The Krishna Key (2 page)

‘Guruji, why do we use the word “Om” in all our prayers?’ asked Taarak innocently.

‘Let me answer that for you,’ said Mataji. ‘The word “Om” is not enclosed within a circle.Tbmef only used by us, Taarak. It is to be found everywhere. Even in the English language.’

‘Really? In what form?’ asked Taarak.

‘Think carefully. The word “omniscience” means infinite knowledge. It starts with the sound of Om—or Aum. The word “omnipotent”, which means a person who has infinite powers also starts with Om. The word “omnivorous”, which implies the ability to absorb everything also has Om as the starting point. The word “omen”, implying a predictive sign of a future event, also has Om in it. A trusted intermediary between parties, with the authority to award a verdict, is called an “ombudsman”—once again we have Om. Om is an expression of divinity and authority and that’s the reason why
Aum
is to be found even in the Christian
Amen
and the Islamic
Amin
,’ explained Mataji. Taarak digested the information offered, realising that the education that he was receiving from Mataji was priceless.

Taarak snapped back to the present and forced himself to focus on the road. A few hours later, he stopped the car at a roadside restaurant. ‘We still have a long way to go. It’s better that we get a meal,’ he said as he got out. Saini tipped him so that he could
buy his meal, which Taarak accepted in chauffeurly fashion.

Upon a signal from Saini, Priya and Kurkude remained seated in the car. ‘I’ll call for our food right here,’ said Saini. ‘It’s important for us to get some time to talk without the driver present. We should discuss our plan of action upon getting to Chandigarh.’

‘I would imagine that our first priority would be to meet Devendra Chhedi and see if he has one of the seals in his possession,’ said Priya.

‘True, but what after that? As of now, I’m probably wanted by Radhika Singh for three murders and a kidnapping. How do I prove my innocence?’ asked Saini taking a bite from the sandwich that a waiter from the restaurant handed him through the car window. The waiter had also brought three cups of coffee. Priya stretched out her arm and gratefully accepted the coffee that was on offer, passing on a cup each to Kurkude and Saini.

‘It’s rather simple, dear boy,’ said Kurkude, taking a sip of his coffee. ‘You were with me in my office for around an hour. My secretary, Miss Gonsalves, was alive when we started the meeting—in fact, she was the one who showed you into my office. Thereafter she closed the door and sat down at her workstation in the outer office. By the time that we ended our meeting, she had been murdered. It’s quite obvious that neither you nor Priya could have killed her. I’m your alibi for the third murder. I’m sure my testimony will help get you off the hook with Radhika Singh,’ he said, as he opened the car door to get out and use the restroom.

I had not imagined that slaying Kansa would result in the creation of yet another powerful enemy
—
Jarasandha, the king of Magadha. Jarasandha was furious that I had killed his son-in-law, Kansa, and that I was wielding political power in Mathura. He attacked Mathura and the old chief Ugrasena helplessly suggested that we surrender owing to the overwhelming odds against us. Balarama and I decided to take the battle into Jarasandha’s camp and, even though we had much smaller forces, we succeeded in defeating Jarasandha. The defeat only made ,’ replied Sir KhanNBb scripturesJarasandha even more determined to teach me a lesson. He attacked Mathura seventeen times and on each occasion, Balarama and I were able to repel his forces. The eighteenth time would be different though.

Sitting inside the cafeteria sipping tea and eating a samosa, Taarak recalled the events at Kurkude’s research laboratory. He had left Saini and Priya at the reception block along with Miss Gonsalves. She had offered him directions regarding how to get to the parking lot but he had ignored those. He had left the car just outside the reception block and had quickly stepped back inside in order to follow the clicking high heels worn by Miss Gonsalves.

Once she had shown Saini and Priya into Kurkude’s office, she had settled down in her own chair and had pressed a key to activate her desktop computer. She
had felt the cold steel of a scalpel against her throat within a few seconds but had been unable to cry out because Taarak had clamped his hand over her mouth.

‘Listen to me very carefully,’ he had hissed into her ear. ‘I shall slit your throat if you do not cooperate. I want access to the data warehouse records and will need your password. Log in to the records from here so that I may access them. If you do as I say, you shall live to tell this story to your grandchildren.’

Terrified by the sharp metal pressing against her throat, Miss Gonsalves had quickly entered her user name and password into the login box on her screen. Taarak relaxed a little. This had turned out to be easier than he had expected. He loosened his grip over her mouth for just a moment and she let out a muffled cry. Luckily for him, the thick doors of the office prevented the noise from carrying into Kurkude’s inner office. ‘Damn you, woman,’ he muttered. ‘You have forced me to kill you.’ The slitting of her throat was swift and clean, given the efficiency of the Swann-Morton scalpel. He placed the used scalpel in a handkerchief, which he then put into his pocket.

Taarak quickly inserted his USB flash ddesktop and began downloading the files that he wanted. He counted the seconds while the download happened—he was concerned that he would be caught with the corpse of Miss Gonsalves by a chance visitor to Kurkude’s office. It was also possible that Kurkude or Saini would emerge at any moment from the inner office.

He was relieved when the download ended and he was able to pull out the flash drive and head back to his car. Secure inside his pocket was the flash drive.
It contained the radiation readings from all the sites that had been surveyed by Kurkude’s team. Retrieving the car, he had slowly driven to the visitors’ parking lot, as originally recommended by Miss Gonsalves. Once there, he had resumed his role as a chauffeur—snatching forty winks while waiting for his masters. He was content.

Taking another bite of his samosa, Taarak looked at the cafeteria around him. He noticed Kurkude in the distance. It was evident that the old man had stepped outside the car to take a leak. Taarak got up from his chair and turned his gaze towards the parked car. Saini and Priya were still inside and seemed to be having a discussion while eating.

He realised that a golden opportunity had presented itself to him.

Having decided that he needed a different strategy if he wanted victory over me, Jarasandha approached my cousin, Shishupala, who hated me. Shishupala suggested to Jarasandha that they form an alliance with Kal Yavan, a neighbouring king, enclosed within a circle. m on the Kaliyuga who had a blessing from Shiv that he could not be killed by any weapon, God or demon. Soon, Jarasandha laid siege to Mathura once again, this time in tandem with Kal Yavan. I knew that the situation was grim, so I decided to walk out of
the city gates
—
unarmed. I challenged Kal Yavan to unarmed combat. The moment Kal Yavan agreed, I began running. Kal Yavan ran after me, calling me a coward. What he did not know was that I was leading him into the cave of Muchukunda. Muchukunda had received a blessing from Indra that if anyone disturbed his sleep, they would turn into ashes. I quickly draped my shawl on Muchukunda. The furious Kal Yavan came rushing in, saw my shawl, assumed that it was me on the floor and kicked the sleeping figure. Muchukunda opened his eyes and instantly turned Kal Yavan into ashes.

Saini and Priya were inside the car, finishing their sandwiches and coffee. In between mouthfuls, Priya decided to play the devil’s advocate. ‘Is there any proof that Krishna actually existed? Isn’t it possible that Krishna was just a character in a fictional story, a product of a great writer’s imagination?’ she asked,

Saini scoffed. ‘Let’s forget the
Mahabharata
for a moment. The earliest reference to Krishna is found in the
Chandogya Upanishad.
The passage that refers to Krishna says:
Ghora of the Angirasas spoke to Krishna, the son of Devaki. My thirst has been quenched, he said. And till the very end of his life he upheld the three key principles: Krishna is aksita
—
indestructible; Krishna is acyuta
—
eternal; God is praana samhita
—
the very flow and essence of life!
Priya, you may hold the view that the
Mahabharata
is just a story, but how do you explain Krishna’s name appearing in the
Upanishads,
works of the highest spiritual magnitude? Krishna is even mentioned in the
Rigveda
as the seer of Vedic hymn. He is once again mentioned in the
Atharvaveda
as the slayer of the Keshi demon. No, it would be impossible
for Krishna to figure in these ancient works if a historical personality by that name did not exist,’ said Saini indignantly.

‘But the Krishna of the
Vedas
is a scholar, not a playful cowherd,’ argued Priya. ‘It seems almost impossible to reconcile the two characters. The Krishna of the Mahabharata war was almost ruthless whereas Krishna the cowherd was a combination of innocence and fun.’

‘Again, Priya, the answer is to be found in the River Sarasvati. We know that the river was still flowing during the time of the Mahabharata. We are specifically told that Krishna’s brother, Balarama, refused to participate in the war and decided to leave for a pilgrimage to various sacred spots along the river for the duration of the battle,’ explained Saini. ‘When the Sarasvati dried up, it resulted in the great river civilization decaying. The inhabitants were forced to move away towards new sources of water—either east towards the Ganges basin or west towards the Indus basin or even further towards the Tigris-Euphrates valley. The drying of the Sarasvati would have erased pasturelands entirely. Cattle populations would have dwindled, with entire herds getting wiped out.’

‘What does cattle depletion have to do with the distinction between Krishna the cowherd and Krishna the statesman?’ asked Priya.

‘Everything!’ exclaimed Saini. ‘When the easterners reached the Ganges basin, they needed to revive their cattle populations. The easiest way of doing this wa,’ replied Sir Khan that Gopala. The word emerges from
gow
—meaning cow—and
pala
—
meaning the preserver or protector. It will surprise you to note that the same tradition carried into the west too. The Egyptians sacrificed most animals with the exception of the cow. The cow was considered sacred to Goddess Hathor.
Hesat
—the divine cow—was an earthly manifestation of Hathor!’

‘So Krishna was given the status of a cowherd to preserve cattle numbers?’ asked Priya.

‘Not just cattle but the entire agricultural way of life,’ said Saini. ‘The name
Krishna
is derived from
Krishi
—the Sanskrit word for agriculture. The new migrants to the Ganges basin needed milk, ghee, and butter. They also relied on cow dung for fertiliser and fuel. By making Krishna into a cowherd, they ensured that their way of life could be preserved and their depleted cattle counts could be revived. But the cow eventually transformed all parts of society. Even today, when a Hindu performs prayers, the Brahmin will usually ask him for his
gothra
—his lineage. But the word
gothra
actually means a herd—or line—of cows! Why, even the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha had a name that had a link to Krishna’s cows!’

‘How?’ asked Priya.

‘The name Gautama is derived from two words
gau
—or cow—and
uttama
—or greatest. Combined, the two words mean the greatest cow or the ultimate cow. The word “gau” also referred to the white colour of cows, and hence Gautama was also the ultimate white light,’ said Saini smiling. Even the most sacred spot of the Buddhists is Bodh Gaya.
Gaya
is simply another word for
cow.
Gaya is mentioned in the
Ramayana.
In the epic, Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, visited a place called Gayapuri to make
offerings to the spirit of their father, Dasharath. This Gayapuri is modern-day Bodh Gaya. Now do you see why Hindus consider Buddha as the ninth avatar of Vishnu?’