SONGSOPTOK: It seems that fear is the most important primal instinct in the animal
world. The two main manifestations of fear in the human society are centered
around two entities: God(s) and Demons. We somehow learn to fear ghosts and
spirits at a very early age and remain marked by that fear later in life. What
is your personal experience? When did you start fearing ghosts and for what
reasons?
UTPAL: Being a younger
member of a large family with four other siblings living in small houses, I
never ‘saw’ a ghost or did experience the existence of any spirit. I however
remember being afraid at night while crossing over the small courtyard between
the kitchen and the bedroom of our first house, where I lived up to the age of
five years, as there was no electricity then in that neighbourhood. Kerosene lanterns were used at night, but
those lamps used to cast long shadows of their metallic rims which appeared to
be ghostly apparitions. I then used to get goose-pimples. Later, we had shifted to a new house in
another locality of our small township where there was electricity and the fear
was gone. Though my conscious mind does not believe in ghosts, I still get
similar goose bumps sometimes for a moment or two when I am startled by an
unexplained sound, etc. mostly in the darkness of night.
SONGSOPTOK: Very often adults try to
control the tantrums of children by threatening them with ghosts and spirits.
Do you remember any such incident when you were very young? In your opinion, do
such methods have a permanently negative effect on children? In what way?
UTPAL: No.
I was more or less a well-behaved child and I do not remember any such incident
when my parents had threatened me of ghosts.
However, I vividly remember my other elder juvenile siblings trying to
frighten me of the so-called ghosts, which they said roam around in the darkness
at night. But I also remember my mother
assuring me that there were no such things called ghosts. Yes, I believe that frightening infants of ghosts
and spirits might negatively impact their psyche. Most children however are
expected to overcome this fright as they analyze this with their ‘adult mind’
while growing up, but for some children, it remains lodged deep in their
subconscious mind and adversely affect their personality.
SONGSOPTOK: Not only do we frighten
children with ghosts, we often entertain them with ghost stories. When children
learn to read, grown-ups often try to incite them to get into the habit of
reading by buying ghost stories. What do you think of this practice?
UTPAL: I have not thought
much on this subject. But, off hand, I
think that fear of something unknown is inherent in the subconscious human mind
and that both trying to justify oneself through scientific explanation and to
be afraid of the unknown should continue to be there, side by side, to make
life interesting. Human intellect should
continue to be influenced by science, but the human subconscious should
continue to be apprehensive of something unknown and also an invisible but
benevolent divine force. Ghost stories
should however not be forced on children. If they want to read them, they
should not be discouraged either.
SONGSOPTOK: Adolescence is normally
the period when we start asking questions about different things. Did you start
asking questions about the existence of ghosts? Will you share the details with
us?
UTPAL: Yes, but not about ghosts, but about
spirits and souls. I had asked people
about these but failed to get satisfactory answers. I have looked for books
about the plight of human souls after death. I found the religious explanation
a bit strange. I have a collection of
few books to be studied again more scrupulously. I am seized with this
intriguing mystery even now. I have formed an opinion since my adolescent days
but also understood that this is to be found out by myself as very few people
actually know or want to know about these matters.
SONGSOPTOK: A lot of people claim to
have direct experience of ghosts or other inexplicable phenomena. Do you have
any such experience to share with us? Or experiences of people you know?
UTPAL:
No. I have no such personal experience.
I have also never come across anybody who has direct experience of any such
inexplicable phenomenon. There have been
people who had described such phenomena, but those appeared to me to be only hearsay.
SONGSOPTOK: It is true that most of us
like reading or watching films about ghosts, spirits or mysterious phenomena.
Do you enjoy these things too? Can you think of a specific story or a film that
really thrilled you? Do you have any favorite writers of this genre?
UTPAL: No.
I do not enjoy such films. The only ghost film I have seen is
‘Exorcist’, that too way back in 1977 or 1978. I actually detest such films. This
is probably because I think that such films try to arouse the ingrained subconscious
fear of the human psyche. I also avoid reading normal ghost stories. But I do read books which describe the secret
paranormal powers of some yogis such
as levitation, clairaudience, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, teleportation,
bilocation, etc.
SONGSOPTOK: Many of us think that
science still has to go a long way to explain everything that we experience on
earth. Science has enlightened us about a lot of things, but there are certain
areas that can be considered as the twilight zone – the breeding place for the
uncanny and the preternatural. What are your thoughts about this?
UTPAL: Of course science, as per its
current development, has its limitation.
But I think that as science develops further, the horizon of the
twilight zone would also diminish proportionately. I also believe that modern science would
evolve to such an extent as to accept the so-called paranormal yogic science. I
believe that there are other dimensions of life and existence which we normally
cannot see, hear or even imagine.
SONGSOPTOK: We find it difficult to
accept that nothing remains after death, which often leads us to imagine the
supernatural. We are naturally attracted to what lies beyond the known everyday
world. What is your opinion about this? Do you think that everything ends with
death? Or is it because since we don’t really know that we oscillate between
belief and doubt?
UTPAL: I believe in the existence of soul. I also
believe that the body and the soul are two different entities and the soul is
indestructible as has been propounded in Hindu and Buddhist religious texts. It is true that very few people who have an abiding
faith in the yogic methods and
practise one of these secret kriyas for
a reasonably long period of time get confirmation of their conviction. All the others
continue to oscillate between belief and doubt.
SONGSOPTOK: Almost all societies
believe that the entities that exist in the realms that are beyond our
understanding and our sensory perceptions possess an immense amount of power.
But the capacity of humans is limited. So why does humans believe that the
souls of the dead are immensely powerful? What, according to you, is the reason
for this?
UTPAL: I
believe that there is only one entity which is all powerful and the rest are
only agents of that all powerful Divine Being.
I do not believe that the souls of the dead are immensely powerful. They
are only ignorant parts of the all powerful Supreme Divine, which is the whole.
The human soul is ignorant of its origin until it achieves complete samadhi.
SONGSOPTOK: As we grow more and more
dependent on science and technology, it is possible that our belief in the
supernatural will grow weaker with time. In that sense ghosts and other
entities are likely to have a very dark future indeed. But wouldn’t that
deprive us of a whole range of feelings and emotions? Wouldn’t we become poorer
in our sensations? What is your opinion?
UTPAL: As I have already stated, I think that science would
someday evolve to that extent to encompass and accept the so-called paranormal
yogic powers. Thus the existence of the
spirits would be acknowledged. It would be rewarding for the mankind. Human
minds would also evolve to have new feelings and emotions. I, however, doubt whether the mysticism of
the all powerful Supreme Divine would ever be fully uncovered by science. I am also very much apprehensive whether
humankind would exist that long as the advancements and experimentations of
science would also bring forth various calamities in the form of new diseases
because of strains of pathogens (virus, bacteria, etc.), tampering with human
genes, etc. Besides there are also
chances of annihilation of the mankind through a world war.
UTPAL AICHI has retired from government service about
two years back. He is obsessed with identifying
injustice meted out to the less fortunate souls. He tries in his humble way to expose the fraud
and the self-styled flamboyant pseudo-heroes of yore and try to restore due honour
to the real heroes.
We sincerely
thank you for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.
Aparajita
Sen
(EDITOR)
Songsoptok
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