~Life's twist and turns...~

 In my pursuit to meet maximum number of souls visiting planet earth and talking with them, knowing them has been a great quest – all have different vagaries of life and are trapped in different situations, scenarios and trying to achieve something different. 

Many of them I have met have intrigued me because they have simply chosen to tread the path to unearth the world’s greatest mystery “GOD. The Unknown”, and in doing so they have achieved some remarkable feats – some have walked miles barefoot and have done endless “Naam -Jaapa” , for others paying obeisance to “HIM” every day for hours, meditating in his endless form has been a feat in itself. 

People call them mendicants and call them other names, but in a recent chance meeting with a retired school teacher, my percept got entirely changed – how can a well learned school teacher, who has been in such a noble profession changed his mind to seek alms and start his pursuit to search GOD …what stance made him change his comfortable retired life – with no financial or family liabilities, he took this path on his own as he was contemplating it for quite some time after sudden death of his wife and son in a freak car accident!

I met Ravi Prasad ji as I got his name in due course of my conversation with him – he was just walking down the street at a religious congregation that I had gone to - his style of asking for alms was different as he was not forcing himself or insisting too much to give him – he just stood outside the tent and was a keen observer – his robes and sport shoes intrigued me as he had a ‘semi -mendicant’ look and that he somewhat studious and from the material life and had not been a renunciate earlier.

All these questions encouraged a strong inquisition in me and I was quick to approach him to have a conversation with him – I invited him in but was not successful and he was desisting in going in but was happy just standing outside – As I enquired about his antecedents , he was frank in answering my questions – he as a retired professor of psychology in one of colleges in Ranchi, Bihar and had ‘Quit’ public life after a devastation in his life – Now in search of the almighty to find the “Why” , he had a sense of anger but pacification at the same time – but his quest grew bigger and bigger when he saw big congregation of people clasping to their individual faiths – some dancing, some kneeling down while others just sitting and in contemplation – he had choosen an altogether different but tedious path to renunciation or to be more close to GOD. 

As I asked him the trigger point of his renunciation the world and leaving all behind and walking an unknown and difficult path, he was clear for his quest was genuine and had to be quenched before he call it quits form this worldly existence – he had gained knowledge but still considered himself to be a novice in this path of spirituality – a tragedy had changed Ravi Prasadji as he lost his loving wife and his only Son who was adolescent to a car accident – his only question to the grand design was “Why ME?”…quite unexpectedly, life had changed gears in a quick succession and with no contemplation or preparation, he was left alone in this world …totally shattered …. This lead to his taking a bold decision to take to this path…he had donated his house in Bihar to a NGO and had almost nothing left to himself..

AS he told me “For Whom should I save or keep? ..I have no family left…It is me and myself… My needs and wants are almost none…miniscule to live on paltry sum everyday on people’s donation of little money or food… I am done with my material life ..now it is the quest for spirituality and to find answers to the most intricate of questions about our living…!”

I was mum and was in observance of this man whose life was a real example of what life can bring forth as we live… All our plans and accomplishments can be at set to nadir if situation changes overnight…no zeal to aspire for big things… and do this and that…

As I prostrated before him and he game me his “Ashirwad”, I moved on …filled till the brim with alternative thoughts of life…are these signs for me to ponder about life… surely they are … a serious contemplation took over and I went inside of myself…engrossed in my own living and my thoughts…What can life be like sometime, with all of its twists and turns… anything can happen anytime, sure meeting Ravi Prasadji is a repeated eyeopener for me as I knew beforehand…what life can offer the next second…