Anything that defies gravity has always fascinated human minds through the ages. It is quite a show, a moment of mystery and intrigue when magicians walk a few inches high above the ground, when people are suspended in a supine position in the middle of nowhere. Here is a small, pleasant and old fashioned town, about 25 km Pune, named Shivpur where a miracle has mystified the locals, tourists, researchers and scientists across the globe.
It all traces back to a spiritual man called ‘Qamar Ali’. At the tender age of six, Ali became a disciple to a Sufi saint. He was fascinated or intrigued by the life and its complexities and was drawn towards Sufism. He moved to a different plane of understanding about life and its values. Unlike his brothers and boys of his age group he did not participate in any of the boisterous childhood activities and, therefore, was often an object of ridicule. When on one side he was cornered by the bullies for not being a man enough, on the other the locals were spell-bound by his healing powers.
He died at a very young age of about 18, the only wish was for a circular stone weighing about 200 lbs placed at his tomb. The instructions he left were rather baffling then, if eleven people with just their index fingers simultaneously lift the stone and call out his name, the stone can be lifted, it will rise a few inches further and remain suspended in the air for a few seconds. The instructions were followed and the religious head till date opines that there is no other way for the stone to be lifted other than this laid precise way. It was a clear and rather loud message he left for those who ridiculed him, that everything is not about physical power, the existence of the Almighty and the spiritual power which binds this world as one.
In addition, we can see the underlying principle of Sufi teaching he left behind while delivering this message, ‘Universal brotherhood’, people immaterial of caste, creed, religion can be amongst the eleven.
The Qamar Ali Darvesh Dargah is situated on the Pune-Satara highway. Pune remains the focal point to reach the Dargah, be it by air, rail or road. It is easy to spot the white-marbled Dargah that stands majestically at Shivpur. The walls of the Dargah is adorned by the verses of the Holy Quran. The tomb is wrapped with a golden brocade and garlands. As you move out there are two stones kept in the courtyard. Since the saint was a celibate, women are not allowed to visit the tomb. The chief Mullah says that many people have attempted to move these stones away from the Dargah. As the legend has it a mishap follows them, such is the perceived divinity. Many Asian and European researchers have tried to study this peculiar phenomenon, but was not able to come up with anything concrete. While many say that the raising of the stone is as simple as the principle of the leverage, many defy this very aspect. The perpetual puzzle being a task where 11 unified men using 11 fingers seem to perform and why not a man with 10 fingers? Well, the mystery remains unsolved. Many physicists, feel if this was true then many theories, which Physics has laid down till date, have to be rethought and revisited.
Shivpur may not be a much sought-after tourist destination... but the very place clouded by the aura of mysticism is worth the visit and to experience the power of, 'The levitating stone'. Most of us might look for findings or reasons to assign this whole mysticism to a single indelible scientific inference, but there is more to life than the eye meets. There is a power beyond science that is constantly at work, not every phenomena has to go down the book of findings and adorn those chronological racks, few can rest, instil faith, hope and power of the unexplored.
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