After putting his simple things, shorts and jacket, into his suitcase - Alid Faski Natva was ready... The road was long. They had to cross half of the country to get to the north. They would get a buss ride during the day and walk through the villages during night time. Then again bus, car and finding a place to stay overnight. Surrounding passengers didn’t notice them. A cheerful Hindu who happened to give them a lift was happy to drive them anywhere they wanted. Then the two travelers walked up the mountain. Difficult road, up and up and up... And, nevertheless, Alid Faski Natva noted that they didn’t get up high much, because there still was forest around them. On the road if the teacher would mentally say something, the student would answer him mentally.
The Teacher easily with a bouncy gait was rising up the steep slope. Student followed him. Along the road the young man sometimes would get breathless and feel tired. The 26-year old trained athlete, strangely, had hard times to catch up with his guide, who was one hundred and twenty years old!
Passing small settlements in the valley, travelers continued rising up along a hardly noticeable path, which continually hid itself behind the sequential protrusion of a cliff. It became cooler; they continued their way in the shadow. Alid Faski Natva was astonished that his quite old co-traveler didn’t get tired. It seemed that those short stopovers, which they made on the way, little breaks were meant only for him, Alid Faski Natva. After continuing the rise and using alternative passages on the flat terrain, in one and a half hours they reached a small plateau, from where the view of the forests in the valley opened up for them. There stood the house of the Teacher, surrounded by several trees that looked very strange from the mountains. The sun set, and all the landscape immersed into the shadow. They entered the house with the last rays of sunlight; it seemed like someone switched of the light after that.
This small house had a small room in the center, which had two entrances to the side rooms. Alid Faski Natva for some reason immediately understood that he should get into the door to the left. He entered, placed his belongings on the floor, and looked around… In the room there laid a mat with a pillow and two blankets accurately folded. Some sheets were lying on the small simple wooden shelf. Alid Faski Natva took one of the blankets, put it over the mat, and placed a sheet on top. In the room there were also a small table at the wall and two chairs. Alid Faski Natva fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. This was the deepest sleep in his life.
After awakening early in the morning, Alid Faski Natva felt cheerful and rested, as if the difficult walk did not happen just yesterday. Intuitively he felt, that he should not enter the Teacher’s room, so he waited...
His entire life was left far behind and in front of him there was a marvelous uncertainty.
This was the first day of a completely new life for him. A different person was left far behind in the past on the road not far away from his childhood. Later on the Teacher would teach him a completely new way of living in the world. Before now Alid Faski Natva had entirely different relationships with his family, friends and other people. The Teacher would teach him a new way of love and fill his soul up with a higher understanding.
In a few minutes he felt the need to go outside. He got up, made his bed and went out. In front of him a surprising and wonderful picture had come into his view. The sun was hiding behind the summits but it was totally light from its pink - orange reflection. The air, full of unknown thin aroma, was slightly cool. The Teacher stood in a distance; birds were flying around him, as if they were greeting him, some of them sat on his shoulders. He stretched out his hands to them, and small birds hurried to get touched by his hands at least for a brief moment. Large feathered birds looked like domestic birds which were waiting for the food from their owner. The Teacher didn’t give any food to them, he gave them more, he gave them vital energy. Eyes of the Teacher were shining with kindness. The picture that had unfolded in front of Alid Faski Natva was truly like in a fairytale.
This was the first day of a different life for Alid Faski Natva. The Teacher and the student communicated freely through their thoughts, without knowing the language of each other.
***
Each of the following days brought Alid Faski Natva new knowledge and new feelings. The Teacher taught the young man pranayama - in yoga it is a complex of complete respiration, physical and mental exercises. He never entered Alid Faski Natva’s room and Alid Faski Natva in his turn subconsciously felt, that he also should not enter his Teacher’s room. He had done many things in the way they were suppose to be done. Probably, the Teacher led the actions of his student.
They would get down from the mountains and walk to the settlements in the valley and forest; they would even visit quite populated places and yoga schools. The Teacher would frequently send his student to distant villages. He didn’t simply acquaint Alid Faski Natva with the life of Hindu people during these journeys, but he allowed him to form his own view of life. Once during a long distant passage walk, they somehow got to a virgin forest. Alid Faski Natva had never seen forest like this. Massive trees were braided by many lianas, which were wrapped all around the trunks, sometimes forming something looking similar to stairs. The young man’s attention was attracted by plants with long feather like, almost a meter long, leaves ending with threadlike bent thorns.
He touched the thorn with one hand: it was solid as a rock and was supplied with sharp claws. After piercing the human body, those thorns could inflict a deep wound. It was amazing that no thorns until now, had wounded neither the Teacher nor him, although feather-like leaves of the plant were everywhere: below and above, reaching the apexes of the high trees, swinging their terrible long leaves. Alid Faski Natva understood why it never wounded him: unconsciously he was putting his feet exactly into the footsteps of the Teacher. The air was filled with the sweet smell of sandal-wood. Extraordinary bright flowers were growing everywhere; usually loud, but very quiet now parrots were sitting on the tree’s brunches. On one of the branches Alid Faski Natva saw a large black squirrel sitting and hiding its head. Enormous butterflies were landing on autumn leaves lying on the ground and remained still, decorating the path, which the travelers walked along. Following the Teacher’s footsteps Alid Faski Natva was surprised to see that a butterfly which they both stepped on flapped its wings as if nothing happened and flew away. Eagles and hawks ever looking for their pray disappeared out of their sight – no leaving creature could become a victim in the presence of the Teacher. On one of the bamboo’s trunk, just in front of Alid Faski Natva’s eyes, he saw a long spotty snake, but he wasn’t frightened, although he knew that it was venomous. Teacher was walking confidently in the forest the way city people walk on familiar streets of their city. Student followed his Teacher.
In an hour the forest started to thin down noticeably. On his right, on the periphery of his vision Alid Faski Natva saw a silhouette of a man near the trunk of a tree. He turned his head and realized he had mistaken, it was a monkey. It stood as a sculpture on a spot, following the motion of the travelers. Above it, on the branch, also motionlessly sat another one, and than yet another one. There were many of them there, as monkeys live in flocks, but Alid Faski Natva did not pay much attention to that. He continued to follow the Teacher. Finally he could see some light coming through the brunched of the trees. The sight began to take shape, and in front of the travelers a dusty road opened up. Few pedestrians were walking along it, and an elephant was walking slowly in front of them. On the back of the elephant sat the rider in his full glory.
Travelers despite the long distance walk were walking quite fast and people who were walking ahead of them would feel the approach of the Teacher and they would clear the path waiting for the Teacher to pass and bow to him and his student in a respectful manner.
Alid Faski Natva was already accustomed with this kind of sight. He wasn’t surprised even when the elephant, felt them approaching, stopped lowered its head and let the Teacher pass. In half an hour they reached the settlement. Alid Faski Natva saw small houses, covered with palm-tree leaves; a lot of green vegetation, high palms. Monkeys would appear on the trees and on the roofs of the houses.
Travelers approached the temple, which rose above the small houses, as if it gathered them around itself protecting them. Pink, similar to the color of a melon, it rose sixty meters up to the sky. The entrance to the temple was decorated by two smiling at gathering people stone statues.
A market unfolded at the square in front of the temple. Alid Faski Natva watched how Hindus were trading, buying copper dishes, rings, bracelets, amulets. Rice was boiling in copper pots, next to it golden clusters of bananas were sold; fragrant mangos, large pineapples, boiled vegetables and sweet dates. The sun scorched intolerably. The Teacher and the student squatted under the palm’s shadow. A young boy, thirteen years old, ran up to them, and gave them two cups with rice and said something, pointing towards one respectfully smiling Hindu near the large pot with the rice. Teacher and Alid Faski Natva took the cups. The rice was tasty. Gradually people gathered around them. They were attracted to the Teacher as to a magnet. They didn’t say anything, simply stood not far away, without approaching, in order not to disturb the rest of the sitting travelers.
A fearful looking black and white antelope appeared from somewhere. Its bright black eyes stared at the Teacher. He glanced into its eyes, and it walked towards him slowly passing the people who were standing, slightly limping on its wounded leg, came up directly to the Teacher and touched him with its nose. He touched on its head two times and, after slapping its back, he let it go on its way. Slightly limping it rushed away towards the valley.
Gradually the number of people, gathered in the temple, grew. Many of them stood under the mushroom-shaped umbrellas, made from palm-tree leaves. But no one entered the temple. Clergymen were preparing for the rite. Women in pink and violet sari placed baskets with flowers with great care on the rocky steps of the temple. The Teacher and his student passed the crowd of people and entered. They were greeted by the pleasant coolness that emanated from the stones. Alid Faski Natva observed the temple. Walls were decorated with ornaments and sculptures. In one corner of the temple there was an elephant head with a trunk - image of the God of wisdom Ganesha, in other – monkey-figured statue of Ganumana, the God of monkey. Clergymen, after giving out his last orders, hurried towards the Teacher. They sat on the rock strips and talked in Hindi language. Alid Faski Natva, reading their thoughts, understood what they were talking about. After brief, but deep conversation, the Teacher and Alid Faski Natva, said good-bye to the clergymen and left the temple, where after some minutes a ceremony was suppose to begin.
Rested travelers headed towards the valley, where half an hour ago skipped the cured antelope. Crossing the valley without hurry they entered the forest that was in front of them. They were on their way to one of the schools and they wanted to get there before the darkness. After passing a small forest, they reached the gorge. The water sparkled in the sun, and at the very moment, when the Teacher had reached the gorge, noise of the running water became noticeably quieter, as if someone switched off the noise, turning the volume control. Travelers used a narrow crooked wooden bridge to cross over the stream; it seemed like the bridge could get torn apart by the flow of the stream at any time, than they began to rise along the narrow path to the mountain.
From the mountain they saw bright green slopes with cows grazing there looking like toy figurines. Wide valley unfolded in front of them. There was the school they were heading to. Getting down to the valley, Alid Faski Natva was delighted by the fresh and warm air.
Once the Teacher showed to his student the famous Marble canyon. Alid Faski Natva saw the deep crystal clear transparent waters, running in the canyon, and the snow-white marble cliffs reflecting in it. The apexes of cliffs shone like silver in sun rays at the background of the dark-blue sky. Below, in the base of a cliff, on the water surface there were reflections of the same apexes, only in inverted form, they crushed into the small splinters that danced in the furious whirlpool. Monkeys sat on the cliffs and examined the travelers with interest; far in front of them flew pigeons, and the voices of numerous parrots were heard from a distance. Teacher and Alid Faski Natva went along the gorge away from bushes, near the cliffs. They went around the protrusion, and the dangled stairs, made of bamboo. "What are these stairs for?" – flashed a thought in Alid Faski Natva`s head. And right away he received a mental answer from the Teacher: "Hunters are after the bee honey". "Bees?" – the student did not have enough time to get surprised, as one bee as in confirmation of the Teacher’s words flew right passing him, and then also another bee the size of a large beetle.
They continued their path in the gorge along the water steam, which, shining in the sun flue over large stones. In front above the water, almost at the shore, Alid Faski Natva saw a dark lump with obscure outlines. He could not understand yet what it was, as the black lump (these were hundreds of infuriated bees) exploded from within: bees instantly dispersed everywhere. Travelers approached that place, where they were grouping. Young Hindu with difficulty came out of the water. On his face, neck and arms were terrible bees’ bites. Only the words of gratitude left his lips. Teacher attentively examined the bitten areas; for several seconds he held his hands on the head of the suffering person and said he was fine... this time. His body was greased by mustard oil that bees do not like very much; however, this precaution didn’t help. Without the help of the Teacher, death would be unavoidable for the hunter. Teacher attentively looked afar. From there it could be because of his mental order or just by coincidence a boat appeared. Two Hindus: elderly and a young - rove the boat to pick up the injured relative. Continuously giving thanks to the Teacher, they picked up the victim who was already recovering from the sufferings. The Teacher and the student continued on their way. The boat went in a opposite direction, and Alid Faski Natva could still hear for a while the words of an elderly Hindu, overall meaning of which he understood, because of the fact that he perceived his thoughts - that escaping from bees it would have been much better not to the water, but to thick bushes...
