The Traveller’ wrote to us one day with faith, trust and lots of ideas in his mind. We greeted and wrote back to him, “Hari Om… Come to our house and be our guest”.

Then the day came when he arrived home.

Our brothers met him at the gate, our family welcomed him at the reception with a warm tea and a smile. He smiled back at us with hope and apprehension.

Then we all sat together in the dining area, shared food, thoughts and stories of our journeys. Experienced all the joys and fears again through the exchange of words, glances and smiles. We were happy with ‘The Traveller’ for there was greater possibilities in him to break free, to become a channel of love and peace and to become a warrior in the battle of right and wrong…

We shared our tradition, culture and life with him. We tried to show him the face of reality behind the veil of truth. We pushed him beyond his boundaries and shared all his pain and doubts which he hid under the clear sky of his heart.

He also shared many tales during the time of his stay. But what we remembered was born out of the mixture of sweetness and bitterness of his days, though he was pure, gentle and kind. Those tales were the dust and patience of the journey.

Then one day, ‘The Traveller’ left us. Until today we didn’t feel that a guest had departed but rather one of our own is still out in the play of the world and has not come home…

Article by Om Tirth

Copyright SWAN Yoga Retreat Assagao, Bardez, Goa, India 2016