My wanderings!!

I started walking with a wry smile on my face. Sometimes, we all wander off. It was my turn, or so I thought and strayed. On the slopes of Gandhamardhan hills, lies the resting place of the Lord Harishankar, two Hindu lords, Vishnu and Shiva worshipped in one place. My stravaiging took me there along with a bunch of other undergraduate friends. The calm serene water from the waterfall along with the green hill is a sight to behold. “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”.

I looked back at our lives and weighed on the minutes and seconds of the part of our lives which has flown by right under our nose. What possibly was I going to find? Certainly, there is nothing that I don’t know. Nevertheless, I took the train back to the simpler times when we were each other’s advisors and cricket, the only great equalizer. As the evening approached and with everyone’s desired to be profile picture captured, we made our way to Lord Nrusinghanath’s temple, whose holy abode lies on the foothills of Gandhamardhan Hill. 

As the train made its way towards the valley of the days gone by, the memories engulfed me. That all of us came from very different backgrounds was not surprising to realize again. It was also not surprising that some of them walked almost 10 miles everyday to attend high school and were the first ones in their far and near family to see an undergraduate college. The staggering part was yet to reveal itself as the evening stars shone brightly, we trudged back, tired and hungry. We had a five hour long drive ahead of us.

The trip drew to its end as everything in life does. The train and I both had one last place to visit before the curtains drew, the temple; the place where we used to study. It has become a monastery now, its relevance still intact to this day. And what a sight it was!! I found our older selves toiling hard, taking miniature strides everyday consistently and believing that a clear path to a lesser goal is what keeps us from achieving the initially outlined target. That is when my eyes met mine, albeit a lot younger and I stood their spellbound. “My brothers, What we do in life echoes in eternity”. And there it was, my breakthrough.

The train had reached its journey’s end and my purpose, achieved. I realized that our journey is not ours alone, it is a continuation of the journeys of our forefathers. We gained from their insights and financial stability. We have close to zero responsibility because they dealt with them effectively. In reality, nothing belongs to us. Therefore, we must be grateful to the Universe for everything in our lives. The surprising part was that what I saw as an obstruction was perceived as a way by those kids. By now. a wry smile had accompanied me. “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”