My Uncle Was on the Hijacked Flight IC814
A personal glimpse into a terrorist crisis
There are two kinds of crap that can happen to anyone: spiritual and worldly. I’ve been through both.
This article is about the real-life nightmare that shook my entire family.
Some events have the power to alter the course of your entire life. Here I’m sharing one such incident with you.
My uncle, Daman Kumar Soni, was on Indian Airlines flight IC814 when it was hijacked on December 24th, 1999.
Tall and well-built, Daman, we later learned, was third in line to be shot by the hijackers. When my cousin told me her dad (my uncle) was on the hijacked flight we’d just seen on the news, a million thoughts flooded our minds. The biggest one? The sheer uncertainty of life. (I think uncertainty is what truly defines life. Would we even call it "life" if we knew our entire story?)
For the entire seven days of the hijacking, none of our extended family slept a wink.
Thankfully, my uncle did return, but his health had deteriorated significantly. Passengers had no access to medicine for those seven days, surviving on just one apple a day. When he came back, his face was barely recognizable. The man who stood third in line to be shot was now exhausted to his core, his strength and energy sapped. He only survived a few more years before passing away.
Those seven days left an indelible mark not only on the passengers but also on their families, who were equally shattered and forever affected.
Did you know that ‘Burger’, one of these hijackers, forced all the passengers to say they forgave him for his actions before they were released? This clearly shows the hijacker’s awareness of his deeds (karma).
His conscience obviously felt guilty about them stabbing and murdering a man, and for the havoc they wreaked on other people’s lives.
Here’s my logic: if forgiveness truly worked this way, then people would just keep hurting others and keep asking for forgiveness. But we all know of countless children born with disabilities and diseases. We ask God, "Why is this child born this way?" Our human minds, which only use about 10% of their capacity, are incapable of connecting the dots between our actions and their consequences in the next life.
Well, God has shown me living proof of karma multiple times in my life. It’s a constant reminder that what goes around comes around. I won’t question it. In future articles, I’ll share some of those experiences with you.
While watching the Netflix series "IC814" released on August 29th, 2024, my focus was entirely on the pain and fear those passengers must have endured. As an empath who feels the pain of others, I can honestly say it felt like I was living that pain while watching the series. There are no words to express this kind of suffering. No words can do justice to the horror they went through.
If our religious scriptures teach us not to kill or harm anyone because the divine resides in all, then how can these terrorists use the name of Allah to justify their actions? "Alamabdullah" literally means "Allah of the entire world (Alam)." It was never meant to be "Allah of Muslims only." It simply makes sense – if God doesn’t reside in all of creation, then how can He be considered God at all?
While I understand and utterly despise those who use the name of Allah to destroy hundreds of lives, I also believe that terrorists, murderers, and rapists have no religion. How could they, when the desires of greed, lust, anger, ego, reside in all human beings, regardless of their faith? As Sri Krishna said to Arjuna in the Mahabharata, "Only a warrior can rise above the five vices of anger, lust, greed, attachment, and ego."
Note: The war of Mahabharata escalated after Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, was disrobed in public by Duryodhana. It’s important to remember that religions as we know them today didn’t exist back then, yet these vices still did.
Conclusion
It’s time for us humans to understand the deeper forces (the five vices) that exist within ALL of us and take responsibility for our actions. We can’t keep blaming our religions, castes, or social classes.
Kashish Gambhir is Third Eye Guide, Writer and Podcast Host from India with 29 yrs of experience on the Spiritual Path. Subscribe to Kashish’s email list here for exclusive insights.
