The Immortal Beings Of The Himalayas


This is an incident of 1942 when the king of Kumaon invited an army officer of Western Command, LP. Farrel for a picnic trip to the hills. There was a special reason for inviting Mr. Farrel; in spite of his being a Britisher he was very much interested in Indian religion, philosophy and culture. He had a few opportunities of witnessing demonstration of miraculous feats of some Indian yogis. He had become a pure vegetarian. That is why he always welcomed any opportunity to go towards the Himalayan wilderness, with the hope of meeting some saint or yogi who could initiate him into spiritual sadhana.

Mr. Farrel, the king and the queen and their entourage reached a place near Nainital full of natural beauty. It so enchanted them that they decided to camp overnight there. So, the dozens of tents were pitched and the lonely place got filled with the hustle and bustle of servants. Gossip, merriment, eating and drinking went on till midnight. Everyone went to bed and due to exhaustion of the whole day’s exertions, immediately slipped into deep sleep. The first phase of the sleep was hardly over when Mr. Farrel felt that there was someone near his cot. He waked up and clearly listened-"We need the place where your tents have been pitched. You vacate this place. If you are unable to understand, then you should come to that northwestern hill in front of you. I will explain you everything." "But who are you?" – saying this Mr. Farrel got up from the bed and lit his torch. But there was no one. He came out of the tent but there too no one could be seen nor heard anyone’s footsteps. After a momentary fear he became normal and then went back to his bed again for sleeping. It was 3.30 AM by his watch.

Despite his best efforts he could not sleep. Somehow he was keeping his eyes shut. Again he felt someone’s presence. Still lying on the bed he opened the eyes and he saw a shadow of a person standing in front of him. This time again he uttered the same words. In order to identify that person, as soon as Mr. Farrel lit the torch, even the shadow vanished. His body started shaking and perspiring. This army officer who did not get frightened even by watching the horrible bloodshed in the war, momentarily got un-nerved and dumbfounded by mere imagination of a supernatural being. He lay awake in his bed with his eyes closed till the morning but heard nothing. A strange attraction was arousing within him to see the hill mentioned by the shadowy presence. He put on his clothes and shoes and silently came out of the tent and walked towards that hill.

Describing this incident Mr. Farrel has himself written: "The way to the place where I was directed to reach was very difficult, narrow and dangerous. I was not at all able to climb up by myself but I was constantly feeling that somebody was showing me the way and was providing me the energy to climb up. After a hard effort of three and a half hours I could climb up. It seemed difficult to go ahead due to heavy breathing and perspiration. So I sat down on a square stone, lying down on it to take some rest. Hardly two minutes had passed and the same voice awakened me. ‘Mr. Farrel! Now you put off your shoes and slowly climb down the stone and come to me. With these words in the ears, I looked around and saw that a saint, with very weak constitution but brilliant splendor on the forehead, was standing in front of me. Leave aside the acquaintance, I had never met or seen him earlier. Then how could he know my name? He was here, then how did his shadow reach in my tent in the night? There was no communication link like a radio or a microphone etc between us. Then how could his voice reach me? Several such questions arose in my mind. Putting a stop to the unending trail of questions the sadhu said-whatever you have heard and seen cannot be understood by ordinary human mind. For this purpose one has to do long sadhana and the practice of yoga, abandoning the worldly pleasures and attraction of the senses. There is a specific purpose for which you have been called here."

Farrel could not make out whether the saintly person was a human being or a god. The thoughts arising in his mind were being constantly read by that person like an open book. Mr. Farrel climbed down the rock and in a short time reached the place where the Sadhu was sitting. The place was so small that only one person could take rest there. There was nothing except the fire burning in the Dhooni (firepit).

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