Love Lessons For The Black Sheep

Prologue

A long long time ago, in the land of ancient Bharat, lived a muni named Yajat. Like all his peers in the golden age of enlightenment, where people live a thousand years and were so close to the divine and nature that it was hard to differentiate earth from heaven, muni Yajat devoted his time meditating in one of the millions of caves nature had probably set up for this purpose alone.

Once in a while the munis would all group together in clusters and discuss their progress and findings, much like the chai-ki-tapdi for modern reference. It was during these informal meetings that munis found other likeminded munis and formed formal partnerships and opened their own ashrams to study and meditate together. Some were interested in finding out the truth about the cycle of life and death, others were more interested in finding the secrets of the human body or the mind.

But muni Yajat never found himself a partner to discuss his line of thinking. He eagerly attended all the tapdi meetings he could schedule himself for in hopes of finding a like minded friend. The problem was simple, no one   was interested.

The one group that baffled him the most was the group that studied the stars. They called themselves astronomers. This group was a majority. Almost a third of the munis at such gatherings were interested in finding about stars. And once they did find one, they would rush to name it after themselves. Weird.

"You wouldn't understand the thrill, muni Yajat" one of them once told him "This is a legacy we are leaving behind"

"I will have a legacy too" he was offended, of course he understood the thrill of discovering something. After all that's what he was on the path of discovering too, limitless unconditional love, the love of souls.

"Of what?" another one asked, genuinely curious "We have heard that you are seeking another person. Just a person. That is selfish and does no good to the society. How are you going to create a legacy?"

"It's not just a person I seek. It's my soulmate"

"If we were supposed to find our soulmate in this world, the divine would have already granted us the power to find them here. And how does finding your soulmate give you a legacy?"

"Well" muni Yajat was flustered at being cornered "I will find a way"

"Good luck with that" the muni said in farewell "We still think you are selfish though. You could use your prayers on something more productive. Soulmates are meant to be together in the abode of souls, in the afterlife. Not on this plysical planet"

The other munis in that cluster nodded in silent agreement.

Selfish or not, muni Yajat believed that everyone had a purpose in life and his was to find his soulmate, his Ardhangini, in this world itself. That was his purpose.

So he meditated, night and day, for a hundred and eight years.

On the last day of his hundred and eighth year, pleased with his dedication and devotion, the divine paid him a visit.

"What is it that you desire, my child" echoed the divine voice, engulfing him.

He had a century to think about it, of course, "I want everyone in this world to find their soulmate in this world itself, Lord"

"Well, I don't think I can grant you that, my child. You are the one seeking your soulmate. There are others who might not want to meet their soulmate just yet. Don't you think that will be unfair to them?"

"Who wouldn't want a soulmate?" What kind of person wouldn't want to know who their other half is?

"Some people find it thrilling to live in uncertainty. That definitely makes life more interesting"

"Well, I don't"

"I can totally see that" the divine voice agreed "Tell you what, I can grant you and your descendants the boon of finding your soulmates. That will definitely make things more fun. What do you say?"

"Thank you, my Lord" the muni nodded eagerly "How do I recognize my soulmate?"

"Your descendants will be born with the ability to tell exactly where their soulmates are or are going to be born in future. For the convenience of the soulmates, I suppose we could put an identical birthmark on the pair. As for you, my child, you will find your soulmate standing in front of you as soon as you open your eyes"

"Thank you, my Lord"

"Tathastu"

With that, the divine surrounding muni Yajat disappeared leaving him with the blissful feeling of an encounter with the creator of the universe.

He was still smiling happily at his accomplishment when a sharp cry snapped his eyes open. There, standing less than two feet away from him was the most perfect human muni Yajat had ever seen. Well, her hair might be sticking out in every direction possible, her eyes might look like they would shut down any moment now and let's just pretend he never saw that drool, but she was perfect. Perfect.

Muni Yajat felt like every atom of his being aligned to match the woman in front of him. There was no way she could be anyone other than the mate to his soul.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, now wide awake and kind of freaked out. To be fair to her, it was past midnight and his cave was located on one of the highest peak of the Aravalli.

Muni Yajat smiled at her "I am your soulmate, my love. And together, we shall leave behind a legacy that will be remembered until the end of time"

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Yugs passed by.

Every single Yajat since, was born with a birth mark that they showed to their soulmate once they found them. And they did find them, every single one of them, without the slightest inconvenience.

Usually, a Yajat child comes to the world wailing inconsolably. The family, the father usually, then picks the child up and moves to the direction the child's inclined. It's a ritual that marks a Yajat's journey to find their soulmate. The parents and a few immediate relatives then travel with the newborn until they reach their destination. It is said that the nature molds itself to provide comfort and strength to the newborn in their quest to find their other half.

That the Yajats are the only known bloodline in the world who can find their soulmates is a known fact. There's nothing unusual about it. Nada.

Yajats were royalty to the romantics of the world. Well as much royalty as over three million people could be.

Children are fed the story of Yajat muni and his boon as lore to get them to sleep. Some people love and long for such a fortune, others think it's unfortunate and boring. Historians even started documenting the elaborate birthmarks that Yajats were born with, looking for a hint from the divine. Atheists argue that the phenomenon has more to do with mutant genes than divine intervention.

As for the Yajats, they prefer to keep to themselves. They are simple minded, happy people; just what you would expect from people who have their whole life sorted out. They also are known to never leave one of their own behind. If one falls, the whole lot of them will put their combined strengths to pull him up even if the task doesn't require all of them to be involved.

The community has their own well regulated yearly meeting which is attended by the heads of the five zones to discuss the affairs of their large family. They even have a representative for the nonresident Yajats spread across the globe.

In short, everything was perfect until that one rainy evening, the tenth of October, 1991. It was the day that shook the not-so-little community to its core. The day will be talked in hushed whispers in every Yajat family for decades to come.

A baby boy was born to Sumit and Anita Yajat.

Smiling his way into the world.

Not a hint of divine ink on his body.

Perfectly content in his father's arm.

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Happy reading :):):)