The Lost Scrolls Of Batasha

The Lost Scrolls Of Batasha

By Paul McCann

The desert fathers sat on a pillar watching those who would passing by . They offered words of wisdom for anyone who sought knowledge .

People from outside villages would often come with offerings of fruit and other gifts and ask for prayers that might appease their enemies and bring peace to their families . Now and then someone who ask for guidance and understanding through a difficult situation . The desert fathers were revered by many

One of the young desert fathers had a calling to live as a hermit and after consulting with his spiritual father went on a time alone into the desert in search of enlightenment . After saying farewell to his brother monks , he left them and went out into the wilderness . With just enough food and supplies for a week he realised his journey might not be for very long .  What he never knew was what he was going to find .

After three day wandering around he discovered an unknown place that had steps going down into the ground . There were three levels of what appeared to be a temple . At the bottom level there was a beautiful tree growing with fruit on the branches and an underground spring with water that was crystal clear running into pools  that overflowed into smaller pools with fountains that watered other trees and plants .

The young monk was mystified and walked around and around looking at all of the beautiful things in this underground temple . Then he sat down and went into a deep meditation . In a trance he had a vision of some paper scrolls that were lying inside a urn that was placed in a cavity in a wall .

After he came out of the meditation he prayed for guidance to find what he had been shown . After he prayed he had another vison of him shaking the branches of a tree . and so he went to each tree one by one and shook the branches . It was the last tree that he shook that revealed a golden key that fell to the ground 

The young monk walked around looking for a keyhole and again prayed for guidance and it was then he was shown a door in a wall that was disguised by an image of a camel , So he looked around until he found a canvas painting of a camel on a wall and behind the canvas was the secret door , ‘He opened the door and walked a narrow passage that took him to a rope bridge across the underground spring .

On the other side there was a clearing with an altar with some sandstone blocks around it . As he approached the altar , he noticed a cavity in the wall . After looking inside the cavity saw an urn and just as he had seen in his vison there were paper scrolls .there .

One by one he opened the scrolls and read the text . It was a collection of wisdom handed down by those who had built the underground temple .  The founders of this sacred site who lived their lives in prayer and meditation . It gave a description of the life they lived and how they had found the underground spring . The scrolls had a map to an underground city further below where communities of monks had lived a long time ago . The was called Batasha and was protected by angels , For many years the monks had lived there deep below the surface in solitude until some people had discovered the temple and before long the underground city was over run with strangers who drove the monks back out into the desert . Then after the strangers took over and occupied the city there was an underground quake that shook the walls of the city then the ground opened up and all who were there in the city perished . The monks never returned . The one of the scrolls told the story of a day to come when the monks would return to the underground temple  with a select number of people to take refuge from a time of war and destruction that would last for forty days and after that time there would be peace and everyone would be able to return to the surface above . At that particular a light appeared around in the passage way and a voice from the light said ,

“Don’t be afraid . I have come to with a message . You did not come here by accident., The things you have been shown and what you are going to do has been destined and you are the  one selected to bring people here to this place for safety and the moment has come for you to return to the desert fathers and do what has to be done ‘”

The young monk replied ,

“What is going to happen >

“Fire will fall from the sky and people will run for cover but there will be no shelter and the only people who will survive will be those who are here .in this place ”

“How long before this will happen ?”

Asked the monk and the voice said ,.

“On your return there will be seven days . Everyone who comes during that time you will explain to them that they are to stay and follow you to take shelter from the destruction that will come . Go now .“The light vanished and the monk quickly made his way back across the rope bridge and to the altar and then up the steps , to the surface .He had no idea of which was to go but started to walk in the direction he felt was right . After a few days he had retuned to the pillar where the desert fathers where and he told them all about what he had heard and seen . For the next week all who came , where told to stay and no one questioned the desert fathers . After the seventh day the all set off across the desert with the young monk leading the way . He had a strange magnetism to the underground temple and along the way there would be little signs that confirmed they were going the right way . Doves in the sky would appear from nowhere ,there would be  rocks in the shape of a finger pointing the direction , footprints in the sand , strange whistling in the wind , moonbeams lighting pathways at night and desert flowers in a line . Then they arrived to where the underground temple was the sky above went very dark . Everyone felt something was about to happen and they all went down the steps to the underground temple .

For forty day they prayed and stayed safe as the thunderous noise from above on the surface continued to roar night and say until a silence fell .

The desert fathers and the people returned to the surface and were shocked by the burnt wildness around them . .

 being beaten up, homes destroyed, shops broken into and burnt. paint bombs thrown a the church and other walls around the village and these were coming now from outside the area . There was a need to put a stop to that right away and as no police were able to do it , men were called in as vigilantes to stand at the top of every street and keep watch night and day at who was coming and going into the village . There was no one except for the people themselves to try and keep law and order . Weeks passed and the trouble was escalating and there were no more meeting held to seek solutions by the representatives of the streets .  Buses were being burnt and up went the barricades . Concrete slabs were brought and some people even donated unwanted cars .The barricades were erected everywhere .  

No one spoke , so one stopped , they all walked silently looking at the destruction around them . The desert fathers began to pray ,

“God of mercy and might , You’re the one who can show us what we need to do . Help us to find a way to carry on . We out our trust in you ."

An answer come back .

"Haven’t I known you since before you were born , haven’t I held you in My hand . Go now and live again ‘

Everyone decided to return to rebuild and begin again to renew and replant and live again on the surface in peace .

The End .