Kundalini Splendor

Yesterday was a day of unexpected blessing. On my morning walk, I decided to check out Naropa University, which is located a few blocks from my house. As I stood in the hall, I noticed a monk clad in a beautiful golden robe passing the other way. As always, I was fascinated by the monk in his robe, and (as often happens) my fascination was tinged with a bit of jealousy (where is my robe, I wondered? Past life memory? Very likely.)

I decided to turn around and look for him once again--perhaps I would catch another glimpse of this (to me) mesmerizing figure. Through an open doorway I saw him at the back of a classroom, which was set with chairs in a large circle. I could not keep from staring at this intriguing being.

As I stood gazing at him in hypnotic rapture, he crossed the room and came to me in the doorway. In the sweetest possible tone, he asked if I was a visitor. Somewhat embarrassed, I tried to explain that I lived nearby and had just paused to look around the school. I had assumed he was the teacher of the class, but no, he was in fact a student. I realized that he was indeed quite young. He explained that though he did not teach, he sometimes gave workshops.

Now, a lot more went on in this conversation than was conveyed by the words we exchanged. Something very deep resonated for me merely by his presence. He was, it turned out, from Bangladesh. As I left I realized that I had received a very gentle and tender vibration from him, which remained with me as I continued my walk along Boulder Creek, feeling as though I had received a blessing. How often do we get to meet a beautiful monk from Bangladesh?

(Note: the picture above is not one of this monk, but rather another monk I saw a few months ago in San Francisco--I thought it interesting that he was photographing a performance going on at the front of the room. Is it my imagination, or is there an aura surrounding his body, even the hand holding the camera?)