truth. Children, I tell you this with authority, from my own experience. Since the beginning of creation, this has been my work. I have come to this Earth so many times to nourish her creatures. Sometimes I lived with trees as a tree, sometimes with animals as an animal; in very many forms and ways, I came to Earth with the mission of supporting the growth of her creatures. That is why I can bear witness before you with authority. This time, I come with a different assignment: I come in a human body at a most critical stage. It is the time of darkness, the Kāliyuga, a time of utmost urgency. Responding to the call of Time, God’s light has appeared in a mortal human body. Now you are communicating with that reflection.
The heritage of my place of birth Tathāta was born to an ordinary family in a remote village situated in the state of Kerala in southern India. The name of the village is Chozhiyakkadu, in Palakkad district. My father was a farmer. There was nothing special about that village at the time. The inhabitants were poor, uncultured and narrow-minded and had no idea about the higher possibilities of life. Occasionally, for pleasure and enjoyment, they would commit wicked deeds. They 61