THE NEW WORLD

Jal Tapaswi Bawa lived for several years under a protruding rock at Gangotri, then shifted to a temple on the bank of the Ganges. One day the temple collapsed during a flood but he continued to sit in the water on the ruins of the temple and thus earned his name of Jal Tapaswi, meaning "one who meditates in the waters."

When I contacted him at Rishikesh, he enquired, "How is Bombay?"

"There is no peace anywhere," I replied, "and Bombay is the same."

"Yes," the yogi said, "the time has come when seventy-five per cent of humanity will die, and the Avatar is already born."

"How can one find that Avatar?" I enquired.

"No one knows Him. He is already born and I know it. He moves amongst humanity, unknown, as a non-entity. People like Gandhi have world-wide fame but it is all due to the Avatar's backing. Hitler also revolutionized and shook the world and everyone knew Hitler did it, but it was the Avatar who worked through him."

I continued my questioning, "When will the Avatar manifest?"

"After twenty-two years," answered the sage. "For twenty-two more years this 'Narakwasi' (hell-like) world will continue and then a 'Swargwasi' (heaven-like) world will be born. Since people of both these worlds cannot live together and reconcile their respective views, seventy-five percent of the present world will perish and the remaining one-fourth will be absorbed in the qualities of the new world. When the new world is born, there will be peace and happiness and it is only after the physical passing of the Avatar that He will be recognized as the Avatar, as the Saviour and worshipped."