~ Life & Death...~

 “Ah! It’s a Girl…” the vehemence on the doctor’s face was as ecstatic as it seems to be – a new soul had just arrived in the family and everyone was elated and anxious to see and have a glimpse of the new “Guest” – My Friend Rohit was in tears, he could not believe that he had just become a father to a Girl child and now he

Rohit has always been a spiritually inclined soul and closely observes the happening in and around life… “See Sanjeev, as I have always believed…the greatest magic of life is Life and Death…Souls are coming in this material world (“Mrityu Lok” as we call in Hinduism) and so are they departing when their journey is over and they have done their Karmas… 

I have been blessed with this soul for whom I would just be a custodian and nothing else…We think we are the owners of our children. This is grossly wrong percept..” – the depth of these thoughts were quite palpable as my friend was in a different tangent …actually a great miracle has had happened in his life…coz just a few months before his daughter was to be born, he lost his Dad to a fatal disease…He couldn’t stop his exit from this world despite his best of the efforts and spending a fortune…

Surely, Rohit had a point for ponderance, we are living everyday with a thought that today is not our day and that someone else will exit this world and die his/her death …What makes you so confident? Is it the empirical living that you have been getting awake every morning to rush to office  or do your daily homely chores … We all have taken ourselves and our lives for granted seemingly ignorant to the fact that one day “Death” would arrive at your footstep and no one in existence can stop or alter it! 

Same is with Birth, the soul which is bound to be born, be it in any form, plant, animal, humans, insects, microcosm and what not would be born at an appropriate time, you can not stop it to germinate either…. So between these two “Mega Events” of one’s life, what is it that we need to do ?

This is again a complex question to answer as many of us have different perception regarding this thought – some fall back on purposeful Karmic Dharma ( do your deeds and fulfil your Karma as mentioned in Bhagwat Gita) or many of us just wander around and give ourself in hands of destiny without giving a simple thought to free will….the percept being…whatever is written would happen… we didn’t choose where we were to be born and we will never know where we would die….

 To some extent, this school of thought has some depth but the concept of free will is also enumerated in the Bhagwat Gita ..where Lord Krishna vehemently delivers his sermon as “ You should always perform your Karma as you cannot escape this worldly existence / Maya created by me without sitting idle…But don’t expect the fruits of your doings in accordance to your liking… “

Another moment of elation was soon to come in Rohit’s life when the Nurse called us in and handed over the newly born in his hands …he could see the “Miracle” in front of his eyes in flesh and blood, the little one blushingly smiling as if she knew her father beforehand…

 I being the looker, the feeling was filled with emotions…here I was a witness to a father and Daughter’s first meeting in this material world…. As I thought, Rohit has rightly observed the working of this world….Somebody is leaving with a heavy heart…Someone is coming with a blissful smile….the Miracle will go on for ever…!!!

~ Meeting with a Porter...~

 He came and stopped by abruptly without a knack and gentle asked “Pithoo?” – with no shame and eager for work, his smile as he spoke these words made all the difference….His age with salt and pepper look showcased his predicament to be a hard task master though he had still taken his situation with a pinch of salt.

As I turned around and said in affirmation, he grimaced and started to untie the robes around his waist – the sole purpose was to tie a punch of suitcases and bags which were part of our travelling kit. It was mundane task for him as he slowly and meticulously arranged all the bags in his trolly and started to try the knot with a soul purpose of not loosening every bit and thereby avoid falling.

But behold! He didn’t negotiate at all “as one of my friends gently whispered in my ear – “How much has he asked for this service?”. To be frank his gentle presentation and style of marketing himself was taken over by petty business thought – I really didn’t care if he overcharges at all as seeing his age and the amount of sincere effort, he was doing was for everyone to see and understand.

But still as my friend again insisted, “Please negotiate with him first?”, he might overcharge us for all of this!” – I patiently waited and let him do his work with ease – after some time when he was done with his “Packing”. I asked him “Bhaiya kitne loge?” [ Brother, how much you will charge?] – He turned around and laughed and quickly responded “ Bhai, jitne bhi aapka mann kare!” [ Sir, whatever you feel like!]

He was making me his fan with each passing moment – here was a man in his septuagenarian age but with the zeal of life and with almost no greed! – his predicament was too visible and for sure he had earned respect and not much money – As I loosely negotiated with him, to his favour and further asked him his name and that where he lived and since how long he has been working here .

With a smile he politely answered, “ Mera Naam Saiffudin Khan hain” [ My name is Saifuddin Khan and I live in Kashmir and have been working here for last three decades , doing this when I was in mid 30’s].

As As I further enquired about his family and kids and there well being, he was charmed and with a shy smile, he spoke about his 3 sons and 2 daughters who were all settled and living their married lives, he never wanted to be sitting idle and be a burden on their earnings and that he had well tuned body and wanted to work till the very end of his living....

As the deal was jammed, he told us to start moving along with his tugger and efficiently transgressed through narrow streets avoiding heavy traffic and pedestrians – his skill was too efficient and almost unmatched – of course his experience was at display! – Walking through 1-2 kms as we reached our destination, he seemed to be little exhausted but was not complaining – of course his age was overtaking him day by day and the need of earning was the pull of his life – as he unpacked our luggage and cleanly piled up bags just like a professional coolie, the next moment he was expecting his remuneration.

As I paid him what was negotiated, he had broad grin on his face – he looked satisfied as he asked him – why not “ he was simply overpaid” not because of the neatness of work he did but just because of his attitude and persona – as he turned around to say a final goodbye, I invoked him to a final talk.

“Bhaiya, apna cell phone number dete jao, next time aayenge toh aapko fone karenge pakka, hum thodey time par attey rehtey hain yahan par!” [Sir, please can you give me your cell no, we keep on coming here quite often and the next time we are here, we will surely call you!]

He smiled again and the satisfaction on his face was quite evident, he quickly pulled up a card and showed it to me and said “ Aap yeh likh lo, mein pada likha nahi hoon, aap ispe call karlena mein hazir ho jaunga!” [ Please, note down this number, I am not educated, you can call me at this number and I shall be available.] 

As I took the snap of the card, we all said a final goodbye to this beautiful human being – the last line he told all of us was blessing which came direct from his heart “ Beta, Humeinsha Khush Raho!” [Son, Always Be Happy] – I he had made our day …to end with such a positive note, and as we boarded our train back to our dwelling, I kept on seeing his pic on my mobile – surely some souls are never forgotten… I am eagerly waiting for the next meeting with Saifuddin Sir… till then, this small meeting will remain in my conscience for long, next time I meet him, he would be reminded of our last meeting with relevant pics and also his presence on the internet via this blog!!!

~ Why do we Pray…~

 Many a time one may get a feeling of nostalgia towards that “Power Centre” who has created us and let us off to perform – what we call as Karma….

There are so many of us on this planet that we look like “Ants” as compared to other species. Just the other day sitting alone in front of a deity an in vigorous thought came to my mind and that was “Why do we believe in God or almighty…What makes us believe in the superpower that we have not seen and in most of the times not even felt…The power is intangible though…”

Is it the fear factor that makes all of us go to temples and other places of worship or is it the power of unknown tomorrow that puts fear in our minds and we bow to him – for the seeker’s it is that inquisition of “Who am I” and that “Who created us and for what purpose?” that makes us go in front of the Idol and pour our hearts out.

Many a time you get absorbed in the radiant energy of the idol and upon constantly looking at the idol, you get mesmerized and pour into emotional thoughts and start chatting with “HIM” as if HE is responding to all of your questions and problems – at the end though , you get light hearted and come out as a somewhat happy personality.

There are zillion times that we face situations in life which we don’t have answers to and there is no one around us – our friends, family and other acquaintances, who are helpless in providing us that vital solution – it is “that” time that we fall back on our creator , through “n” number of thoughts bombarding your conscience – we crib, cry in front of “HIM” for a respectable solution and many a time we do get our most sought after answers – it makes belief come true that there certainly is someone who is has a controlling stake in this universe and is pulling the string.

I have seen people mesmerized and gone into their cocoons and crying incessantly in front of idols, with folding hands they depict a picture of true devotion – their faith is enormous and have been so for long enough for their own survival – ask them if they have got solution to every problem – most probably the answer would be a “NO” – but still their will come and bow down to that “Unknown” power for their faith is resolute and immaculate!!!

Just the other day, a conversation led me to a gentleman who had been coming to a nearby temple for almost four decades, - his obeisance to the Almighty has been truly remarkable – As I watched him silently, his murmur with the idol was endless…tears flowing through , he was engrossed in that “moment” and had no conscience of people around him – I certainly was convinced that he was not a devotee out of compulsion or fear – he certainly was a true devotee who was just “Thanking” him for a life given …

As I encounter endless souls pray every day, I think of HIM who must be keeping a record of all the prayers and demands we are making 😊 – and why not – if we can’t find answers to the basic of questions troubling us in life – he is Mr Dependable with whom we converse our hearts out and depict our helplessness in solving our life’s big and small problems….

Every one of us have different dimensions and purpose of praying – it si HE who knows the best ...if to answer or have a deaf ear… the ball was and would going to be in his court …Always…. but we would always be hell-bent to fall back on HIM as I strongly believe in his existence…. Always near me….

~ Sorry Papa...~

 “Sorry Papa..” these words are piercing to the ears when you hear it, when you get to know or read in newspapers or News that some young soul ended his/ her life for simply not getting into IIT or not clearing NEET exam – Is getting into IIT  or clearing NEET is the soul purpose of life I ask? There are billions of souls who are not engineers or Doctors and they own best of engineering companies and also have their own hospitals – In other sense these students have been pressurized to achieve the impossible many a time, The result “Suicide”!!!

Confined to a small room and riding on high spirits to either preform or perish – there is no other way out, students are left with no other option but to do the ultimate – they don’t give life another chance, it is here where spiritual education can be of immense help as it can be panacea of all negative thoughts.

No school or college teaches its student to absorb failure in life – “What if you fail?” , teachers should ask their students. By probability theory every action has 50% chance of success and failure and nothing is certain in this uncertain world. It is here that parents and teachers fail to assimilate a holistic touch to young minds – “You are born to be an engineer from IIT “or “Crack the NEET and secure a position and be a Doctor of reputation” , nothing wrong in these objectives but WHAT IF NOT – is it the end of your living, nobody has a real plan B to entertain our lives and continue with the scars of “failures” which the society will see us with.

Students are prudent enough to be taught an alternative to these failures resulting in the cult of suicides, there has to be an alternative teaching – a profound class to start with is to teach these minds that Human birth is exceptional and on top of the value change - its life, failures will happen but still be bold to keep walking - you have to tread the path for which you were born and it is individual struggle that one has to live for... no one is going to remember for your suicide as you will certainly stamp yourself to be a failures BUT not doing so , who knows you become the next Startup boss or a achieve something substantial in life... 

I still remember my SSB interview for the esteemed Indian Army – on the last day a colonel rank officer came and declared the result – my entire batch was a “Washout” batch, as they call it – to my surprise, many of my new found colleagues started to weep profoundly as if there was no life left 😊 – I was surely disappointed but not at the stretch of a weep and crying like a baby – life surely had to offer me other opportunities which I can be successful in – which indeed I got – the best part was when I cleared my written of Combined Defense Services Exam and again got a call for Bhopal interview board, I had already secured a seat in MBA course which eventually I went into… life surely had given me a suitable alternative – what if I am not serving our esteemed Army but I am contributing in an equally effective way by being a law abiding citizen paying monthly taxes and following rules and regulation….  😊 ..for me it is same as serving my country! 

It feels bad and heartbroken that for life’s nitty gritty, one loses hope and takes the route of ending one’s life – never ever thinking what effort one’s parents, family members and friends might have gone through, raising you to this level and what will happen to them afterwards…

By endings one’s life, you have stopped the probability of a better one altogether, there will be no 50% better opportunity coming your way now as you lost hope after living and experiencing the toughest 50% - always remember there is always a second chance to stand up and start running…. As all you need is to be on the cricket pitch and wait for that loose ball and hit it for a six!....

~ Find Your Purpose...~

What are we here for? Just to earn and procreate and have family and then one day our body withers and we are flamed and after some time no one remembers us of our visit to this planet – whatever amount of good or bad you have done is forgotten after some passing years…

The society is developed in such a way that people come and people go – everything is absorbed in melancholy and love and lost soon after. So again the main question comes prodding to the mind “What are we here for? , to eat sleep, procreate, earn money accumulate good and bad experiences ?” or there is something much beyond our comprehension. 

Till date the only “Convincing and a logical answer I came across has been from the Bhagwat Gita which was again and again echoed by Srimad Prabhupada… when one devotee asked him “what is our purpose of this earthly life? “, Sri Prabhupada replied “just to thank god and be at his devotion, nothing else…you are not here to achieve big things and live with them perpetually, you will surely have to leave everything at his insistence and start afresh – now to the naked eye this logic sounds so profound and real for we can see this happening in our day to day lives.”

There is another school of thought which insists that that this world is just a coincidence and everything “Just Happened” by chance and that we are here to exist and vanish one day with no afterlife – there is no one who created us and there is no cosmic governance guiding our living.

Every religion has its own interpretation of our existence and its own school of thought – but all have one similar commonality and that is that we come, we exist and we go! – in between what happens is what we call “Life”.

So, when you see your near and dear one go, thoughts come to your mind promptly about our purpose and what should we do to enrich our lives - time is clicking for sure and as they say, each passing day takes us close to our death – our final destination.

I have met umpteen people and asked them this “simple yet most complex question” – “What is your purpose in life? – there was no convincing answer as almost all of us are confused – we are just living a day without any purpose and a forming a legacy…. Only one soul till date has given me a convincing answer to our purpose in life “ Just live it and don’t try to find your purpose, things will altogether shape up to find you one day and then doing things you will realize that you were born for this…till that does not happen , live synonymously with what life is offering you….!!!” – Sounds quite convincing to me and that this advice I incorporated and am a happy being…waiting for destiny to find me and make me live my true purpose…. For others, keep on this journey alive for sure you will to one day tread on this question and move out to find someone giving you meaning of life and what you are here for….

~ My Book-Man ~

In your journey of life, you will meet people extraordinaire, they may not be big shots in their fields but surely will be brimming with day to day wisdom – life for all of them was never bed of roses but they inculcated the art of living whilst they started to live life each day.

Today, I present one of my very old pal “Mahesh” the “Book Man” who I lovingly address – for the tagline “He introduced me to the world of Books!” – mind it , he is uneducated and only had a chance to study till class 8^th, due to family circumstances, life did not offer him pancakes and he had to start fending for himself to survive – A friend advised him to sell books , which he started by buying them from old Delhi weekly bazaar and setting out a pavement shop at a prominent business Centre. 

That was a time, there was no internet and no social media, Youtube, many people had the habit of “Reading” and glancing through various books and magazines street vendors and hawkers decorated at various pavements of Delhi, Mahesh being one of them became a prominent book hawker – with a diligence to earn a livelihood along with interest in part time reading, he soon educated himself via open school education system and also mad friends with students like me who were studying for various competitive exams – unknowingly , we became friends and started to share a bond of discussing various current affairs topics which we read and glanced through in various magazine’s.

Today, when I saw him after quite some time, my old memories resounded, generally asking about his well being and what he has been upto, we quickly shared the same bond and asked each other that pertinent question “Do you still read?”, he was quick in his reply and reverted “ Yes, of course!, Books are my lifeline and has taught me so much.”

Mahesh is now married and has a teenage daughter; he was proud to convey that his daughter is a voracious reader and is his “Permanent Customer!” – “She speaks clear cut English Bhaiya!” – I was elated! and at the same time happy to learn this – after all his efforts had bore fruit – at a time when many youngsters have just lost contact with books and have turned to virtual shortcuts, here was a street vendor who himself had inculcated the habit of going through various books and have also  passed on this hegemony to his daughter!

As we again parted ways, not before buying some good stuff that he recommended accordingly – again he astonished me as he knew my “reading taste”, time had not eradicated his memory, as he still remembered me as his one of the primary customers decades ago. Today when I started to read his recommended book, his words echoed in my conscience “A book can teach you so many things in a lifetime!”.

“So true Mahesh, these are invincible words of wisdom which you have resonated with decades of standing at your makeshift pavement shop and selling such precious pieces of wisdom, unfortunately few of them would partake in your journey, I truly consider fortunate to have found such a lovely gentleman and a true friend with whom I share a profound relationship and camaraderie of non stop book reviews and life’s conversations… Looking forward to our next meeting eagerly, not before I complete your recommended book as I know for sure your first words of inquisition would be “ How was it ? 😊” …Until we meet again…

~ My Friend "Jumbo" ...~

 I made him my friend after a long time and as I earned his faith, it made me realise one thing in life and that is “Dogs are actually a Man’s best friend!”

He eagerly awaits my daily walks and he knows for sure that he will get his daily dose of “goodies” – he is fond of sweet biscuits, which he earlier was not – the transgression happened in due course when first time he tasted some of them, licking hesitantly – surely the sweetness bestowed his tongue and he would now seek them every day.

Many a time “jumbo” – a moniker I have given him walks with me endlessly and acts my bodyguard against other canines in the park – somehow, he has started to know my gestures and language – he wags his tail in anticipation of being asked to something – nature has peculiar ways of communication between two different species – the bond is immutable and gets strengthened with each passing day.

Just the other day he was hurt, and bleeding profusely – his sad eyes were telling a compelling story of his fight with other canines of the park – surely it must be power struggle or a fight for supremacy which he clearly lost – he was in pain and expecting to be loved by someone – he didn’t come to have his favourite biscuits not even after being lovingly called by me.

He was angry and started to growl – as if he was angry that he was had lost a kingdom – suddenly he got up and came to me and tried to cuddle me as if he wanted all the love he was missing.

I did what he expected out of me and after some time his mood changed and I was happy that he was trying to get to the same demeanour which I saw him first. His wagging tail was a testimony of his acceptance of my love and talk – I felt good that my lovely friend was back in his shape and form, though the patches of blood clearly showed what he had gone through – love covered all for him and made him forget his lost fight.

Today, as I met him , he was back with a vengeance and was jumping jack and jill as he had got a fortune – clearly he did, as he had a female companion – and he picked up a piece of biscuit and took it in his mouth and showered his love to his female counterpart to prove is love 😊 ..strange is the world of canines… they are surely Man’s best friend – here I should admit, “Jumbo” changes my mood every time I see him, he is a friend in need, always tries to show his love and affection and proves beyond doubt what love is all about….no wonder, it has been proved by medical science that having company of such friends can be super entertaining and enthralling… hope , everyone of us gets love from selfless friends like “Jumbo”…who expectedly waits for you everyday and showers you with his selfless love for nothing in return..

 

 

 

~ Love Yourself to be Loved ~

Are we finding a purpose in our day-to-day living? What on earth we came for and what was our true goal which our higher self-wanted to achieve?

Most probably, the answers to these intricate questions lay deep inside YOU , in your real conscience, which time and again tries to talk to you and most of the times – you completely ignore it!

We as living beings supersede the top of the food chain and have brains to create the best of the world which make our lives comfortable BUT we don’t know our true being – many of us are dejected, confused and loitering around for material wealth, health and true friends and relations, fully knowing that all this is ethereal and with time would diminish in facet of time.

We ignore the “Signs” which the grand design quite often gives you and that singular moment when you are connected to your higher self – you pass it on as a deep tinge or thought as sedimentary as zillion other thoughts which come to your mind during your awake state.

I give you a small mantra which I have been practicing for quite some time – in the deep of night / Early morning 3:30 am to 4:30 a.m , when almost many of our cities go dead , sit down in a comfortable chair ( to start with) and let the thoughts pour through  - don’t tame the thoughts ,let them flow through in their natural way – the brain is clever to process any information which it receives and sends to your conscient as thought – it could be anything – don’t pay much heed to it, let it pass through….

There would come a time when you will get ‘bored’ or may be impatient but cling to the exercise – after 5 minutes focus on your Breath…now the “Magic” begins… with each passing of the breath, notice the calmness which will happen all by itself – you will feel a deep sense of relaxation and after continuous practice, may be 10 mins every day to begin with , you will see a sea change in your day to day endeavors and your aura.

Your focus will change and suddenly your mind would scrap unnecessary thoughts which would trouble you, actually you have now kind of “Tamed” the mind to focus on your breath and breath has No thought… it is just a natural exercise, the mind cannot make things out of a situation anymore…it is just focusing on a simple exercise…. 😊 … the deep sense of calmness will open the door for innumerable probabilities in your living – believe me , try this…and you will see the effort bearing fruit.

With continuous practice, you will achieve the calmness and alignment with your greater self – and the next step to this practice would be finding the purpose of your living – the universe is all there for you to tell you your sense of purpose of your existence, it is you who is a impediment to receive its message….

Once sign that things are working out for you after practice this technique is “ that your face would be always glowing with happiness…” and people would come to you for the unique sense of attraction that you have been bestowed by the Universe,; after doing all this the change you will see is that "You will start loving yourself, be whatever, all your stupidities, wrong choices and decisions will be accepted by your being, from the moment you start loving yourself, the Universe will start loving you...have faith ...till then happy practicing… !

~ That Elusive Happyness...~

 So is it “Happyness” a myth in our daily lives now – certainly Not… It is the way you deal with your circumstances which makes you believe in life – everyone has hard and soft situations to deal with – life’s daily itinerary is full of surprises which are bestowed on us at regular intervals.

Look around, people with meagre resources are joyous then you – they are deeply loving life and its circumstances, it doesn’t mean that they have accepted life’s realities but have made themselves the way to keep chirping and live happily, not to forget that they are doing continuous effort to improve their chances and their quality of life.

“Death would kiss you Anytime!” – these words still resonate in my mind and it came from an elderly octogenarian who is no longer in flesh and blood – he lived his dream on this planet and said goodbye with a smile – as he told me verbatim “ I only Thank almighty to give me human life and enrich my living by my daily experiences, first in the army and then in Civil life…, I fought 3 wars and saw death and destruction but my resolve to live life in completeness was not shattered but only became more resolute with time!”

So how one can be happy …for me it is to Talk and do small small things which make a difference in your psyche – reading a book or talking to a solitude soul can change your own self – there is much to learn from the universe – how many of us look up in the sky during one’s day ? – If even you are lucky to be on a break from your daily schedule – try look at the twinkling stars, those unfathomable mountains, endless flowing rivers – doesn’t a though transgress your mind to be living meaningful?

Certainly, life will throw its own nutshells with passage of time and it is you who has to spearhead your resolve to live it to the fullest and overcome its challenges – the one who is always happy will be truly called the winner – I come across lot of people who are doing very well in life professionally but they are damn unhappy and they are in a flux of life scenes which they cannot comprehend.

Many of them diseased and having all health problems – a scenario of their own making- for others, personal life is on a tailspin and they never thought of being in such a predicament – happiness seems to be elusive dream from them, for they are always in precarious situation life offers them – they do the daily balancing act.

Remember – you are not here to crib and sulk BUT to to be happy and thank the existence for HIM to be given this human birth – enjoy it to the fullest and spread the fragrance of happiness and positivity around you  - people whom you meet should keep you in your minds and remember you for the person you are – if possible, change the way they are living and educate them to live and always look at the positives of life – there is certainly much what life would offer – the key is with you to open the door for life to enter…Stay Happy and Stay charming…..!!!

~ Life for Us...~

As the festive season embraces us all and the closure of another Year in everyone’s life entails our being, thoughts pour in my mind regarding the life and times lived in this year – some fond happy and sorrows that everyone has, some dreams achieved and many not, the year was full of frantic laugh and sometimes deep sorrows.

But generally, I am not thankless being – this is life and things will happen when they ought to – over a period of time, you will all start to know how life works, it keeps on happening at snail’s pace and listen to none – the only thing we can do is to oblige its command. 

As a reminiscence of time, this year, there were lot of people who met you and with whom you may have made friends with – new partners with new thoughts and dimensions but synonymously lot of the previous ones may have left you or you may have lost touch with – that’s perfectly OK as this is the true definition of life…it is all about Change that will constantly happen, come what may!

Life in its true meaning is a combination of scenarios that it will throw at you – many a times, you will turn out to be winners and at times you will going to loose, which surely will make you humble and bestow you with teachings.

Life for all of us will certainly not be a bunch of roses always, there would be times of bricks and bats too, by all inevitability life will move on as it stops for none…

Whether you exit on this planet or no makes no big difference to the existence, you just came to live and delve into your karma…earning some karmas and living some, at the defining moment your achievements and aspirations wont be gauged as they never will be , but In all certainty, what good you did to make other’s life comfortable and what good you did to this world will be taken stock of.

As this Year ends in its final dusk, all I pray and hope from the “Grand Design” is to bestow me with the rightful intentions of being humble and doing greater good to achieve my Karma and that the people Iife’s I touch and try to change…I hope this happens soon…. till them as a mortal being I pray and expect….

~ Punditji, a Life of Wisdom ~

Life is just nothing but a confluence of souls in body form – born in different scenarios and difficult-ease situation, every one of us are facing our own challenges. But in its vignettes, Life still deserves to be lived with zeal and zest…My approach to live with its impediments and love-hate situations comes from the observation of people around me, they are continuing and living life with the faith that one day will be different and would be as according to their own wishes and fantasies – god knows if ever that day would come and they would achieve and have their way of approaching life as they think –

Thinking so about these thoughts, I meet strange people living life with all its magnanimity – “Punditji”, is one such soul that I often meet, he sits on his favourite couch and sells potatoes and Onions in our weekly flea mart.

For me, he is the epitome of knowledge, for his whitish – grey hair tells his story of struggle and various life’s juggling – he has been an auto driver, a street hawker and now from a considerable amount of time a Vegetable Seller. His one liner about life is too profound to be considered again – specially when one falls in that scenario trap that we all face on day-to-day basis. He is a proponent of life’s simplicity and always proposes to ease things out whilst one is living. Living his history, he is always in a comparative analysis of time lived – for him now a days people have no patience and always are on the run, they are having fanciful expectations and aspirations from life and that they are not eating a healthy food.

All of his observations is a testament to the diminishing health standards of society we live in where life expectancy is sharply falling – never have ever heard of sudden heart failures and other health hazards – youngsters are as prone as oldies.

Punditji has a unique personality as he always sits in the ‘Lotus’ pose and has a lukewarm water flask as his benchmark – he had switched to drinking lukewarm water since a decade now – and it is his ubiquitous style that he has no ailment at 75^th years of his existence.

Sounds interesting to ears when I heard this, he is simplicity entwined in modernity and a role model for me, the struggles of his life have been unique too, he has raised three sons and a daughter with whatever meagre he has earned in life and all of his children are well settled in life… a feat in today’s world…

Last time when I met him, I had a question in my mind which I asked “Punditji, isn’t it time to retire? , now that every responsibility you have fulfilled and that there is nothing more to be done. He laughed out loud and said “Son, there is always a responsibility on your shoulder, even if your family responsibilities are off, there is responsibility towards people around you and the society for its greater good… Moreover, till the almighty wants me to work and keeps me hale and hearty, I will always work as it gives me my self esteem and my honour…and moreover to meet varied people” ….

Truly, Punditji is a happy man… and would remain so as he has made his life to be in all its simplicity with less needs and great thoughts….!

~ Three to Tango ~

It takes Three to Tango! This is what it seems to be when you see these musketeers roaming around here and there passing time. The school is over today and they are their own masters – though they have certain aspirations, though small and fit in their dreamy world.

If you are trying to open them up by initiating a frank conversation with them, in all probability they will shy away – a cheeky laugh will follow and they would be looking at each other with an expectation to speak up and that who does that first amongst them 😊! 

Just the other day they were playing and engrossed in their own small world, I was meeting them the second time and they instantly recognized me – as I enquired about their schooling and generally about their life, one of them spoke up meekly – “There is no school today!, winter holidays” , to which I reverted,

“Then what is the plan for the day guys?”…

Again came the voice “Uncle, we will just chill and play to our heart’s content and we have nobody to call and bother !” .

“What about your parents?” , I enquired.

The Cheeky one , who had just now found  his confidence talking to me replied “Uncle , both have gone to work and house is empty! 😊.”

Surely, all three were king of their own worlds today and were playing their heart out with a sense of contentment – There were no limitations to their being gaudy and had all the time in this world to be their real selves.

I asked the youngest of them about his name and he smilingly replied “My name is Ramesh” and on further enquiring I got to know that he indeed had no parents and was orphan and was just clinging on to life with both the other buddies he had befriended just months back – the other two being real brother and sister, their parents took Kishore as their third child and was taking care of him – though he was not sent to school.

As Kishore spoke “ Uncle, I will go to school from next session, I love going to School and I love books!” – those words brought a sight of relief and I talked about the importance of going to school or any teaching centre.

The conversations soon turned into a playful one and then I asked what games they were playing – amongst them, who wore a school uniform and went by one name “Kishen” shyly replied “Uncle we have just now created a game out of a single Brick that we found” and now we will pass our time with this brick! , All three musketeers were smiling ear to ear in tandem.

No wonder, we they had understood life better in this tender age and that their daily living had taught them the value of resources and also to remain satiated and in humour with whatever they had in life… As I said a final “Goodbye”, all three were effervescent and reverted with full vigour – they had made me their friend – I promised them a small token of gift that they needed for them to play when they have such occasion – I am sincerely looking forward towards the next meeting and spending time with them – the purity of their thoughts took me into another tangent… being a child is always mesmerizing and finding little ones as a shade of your past living is an honour…

~ Silence, all there is… ~

The only thing which is speaking continuously in the universe is ‘Silence’ – the ultimate no-voice of the existence is keeping itself with the ticking time. So what is silence – to understand its demeanor , you will have to sit in complete oneness with yourself and with absolutely no thoughts – if it is possible – what you call the ‘No Mind’ situation! , Now that is just similar to attaining the Samadhi and the most closeness  you can have with GOD but to hear his voice , you need to be  like him.

On the material level, Silence is always trying to talk to you and showing its way to live a life beautifully – for that to be a lifelong experience, you need to observe the existence deeply and with a different sense of perceptibility – see the plants, animals, wind blowing , earth rotating at 1000 miles /hr – do you hear any voice? NO but it is all happening. It is happening because someone has designed things in that manner for it to happen . It is only we who are taking things for granted – as when we were born and took to managing our life, we saw things the way they are , not even thinking as to how such great miracle is happening without any known direction or without any instructions!

Another tinge of ‘Silence’ can be found within one’s own self – you and me have the same sense of silence withing which we see outside – things are happening all by themselves and they are not guided by any one second by second – though there must be some great force or divine conscience or intelligence which makes it happen without we knowing it – or rather we have not paid much attention to such changes  - the heart beats on regular intervals, you breathing, liver, kidneys, spleen and all the important organgs doing their gags in tandem to keep you alive as if they have been instructed to do so – all this they do ‘Silently’.

Sitting in the park and just observing the beauty of world around me, a strong force of thought tinged me to jot down these words – look at the sky – so vast and blue, holding key to all of your hidden questions – It makes you realise that you are just a small ‘dot’ in this big great grand design of living and existence – very miniscule and tinny not to be seen if we go just a few thousand kms up in the sky with zillion other stars and planets and universes – yet everything is perfectly grafted and placed not to disturb each other – life propagates here and might be so in such arrangement on other such galaxies and universes.

As they say you have a whole universe inside your being so as you have outside – to experience that dash, all you need to do is to sit in compete silence and talk to that “Oneness” who always wanted to communicate with you and guide you to a whole new world for which you were made to live In this beautiful universe speaking the language of ‘Silence’….

~ A Morning Breakfast...~

I always look forward to meet him during my spiritual sojourns twice a year, as the train culminates early in the day, quickly I rush to my hotel to freshen-up and have a tea cuppa with bread slice spread with butter, all done in a spik and span haste by the man I intrinsically adore!

He has gone old – as I know him almost since a decade, for nothing for him has changed, not even his clothes and his persona – I still strongly remember once on my very first meeting with him as a customer , he did not pay and heed towards my request of providing me with a cup of sugar-free tea and slice of bread laced with a butter or anything worth eating with my favourite beverage – he kept mum, as he still do, was totally engrossed in fulfilling an order of another customer who was eagerly waiting for his roadside “Breakfast” whilst it was dawn of the moment. 

I still don’t know his name as I never asked for it, this time when I had the privilege to meet him, he was being assisted by his younger son as he was teaching the ‘business’ of roasting bread on raw flame to him and also of applying a thin layer of butter on the load of bread… Both father and son duo were reticent and minding their own business. As the shops were about to open, their makeshift rollable stall was asked to shift forward for the convenience of customers who will footfall in the huge showroom when the whole mart is up and running.

As my breakfast was ready , I asked for the price that I had to pay, quickly came the voice “ Rs 50” – the father was quick in finishing off the conversation as he had another customer lined up to be served- surely both father and son were doing brisk business standing on the by-lanes. 

Post my breakfast, I commented, “ uncle the tea and bread were sumptuous and tasty, every time I come here I always have it from you as you start my day with aplomb!” – he gently responded by a cheeky smile and so did the son – I asked the young man, what you do to which he replied “ Bhaiya , I have finished my graduation and now assisting my father in this business..” As i continued, "dont you want to work in an office?, now that you are a graduate?" , he quickly nodded his head in a vociferous "No" ...I could sense his love and affection of his father's hardwork over the years and wanted to take this forward...

Truly serving bread and butter to all and sundry was their business which they revered since times immemorial, and more so they did this with utter dedication! 

As I said goodbye and thanked them, they smiled and reverted…” Jai Mata Di”….knowingly or unknowingly they were serving humanity…now that I came back home, I try to apply the same trick to have the bread laced with butter on the raw flame emulating uncle but in vain… no wonder, over the years, uncle has created a craft for himself and a patent which nobody can snatch for him even if anyone wants to…

As I eagerly wait for my next visit, the taste of that morning breakfast still brings passionate mouth-watering feeling but I simply cant match the palate served in that early hours of the day with love and affection…the await continues...

~ His Black World…~

It is one of the important organ of your body and engages you with the world – the world and situations that  you see and feel , “Eyes” as it is called may not be the penultimate piece of art that God has added in your body but is no less, ask those who are deprived of vision and have no colours in their life and have to exist with only the darkness of life and its many facets – Black is the only colour attributed to the unlucky those.

In my recent religious sojourn, I came back to terms with this fact that “Eyes” that we generally ignore are so important. The Individual who doesn’t have it know the true value of being visionless and being blind. I could see one such unfortunate soul sitting on the periphery and engrossed in his own living, having a flute and a gunny sack for alms, he was young enough to have missed the vision of the beauty of world. Looking at the calmness of his face, it was quite obvious that he had accepted the life he had been bestowed upon – though not having a sight was not a damper for him, for he was an excellent flute player and the sounds were melodious and captivating for every passer by – out of reverence for the artistic talent that he had, he was being paid and certainly NOT for his compromising situation and that he was disabled – Indeed he was commanding respect for his talent.

As the person that I am, I could not hold myself to just start a conversation with this young man.

What is your Name? I asked as I caught hold of his hand gently.

Pat came the reply “Ravi” and where do you live and what made you come on this pilgrimage?” , he was respondent and replied, “ I love Matarani ( Goddess Durga!” ) and that is why I am here to pay obeisance to her and playing flute and sometimes singing her Bhajans (Devotional Songs)”

He was thoroughly confident, and all by himself as he had come from a far-off place, making arrangements of his stay and also his departure.

As I asked, “Ravi, are you not scared of being looted or being mauled because you can’t see and can be taken from granted…”

He had a cheeky laugh and replied “Bhaiya, Ma Durga is my sole carrier and She is the one who is looking at everyone…”, such was the confidence he was exuberating. Alas, I went speechless and seeing his immense faith had no option but to watch him for some time whilst he started to play the flute with melody! 

Ravi’s life motto has been based on two sublime words… “Inclusion” & “Acceptance” – he has softly acknowledged these one word idioms in his life and that has given him the satisfaction and immense confidence in the way he has started living and conducting himself. Music for him has been a constant companion which gives him solace and respect in the society. It is is internal meditation as he tells me and it certainly cheers up his somber mood when he is feeling low.

One question that I asked him was “Have you ever SEEN your parents?” – He was little hesitant in answering this question and passed on my inquisition as a gentle smile, though he later did accept that he is born blind and do no know how people look like.

Surprisingly, he is a graduate and he did all his school and college via Brail learning and is in the midst of finding a constant job – A government job could be a certain add-on and he is hoping to find one someday.

Ravi certainly is a no eye catcher – he is just another disabled man who we quite often ignore and miss for his situation but beneath lies a deep sense of struggle and compassion, he doesn’t want any free alms but an equivocal respect like any other able-bodied beings.

As I started my journey again saying a friendly “Good Bye” and an “All the Best” as he got up to move, his confident smile complimented my greetings – surely, he was a soul I met by chance, internally he taught me a life lesson, come what may…just keep walking. Situation will change…

~ Care that she needs ~

She is sitting idle looking in the sky with expected eyes – the body has wearied out and limiting her to frequent movements – I have seen her in her prime, she was a school teacher, “Gita Aunty”.

She has been a school teacher in a Government school and I have seen him running here and there with her two sons – Ankur and Samar – the family always boasted about their academic achievements as one was soon going to be a doctor and one an engineer – both from prestigious colleges , which was a dream of a typical normal earning middle class family, which still is!

Every time we used to meet her, she would surely talk about her two sons fairing well in college and also enquire about us – visibly she was in love with her two sons, her husband was always away as he was in a transferrable job , we could hardly find uncle around her much! 

Now that she is all alone, Uncle has passed away a decade ago and both of her sons are happily married but ironically not live with her anymore – life is totally different for her – The usual boastings have gone mellow and now the challenge is with upkeeping hale and hearty sans any caretaker – that is a big change Aunty is facing.

In the park, while talking a walk down the aisle, the speed has gone slow, the big steps have converted to smaller ones – the pain in the joints have turned excruciating as I see her often grimacing whilst she walks… All this has lead to one penultimate question of life which every parent wants knowingly and unknowingly when they grow old …”Will my Children take care of them when I will be along or would be old enough to help myself?”

Though only time has the answer to this question, the society is turning oblivious to our “Oldies” and they have been left alone many a time – career aspirations, internal conflict and many other reasons can be attributed to this decimation of family now a days .

Just the other day I again had the opportunity to meet her as she was strolling slowly and I asked her the same question “ how about both of your son’s , are they fairing well and do they call or visit you often?” the face soon got a sense of dejection as I could see her mood changing , as she answer's with a sense of melancholy “ The elder one sometimes call when he gets time , the younger one has almost forgotten me and that he is doing quite well in America and is Busy with no time to call!”

In this answer I could see the dejection life had offered her at this moment – the same lady some years ago was all in praise for the success of her sons and that they are achievers and now when she is in want of them, if not both but atleast one, there is no one to take care of them.

The maid comes and cooks – certainly she is the most vulnerable citizen of our society and is cynosure of all eyes for criminals as she stays alone .

Writing about her , my mind is still pondering about what life has offered her at this fag end of her living – all through her life she struggled to make ends meet and raise two sons with honour and provide them more than enough for what she and her husband could have actually afforded and now when she is all alone living  in seclusion, she is hapless…. No one to take care of her… there could be any medical emergency which she can encounter and for sure there would be no one at that sensitive moment of her life….

Seeing such examples, one’s conscience makes one think… What life is for people like her … they can be termed as “Victims' of Success…” and this is the success which has made them alone at this stage of their life… May God help them and be with them when need be….