This is the opening of one of the most amazing books you will ever read. It may stir your heart, and perturb your thoughts, but rest assured that after all of that it will settle you within your being. You will confront truths that you’ve never noticed before in your entire life. This isn’t just a story, but rather, it is an allegorical revelation of my experiments with the inner truths of life. Read it with an open mind, for our understanding works best when the mind is completely free from the prejudices that we have nurtured since birth. Do not be anxious if anything seems vague and or if you do not understand it the first time. You need not agree with it all the along the way. Just keep reading. This book will be thought provoking and rather challenging for a first time reader to completely accept. Instances in this symbolic story contain truths which we all have conveniently ignored from time immemorial. It is the breaking of the bread of my own inner life experiences. Like everything else which is in a state of constant evolution, the mind must also evolve. The conditioning of human thoughts has created a danger of extinction for man. We may have advanced phenomenally in terms of technology but our internal growth has not kept up the pace with the progress outside us. Manav is the legend of a bird born in a family of vultures. He is just like any other bird, but one quality highlights the difference between him and the rest of the birds on this planet. And that is his tendency to question every convention, be it in thought or action. This peculiarity takes Manav on a road which ends outside, but bends within him. It leads him to a place of self discovery and wisdom. It elevates him eventually to a consciousness from where he is able to decipher the blunders of thought and action which arise out of the deceptions hidden in erroneous thinking. It is a common fact that conventionality is the comfort zone of the masses. Whoever crosses this line is shunned and deemed an outcast in no time. New ideas aren’t perceived as fresh possibilities toward growth and upliftment by everyone. In this story, Manav faces a similar situation. Every question that he poses before his elders creates resistance between him and his brethren. He suffers from alienation, finding himself all alone in this world, until the day he accidentally finds a kindred spirit in the form of an old vulture named Surya. It is Surya who initiates Manav into the gracious voyage of self realization. It is after many years of deep meditation and contemplation regarding his inner-self that Manav is enlightened to the great truth about himself. This book traces the journey of a bird from the state of primal existence to an elevated state akin to divinity, and this state is attained when he realizes his true nature and identity. Realizing one’s identity is the objective of every creature in this universe. Nothing is impossible for a creature who has realized the great synchrony of creation and the existence that surrounds him, thus having befriended life as it is. Such a being knows that he is not alone in this world and is in fact connected to everyone else through the everlasting breath of life. I earnestly pray that may every soul cultivate the wisdom required to pass through life with gentle awareness, and thus overcome his false self. I pray that in this battle of life, every soul emerges victorious. The story contains incidents in the life of Manav which ultimately culminate into deep learning experiences. He has a message to give to his congregation. He intensely feels that every bird must seek liberation from his false self. Therefore he travels far and wide finding disciples and sharing his wisdom in the world of the vultures. He names his first twelve disciples Yash, Anand, Trupti, Amar, Vidya, Dhairya, Shraddha, Satya, Kshma, Prarthana, Shanti and Dhyan respectively. And his journey begins once he is awakened. Manav traverses every mountain and valley to teach the vultures. In no time his name spreads far and wide, even unto foreign lands.