"Open your eyes, Rudra, we have reached the place where you will be taught about fire and wind, part of the mantra." Devi Ashok Sundari asks Rudra to open his eyes.
Rudra comes out of his trance and looks at Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti and then around,
And he saw that he was standing just near the fire tornado, beside it at some distance, where he could clearly see and feel the heat of the tornado.
For a few moments, Rudra again entered into a trance, and he could tell that the call he was feeling was becoming louder and clearer as he continued to look at the fire tornado.
But he needed to focus somewhere else, towards his teachers who are going to teach him two parts of his Mantra.
Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti looked at Rudra, who was in a trance and at a fire tornado behind their back and thought of the weapon inside it,
They looked at each other, and there they saw answers to their unanswered questions.
But then Devi Jyoti speaks,
"I will be first, Anvi. For the part I'm about to teach comes first."
"Hmm... Okay. So, Rudra, first get your one part of Mantra from sister Jyoti, ok." Devi Ashok Sundari replies.
Rudra shakes his head and, with proper focus, looks at Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti, and with a nod at Devi Ashok Sundari, he looks at Devi Jyoti and gives a deep nod and comes forward towards them.
He stood beside her and closed his eyes, then, taking one more step toward him, Devi Jyoti came forward and placed their right hand on his head and leaned their head down. (They are taller than Rudra.)
And whispers in his ears.
'Rudra, the part I'm giving you represents fire, eternal, pure, destructive, and all-encompassing and welcoming. After which, all new forms and new life take birth.'
"And the word is, 'Shi' means fire, which represents,
Shiva, the auspicious one. Also linked with pure awareness. That still, observing presence inside you."
Devi Jyoti says to Rudra,
"Repeat after me."
Then they whisper this word three times in his ears, and after them, Rudra also repeats the word three times in his heart and once from his mouth.
'Shi-Shi-Shi'
After they took their hand over his head and moved one step back, they told him,
"You see, Rudra, this is the 4th word of your Mantra.
The first is ॐ (Om), from brother Karthik
The second is Na, from brother Vinayak.
And third will be from Manasa, so wait for it. From me, the fourth word/part of your Mantra is Shi, as I told you."
In front of her, Rudra was in focus and gave a respectful nod. He could imagine and see what type of Mantra he was being given, as it was one of the Mantras he was deeply connected with and felt in sync with. But he was also waiting for when it would be completed. And he could meditate with it to help.
"And for the symbol of our bond..." She said so and with that raised her hand forward and gathered and compressed the fire from the surroundings and shaped it into 5 face Rudraksha.
Rudraksha that was formed floated on her palms, and which she later held between her index finger and thumb.
Than that Rudraksha vanished from her hand and became part of the bracelet already on Rudra's wrist.
Looking at the new addition of 5 face Rudraksha, Rudra was astonished as it looked as if fire itself has formed itself into the shape of Rudraksha.
"Now, take the part from Anvi, and by the way, it is the 5th word, then we will teach you their meaning and if possible, one lecture from us too. Before the time is over." She looks at Rudra and then gave nod to Ashok Sundari. Who, with a smile, comes forward to give their part.
Devi Jyoti moves back, and in her place comes Devi Ashok Sundari.
"Come forward, Rudra." Devi Ashok Sundari, with a serious face but still a warm smile on their face, put their right hand on Rudra's head and slightly leaned, similarly to how Devi Jyoti whispers in his ear.
'The word/part I'm giving you is 'Va' → Air.'
"Listen well. Rudra, this word symbolises energy (Shakti). Movement, life force, breath. The dynamic aspect of existence"
Then Devi Ashok Sundari says to Rudra,
"Now, repeat after me."
Then they whisper this word three times in his ears, and after them, Rudra also repeats the word three times in his heart and once from his mouth.
'Va-Va-Va'
"As Jyoti said, Rudra. This part of Mantra is the 5th part."
"Now both combines are forming word SHIVA, you see, Rudra, this 4th and 5th word forms the name of the father, but keep in mind. This is not only their symbolism but also Shakti, energy and our mother." Then, with a gentle rough on his head, they stepped back.
"And for our symbol of bond..."
She raised her hand forward and closed her eyes. From her mind space she gathered the thought and the link that connects her and Rudra, fruit of Kalpavriksha but rather than fruit it was the seed.
Which looked like half sphere with a flower pattern on top.
She pointed her other hands index finger on Rudra's forehead at the place where third eye is supposed to and gathered part of his thoughts and link, seed of Kalpavriksha.
Which similarity looked like half sphere but with three leaves leaflet together as it is in the case of belpatra.
With seed from her side in her right hand and seed from Rudra's side in her left she joined them with breath of wind and formed a very new type of seed shaped and feel like Rudraksha but with patterns rather than faces.
She smiled at Rudra and then
Rudraksha vanishes from her hand and joins other Rudraksha in the bracelet.
Rudra who was in trance seeing the process comes out and looked at his hand and wrist with,
Three Rudraksha from Ganesha, one from Karthikeya, one from Jyoti and now this new one from Ashok Sundari.
And gave bow to both.
Both Devi's give him a smile and a nod and then.
Then they both continued as if in sync,
For a brief moment, their voices did not follow one another… they arrived together, like two currents meeting the same shore.
Devi Jyoti spoke with a soft, calm tone with warmth that did not waver, while Devi Ashok Sundari's tone moved like a quiet breeze… yet the words were one.
"Shi… is the flame that reveals," they said, "and Va… is the breath that carries."
The fire did not rise higher; the wind did not grow stronger… yet something in the space between them sharpened. "Shi burns what is untrue, without anger, without choice… and Va moves what remains, without attachment, without pause."
Their voices neither clashed nor echoed… they simply existed together, as if they had always been the same sound.
And then, softer… almost within Rudra rather than around him:"Together… Shivais not a nameyou call. It is a state you become."
The flame flickered, the wind passed through it… neither resisting nor yielding.
"When you see clearly… and yet do not hold… when you move freely… and yet do not lose yourself… that is where Shi meetsVa." Their voices faded not into silence, but into presence… leaving behind something steady, yet alive… like a fire that breathes.
And in front of them, Rudra could feel both the fire and wind in the atmosphere he saw, flames and fire rising behind Devi Jyoti and wind and breath rising behind Devi Ashok Sundari.
Then Devi Jyoti speaks calmly,
the flame beside her held steady, as if listening with him."Shi is Shiva," she said, "not because it sounds like His name… but because it carries His nature."Her gaze rested on the fire that she had manifested in her palms, unmoving, and she looked at Rudra and said to him.
"Shiva is that which simply is… untouched, observing, complete. Like this flame at its core… it does not chase, it does not cling… it only reveals."
She let a pause settle, long enough for Rudra to feel it.
"Shi is that still awareness within you… the part that sees without becoming what it sees. It burns illusion, not by force… but by presence. That is why it is Shiva… because it stands alone yet holds everything."
Then Devi Ashok Sundari comes forward, winds rise behind her and on her palm manifests the leaves and wind, where the wind moves and shifts the leaves in a miniature tornado.
Her fingers shifted slightly… and the tornado responded, not growing, but breathing.
"And Va…" then she continued, softer now, "is Shakti… because stillness alone does not create."
A faint current passed through the air, feeding the fire without disturbing it.
"Shakti is movement… the unseen force that gives expression to what Shiva holds. Without her," She points towards the flame in Devi Jyoti's palm, she continued ", it would remain hidden… without him, it would have no centre."
She looked at Rudra then… not to test him, but to let the truth rest where it would.
"Shi is the witnessing…" Devi Jyoti responded, "Va is the becoming." Devi Ashok Sundari responded. "One is the silence…," said Jyoti. "The other is its song." Said Ashok Sundari.
And both say together… "and together..."The flame flickered once, alive but unwavering… wind raised, and a tornado twisted."…they are not two."
"Now listen well, Rudra," both said together.
Devi Jyoti's eyes rested on the flame, and her voice followed its quiet steadiness."So, what is Shi… what is fire?" she said, as if the question itself was part of the teaching.
"It is that which does not seek… yet transforms all it touches. It is hunger without desire… action without restlessness. Fire does not hold… it only reveals what cannot remain."
The flame leaned, just slightly, as if acknowledging her words.
"It is the courage to see clearly… to let what is false fall away… even when it was once part of you."
And before the silence could settle, Devi Ashok Sundari's voice moved through it, seamless… like breath entering where fire had cleared space.
"So what is Va… what is wind… what is breath?"
A soft current passed, barely visible, yet felt.
"It is that which cannot be seen… yet gives life to all that is. It is movement without form… touch without weight. Wind does not stay… it teaches you not to cling."
Her presence shifted, not closer, not farther… just there."It is the rhythm of coming and going… of holding and releasing. To breathe… and to trust the breath to leave."
For a moment, flame and wind existed together… not opposing, not merging… just balanced.
And somewhere within that balance… Rudra was being shaped.