Imagine meeting a soulmate with an intense resonance that it only takes a few months to love each other deeply and form an eternal bond.

I met Bavika a few months ago. We met at temple. Already we recognized in each other, the same Bhakti we had for our divine mother and father. Her first visit to the farm turned into the first of many hours-long visits of talking, sharing and discussing our lessons, and making plans for the future and what we could achieve for the world if we joined forces.

She was a loving and kind friend who did things like bringing me a care package during my period, complete with a hot water bottle after mine had burst, and even treats for my dogs. That’s the kind of detail that shows how well she knew me despite our short history.

But she was more than a friend to me. She was one of one in my life, who could appreciate both my darkness and my light. She still looked at me with love when I used my shadow to express myself. She even thanked me for the unconditional love she felt from me, when I gave her hard truths. I felt seen, loved and appreciated for my authenticity, that I was still tentative to share, because most people were triggered by it. She is the greatest blessing to me in this way. She allowed me to be fully myself.

While I was both dark and light, she was fully light, embodying the innocence and grace of Anandamayi Ma, accepting and loving, seeing only God wherever she looked.

She is a special soul, who surmounted challenges like they were mosquitoes she swatted away. Her devotion to God showed in her disciplined sadhana and as a leader in the Shiv Yog organization. She had reached meditative states where she not only experienced the bliss of connection with the divine, she embodied it, and brought it into the material world.

She gave the gift of those lessons freely to her fellow Shiv Yogis including a group of children who she dedicated her Saturday mornings to, guiding them through the yoga she practiced with joy and enthusiasm.

Her material success was well-earned through blood, sweat and tears that only a prolific businesswoman like herself would understand. Her work ethic and spirit-led leadership were both strong and inspiring. The expansion of her business and continued support of her family and friends were a natural result from her self- made career.

She continued to grow and thrive, and she proudly shared pictures of her new machines, renovated store front and state of the art trophies that she made. On the one occasion I met her staff, and from the way she spoke of them, I understood their mutual love and appreciation and their respect and adoration for her.

Her family was her priority, the foundation that grounded her in this world. She often expressed how close she was to her mother, and how they were spiritually connected and walked their paths together. She had a deep bond and affection for her parents and brother. She made sure she visited her family home for her daily lunch prepared lovingly by her mum.

Her love for God reflected in her love for humanity. She took every opportunity to give back to the community and created more opportunities when she could. I had the privilege of joining her and her family in making sandwiches and feeding 300 children on Mandela Day, something she did every year.

Our friendship quickly turned into a strong bond, where we were best friends and sisters in spirit. She taught me how to protect my energetic space and gave me salient business advice, and I shared all the lessons I was learning about shadow and light. We shared our spiritual experiences with each other, and enjoyed the resonant frequency of our mutual obsession with our divine parents. We had found confidantes in each other, navigating different paths to the same destination.

She relished reading my newest blogs that I sent to her before publishing, and I sent her voice notes of my latest discoveries and lessons. She was my self proclaimed biggest fan and supporter and I was hers. We talked about building a shrine for Devi together and were consumed by excitement at the idea!

She had planned her pilgrimage to Mount Kailash long before I had met her, and she had a joyful radiance when talking to me about it. I was equally excited at the thought of her at this powerful energetic space, the spiritual home of our beloved Mahadev. We both considered Him our divine father, and I felt like I was visiting Him myself through her.

She kept in contact the whole way through, sharing pictures of her adventures and her visits to holy temples including the Shaktipeeth that she knew I dreamt of visiting myself also. She was on cloud nine, immersed in the prayers, mantras and sacred sites.
She was already planning our trip to go there together…

When we lost contact on the day she was supposed to cross the Nepal/Tibet border, I had a horrible thought of losing her. But I convinced myself that she was just out of range of cell reception.
When evening came and I didn’t hear from her, my concern was mounting.
It was only the next day that I heard of the devastating floods and that her family had also lost contact. I still kept thinking that she would be protected and I had witnessed similar floods in Pakistan and that she would be okay.

It was only when I saw footage of the border post being annihilated by the tsunami of earth and water, that I allowed myself to feel the panic that had been whispering since the previous day. The whisper was now a scream!

I went into action mode, and contacted the NGO I knew were involved in search and rescue operations. I made a quiet decision to try to join them if they went to Nepal. The prospect of joining an emergency rescue mission was familiar to me, but this time, it was personal. Maybe too personal.

I did remote energy scans for her, hoping I could send her the healing energy she needed, for whatever she was facing. I prayed stoically that first day, putting my faith in the God that we both loved and were devoted to.
The following days brought a tsunami of grief that destroyed my stoicism in its path. The tears were unstoppable… all I could do, was feel and experience the depths of my emotions. All while having to trust, that it was necessary and it would eventually pass. I reached out to a friend when it felt too deep to handle on my own.

In the weeks preceding, I had written a series of blogs, not yet published that I had shared with Bavika. The synchronicity of the topics is too intense for me to handle and I could not bring myself to publish. I had written a blog on the Beauty of Sadness, where I talk about how the grief of loss, was painfully beautiful.
I wrote another blog, Understanding Death, where I talk about facing the death of a loved one and how the ones left behind can face it.
And then a blog on Vairagya, the ability to detach from the outcomes of life’s challenges and even the prospect of my own death, with love and compassion, understanding and acceptance.

Bavika loved every one of these blogs and shared how she felt the same way and received the same intuitions and insights on her path.

They are still unpublished… as I grapple with my latest lesson that her own soul’s path has brought me. I am stuck between hope and loss, grief and joy, uncertainty and acceptance. In this great illusion of life, I can only surrender to the all knowing grace of Mahadev and Devi, forever bound together as the consciousness and energy that creates this universe. My yearning for my friend is a gift that both squeezes my heart tightly and expands it at the same time. And I continue to send her loving energy through my prayers and hope for her return home.

I am humbled before the Leela of the supreme Godhead, for all my spiritual strength and wisdom I have gained, I can never fully understand or control the karmic wheel and the infinite divinity behind it.

What I know, is that I am blessed to have met a beloved soulmate even if it will be for a short time on this earthly plane. And that in spirit, we both sit at the feet of our divine parents, in full surrender and devotion, in unconditional love for each other and for them.

I hope that while reading this blog, you are sending a prayer of love and gratitude for this beautiful soul
Whatever the outcome, the love we send her is real and powerful!

May Devi bless you all
Har har Mahadev