While in the ancient town of Badami, Karnataka, I was looking for an inscription written by a chalukyan warrior in 700 AD. He had written about the way of life, half of it in Sanskrit and half in old Kannada. I was right in front of it when a man told me to take a well-established path that didn't stop for 14 km. The path was created ages ago for people to go from one temple town to another. Now as I walked, there were hardly any trees on the way and it was close to 45 degrees, which is pretty much how hot it is here throughout the year. As I walked, an incredible thing happened. Everyone who passed me by would offer me water, even if they saw me holding a big bottle of it. I passed around 20 of them and everyone did the same thing to add to my heat ridden confusion. After a few hours, I gave up and decided to head back, only to find the inscription right where I started. Delighted beyond belief, I sat next to the inscription, admiring its importance when a local came by and translated it for me. There was a line in the inscription which read - ''When you pass a stranger in life. Offer them your most precious possession.. '' After a never ending walk in the blistering heat, I don't think anything could be more precious than the water that each and every one of those people offered me.
Om Namah Shivaya
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