Excited of tomorrows training, which will shape Rudra into a perfect person who is ready for the new life he has chosen for himself. He slept after taking a bath and spending some time with Devi Aranyani.
No, they didn't sleep together...
Early morning, next day...
Rudra wakes up from his relaxed sleep. He opened his eyes and, for a few moments, just looked at the ceiling. After he stood up from the bed and moved toward the window, he looked at the moon high in the sky, the night that felt as if it was still young, with the blue moon and stars that shone as if he were watching the galaxy from up close.
"Um... what time is it? Is it time for the training? I don't even know when it will begin. Am I early or am I late?"
"I shouldn't sleep back again right, should I just take a night stroll until Lord Ganesh arrives and begins my training?" He turned back toward his door and started walking towards it.
Rudra comes out of his room and goes for a night walk,
Walking along the lawn and road, he found himself in an area that was shining on the surface, due to the reflection of the moon and stars in the river, and he thought of just going there for some reason.
When Rudra reached the place near the pond, he saw that at some distance from the pond, Devi Manasa was sitting under the Neem tree and meditating.
For some reason, on her forehead, he could see a bud as if a lotus bud glowing faintly, and he was attracted toward it. He walks out of focus and comes near her and just stares at her forehead, her frame, that shimmer with a bluish silver sheen under the moonlight.
As Rudra stood near her, her mark glowed more and more until...
She opened her eyes and looked back at Rudra,
Devi Manasa smiled a little and said,
"Liked what you saw, huh... brother"
As Rudra was still out of focus, he couldn't help but say,
'Um, yes, Devi Manasa, you are looking dazzling."
"I know, but still, we are brother and sister, so sorry, but nope." She smirks and says to him.
Hearing what she said, Rudra came out of his stupor and awkwardly replied with a shaky laugh.
"HA HA HA..." Rudra shyly rubs the back of his head.
"Well, forget about it, tell me, what are you doing here, Rudra?" Devi Manasa asked him with a curious gaze.
"Nothing, Devi, I just didn't know if it was time for me to train, and as I was already awake, I thought of going for a walk until it was time to train," Rudra replies and walks to sit beside her.
"There is still time, but not much. Why not stay here for the time being, until Vinayak arrives and takes you to the place of your training, and I think the training will start from here too." Devi Manasa answered him back.
"Alright, its fine by me as I also didn't know how to spend the time. By the way, Devi Manasa, were you meditating since last night or did you start now?" He agrees and asks her another question to pass the time, and he is also curious.
Devi Manasa smiles and looks at the stars and the moon,
"Hmm... It's like this, I usually meditate under the moon. So, to answer your question, I was meditating the whole night."
''mmm... is this the reason that my training with you is at night?" Rudra asks her, getting curious about the timing of his lecture with her.
"Yes, that's why father chose that time, for my lecture with you." Devi Manasa answers him back.
Just as Rudra was going to ask some more questions,
A vortex materilizes and from that vortex Ganesha arrives in their normal look with an elephant face, two arms, golden bangles, an upper arm too has bangles, a necklace of pearls and golden jewellery, yellow lower garments, with a radiant complexion that glows like the rising sun.
Around his waist, a sacred thread of woven silk rests against his stomach, and a vibrant silk sash, embroidered with intricate mandalas, flutters as he steps out of the swirling energy. One hand rested beside his thighs and another hand raised as if saying hello and attracting their attention to himself.
The air around him thickens with the scent of crushed hibiscus and sandalwood, and the heavy, rhythmic tinkling of his golden anklets seems to harmonise with the fading hum of the vortex.
And they said to them,
"So, you're already up. Let's go, it is time for your training to begin. And how are you, Manasa? Sorry to interrupt, but it is time. So, I'll be taking him."
"Yes, Vinayak, it's alright, you can take him, we were just casually talking until you arrived." Devi Manasa gave a nod and gestured to Rudra to get going with Ganesha.
And with that, they vanish from there with a whisper of serpent and silent hiss... and smoke.
"So, Rudra, are you ready for your training? To train your mind and spirit," Ganesha, seeing Manasa, has left asked Rudra, who has stood up straight.
"Yes, Lord Ganesha, I'm ready for the training. So, what comes first?" Rudra replies to Ganesha.
"Should I sit and prepare to meditate?" He asks Ganesha, who shakes their head and says,
"No, brother, before you start to train, the first thing you have to do is take a proper bath.
First, you must clean your outer body, the vessel and make it hospitable for the divine and calm energy of the eternal supreme to enter it. For you must wake yourself properly, and then we will proceed, and I will teach you about meditation." Ganesha answered him back.
"Oh... Okay... So, should I just go and take a dip in the pond here, lord Ganesha?" Rudra asks Ganesha in a doubtful tone.
Ganesha smiles back and shakes their head.
"NO, Rudra bathing itself is a ceremony, you need to perform properly." They pause for a moment to check if Rudra was paying attention.
and they continue,
"First, we have to summon the divine and sacred waters of sacred rivers."
They gesture for him to follow and take him near the bank of the pond.
"Come here and join your hands for prayer and close your eyes, and from your heart call the sacred rivers here, repeat after me.
Call for the sacred rivers to ask them to come and grace the water you are using to clean yourself up,
Because you are not cleaning your body from only dust and grime, but even the bad, negativity and omens that have stuck on it, for not only the physical dust, but spiritual and metaphysical dust and grime are also present,
And you must activate the power of water through this verse."
"O holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari..." (Gaṅge Ca Yamune Caiva Godāvari...)
"O holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari..." (Gaṅge Ca Yamune Caiva Godāvari...) Rudra repeats after...
"Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, and Kaveri..." (Sarasvati, Narmade Sindhu Kāveri...)
"Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, and Kaveri!" (Sarasvati, Narmade Sindhu Kāveri...) Rudra repeats after...
"Please be present in this water." (Jale'smin Sannidhiṁ Kuru)
"Please be present in this water." (Jale'smin Sannidhiṁ Kuru) Rudra repeats back.
Rudra had his eyes closed, so he couldn't see anything but in front of him, over the ponds, different entities manifested. If he could see, he would have known that two of them were Goddess Ganga and Devi Narmada, but the others were in the form of water manifested in human form, and their faces or body wasn't visible.
They joined and folded their hands, and with a graceful bow, Ganga and Narmada, with a smile and nod, dipped into the pond.
With that, the water of the pond glowed for a few moments and went back to normal, in appearance.
"Now, open your eyes," Ganesha asks Rudra to open his eyes, who opens his eyes and looks back at Ganesha.
"Now, you have to tell me how you want to bathe,
Will you take a dip in the pond and submerge yourself whole, or will you bathe outside and just pour water over yourself?"
and they continued...
"So, if you want to dip in the pond,
First, take some water in your hand and pour it over your head. For now, you must activate and alert your crown.
This will force the heat out of the head towards the feet and then out of the body." They paused and gave him a serious look and said,
"Then you must do three dips, not one, two, but three.
For the purification of the physical body,
For the purification of the Mind,
For the purification of the Spirit.
And if you are bathing by pouring water,
Use this Kusha blade to sprinkle water over your head. This will shake off any remaining Tamas, Lethargy and darkness. And take a bath properly."
"So, how would you like to take the bath?" Ganesha finally asked Rudra his choice and preference.
Rudra thought for a moment and went with,
"Lord Ganesha, I would like to take a dip in the pond."
"Alright, go on and do exactly what I said, okay." Ganesha gave a nod and gestured for him to go and take a bath.
Rudra comes forward and, just as instructed, takes his bath. He poured some water over his head with his hand and then went into the pond.
Then he took three dips with his eyes closed and while chanting Mahadev's name in his heart.
Seeing him properly following the sequence, Ganesha smiled and said,
"Now that you have taken the bath, cup your right hand and take a small amount of water, sip it three times while reciting the name of God.
This is to purify your internal system, the throat and heart, so that when I speak, and you learn, your inner voice is clean and pure to help you achieve better results."
And Rudra followed it by heart.
Ganesha gave a nod to Rudra and said,
"Now that you have taken a bath, you have officially stepped out of the profane world. Washed away your past, your ego.
From now on, you must uphold a different way of living, the one that is interlinked with the divine and be pure to your heart and desire.
Now come out and sit here on this stone." They said while pointing toward the earlier stone, where Rudra was sitting with Devi Manasa.
"But before I teach you, you have to take me as your Guru/teacher..."