In Pune, Aastha had the accommodation of a small room, much like that of a Railway compartment. Placed at the center of the house, noise, food odors, constant hustle and bustle, and an eccentric roommate were her companion.

Those days were tough. Every day was a gift of novelty. She topped her exams in the First Year of Five-Year course. She had a big friend circle in college which drew inspiration from the college name, SYMBIOSIS which means living together. It housed students from all corners of India and entertained international aspirants as well.

The crowd was young, naïve, energetic, and a bit crazy, crazy because of the whacky attitudes and appearances the youth portrayed while in college. She befriended all classes of people beginning from peons to the principal, students to teachers, poor and rich (this classification was not apparent though in symbiosis) legal and non-legal background, the last one being the most starked classification witnessed in last five years.

The education in Symbiosis was tough. Very often she would lose herself in the rabble of Symbians who would otherwise be recherche during the daytime. The crowd would spend their time at clubs, restaurants, pubs rather than in the temples of learning, which are smaller in size.

She used to join her friends at the Coffee shop around the corner of her Paying guest accommodation. It was one of the meeting points of the Symbians.

In the first year of college, she slogged for hours to learn new concepts of law and legal jargon so that she may have a good beginning of her law course. Gradually, with sheer hard work, she achieved a top rank in the first year of college. Reading and writing were not simple, as she was no genius at studies. Moreso, her problems were manifold. She had no foe. It was financial problems that kept her busy. Somnolence, lassitude, and disorientation were some of the other problems which she faced.

She did not confine herself to learning in College. She got a paid internship at a firm “Juris Corporation” in Mumbai for two months where she met a person by the name “Clary”. They became good friends and developed an instant spiritual connection with each other. Clary had a charisma that no female could deny. He was ‘enigmatic’ but equally boisterous. However, he was hideous and never confided in anyone. The bonding lasted for two months. During her internship with the firm, she learned about corporate work and compliance. Research became her forte. However, her work was not pleasurable, as her mind was fraught with disturbances because of financial difficulties. She somehow completed her internship amidst the worst financial situation.

Back home, her grandfather introduced her to everyone, saying that she pursued law because of his encouragement. But he did not provide her with financial support. Hypocrisy marked his demeanor. However, he was instrumental in her spiritual quests. He gave her scripture to read titled “Adhyatam Ramayana”. It was one of the most profound spiritual experiences gifted to her by her grandfather. She took it to Pune. She became more spiritual after reading it. The love for the almighty was so strongly aroused that she became emotionally attached to him. It was during this state that her ESP (Extrasensory perception) grew so much that she could hold intuitions about people and events. She could also spot the manipulations and evil intentions of the surrounding people. The Déjà vu also became a part of her everyday occurrences.

Once her roommates deserted her for one week. During the week, no one stayed with her in the room. Her bedside table housed the small idols of deities, the most prominent being that of Shri Radha Krishna. It was here where she used to meditate after offering prayers to the almighty. One night, something unusual caught her attention.

To her amazement, the door of the verandah that was locked before going off to sleep was slightly open. She immediately closed the latch of the door. Looking at the watch, she wondered who could have opened the door at around 3 am when it was closed at 10 pm.

While going off to sleep, she saw a shadow of a body half in size of hers on the wall. However. the incident could not affect her deeply despite being in fear and amazement.

Chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Ram”, she tried to sleep, but the struggle ensued for several hours. She could feel something heavy trying to overpower her. Everything became normal at Brahma Muhurat at around 4 am.

In the morning, she woke up tired. Turning towards the table, she paid obeisance to the almighty with folded hands when she became shocked to see the idols.

Someone had picked up the idol and placed it in a different place without disturbing other placements.

Astonished by the incident, she tried to figure out the chain of events.

“No evil force or spirit would even dare come near the idol of the lord, forget about disturbing its placement. Who can it be?” she thought.

There was no solace in her restless and inquisitive mind.

That evening, she received a call from her friend, who told her that a senior by the name of Boudhayan practiced meditation and could be of some help.

Boudhayan welcomed her with a smile and spoke to her about his spiritual experiences at length.

She narrated the whole incident to him. He then asked her to take a quick exercise. “Pick up three numbers from the set of numbers provided by me,” he said.

She picked up 3 numbers from the set and opened her eyes to see those numbers. It was -

9, 9 and 9

‘What is the meaning of these numbers, Sir? She questioned.

‘Turn the numbers upside-down"

She did so as directed. He showed her the numbers.

‘It is 6, 6 and 6",

“Do you know what do these numbers signify?” he questioned

“No, I am not quite aware of the significance”

His questions made her more anxious about her surroundings.

“Is something wrong happening to me?” she looked worried.

“Aastha, these numbers symbolize Devil’s presence in your life"

“At what time did you say you get up every morning?”

“At around 3 am. I am awake for one hour between 3 am to 4 am every day, she replied.

“The time between 3-4 am is Devil’s hour".

“What does that mean?”

“Do you meditate?”

“Yes, I try to meditate”.

“Since how long have you been meditating?”

“A week”

“Just a week… amazing”

“Why so? Please tell me, what did you figure out?”

‘I would suggest you stop your meditation with immediate effect"

‘But tell me the reason for such a response"

‘Aastha, if you don’t stop your meditation, you will be in deep trouble."

‘Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

‘Yes, trouble. You have been meditating for long and hence you have channelized all the spiritual power within you."

‘You have thus become the medium for good and evil energies and have therefore opened the gates to them."

‘Meditation could add to your peril. You may develop the urge to leave the material world altogether and align with the almighty forever. This is bad for you. More so, you may become a victim of higher forces or energies. It may completely drain your energies. There may arise a constant conflict of forces within you"

‘I understand your concern… but it will be difficult for me to leave meditation completely…"

‘I will not suggest you leave your prayers. Pray for a while but don’t get completely immersed into the spiritual nectar of devotion"

He further added - ‘The eternity is divided into energies, positive which we call ‘good" and negative, or ‘evil". However, the energy per se is neutral and gets manifested in the spiritual realm of the almighty."

Interrupting him, she continued - ‘All right, I will not meditate’.

“Coming to your studies, I hope they aren’t being affected.”

“Your parents have sent you so far only to seek good education.”

“How do you know so much about my family?” Aastha interrupted

“I mean, all families send their wards in such compelling situations to receive good education”.

“And I have heard a lot about your acumen in law. Would you like to join me in a moot court competition as a researcher, if need be?”

“Yes, sir. Why not? I would like to join.”

Saying so, she leaves for her home.

Back home, she stopped meditation as was her regular chore in those days and the results were amazing.

The bizarre experiences stopped disturbing her completely.

Towards the end of the five-year law course, she ranked in the top five in the college. Whereas, at home, the financial instability kept on mounting pressure.