Shambhala by Brian E. Miller Read Free Book Online

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    Startled by a firecracker, Bahi turns to see Bandar with a samosa in one hand and a round sweet in the other. “For you, Bahi,” Bandar says, handing the food to him, “Go now and teach your people.”
    Thanking Bandar, Bahi watches him walk off into the stark darkness behind the bright lights of the village. Eating the samosa and small sweet pastry, he slowly makes his way out into the street, which is inundated with men selling maps and postcards. “Hello, friend, Hello!” Bahi ignores the loud yells of the vendor, who follows him as he pushes past the suffocation of people. Firecrackers pop off persistently in a clamor that pierces his ears as he feels something pulling on his pants. Looking down, he finds a small girl, dirty with crusted snot around her nose. Her large, brown, pleading, eyes stare at him as she motions a sign of hunger, placing her hand to her mouth in an attempt to get food or money from Bahi. If he had either he would. “Sorry, I have nothing,” he admits as he walks, but the girl is persistent and follows him. Bahi’s heart is overwhelmed with the suffering all around him. Even the seemingly happy and well off seem to be hurting in some way, grasping at things all around them, as Rakesh had said. Besieged, he begins to run briskly, pushing through the crowd of people. Firecrackers blast off at every step. Vendors attempt to stop him, flashing things to buy in his face, but he persists onward, away from the village. He runs so fast and so far that when he finally stops to catch his breath, he finds himself on a dark roadside overlooking the Ganga River. He sits as tears begin to fall down his ruddy cheeks, cooling in the fresh breeze extending off of the river. Feeling alienated from the world, yet not belonging in the jungle or among his people, he truly feels lost, alone, and frightened.
    “Who am I? What is my purpose here in this strange land? How do I return home?” These questions pain his mind as he weeps alone in quiet desperation. Feeling something on his thigh, he looks with a quick fright to see Bandar.
    “Oh, Bandar!” he says, wiping the tears from his eyes. “You are truly the only one I know.”
    Bandar smiles in silence and sits in Bahi’s lap. “Kavi,” he says softly. “Kavi can surely help you.”
    “Will you take me to him?” Bahi asks, clearing his throat with a swallow.
    “In the morning we will go. Tonight we sleep by the river.”
    Making their way to a small, empty cave that sits just above the river, they climb inside. Bahi lies down and Bandar cuddles up to him. They warm each other from the cool night chill outside. They both fall fast asleep, exhausted from an eventful day.
     

OPENING HIS EYES slowly, Bahi begins to come back to the world of time, far from the deep, subtle world of sleep he was just lost in. He hears the river rushing as he looks over the boulders that stand like warriors praying to the sun. Looking around, he notices that Bandar is nowhere to be seen. He rubs his eyes and stretches his cold feet so that they protrude straight out of the small cave space. Shaking the stiffness from his body, he stands to a crouch, walks forward, and ducks out of the cave. “Where has Bandar gone?” he wonders, as a loud thump sends his attention behind him, where a branch of bananas has just fallen. Bandar drops down, holding two samosas in his tiny hand.
    “Good morning!” he says, sprite like, as he hands Bahi one of the samosas , still warm, fresh off the pan.
    “You know, Bandar, it’s not nice to steal.”
    “Stealing, hmm, yes I’ve heard of this. If one man is hungry, should not another give him food? If one man is cold and naked, and another man has an abundance of clothes, should he not give to his brother?” Bandar asks.
    “I suppose, but without permission or enquiring one may not know if the man has an abundance or is just working for another man with abundance, and therefore you may in fact be taking from the very one who needs