eating out of trash can in the middle of the street. The cow decided to stop all traffic and get something to eat.

While India is plagued with poverty, I will soon find out that this country is filled with great spiritual riches, and kindness toward all humanity.

Bangalore, the Garden City, is a beautiful town filled with many parks and trees. As we drive toward our destination, I see a small yet quite attractive Hindu temple. A large statue of Lord Shiva sits on the roof of the temple. A few blocks later, a large Catholic Church stands before me.

"There are many Catholics here sir." Said the taxi driver with a heavy Indian accent. He noticed my surprised look as I took a picture of the Church.

"I didn’t expect to see a Catholic Church here, that’s for sure."

We soon came to our stop. We parked next to a small building near downtown in the Chamarajpet district.

"Here it is sir. The Sri Shuka Foundation. I will wait for you to take you back to Puttaparthi afterward." The taxi driver said.

"Thank you. I’ll see you in a while."

The Sri Shuka Foundation is the home of the ancient Palm Leaves Books. According to the legend, four thousand years ago God dictated a large number of messages to a group of sages. The sages wrote down everything God said to them on palm tree leaves. The leaves were then turned into small books for safe keeping.

According to the story, people from all over the world would come to India in the future just to receive their message from God.

The books are archived according to the date, time, and place of birth of each corresponding person. One has to call the Foundation first to see if there is a message waiting for you. If they find your message in the archives, then they proceed to give you an appointment with the Sri Shuka Nadi Interpreter.

It is a well documented fact that the palm leaves are ancient manuscripts written in Sanskrit. Most spiritual teachers in India endorse their authenticity. The only problem sometimes resides on the accuracy of the interpretation. These manuscripts were written in ancient Sanskrit, and the terms used in the past do not always reflect modern society.

Gunjur Sachidananda Murthy is a Sri Shuka Nadi Interpreter. His office was nice and spacious. There was a poster of an older interpreter hanging from the wall, perhaps he was his teacher. There was also a picture of Sathya Sai Baba in the corner. Sai Baba is one of India’s most respected and admired Swamis (spiritual teacher). Sai Baba has said that the palm leaves archives are accurate and authentic.

After filling out a small information sheet for the interpreter, he located my palm leaf and proceeded to read it.

"According to the palm leaves, you are to receive this information at the age of 32 years, 6 months, and 13 days. Today you are 32 years old, 6 months, and 13 days. Correct?"

"Yeah, that’s right." I said.

"According to the past, when you were 20 years old there were many changes in your life. You left your home and moved far away." (I was actually 19 years and 10 months old when I first moved from Texas to California to go to school).

"You visited many places after that. You studied at the University, and you studied literature and languages. You finished your studies in 1989 with a degree in Psychology. Is this true?"

"Oh, yeah." I was very surprised by his accuracy.

"From age 21 to 29 there was a partnership, and then you stopped that partnership. Is this true?"

"Yes I had a girlfriend for almost nine years during that time." I said to him.

"Then in 1991 you received another partner. You are not living with her now, but you are still friends. Is this correct?"

"Yes, that would be my good friend Kim." I said.

"Now in the year 1993 your ideas start changing. You start working on the human mind. You want to become a good writer, and start doing research on the human mind and it’s healing qualities. This research is not a profession, it’s like a hobby. You are not making money from this. You want to become a good communicator and teacher. This is your new idea, and this is the real purpose of this life. You will be a good teacher and a healer. Okay?"

"Yeah, I would love to do that." I said.

"You will visit many European countries including Spain, and then to South America. You will be a traveler in this life." He then paused for a minute and changed the topic.

"At this moment you are alone. You don’t have a partner. You have been alone since 1993. You are searching for a good partner. You have many friends, but you will find your spiritual partner. Her birthday will be a month within your birthday, from November to January. She is a good communicator and a good organizer."

"She sounds pretty good so far." I said.

"In 1996 you will start to implement all of your ideas mixed in with your teaching knowledge. That part of your life will start then. Before this date you had no serious profession. This is when you are going to start. Is this true?"

"Yes, that’s true."

"You are not going to select a master or spiritual teacher in this lifetime. You cannot follow one master. You are going to meet many masters in this lifetime. One master is not good enough. You like to get knowledge from many directions. You cannot follow Sai Baba or anyone like that. You will collect much knowledge, but you will not prefer any master. You will take knowledge from them and move on." He paused for a few seconds and then continued.

"Your real master is not alive. He was a non-dualism philosopher born in India. But in this life you cannot see him. You can only see him through his books."

"What was his name?" I asked.

"His name ends with ananda. He was a master of kriya yoga and ayurveda. You will receive knowledge from this master. He has a spiritual awakening waiting for you. Have you heard about this master?"

"No, I don’t know who he is." I replied.

"You will recognize him soon." He said with assurance.

"Now let me tell you about your past lives. In India you were a non-dualist philosopher. You were born in the Himalayas. You were an Indian Sadu. You were not married. You practiced kundalini yoga. You were a mystic, but you gave away too many secrets. Your teacher did not like this, and he is making you pay for this. That is why your energy will not be liberated in a proper way in this lifetime until age 34. From age 34 to 37 will be the turning point in your life." He paused again and turned his face down to look at the palm leaf.

"You are going to be the creator of a spiritual center with two other persons. In this life you want to make simplification of the knowledge. In this life it is permitted. You are going to establish this center with another two persons. You have already found one of them. This spiritual partner is a man. Do you know this man?"

"Well, I teach meditation classes and he could be one of my students, probably Brian" I said.

"Are you already working with another person? He is a very good friend."

"The only person I’m working with is my friend John."

"Are you working for any center now?" He asked.

"No but I’m thinking about forming my own center."

"Very good. The forming of the center will be very strong from age 34. You are not to do this alone. There are two other friends who are coming to cooperate with you. This would be a spiritual center and a healing center connected with ayurveda medicine, and with techniques of meditation and yoga. You started organizing this about a year ago, but it is not too strong yet. Does this make sense?"

"Yes, everything is right."

"In another life you were born in Egypt. You were a member of the Mystery School. You worked a lot with crystals and spiritual power. All of this power will be released again in this lifetime after you have been working in the center for seven years. A lot of Astrology and Astronomy knowledge will also come to you. You have a lot of power still dormant within you." He paused for a moment and continued.

"You were born in Greece. You were a teacher of language and philosophy. This is where your writing energy comes from. You are going to write many books in this life. From the age of 14 your writing energy has been there. In this lifetime you are going to be a great writer. You are going to write about energy, the supernatural, philosophy, and the human mind. You are also going to write spiritual songs and poems." He paused again.

"Now this is talking about your energy from Tibet and China. You were a Reike healer and prana energy master. You also studied Tantra in Tibet. In Japan you were a Zen Buddhist Monk. In this life you are also going to work on homeopathic knowledge and aryudeva. This is not a profession, but something you want to learn. Your main work will be teaching meditation, yoga, and spirituality. This is the real action. This is going to be the support of the center. You will open three centers in the world. One will be in America, one in Mexico, and one in Europe - in Italy or Spain. From the age of 34 to 41 you will make these three centers."

"Sounds like a lot of work." I said laughing.

"Before age 34 you are going to find your spiritual partner. Her birth date will be about a month from yours. She was born between November and January. You will have one child. This would be a spiritual child, coming between the ages of 37 and 38. Marriage will take place between age 36 and 37."

"What? Marriage?" I was very surprised to hear that.

"Yes, marriage... There were four children in your family and you are the youngest, right?"

"Yes that’s correct."

"Your sister will take spiritual advice from you. You have a good relationship with her. You will share a lot of knowledge with her. You also have a good relationship with your mother. You will always have a good communication with her. You will start a center in the town where she lives in Mexico. Does she live in a village?"

"No she lives in Monterrey, which is a big city."

"This center will be located in a town or village near a city, but it is not in the city. The other center will be in a village or town near the sea shore. By age 34 you will make this big center near the sea shore. Do you want to do this?" He asked as he saw the confused looked on my face.

"Well, I live in Arlington, Texas which is not near the sea shore."

"Show me." He said as he walked toward a map of the world hanging from the wall.

"I live here next to Dallas."

"Do you want to move here?" He pointed toward Houston.

"Maybe, but I don’t think so. I have been thinking about doing the center in Arlington near the lake. We have a very big lake in Arlington."

The interpreter remained quiet for a minute and then he said: "This is where the translations get very complex at times. It says here that you are going to do the center near a large water source. This is usually the sea shore, but in this case it could be a lake."

"Yes I think that’s the place." We walked back to the desk.

"This water source is a place that will attract you. You will be able to get a lot of energy and motivation there. You need to work there, not in the city.

"That’s fine." I said.

"After working there for a long time your tantric knowledge will come back, and your third eye will fully open by age 41. From age 34 to 41 your consciousness will jump very high, but it won’t be one hundred percent yet. By 41 you will achieve full God-realization and complete Enlightenment. But starting at age 34 your mind will open and become very powerful. By age 41 you will not have karma, God is going to use you as an instrument. If you want money, money will flow. Money is not important. Your mission is to be an instrument of God. This is your last life. You are going to live more than 80 years, but there is no date for your death. There is usually a date, but there is no date written here."

"That’s interesting. Maybe I’m not going to die the usual way. I’ll just take my body with me." I said to him.

"Now about your health. You have a good health. You just have to watch out for stress and relax everyday. You will take a lot of stress from your students, so you need to release that stress from your body. You need to relax everyday, that’s all. Don’t work 16 hours a day."

I started laughing when he said that.

"Your mantra belongs to Durga. The mantra of Durga is..."

"The mantra of what?" This was the first time that I heard the name Durga.

"Durga, the Goddess of Power. Her mantra is OM DHUM DURGA IAY NAMAHA. This is your mantra. This mantra is going to help you with your spiritual and material progress. OM means holy. DHUM is the seed word. DURGA IAY is Goddess of Power. NAMAHA is surrendering your soul. Do you have any questions?"

"Is this Goddess like Lakshmi?" I asked.

"Durga is better for you, but you can pray to Lakshmi also. That’s not a problem. But the Goddess of Power will help your tantric knowledge. In many lifetimes you have been the worshipper of Goddesses. In this life you will do the same, but you should concentrate on Durga. You will learn a lot from Durga and she will help you a lot in this life. You should learn more about Durga. It says here that you will bring Durga to the west. Many Indian people know of Durga in the west, but very few Americans know her. It is part of your mission to tell people about her. You are going to write a book about her, and you will teach people about her, and many women will follow you for that reason. You have been selected to do this.

"Anything else you would like to know?" He said as I wondered about Durga.

"No I guess that’s it."

This reading brought a lot of clarity into my mind and my life. My real dream in life is to develop a spiritual center, as he said, and now I know that this dream will come true.

After my reading, I sat in the outdoor waiting area. There were a couple of women from Australia in the waiting room. I just wanted to sit there for a while and ponder upon the things that he had said to me. He was so accurate and yet, it was so hard to believe that everything he said was true.

We then headed back to Puttapharti. Bangalore is long three hour taxi ride from Prasanthi Nilayam the ashram (spiritual community) where I was staying in Puttaparthi. The road between Bangalore, which is a large town, and Puttaparthi, which is a small village in the middle of a hidden valley, can sometimes be small and treacherous.

On the way back I asked the driver if we could stop and feed the wild monkeys on the road. I had just bought a small bag of pastries, and I wanted to feed the monkeys. About two hours later, we stopped at the edge of a large hill where a group of monkeys were waiting by the side of the road.

"Be careful when you feed them. They tend to bite you know."

"Don’t worry." I said, as I pulled down the car window.

About seven monkeys quickly came to the side of the car. I threw some pastries at them, and they ran after them. The biggest monkey threw a smaller one on the ground, and he grabbed the piece that I had thrown at him. I got out of the car and threw another piece to the smaller monkey. He grabbed it and ran away quickly.

As I looked at the distance, I saw a large cave near the top of the hill.

"What is that over there?" I asked the driver.

"That’s a Hindu cave sir. People go up there to pray and meditate. If you want I can bring you here another time."

"Okay, we’ll come back another day. Lets go back to the ashram." We both got back in the car and left.