Kavundi
Kavundi seeks to live out Bhakti yoga, with the ultimate goal of atmanivendana, or annihilation of self by letting one’s ego fade into god. Thus it was a shock to her to have Laksmi herself request that she help Gwenaella in finding the roof of the world where the tree of life was hidden at the dawn of time.
BEFORE THE STORY BEGINS Kavundi lives as a sannyasi, having renounced the world in her devotion to Lakshmi. Still young, she sought out and was accepted by Madhva, an Acharya (teacher) who was teaching what he called Tattvavāda, where he sought to combine the Vedas with the emergence of Bhakti, a form of yoga. She found it hard to be the only women amongst his students, especially since Madhva insisted that all his students become proficient wrestlers as well as well versed in the Vedas. However, as he echoed Krshna's teachings that all who sought to follow could achieve the ultimate, Kavundi was welcomed. |