$100000 - Part 03

"What do you do?" he asked. It was a pain to reply. I said, "I own a computer shop." I wanted to talk about something else.

"You will find the conference useful," he said.

I thought, 'Perhaps, if you give me a complimentary ticket'. But, I said, "I think so."

There was a pause for a few moments. I expected him to tell his success stories. But, he was silent.

His handbag was full of thick books. So, I asked him, "Do you read a lot?"

"A lot," he confirmed.

"What kind of books do you read?" I asked.

"Spiritual books," he said.

"I have heard about Gita," I told him and showed off my knowledge.

"What do you know about Gita?" There was a sudden interest in his voice. I felt victorious.

"When some royal brothers fought in India, a god man gave a sermon on peace and advised them not to fight. That is Gita." I was confident.

"Actually, he gave a sermon on the importance of fighting. When some of the brothers did not want to fight, the god man advised and forced them to fight," he said with a disarming smile.

"Really? Don't you think it is a mistake on the part of the god man to support a war?" I was on my defense as my knowledge on Gita fell flat.

"Is it a mistake?" he asked.

"Yes. God is full of love and forgiveness," I said.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Well, I have read so in many holy books," I said.

"Who wrote those books? God or Man?" he asked.

I was silent. I did not reply. I was not in a mood for a heated philosophical debate on that windy cold morning. He sensed my lack of interest.

"If you have a financial problem, what will you do?" he asked.

"I will make a list of all receivables and payables and find out my net worth. I will look for ways to raise money or increase income. Thorough analysis of all the facts may give a meaningful solution," I said and thought, 'Meaningful solution? Where is it?'

Punit asked, "What will happen if you ignore a few items and deal only with what you like?"

"Confusion, complication and bankruptcy," I said.

"Most of the holy books concentrate on one aspect," he said.

"Do you mean they lie?" I asked.

"No. To know a thing well, you must analyze all aspects and resolve the contradictions. Only then you will be able to synthesize the facts and learn the truth, perhaps an integral one," he said.

I wanted to change the subject. "What do you do in India?" I asked him after a pause.

"Punit reads and writes a lot. He spends his time in silence and inner work," he said.

I thought I did not hear him right. "I have never heard of such a profession. What is inner work?" I asked.

"It is not a profession. It is a way of living. It is the true way of being," he said.

"What sort of inner work do you do?" I was curious.

"You will understand the inner work only if you know about the new consciousness," he said.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"What is consciousness?" he asked me.

"When you are awake and think, you are conscious. When you are asleep or in coma, you are unconscious," I said with confidence.

"The new consciousness Punit talks of is a living being. It came to earth a few years back," he said.

"An alien?" I asked.

"No," he said.

"What is it doing?" I asked.

"It is speeding up human evolution," he said.

Oh, God! Oh, My God! I must be careful with that strange man who mixed up and confused real science and speculative spirituality.

"It's interesting," I lied.

"Quite so," he said innocently and continued, "It is the fire of the evolution. It is pulling down a beautiful future onto the earth. If you wish, you too can pull a little."

My safety sensors flashed red lights. I looked at the most dangerous man on the earth from the corner of my eyes. I decided not to disagree with him ever.

"Has anyone seen it?" I asked. After a moment, without knowing why, I said, "I want to see it."

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you have a problem?"