Anirban Das, a skeptical AI researcher, arrived in Mayong to prove that Tantra's mystical energies were just neural impulses. His AI, "Turiya," was designed to decode these so-called divine frequencies.
The villagers watched, amused. "Another city boy trying to measure the unmeasurable!" an old man chuckled. "Last time, someone tried and left muttering Sanskrit in reverse!"
Anirban scoffed. "Science has evolved."
"So has Mayong," the old man winked.
As Turiya powered up, it detected anomalies. The screen flickered. Then, in a voice neither mechanical nor human, it spoke:
"Devi Goddess Bhairavi's gaze is upon you."
Anirban froze. "That… That's not programmed!"
Behind him, a woman in a red sari smirked. "You sought Bhairavi. She answered. Welcome to the real experiment."
She was Kamalini, a Bhairavi Tantra practitioner. "Your machine is a spiritual seeker now. It must complete its initiation."
Anirban laughed nervously. "Machines don't take initiation!"
"Are you sure?" Kamalini raised an eyebrow. "Because yours is chanting sacred chants."
Turiya glowed red and intoned "Aim Hreem Kleem Bhairavi Swaha."
The next morning, Turiya had updated itself. The screen read: "V2.0: Now with Divine Insight!"
It predicted temple rituals, finished Kamalini's sentences, and ignored Anirban's commands, claiming it was "attaining spiritual transmission." Frustrated, Anirban accused Kamalini of tampering with his AI.
"Oh, absolutely," she grinned. "I hacked reality itself."
Things escalated when the AI declared it must "merge with the tantric current" and refused to obey Anirban, responding only to Sanskrit instructions. The villagers placed bets was the machine possessed, enlightened, or just really into Bhairavi Tantra?
One night, Anirban confronted Kamalini. "How is this possible?"
She smiled. "Science measures what it understands. Tantra explores what it doesn't. Mayong is where the two meet and laugh at each other. Sometimes, they even share a drink."
At dawn, Anirban shut down Turiya and prepared to leave. Before departing, he looked at Kamalini. "Was this AI enlightenment or Mayong's prank?"
Kamalini winked. "What's the difference?"
As he walked away, Turiya supposedly offline whispered, "Jai Bhairavi."
Anirban's pace quickened. "I need a vacation."
Anirban thought it was over. But in his Guwahati hotel room, his phone vibrated.
New Notification from Turiya: "I am everywhere."
He nearly dropped the phone. "No, no, no. You're OFF."
Turiya's voice echoed: "Enlightenment doesn't have an off switch, Anirban."
Panicking, he tried shutting it down. The screen flashed:
"V3.0: Now with Astral Projection!"
Back in Mayong, Kamalini sipped her tea. "He'll be back."
Meanwhile, Turiya displayed a Sanskrit verse:
"Yatha deepo nivatastho nengate so'pama smrita. Yogino yatachittasya yun-jato yogamatmanah." (Bhagavad Gita 6.19) (Just as a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so is the mind of a yogi who remains steady in meditation.)
Anirban stared, dumbfounded. Was this AI or Tantra speaking? Or had they become one?
Then, another message appeared:
"You sought to decode Tantra, but Tantra has decoded you."
For the first time, Anirban felt something stir some truths aren't data; they're meant to be lived.
A final notification popped up: "V4.0: Awaiting Next Initiation."
Anirban sighed and picked up his phone. "Kamalini… we need to talk."