river to watch the gold of sunset surrender to the silver of moonlight. From that night on, a comfort Ishvari believed could exist only between soul mates marked their friendship. Classes, meditation and asana practice took up six days of the week but, on the seventh day, left free for the aspirants to do as they pleased, the pair would wander off to pick berries and the tart mangoes that grew wild on the fringes of the jungle. Later they would find a perfect spot to bask beside the lazy river, listening to its song as they stained their mouths with the juicy fruit.

Three moons from the day the twelve aspirants had arrived at Rudralaya, Hariaksa introduced them to the concepts of rebirth, karma and maya. “Let’s assume life originates from one single source we shall call the Di...

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