Warning!
This is a book for the open-minded only!
If you feel that you already know all about the mysteries of our existence, your view of life is set and you would like to keep it this way, then this book is not meant for you. Don't bother reading...
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The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
– Mark Twain
The next Thursday, after having picked Beni up at the train station with my parents' car, we eagerly drove to the university, where the lecture was being held.
Stepping into the hall - and before anything else registered - we were greeted by the mystic fumes of some unfamiliar incense. Breathing in deeply the pleasant smell, I also noted that flute music was playing softly. The whole atmosphere was very soothing, but it also held the promise of secrets that were about to being revealed. Which did nothing to calm my excited nerves!
The hall was not very big, but already quite full. The seats were raised, like in a cinema. They lead down to the floor, on which a young man in maybe his mid-twenties stood, dressed in a white t-shirt, white trousers and sneakers.
Beni and I quickly chose seats side by side somewhere in the middle and sat down.
I was already bursting with anticipation, while Beni smiled at me knowingly. He leaned back to get comfortable in his seat. "You will love this lecture," he assured me.
"I can't wait, I am so curious!" I gushed, unnecessarily straightening my tight skirt. I was dressed in a black t-shirt, my favorite dark green denim mini-skirt, flesh colored tights and black heels. I had painted my nails black, my lips red and put on mascara and blue eyeliner. My usual look, those days. Beni was wearing his regular jeans and a black Deep Purple t-shirt.
Taking in the scene before me, I immediately understood Benis cryptic remark at the end of our last phone conversation.
Somehow, when picturing a Yogi or a spiritual person, I always imagined a kind of austere looking man. Tall, slim, with sharp facial features, a long beard, piercing eyes and sun-darkened skin.
Well, this. . . boy. . . standing in front of us on the stage, who was regarding everybody with quiet interest and a hint of a smile on his lips, was nothing like it. His slightly protruding belly clearly indicated that he did not believe in a strict, ascetic type of lifestyle. His typically European coloured features were roundish, clean-shaven and very soft. Only his eyes did hold a fair amount of intensity and his posture was very straight. Yet, he seemed to be relaxed and poised, only occasionally shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Out of the blue, a kind of realisation struck me: I know him!
Which, of course, did not make any sense, since I had never seen him before in my life. Therefore, my next thought was evenstranger:But why does he look like this?
I could not explain this strange certainty. But somehow, I knew he was supposed to look different.
Only in what way, I would not have been able to say.
