Coming of Age ( Part 1 )

The royal enclosure built in the capital of Rtadhara was huge with many palaces, gardens, pools and lodgings for servants as well as barracks and training grounds used by the knights of the royal guard. Between all these high profile buildings, at a rather non-descript location, there was a small temple that one would nearly overlook as they get lost in all this grandeur. The temple did not have walls and only pillars. It was a closed rectangle with a purification pool inside. Currently, a pop quiz was taking place inside one of its pavilions.

"A poor merchant married a wife so that she can give him a son, but discarded her for a younger woman after she gave him four daughters. To give birth to a son and continue his ancestor's bloodline is man's filial duty, his Dharma. How does Rta flow in this situation? Are the man's actions in accordance with the natural order?"

"Dharma is a set of rules made my man to uphold Rta. However, Rta is not made by man. Rta is natural order, it is ordained by gods. Leaving one's wife, whether or not it is against natural order, it is against the promises made during the exchange of vows during one's marriage. Failing to fulfil one's promises is against Rta, so in this situation Rta flows adversely."

"Correct.

"Two bandits decided to reform. One became a soldier under his king, but the king turned out to be a tyrant who abused his citizens with taxes. The other one remained a bandit but he looted from the rich and gave to the poor. Who will Rta choose to befriend?"

"Neither. One chose the wrong lord to serve due to ignorance. The other disrupts the economy by looting caravans of merchants due to misplaced self-righteousness and hubris."

"Wrong. Man serving his king is natural order. Rta will naturally befriend him despite what the king is like.

"A farmer had a good harvest of hundred bundles of wheat one year. He gave twenty bundles to the temples as an offering. He had eighty bundles the next year. He gave fifteen to the temple. The year after that, he had a harvest of seventy-five bundles. He gave only two to the temple. How does Rta punish this person?"

"That's a trick question. Although Dharma states that man must share his produce with the temple, Rta doesn't allow it to state an explicit percentage. This is not a tithe that the temple collects in order to maintain itself or to serve the needy. The offering made at a temple is a sacrifice instead. Man makes this sacrifice in order to purify his own mind. As long as the objective is achieved, whether through one bundle or just a single grain, Rta will certainly befriend the man. It will never punish him for giving less in sacrifice as long as his intentions are still pure."

"Wrong," came a deadpan voice, "Rta will punish the farmer because he lost the spirit of sacrifice when he gave fifteen bundles one year and only two the next for nearly the same amount of harvest. Clearly, his intentions are not pure anymore. Pay attention to the question.

"Three dogs mauled a hunter to death in the forest. Three farmers stoned a warrior to death in a conflict. Three Kshatriyas chased a farmer to death. Which three does Rta punish?"

"The last three."

"Correct. One brahmin says the strong must not prey on the weak. Going to a forest, he sees that the natural order seems to be against this principle. What argument must he give now to support the previous answer?"

"The society of animals is built on instinct. Thus it's called ecosystem, namely a society that is indistinct from ecology. The society of man is built on vision and principle. The natural order pertaining to vision and principle in independent of the ecology, independent of the will to be strongest within the five elements that animals feels. On the other hand man seeks harmony with the five elements, which can sometimes be interpreted with the saying that the strong must not prey on the weak."

"Fine. Three Kshatriyas chase a bandit warrior to death. Three Kshatriyas surround another Kshatriya and kill him. Three Kshatriyas chase a divine awakened Kshatriya to death. Which three accrue bad karma among them?"

"…No one? I know it's wrong to outnumber and surround, but it is possible both the bandit warrior and the other normal Kshatriya were too powerful…or the mission could be too important to take risks or something else…"

"Wrong. Using cheap tactics to kill a divine awakened Kshatriya is great sin. How did you forget that?"

"Cheap tactics? These guys would have no chance if they go one on one! Heck, even three on one, they got no chance!"

A low growling sound that was uncharacteristic of the person issuing it was heard. It was a man in white at the end of his middle age. He was bald with a black shikha flowing down from the back of his head. His face had rough edges like a warrior. Despite being a priest, he was robust, the clear tan on his body giving away his martial inclinations. However, there was also a deep stillness in him. A beautiful kindness reflected off of his face even though it looked nothing like those saggy and soft faces of other priests of the same age. His deep set eyes were magnetic and cool, like a clear lake in summer that one would rush to dive into.

"You miss the essence of the question," he continued in a mild tone, as if that growl just now came from a wild animal somewhere and not him. "We are talking about unfair tactics and not the specificity of what makes it unfair. Pay attention."

Another low grumble was heard, but it did not come from the priest. It was of a different quality too, like a cub trying to imitate a lion.

"Using unfair tactics to win against a divine incarnation is how a man gets a direct ticket to hell. What's so confusing?" the priest asked, his voice cool and demeanor composed. There was none of that irritation previously seen from his pupil not performing well.

"But who decides how much is unfair? Clearly, they must employ some kind of tactic to win?"

"You still don't get it?" the priest smiled just a bit. "They may not use any sort of tactic. They can only surrender or die. Who asked a commoner to go confront a divine?"

"That doesn't sound fair at all! What if the divine awakened is a villain and they have no choice but to confront?"

The priest took a deep breath. Not answering the question, he let his eyes roam over the small but elegant temple instead. It's undecorated pillars, the small pool in the middle, the chamber in the center, the dark garbha griha, where an ancient artifact lay, he took it all in and once again found deep, unwarranted peace. The artifact was an ancient altar. It looked nothing more than a stone platform really. It was where the king or his immediate heirs sat when they come of age. The priests poured libations over them in a sort of ceremony that evidently happens simultaneously both in this world and Devlok. The king stays there for a few days and accepts the prayers of people as god.

Thinking about the upcoming ceremony, the priest began to have a headache though. He looked at the pure eyed youth before him. He was leaning against a pillar while he sat, chewing sugarcane with gusto. On one knee were pictures drawn by various artists that he perused with deep interest. His hair was deep black and thick, falling in curls and waves till his waist. He had thick and long eyelashes, brownish black eyes, a straight and thin nose as well as narrow, red lips. Combined with his lean face and intelligent expressions, long legs and toned muscles, he looked every bit the heartthrob of various young girls within the city. His somewhat slovenly look and distracted appearance just added to his attractiveness.

Ever since the boy had an accident when he was ten, he was spoiled rotten by his sisters. The unfortunate fact was that, no one could say anything about it, because he was really smart.

But today, the priest felt just how far his intelligence has fallen.

"The divine awakened are incarnations of gods…How can they become villains?" he said while keeping his voice level.