Some encounters in life are a remembrance of a lifetime...such was a recent talk I had with a lady who was in a different life trajectory. Her love and devotion to God was phenomenal and that it was coming from a lady of 45 years or more age from Japan who was once running her own small enterprise – having a lovely family, though not married but having lots of siblings and loving parents – in short, she was all accustomed to a good family life but what was the “tinge” troubling her , which led her to take this arduous path to find god and a true meaning of her life and existence.
I asked as I was glancing through the “Sri Krishna” Krishna books she held in her hand to be sold on whatever token price one wanted to give – the idea was to just not sell it for free as they would be taken for granted…. She responding each of my Proust question.
“Are you happy that you left your country and your family for the cause you truly believe in ?”
“Yes, don’t I look happy and effervescent….the journey is worth it, my love for my Guru and God is unending and I have got meaning to life”, thus she spoke.
“Also,
I had a very good job in Tokyo and that I had a good circle of friends but
still a there was emptiness in my life, something for sure was missing and I
could not figure out what was it, till I took an excursion to Rishikesh and
there I met my guru who had an ashram here…”
These
words were not fairy tale story from any book or a movie that I was watching
but a real-life account of a woman from Japan “Kazue” was her name (meaning
peace and harmony) …
The
talks went ahead and suddenly on the spurt of the moment she said “You know you
are lucky!” – I immediately asked why …” Because you are born in India and have
got an Indian body! but you guys don’t realise the significance of being born
in this land….” , I felt proud but little ashamed too as I know what her point
was , we are all dwelled in the layers of materialism, ignorant of the fact
this all is “Maya” and one day will vanish…. But we live in the oblivion of
this thought as if we are here till end of time….
Words
of wisdom coming from a westerner was music to the ears….but had lot of depth,
she was actually on a different tangent and had a mesmerized feeling with God…
As I asked her again “Don’t you miss you family who raised you and who wanted you to be beside you in old age and at fag end of their life…?”. She quickly replied with a smiling face…
“They know where my happiness lies and they are happy because what I wanted to do in life, I am doing…I left a well paying corporate job and a life of comfort to live a life of ascetic in all devotion to the Lord… and this is my path of my choice…they are indeed happy!” The
time was passing by quickly and she had to go to her ashram after buying fruits
and vegetables from the flea mart…as I just enquired from where she gets the
money from to buy these things…she again smilingly reverted…” From the books
that I sell here….” until she for the last time said “Hare Krishna…. God bless
you….” She turned and quickly vanished into a sea of humanity…. I stood there
just for a second…thinking how it must be if I was to take this stand…. Leaving
it all for Bhakti and devotion…Can I…??? ..The pulls of MAYA is much
… may be as of now I might not be prepared…but would certainly be looking out
for time when I call quits…
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