O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
a single stick of incense and descended gently into the
Siddhasana
Lotus
position. A great Indian pun occurred as two followers of the
accidentally named Indian lineage were reunited with their Asian
origin. The two-who-yearned-to-be-one sat facing each other, gazing
intently at the space just between each other’s eyebrows, and began
to repeat the sacred syllable of three elements:
Ah
, the creation,
Oh
,
the preservation, and
Um
, the destruction.
Aum
, the echo of
Universal Vacillation, the circularity of the natural world. The sound
flowed through and between them, merging, creating a link between
two biologically distinct beings. His voice was hers and hers his, her
vision in his mind, his in hers. As they fell deeper into a confusion of
opposites they perceived no longer that they were two points on a
straight line extending into infinity. All lines traveled through a
curved universe, bending back upon themselves.
A curved line will eventually rejoin itself to form a circle. On a
circle all points are identical. There are no straight lines in nature.
Human experience reflects the laws of the natural universe.
On this circular bridge, the two-who-were-one trod together and
gazed into a sort of eternity. They both needed a short vacation, after
all, and there was no place like Aum.
It wasn’t a long journey, either.
Aum was where the heart is.
“Aum,”
Don Wong proclaimed. He held Shiva in his arms, “Aum
me. Aum my.”
“Aum, my darling,” replied Shiva.
They made love and except for the occasional unavoidable
slurping noises the room was filled only with the sweet redemptive
chant,
aum, aum, aum
.
CHAPTER 32
Inmate #43877339 lay on his hard bed and stared at the ceiling. It
was the only part of the room that was not filthy. He was in a
common jail. Supposedly it was only temporary and he would soon
be moved to the kind of places reserved for elite white-collar
criminals, but he knew better. Through the judicious use of generous
bribes, Barth had him put here because in here he would be easier to
kill. Gareth had no idea the threat of real violence could be so scary.
A noise caused him to divert his attention laterally. Propping
himself up in bed he gazed in horror as a surly young Latino was led
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