However, this was not the frantic busyness that pervades the lives
of people in our society. Instead, theirs was of the easy, graceful
kind. With Zen-like focus, some worked inside the temple,
preparing for what appeared to be a festival. Others carried
firewood and richly embroidered tapestries. All were engaged in
productive activity. All appeared to be happy.
Ultimately, the faces of the Sages of Sivana revealed the power
of their way of life. Even though they were clearly mature adults,
each one of them radiated a child-like quality, their eyes twinkling
with the vitality of youth. None of them had wrinkles. None of
them had gray hair. None of them looked old.
Julian, who could scarcely believe what he was experiencing,
was offered a feast of fresh fruits and exotic vegetables, a diet that
he would later learn was one of the keys to the treasure trove of
ideal health enjoyed by the sages. After the meal, Yogi Raman
escorted Julian to his living quarters: a flower-filled hut containing
a small bed with an empty journal pad on it. This would be his
home for the foreseeable future.
Though Julian had never seen anything like this magical world
of Sivana, he somehow felt that this had been a homecoming of
sorts, a return to a paradise that he had known long ago. Somehow
this village of roses was not so foreign to him. His intuition told him
that he belonged here, if only for a short period. This would be the
place where he would rekindle the fire for living that he had known
before the legal profession stole his soul, a sanctuary where his
broken spirit would slowly start to heal. And so began Julian's life
among the Sages of Sivana, a life of simplicity, serenity and
harmony. The best was soon to come.