The Celestial Track: Preparing for the Apocalypse

by Bala Mookoni

Abandoned by French parents in India at four, Michel grows up in the ashram of the monk Swami Krishna. However, it is Michel’s best friend from school, Pradeep Kumar who truly captures the monk’s attention with his pure heart and unique capabilities. Swami Krishna begins grooming Pradeep for something mysterious, introducing him to mystical methods, teaching him martial arts and asking him to take secret vows, although he never reveals the reason. Later, when Pradeep and Michel are living as roommates and starting their careers, members of a cult confront Pradeep in the street and thrust an envelope in his hand with instructions to go to an ashram in Bengaluru. They tell him, ‘After you listen to our junior master, you will agree that a more important task never arose in the history of this universe.’ Though reluctant, Pradeep is driven to finally visit the ashram, where he learns that the ancient flood myths and palm-leaf predictions are very real. He must seek out ‘the trail of the lost palm-leaves of the ancient aircraft that flies without fuel and lands without airstrips.’ He and Michel soon set out on a dangerous quest through vast forestlands to discover a lost civilization in the ancient city of Naachipa and a celestial craft that will save the good people.

Once in the jungles, Michel and Pradeep have to deal with the legend of the beautiful immortal Queen Irahi of the lost civilization. A woman of unparalleled beauty, Irahi is literally a femme fatale whose charms mean certain death. Only Pradeep’s continuing purity, faith in God and the power of the mystics can save him as he faces the dangers of the odyssey.

Blending Christianity and Hindu mysticism, the novel introduces some fascinating, new ideas to discussions on the Apocalypse, the Advent, Astral Projection and UFOs. An interesting religious philosophy attempts to provide some answers to the mysteries of the paranormal. The plot, characters, and narration are designed to create a calming effect on the mind and a lasting impact on the psyche. The mild tensions between the near-perfect Pradeep and the more ordinary Michel provide an insight into the workings of the mind and a way to self-mastery. Although heavy in verbose exposition, the book attempts a link between physics and metaphysics. It is a must-read for those wanting to understand the Apocalypse phenomenon and keen on a spiritual insight.

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2015

About the author

Bala Mookoni spent much of his younger years in the Deccan Plateau of the Indian Subcontinent, working with men, machines and glass-melting furnaces. He grew up gazing at the sea from sun-kissed coasts, dreaming of many things he did not have (a beautiful mermaid included). Now closer to the Thar Desert, he bid goodbye to a corporate career as a Vice-President and is working on what he missed for many years: doing things with his own hands, being more involved with his family (though he unwittingly ends up breathing down their necks) and having a cute Shih-Tzu at home. In-between, the wannabe author writes books. Like wine, apparently, he is getting better with age. And yes, he never found his mermaid but has instead a woman just as mysterious. His strong-willed daughter lives in Germany, and his teenaged son quickly takes his mother’s side when there is domestic discord.
When he is not writing, Bala consults for a US engineering company or works in the basement of his condo trying to ensure the water from the sewage treatment plant there smells good.