Near death experience Thrice at heavens door
June 2024
Genesis
Thrice at Heaven’s Door
A Muslim army officer’s brush with Near Death Experiences changed his outlook towards life as well as the afterlife
My name is Roshan Fazal and am a serving officer in the Indian Army. In 2022 I accidentally came across Life Positive magazine in our library while looking for a particular book. As luck would have it the magazine’s content struck a chord with me and ever since I have become its avid reader. Other than being a soldier, I am also an alternative healer. I felt inspired to share my story after reading the article The Art of Dying by editor Shivi Verma in the Oct 2023 issue of Life Positive which dealt with the subject of near death experience.
After contemplating for more than three months I decided to narrate and share my personal, out of body as well as near death experiences that I have gone through over the years.
The first tryst
The first time it happened, I was just eight years old and suffering from typhoid. I was lying on the bed covered with several layers of blankets and shivering with high fever. At that time I was watching the fan above my head and intently looking at the reference number MESG/1979 written on it. Suddenly I felt that I was floating in air and looking at myself lying on the bed from the other side of the fan. I got terrified as I could not comprehend what had happened. The episode only lasted few seconds and I was back in my body. After few days when I had recuperated from illness, I shared the incident with my mother. She told me that it might be the work of Satan and I must read a particular verse from the Quran so that it won’t happen again. This reply left me more feeling perplexed and bewildered. However, I learned that I must not share it with others or else I will be laughed upon.
The second experience
Time passed by and second incident of NDE/OBE happened in 1996 when I was 16 years old and studying in class XII Kendriya Vidyalaya Number 2 in Gaya. I had received my board exam result a few days ago and I was contemplating on which stream to choose for higher studies. One fateful night I felt a discomfort in my chest while sleeping. Upon awakening, I was gripped by an intense and agonising pain in my chest. I wasn’t able to breathe and was suffocating. I started thumping on my chest to be able to breathe but it didn’t help. After a short struggle I started feeling faint and began losing consciousness. At that moment something happened which perplexed me. I felt like I was standing there watching my body from a distance. There was no pain and I thought, “What is happening?” At that moment I felt being rushed through a very dark place. It is difficult to describe if it was tunnel or something else. After sometime I found myself inside a very bright light which appeared to be many times brighter than the Sun except that didn’t hurt my eyes. I could feel the presence of a shadowy silhouette made up of white light which was distinctly different from the ambient golden yellow light. I felt the being of light speak to me in my mind that I had to go back as my karma on earth was not yet finished. The next moment I found myself back in my body and the pain in my chest subsided. I was completely perplexed about what I had experienced and I felt helpless to confide in my parents since I knew that they would get frightened. I remained tight-lipped as there was no way I could get any information about what had happened to me.
Coming back the third time
The third NDE happened when I was in the Indian Military Academy for my military training. It was May 2007 and we had a swimming class. I was a weak swimmer so extra training was organised for cadets like me. We were told to swim across the 50 m length of the pool. I was very nervous as I could hardly swim more than 8-10 m. There was no way I could have avoided the training as my company commander was also present to supervise the weak swimmer training. We were told to line up at the starting point and get ready to dive when the whistle blew. My mind was racing with fear thinking what would happen as I was not confident of swimming 50m in a go. I was cursing the presence of our company commander and wondering if I would be saved if I drowned in the middle of the pool. The last thing I remember was the sound of the whistle as I jumped into pool and started throwing my hands and feet as fast as I could to cross the pool at the fastest. However, I had barely swam for 6-7 m than I began to feel exhausted. I couldn’t move my limbs and I knew that I would drown any moment. My eyes searched for the swimming instructor to rescue me but nothing came out of my mouth. Suddenly I found myself sinking and gulping water through my mouth and nose. It was extremely frightening and painful. However suddenly there was no pain. I found myself hovering over the water and watching my body go down in the pool and an instructor pushing my body from behind. They pulled my body out of the pool and began to resuscitate me – trying to expel the water filled in my lungs and stomach. All this while, I was feeling nothing standing there watching all this happen to my body. Soon, the same experience of the tunnel and white light repeated with me, and again I was told to go back as my karma had not yet finished on earth. Shortly afterwards I found myself conscious in my body. I could feel the pain in my throat, heaviness in my lungs and a burning sensation in my eyes.
The awakening
At this point I became determined to find out about my experience. I went to the central library at the IMA and searched for literature on this phenomena. However, I didn’t know at that time that it was termed NDE or OBE. I thought it might be psychological issue. I read many books on psychology and I found a reference to Dr Brian Weiss’s work in the field of past life. Being a Muslim, the concept of past life was difficult to swallow except that the work of Dr Weiss was extremely convincing and compelling. While I was on this reading journey, I came across reference to Dr Raymond Moody on past lives. I stumbled upon the book Life After Life in the library and read the entire book in one sitting. I was feeling so relieved and exhilarated as I was turning the pages. Now, at last I knew what had happened to me and I was not the only one who had gone through this. Though the subject is still a taboo and it is difficult to discuss it openly.
However, these experiences put me on a personal spiritual journey of uncovering the secrets of life. I read extensively and also learned hypnotherapy, reiki, psychotherapy and finally went through the Vipassana Meditation at Bodh Gaya in May 2021. With all the knowledge on NDE and OBE, I concluded that a person changes spiritually from deep within after going through a near death experience. Even physical illnesses like cancer can heal after going through a near death experience. Anita Moorjani has written extensively on her NDE in her book Dying to be me.
I feel that we are truly living in the era of knowledge. In psychiatry NDE is being utilised through hypnosis for healing trauma related to childhood and past life. However, to make past lives and NDE more palatable due to religious concerns they are being referred to as Waking Dreams or Imaginative Dreaming. I have also developed a Deep Trance Meditation therapy to experience NDE or Waking/Imaginative Dreaming.
I am presently posted in Meerut (UP). My Contact Details:
Mobile – 8790943852
Email id – fazal.ovais@gmail.com