HAPPINESS COMES FROM WITHIN

For so many days it was ceaselessly raining. There had been flood all around. The rivers had swollen dangerously. And most of the roads had been washed away. Previously the roads were rutted, potholed and badly rough but it was a solace that they existed. But now even those worn out roads vanished. As a result everything seemed directionless. All communication came to a stop and life got soaked in the waters.

The abundance of water in the physical world was quite opposed to the inner dryness of life in the spiritual world. Life was inwardly hollow, almost withered and dead because it was not sprinkled with the waters of love, service and sacrifice for a long time.

It rained cats and dogs. The so-called modern man preferred to stay indoors. Many trees were uprooted in the strong wind and there was a major power failure. The glittering ultra-modern life of the civilized man underwent a temporary retrogression. Now life shed its speed and sat silently under the flames of a lantern. The rain and blackout were accompanied by no TV serial shows, no internet, and no phones. The foolish stare to the LCD screen that was obstructing the thought-spring got suspended for some time. The long repressed divinity in the man found conducive environment to sprout new petals. So many distractions of the modern life weakened with the tempestuous weather. Life once again heard the voice of self-realization. The doors and windows of the house were closed but the man inside it found many doors and windows slowly opening to the light of truth. The truth was that

HAPPINESS COMES FROM WITHIN AND NOT FROM WITHOUT.

A child in rain

The joy of child knows no bound

When the drops of rain touch the ground

The child giggles under the umbrella

Flashing with the magic of Cinderella

With the umbrella he is an explorer

Full of joy and the pride of an adventurer

With every step in mud and water

He learns-OBSTACLES make LIFE SMARTER

Moving out of comfort-zone.

It was beginning of monsoon and the afternoon was cloudy. But a couple rode happily on a bike braving the unfavourable weather. They stopped by the road at a point which was a scenic spot. A distant mountain was half-hidden by the clouds. The sun was not visible. But there was enough light to click a photo. The wife took out the mobile phone to take a photograph of her husband. At this time I happened to pass them. Ordinarily I would never have taken an interest in such a situation but that day I thought to move out of my comfort zone. The couple were complete strangers to me. However, I stopped by them because I had to go out of my comfort zone. I asked the lady for her mobile. Both the man and the wife were startled for a while. Obviously the lady was reluctant to hand me her mobile. Now I had to smile and tell, “Ma’am, please do not think that I am going to snatch your mobile. I just want to click a photo of you both so that you can preserve the memory of your togetherness forever.” The woman blushed and the man smiled at me. I clicked their photograph, shook hands with the man and left them with a bye-bye gesture.

That afternoon for sometime a smile lingered on my face. I moved out of my comfort-zone and at the same time I expanded its limit too.........

The Village Temple

The village temple stands as a sacred abode of HOPES, DREAMS, PROGRAMMES and IDEALS.

A woman comes with a basket full of flowers, agarbati and coconuts and carries back a heart full of divine solace and verdant hopes. She is contented and is assured of the lord’s blessings. The happiness beaming on her face is born of a sense of great security provided by the all-powerful village deity. The village temple is all hopes for her.

A student comes. He bows his head before the idol and dreams of a good result in the recent examination; he dreams of a good job and imagines his Sanskrit teacher’s daughter in bridal dress. The village temple is the abode of his tender sweet dreams.

The local politician comes and declares a programme of 3 day long Sankirtan for world peace. The temple becomes a ground for mass gathering and the venue for chanting of sacred names through Public Address system. An unknown passerby devotedly bows his head while the programme goes on and the politician smilingly introduces himself as the organizer.

That day the temple was silent. The idol was standing in grave silence. And a woman who was mistreated yesterday by a group of local dadas fell before the idol. Her body bore many bruises. But her soul was more brutally bruised when she was told to keep silent. She fell before the idol helplessly but when she rose up she had garnered enough strength to put the anti-socials behind the bars and she was determined to set a new IDEAL.

   

Conferer of Togetherness

Before the child drifts into sleep, he hums and his mother lulls him to sleep. The mother pats the child’s back. The humming of the child gets rhythmical with the pat. And then the humming of the child gradually grows fainter and fainter as his eyes feel heavier and heavier with sleep.

Now the child sleeps. He is a small innocent figure who sleeps contentedly. On the table nearby a half filled feeding bottle stood. The mother put the sleeping child on the bed. All day’s work has made her dog-tired. She now throws herself in her husband’s arms and the husband lovingly holds his tired wife. Both of them close their eyes in deep togetherness. By the time the child also opens his eyes. He finds his mom and father now fast asleep. He slowly climbs over them and joyfully holds both of them and once again sleeps most contentedly with a divinely attractive smile that truly lights up the family.

A CHILD IS TRULY A STRONG BINDER WHO CAN HOLD A WHOLE FAMILY TOGETHER WITH HIS SMALL HANDS.