Daughter of Isis, Lilian Nirupa [books to get back into reading .txt] 📗

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Ishtar-la’s eyes were very shiny with approval as she nodded affirmatively, with a quiet smile.

Lakshmi continued. “The Prana circulates the Shakti that is the vital energy through a series of channels called Nadis.”

Ishtar-la made a sign of approval, but then raised her hand for Lakshmi to stop: “Excellent too, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.” She then turned to the other disciples. Annouk-Aimee, Gemeti and Suma, were wide open and a bit taken aback at the superior knowledge of their classmates. Ishtar-la said to reassure them, “This will be explained in class with exercises will help you to understand it all. Don’t worry for now.”

Annouk-Aimee said, “My brother had an Indian teacher who taught him Yoga. He used to talk to me about Prana. When I was younger I was quite restless and often got into trouble.” The girls giggled. Annouk-Aimee felt the rush of blood to her cheeks, but continued. “Mikos, my brother, would tell me to take deep breaths to balance my Prana.”

“Excellent point,” said Ishtar-la. “That is a good place to start. Please seat yourself comfortably and close your eyes. Now take a deep breath and exhale.” The girls followed her instructions. “Now inhale again, very slowly and deeply, wait a second. Now exhale long and pause for another second. Do this three times more.”

The room was quiet with the centered breathing. The birds chirping on the orange blossoms were the only sound coming from outside, and the blue rose light that the stained glass windows filtered from the morning sun filled the teacher with an incredible feeling of fulfillment. She had only a first class with this new group, but something told her a whole year of wonder was awaiting them all.

After a while, Ishtar-la told her disciples, “Don’t open your eyes yet. Please look into your bodies. Can you feel any difference?” A second later she said, “Open your eyes and please share.”

Gemeti raised her hand timidly. “I did not see anything in my body. I felt more peaceful, but I can only look outside with my eyes open.”

Suma, her twin sister, could not help a giggle.

Annouk-Aimee laughed more heartily and agreed. “I had the same problem, but I felt something; my inner chest seemed to expand and I felt peaceful and, please do not laugh, but I had a clear sensation that I felt my stomach empty.”

Suma laughed loudly now. “You mean you felt hungry?

“No, I mean I have been having an upset stomach the last few weeks, but now it seemed to have settled down somehow.” Annouk-Aimee was truly uneasy now. She did not want to reveal the details of her pregnancy, which she hoped was a secret to everyone else but the teacher.

Ishtar-la took over the conversation gently. “Very good. The sensation of peace that Gemeti described is expected; how many of you felt quieter?”

All hands went up. Lakshmi ventured: “I think my heart stopped for a minute.”
Ishtar-la smiled again. “Perfect. That is all we were doing with this exercise. Like Lakshmi pointed out earlier, the Prana is depending on the breath that at the same time does circulate the energy through the Ka. It also has control over the mind, because it feeds the energy of the mind. The mind has an influence over the human heart, so when the Prana is controlled, like we did a few moments ago, the mind slows down and sends calming messages to the body. That in turn tends to produce a healing effect on the body, like the release of Annouk-Aimee’s stomach tension and a feeling of peace. Any questions?”
Annouk-Aimee raised her hand; she had always needed a rational explanation. “I can understand the feeling of it, but I don’t understand why.”
The disciples looked at her incredulously. “What did she mean by why?” That was the way the Ka worked, the teacher had said, and that is the way it felt in their experience. Lakshmi and Lizla gave each other the look of secret bemusement that often students feel when they are more advanced than their peers. Gemeti and Suma were reluctant to look up. The Gods know how humans work, they thought, so it was not wise to ask why. They believed that perhaps you should be grateful for this knowledge.
But Ishtar-la had been exposed to Western teachers and books before and had always admired their inquisitive minds. She answered the intrepid blue-eyed girl who was daring in her questioning. “Good question, Annouk-Aimee; there is a reason for every scientific fact like the working of our minds, souls and bodies. That is why schools exist: To make people understand these natural laws and learn to live more in harmony with God’s creation. Wisdom and knowledge are pleasing to Heaven and the Gods of wisdom bless our minds when we are eager to learn.”
Annouk-Aimee could not help a look of victory over her more subdued classmates.
Lakshmi remembered her own father saying that too. This made her feel much at home from then on, even with this strange Egyptian classroom with a Babylonian teacher and foreign classmates. “A Brahmin is the guardian of sacred knowledge.” That was the motto her family had always taught her. “Strange are the ways of the Gods, to fulfill destiny.” Lakshmi remembered that her father often said that too.
Addressing Annouk-Aimee, Ishtar-la said, “Why it always is good to ask questions, the subject is complex and it may take you many classes to understand it fully. Different disciplines and much life experience are required to get all the answers you would like.
“In this case, it is an excellent question. The mind is one of the four psychic instruments that make a human’s Ka truly human. The mind creates thoughts which generate words. We use those words outwardly when spoken or written to communicate with others. Inwardly the words of our mind give commands to the body. They are mostly unconscious to us, but not to the body. It is hard to control the mind, but it can be accessed through control of the Prana.”
Then she added, looking at the sand clock: “We are running out of time, so I am giving you an exercise for homework. Over the next three days, find and spend ten minutes each day doing this exercise. Select a steady sitting posture, with your eyes closed and examine your thoughts. Write them down in the papyrus book pages that are blank, in the second half of the book. This will be your class work book. May the Gods bless you until then. Class dismissed.”
Five days later, Ishtar-la received her disciples for the second lesson. She asked them, “How did the exercise go?”
Gemeti and Suma recoiled. They had been very busy attending their parents’ celebration of their brother’s wedding. Many people came from their native country and the two ladies had been playing hostess almost without stopping. Gemeti recalled that even the magnificent gardens where she used to take refuge with her friends, and lately with her fiancée, were invaded by children playing games and astonished visitors who could not stop wondering how such a marvel of trees, flowers and fountain beds could grow in the middle of the desert. For that reason, twice right before dinner, Gemeti had stopped and retired to her chambers to contemplate the lesson and apply it to center herself, as she felt drained by the intense political and busy atmosphere that surrounded the Ambassador’s residence.
Gemeti found out that her breathing exercises brought peace and calm for a while, but eventually a dull ache in her heart reminded her of her beloved’s absence. He had gone to Babylon to organize his family’s trip to Egypt. The family was coming to the wedding because the son of the Babylonian Ambassador was marrying a cousin of a Pharaoh. Such an occasion would be an ideal time to introduce his own fiancée to his mother and father. Gemeti had agreed to her mother’s plan and was both excited and a bit nervous about meeting her future in-laws.
“Thank you. That is a very good example,” Ishtar-la congratulated Gemeti after she shared her homework experience with the group. “Breathing control is one essential of the practical sides of book knowledge which you receive in school. Not only does it help you to relax but it also protects you from the tensions of the multiple challenges our lives bring continuously. All of us in this room have court or official functions. Our lives are not private and everything we do, say, eat or wear is scrutinized. Particularly in Egypt where “ma’at” or decorum is the basic – often unspoken – rule. This sense of harmony must be present in all aspects of public life; at least, the appearance of it. So your training in breathing control can pay for itself in everyday stress reduction.”
She stopped and waited for her disciples’ comments. Lizla was not satisfied. Stress control was fine, but she needed to know more. That was why she was going to school. She had experience with the inner chakras and had heard enough about the Prana, which was supposed to contain marvelous wisdom. Much knowledge was hidden – so she had heard – in those mysterious inner works of the body and the soul.
So she ventured, “I tried the exercises, but as I am used to meditation, after a few rounds, I went into a trance. Then it was hard to keep it to ten minutes since I had an urge to meditate.”
Ishtar-la looked serious as she replied, “So what did you do?”
“I opened my eyes and reflected on the experience recording them in my journal,” Lizla sighed.
“Good,” said Ishtar-la rather severely, “for this is not a religion class. However you need to understand the workings of the body, so your spiritual experiences bring only clarity to your mind and heart. There is nothing holy about confusion.”
Ishtar-la finished the last sentence with a consoling smile, but still Lizla felt rebuked. She did understand, however, her new teacher’s concerns. The meaning of the exercise was becoming clearer to her now.
The other disciples related different experiences of memory recollections and or relaxation. Suma said a bit defiantly: “I am new to all this. I tried these once or twice, but I fell asleep.”
Ishtar-la continued, “Thank you for your attention. We are going to study the first chapter in the book you have received. It is called “The Path of the Serpent Fire.” Don’t worry if you don’t understand it all. We will discuss it in class; also new exercises will bring the teachings closer to your personal understanding. “Open the papyrus book to page...”
She was interrupted by a Nubian messenger who arrived with terrified looks and a panting breath. He looked at Ishtar-la pleadingly and suspiciously at the class group. Ishtar-la sensed the urgency of the messenger and dismissed the class.
The Nubian slave raised his face from the floor and accepted Ishtar-la assistant’s hand; he was lead to a chair where he collapsed. The panting breath was recovering shortly, but his gaze still wavered between Ishtar-la and Lizla.
Bowing to their teacher, the students prepared to leave. Ishtar-la got close to Lizla and whispered in her ear, “Princess, please go to your room, but don’t leave until I send word to you. I will let you know what I find out about this.”

Chapter 15 – Ra-Ta’s Dilemma
Lizla followed her teacher’s advice and went back to her room to pray and meditate. By the evening, she could still not shake the image of the look in that Nubian slave’s eyes. It felt like a mixture of pity, awe and terror. Why did he pant like that, like he was on his last breath, but did