Around 10-12 days into her visualization of the divine soul, Anamika began to suddenly feel as if some dark forces, who appeared to be in human form but were unrecognizable, were attempting to frighten her. They would gather around her and make loud, scary noises, and tried to interrupt her meditation by creating pressure on her. They would threaten to kill her if she did not stop her mediation. They did not just frighten her but even imposed physical sufferings on her which caused her to experience pain in the body.

Anamika had even begun to feel discomfited during her sleep because the moment she would close her eyes, she would begin to see and hear those same dark spirits, which would scare her. Despite all this, Anamika had resolved that she would not stop her meditation and come whatever may, she would not abandon the 101-day meditation which the divine soul had asked her to undertake. The appearance of the dark spirits, however, made it appear as if they would not let her successfully complete her resolve.

What the dark spirits had against Anamika’s meditation was something we were unable to determine. Now, I was especially making sure to be present during her meditation in the evenings, even if it affected my entire daily routine. I had now begun to go to Adhyatm Sadhna Kendra at 10.00 a.m. and return at 4.00 p.m. before once again reaching the Kendra at 7.00 p.m. to return home at 11.00 p.m.

After completing her meditation, for about 2 hours, Anamika was unable to speak at all and I had to wait till late in the night to learn about her experiences. At times, I even had to wait till midnight. On top of that, there was the challenge of the dark spirits which appeared to have no solution.

I attempted to get in touch with a few persons who had experience in dealing with dark forces but I was unable to find any satisfactory remedies. Then I decided to consult Muni Jai Kumar ji, who was known for his expertise in going into the depths of meditation. He suggested that before Anamika began her meditation, a shield must be established. For this purpose, first she was to meditate in each of the four directions by chanting the Logass (the hymns sung in praise of the 24 Jain Teerthankaras) 27 times in each direction, thus completing a cycle of 108 repetitions. Then she was to begin her meditation as usual.

But perhaps, this was not adequate in itself.