The Krishna Love (Wattpad India Awards Winner)

Chapter 16 - Desire to become desireless

"How come you remembered this story through a dream?" Ravi said and rested his elbow on the other hand and tapped his index finger on his chin.

Yes, how? This question bugged Sid as well. When he was a kid, his grandfather used to tell him enlightening stories, hundreds of them. It could be the answer that those stories always remained in his subconscious mind and now popped out through the medium of dreams. Yeah, maybe.

He heaved a sigh and shot a glance out of the window. He wanted to pull the car window down and feel the wind tear through his hair, but the AC was on. He and Ravi were heading at Greenland Hills, the meditation center they talked about last night. "I don't have any idea," he said, still looking out of the window.

"So, what's the allegory?" Ravi asked, eager to hear what it might be.

"There are allegories. Elephant, branch, king cobra, white and black mouse, and two drops of honey." Sid turned to fix his eyes at Ravi. "Now, listen up to my explanation."

He hawked before expounding the allegories. "Elephant represented desires that keep us running from here and there. The branch symbolized our lifespan. King cobra represented death. White and black mice portrayed day and night. Two drops of honey described the insignificant pleasure that we derive from this world, yet so attracted to it."

Ravi felt his heart skipped a beat as if he just saw Miller's planet scene from the Interstellar movie. "Awesome," was the only word that got past his throat. Then a business idea popped up in his mind. "These stories are incredible. Why don't you upload your videos on YouTube explaining such stories? You'll be famous."

Sid experienced a flush of excitement tickled his ribs, but he was seeking for answers, not popularity. He was aware of those celebrities who enjoyed the zenith of success, yet, they decided to end their lives. So fame is not the solution he's looking for, he told Ravi.

He brought the original topic back into the discussion. "Doesn't that story describes us so well?" he asked. "Desires keep us running here and there. We keep on running without stopping to think. Why are we running and where are we heading?" A cough interrupted Sid's speech. "In this rat race, even if we become winners, we remain rats."

"Hmm," came from Ravi as he grew pensive. "We live in a world where hypocrisy is a virtue, where lust is often confused with love. The truth is treated as false and false is celebrated as truth."

As if a cold wind came in the scorching desert, Ravi's heart thumped with encouragement that they are heading to Greenland Mountain to meet a famous monk named Sayujya. Yeah, it's almost unpronounceable, that's why his close associates call him Sayu. Ravi was confident this time because Sayu was free from controversies and maintained a clean organization. He never spoke intolerantly toward other religions or had a superiority complex.

Sid's skepticism burned away when Ravi explained these beautiful things about the monk. All these days, he only came across bigots like Kumar, a fanatic like Nikhil, intolerant like Prakash and charlatan like Swami Mukteshwar. One truth became apparent to him that if he wants to know the absolute truth, he needs proper guidance. Sayu was perfectly falling in the category.

*****

Greenland Mountain got its name because of the greenery; this became evident for Sid and Ravi while walking through a small village. A lush bouquet of organic vegetables and fruit was all-pervading in the town until they reached the foot of the Greenland Mountain. More natural were vendors' smile, Sid would say, every time he exchanged a look with them.

Ravi felt like he's in a Chinatown as he was ascending the mountain with Sid. He has dreamt of learning martial arts from a Shaolin temple. His faith grew rock solid when he caught a glimpse of some people looking at him with narrowed eyes. Oh, then it dawned on him they were Chinese.