“This was the most difficult project that I ever undertook and I cursed myself many times for having chosen to write on this particular topic.” Well, it had to be, after all, it all began after Ashwin Sanghi had a nightmare. The prolific bestselling writer is back with a new page-turner called Keepers Of The Kalachakra (Westland). Spread over a vast canvas, with widespread locations, encompassing well fleshed out multiple characters, the novel has an engaging plot laced with mythology, history and legends.
Starting with the assassination bid on a head of a state, the story revolves around those wanting to dominate the world order while others trying to checkmate them. Standing out among the diverse set of characters are Mason Henderson, who is pivotal in moving the plot to the end, and the US President, Bruce Williams, who sets off a chain of events with serious repercussions.
“I have observed that science and eastern philosophies are examining the very same things. The only difference is that the former lays emphasis on the experimental whereas the latter emphasises the experiential,” comments Sanghi.
Besides reading up quantum physics in a non-mathematical way, Sanghi devoured nearly 60 books on physics, Buddhism, Kalachakra, Shiva Tantra, Islam and Vedanta.
Excerpts:
On the catalyst for the book
The catalyst was a nightmare. I awoke one morning feeling exhausted because of a bad dream. I told my wife that the dream had felt incredibly real. Then I began wondering if it were possible that my dream state was actually another life. And what if my regular life were the dream? That was the core idea that prompted me to write Keepers of the Kalachakra .
On being a votary of ‘Clash of Civilisations’ theory
Unfortunately, I am. Just look at the world and it is evident that national identities are giving way to religious, cultural and linguistic identities. Samuel P. Huntington’s view on this was accurate but possibly a little pessimistic. The world has seen many countries torn apart by religious conflict but history has shown that they do eventually bounce back. The upheaval caused in the Middle East by radical Islam today is no different to the immense conflict that raged in Europe between the Catholics and Protestants in the 16the Century.
On the protagonist grappling with this clash
I found it very curious that the first Rigden king, Manjushrikirti, who was born around 159 BCE and was the first one to summarise the teachings of the Kalachakra system, prophesied that the world would be convulsed by a new religion 800 years after him. This approximates the advent of Islam in the 7th Century. The Kalachakra texts predicted a massive world conflict in the year 2424 CE and from the standpoint of a fiction writer, this coincidence was too delicious to pass up.
On Mason Henderson’s moral compass
What exactly is the function of a compass? To point northwards, I suppose. Henderson is precisely that. Like the hand of the compass, he shudders and oscillates but eventually settles pointing north. He realises that extreme polarisation can only produce destruction and does whatever he needs to do in order to lessen it. For Henderson, the ends justify the means.
On the concept of Yamaj or quantum twins and whether Narendra Modi and Donald Trump could be an example of Yamaj
The idea of Yamaj came from quantum theory. In quantum physics, we have a theory called Quantum Entanglement. In an entangled system, two seemingly separate particles can behave as an inseparable whole. One constituent cannot be fully described without considering the other. If one separated the two entangled particles and placed them miles apart and then measured their characteristics one would find that the measurements would be identical but in opposite directions. I wondered if quantum laws could be repeated for larger entities such as humans. As regards the two world leaders, they are similar in their positioning and ideas. But then, Yamaj are meant to be opposites. So that theory falls flat!
On the challenges of weaving thrillers with ancient science, mythology and philosophy
It’s challenging to the core! Historical, mythological or theological thrillers build thrills by peeling away layers to reveal connections. This obviously implies presenting information that is new and exciting. The conflict between story and research is ever present. I had to leave out a third of my research to accommodate the story but there were tantalising bits of research that I simply could not leave out. This has always been the key challenge — the balancing of story and research.
On explaining religion and philosophy through science
Let me illustrate with a simple example. Hinduism accommodates the worship of 330 million deities. In fact, you can worship virtually anything because anything and everything is a manifestation of a universal oneness—the fact that there is no you, no I. When Arjuna spoke to Krishna before the Mahabharata he educated him on the notion of ‘Brahman’, the fact that the universe is a moving web of complex relationships in which everything and everyone is connected and that separations and barriers are false notions. Well, quantum theory now tells us that it is impossible to be an impartial observer of an experiment because the mere act of observation tends to influence the results. In effect, the observer and the observed are connected.
I have had to use day-to-day examples to explain deeper philosophies. For example, what is nothingness? Frankly, one cannot explain nothingness because the only way to understand it is to experience it. But for the sake of the book, I talk of an iPad that can have its screen switched on or off. When the screen is powered on, the user’s fingerprints cannot be discerned but when it is off, the fingerprints become visible. In effect, nothingness is a means to discern reality.
When one searches for something on Google, the engine throws up a list of results. But the mere act of searching also gets registered in Google’s memory and affects future results. The observer affects the observed. If Quantum Entanglement talks of two entangled particles in which one cannot be explained without the other, ancient traditions have spoken of Shiva-Shakti and Yin-Yang which are precisely the same thing.
On whether the President’s character is inspired by Donald Trump
Of course it is. Trump’s victory was a clear signal to the liberals of America that the party was over. But one can see the tug-of-war between liberals and the right in virtually every part of the world, including in India. Given the fact that Keepers of the Kalachakra is about polarisation, a Trump-inspired fictional president seemed in order.
On putting the so-called radical Islam in perspective
There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. The vast majority of these are peace-loving individuals who see their religion as a path to God. The problem lies with a small subset of people who are Jihadists or Islamists who wish to use verses within the Qur’an to overthrow regimes and establish Sharia. Unfortunately, the moderate Muslim is caught between a rock and a hard place.
On using figures for explaining complex ideas
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Some books present complex ideas that may be difficult for an average reader to digest...in such instances, a picture can be an effective way to simplify. Keepers of the Kalachakra contains over fifty pictures.
