I’m on my way to the Monkey Temple (Swayambunath) again. It’s a sunny day and as I greet street venders a young man walks up to me and asks if he can practice his English with me. 

“Sure”, I say as we weave our way through the congested traffic of mopeds, taxi’s, bicycles, and cars. 

Vish is 23 years old and has had to grow up fast. Now the provider for his family, he says that can often go days of having only one meal a day. He is well dressed, courteous and is softly spoken. He almost immediately begins by asking me if I believe in God or have any religious ties. I tell him that I’m a seeker and though I enjoy rituals and philosophies from most religious texts, I do not bind myself to a particular dogma. 

“I am like you”, he says with a smile. 

We walk in the sun, discussing his travels in India, how he enjoys teaching English to young children in his neighborhood and his passion for learning Tibetan Thangka, (depictions of the Buddhist wheel of life). 

We sit on the steps halfway up to the Temple and look up at a group of eagles swirling overhead. 

“Ritchie, do you believe that you come back into this life again?” Vish ponders as we still follow the movement in the sky. 

“Yes I do, I reply. I have always had a strong connection to previous lives and the cycle of re-incarnation. What about you?” I reply. 

“No, I think this life is a test. We must do our best with this one life because we will never again have the privilege of experiencing the life of a Human Being.” 

We end up hanging together and talking about death, afterlife, his love for his mother’s cooking and the hospitality of the Sheiks in India. 

Ritchie, you need to travel to Amritsar. The Sheik culture is like no other. By the way, would you like me to take you to a Shiva celebration on Monday?

I put my arm around his shoulder and smile.

“I would love that, and I repeat the only Shiva mantra that I know: Om nama shivaya!”