Why

I walk in the park and see many people. The faces tell me a story and I like to read these stories. 

The stories are regular features of hate, love, depression, sadness, remorse and the other parts of life. In one of my walks, I sat by a bench and was in my own thoughts when an elderly gentleman came to sit next to me. He was in pain and I could read the story on his face. Duty bound and looking to better the world, I ventured to speak with him.

"Good evening, sir! Isnt this a beautiful place to be"

I dont think he wanted to speak and shared a mute reaction to my statement. I also did not venture further as it was his choice to be on his own and I should respect it.

I sat there on my own realising we are the cause of the why!

Why did this happen to me? Why am I suffering? Why can't good things happen to me? Why am I always the loser?

The "why" in our lives is a place that we are not able to remove./We chose to make ourselves the victim rather than the winner. By questioning our situation at that moment, we forget to understand the universe and it's creation. And since we fail to understand the universe, we fail to understand ourselves.

The question we could be asking ourselves is, why was I born? why did I get to breathe life? why did the sun rise from the east and set in the west? why do plants have veins on their leaves? why do I have veins inside my skin?

Let your mind wander to the nature of truth and realisation. There is a lot, you and I can learn from nature and we can have ourselves associated with such beauty that we would realise how nature forms the part of our universe. In finding the answers to these questions, we will be better equipped to find the answers of life.

No, we do not have to become a sage or a sanyasi or wander off into the jungle to find the answers. All we need to do it take the time in the course of lives to notice people around us, notice the environment around us. See how life builds itself around us. We are part of the universe, there is a reason for our birth and our lives. Find the purpose of your life, and keep asking the why till you have a suitable answer to it.

The pursuit of the Why will bring you to the feet of your problems which you can dust and walk along with a smile.

Remember, all you need to do is ask, "Why?"

The Train Journey

It was a journey like no other. I anticipated the endurance of the journey with the stories recited the night before by my cousins and they never gave an opportunity for me to feel any better.

It was going to be the first day I traveled by the local trains in Bombay and I was petrified with what they had told me. I was only 13 years and was travelling with my father. He was to go from Andheri to Churchgate for official work and I had brilliantly insisted on accompanying him. The relations that I had revered; were questioned when they told me of the nasty travel experiences they had and how the train is a place for rogues and ruffians. How they push people around and do not care of the passenger next to them.

My cousins took the chance to scare the jeepers out of me as we did not reside in India then. We would come only for a brief period of time and were here on the holidays when the schools would close for Christmas. The sinister nature of their prank had me want to back out of the journey but for some unknown reason, I pursued it with a knot in my throat.

My father had anticipated the fear I would have with the maiden voyage in the trains of Bombay. We were travelling in the rush hour at 930 am and he bought first class tickets to avoid the hassles I would face in the second class compartment ( I was a pampered brat back then).

We did not take much time at the queue as there was a separate line for the first class ticket. We were in and out of the ticket counter in about 5-6 minutes. My dad then ushered me onto the platform and we waited for the train to arrive which again did not take long as it was the peak period and there were trains coming into the platform every 6-8 minutes.

I remember we didnt board the first train as I was frozen to the ground when I saw the flood of people getting out of and in to the train. It was as though there was a riot behind the people who wanted to get out and of the people who wanted to go in. In the fight to get to their destinations, we remained stranded outside the train and my father had second thoughts on my boarding the train. As the train started to pull away from the platform, I saw people hanging out of the train and shouting at the people to move inside. I didnt think of it much, except to the extent that if I would have been able to hang out with people pushing me.

I told my father that I was not going to board the train and that he better leave without me. I would be safer to catch a rickshaw home and stay there. He motivated me to board the next train and told me to be in front of him so that he could push me inside. Not sure of the logic but his words gave me strength (for the time being) and I agreed to him.

The train arrived and my time of reckoning was in place. I stood strong and with the guidance of my father I made my way inside the first class compartment. As he carried and pushed me, he was pushed by someone else. I was pushed by atleast a dozen men whose bellies were crushing my face. I was jammed like sardines in a can and there was no place for me to move. I was jammed in between two, three, four, ten, twenty individuals who had an extra belly. The people were shouting and asking to move in. It was a ruckus of sorts.

My father asked me if I was doing well; I would have liked to give him a piece of my mind then. But I gave him a grunt and made a face of sadness and pity. I couldn't breathe with my face between the freddy bellies. It was unbelievable to know that people would have to travel like this everyday. I was in a place being crushed by the bellies and wanted to burst all the bellies next to me or use a towel to cover my face from the sweat and grime that was dripping all around. It was a journey that lasted me a lifetime.

It took about a few stations to pass after which the crowd started to dwindle down and I could catch a breath of hope and life. I signaled to my father that this was not the journey that I had in mind or what was told to me. It was worse than expected. I went on to curse the people for behaving badly and pushing everyone around, while we were still on the train and trying to understand why these people behave the way they do.

My father was silent at all my questions and sarcasms. He silently nodded to me and said, "This is the life in Bombay (now called Mumbai)". I was astounded from what we were used to living and the world of torture on the trains of Bombay.

12 years on, we came to settle down in Mumbai and it turned from a vacation home to our permanent home. Travelling by train is now a routine for me and I now have to listen to my friends who come to Mumbai of how horrible the trains are and how they cannot get into a train without having to push, slide, rub, caress, or shout at a person. And I reply to them, "This is the life of Mumbai."

In getting up after falling, I Trust!

There is something happening in our lives everyday, sometimes we give credit to luck and the other times to destiny. The question that arises in my mind, is whether there was any destiny or any luck involved in the occurences of our lives.

There are instances in our lives when we are regretful of the actions of our past or present and the same actions result in something better happening to us. The act of loosing a friend or a spouse or a job or not doing well in the activity that we were engrossed in for a period of time. The loss of the moment creates a sense of despair in our minds which results in us being depressed and aloof from the world for the given or elongated period of time.

I dont thing this was the way it was meant to be. I have come to realise that the bad events in our life is a wake up call from the Creator/God, instructing us to do what we are here to do. We may be in a wrong profile of work which we have not been created for or we may be in a relationship that was not supposed to exist or we may not be saving a relationship that we were supposed to endure for a life time. The question of why are we here in this world and what is our purpose is made clear with all the bad events in our lives.

So if I am going through a bad phase in life, I think it would be wise to take a step back and instrospect into the reality of my strengths and the colours that need to be put on the painting. Dive deep into the realm of myself and study the creators engineering marvel and that is myself. I was not created to be a looser in any worldly sense. God created me for a better purpose.

For those who are happy in their environment, take time to look for a person who you can put a smile on. PAY IT FORWARD; do the good deed of making the next person happy. Unlike in the movie, do not stop at 3 persons but go forward to make many more lives happy. You never know when the favour will pay it forward, back to you. :)

For those who are in a place of doubt, look within and see the champion that is lying dormant. Awaken the giant and walk into the path of happiness. Remember, not all who are financially rich are happy and not all who are financially poor unhappy. Take your pick from the choice. :)

A Planned Coincidence

Has there been an instance which you felt was coincidental to what you were thinking? Or a moment when you thought of something and in due course you received it?

Was it coincidence that you meet an old friend in a restaurant that you are visiting for a first time? Is it coincidence that you meet your spouse when you knew them for years? Is it coincidence when you are working hard on your admission to the best colleges but instead get into a college where you have made the best friends for life?

What is coincidence then? or is it a plan that had been put in place when you were born or even before it? Who created this plan? Who ensured the players comply with the said plan and its success?

Questions of coincidence have long played in most of our minds but we have been avoiding it for a long time. A coincidence happens when you do not know what the future is going to be and when it happens it was just a coincidence. What if you knew the plan and saw the things happening before you; would it still be  termed as coincidence?

I have had an instance where I was longing to call on a friend for a long time and would always think about it but never really did it. And the day I picked up my phone to dial his number, I receive a call from him. And he says, he has been meaning to call you for a while but just did it. To your astonishment it was a call that was meant to happen at a time and place designated for it.

The thoughts in your mind were signals of its occurrences but it would happen only when it was meant to happen. I cannot believe that we as mortals are powerful to create such a plan of motion. I do believe that there is a greater power of strength that is guiding us through the journey called life and in this instance leading us to places that we never did imagine ourselves to be.

Often in times of stress we hear the quotes, "Just as good times dont last forever, bad times will also have a way of passing over." While it sounds motivational, the person going through the stress of bad luck in their lives would understand the situation that is and the future that lies ahead.

Its very disheartening to read in the papers or listen to the news on television when we hear of people ending their lives because of the pressures of society or life itself. Fathers and mothers killing themselves and their off springs to end their misery in this world. Why would people take such actions? Is it their destiny to die a morbid death and not see the rainbow that they were destined for? Did they not try to figure out how to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

The difficulty is in believing that everything happens for a reason and that the almighty power guiding us through this difficult times is also there to help you through it. Why then do people give up their strength in the hope of a better day?

I remember a time in my life when I was on the verge of taking my life and ending the misery but something just happened overnight where I was signaled to fight on, to get up and dust myself and run.  The night that I had thought of going through the dastardly act, a friend came by the house and forced me to join him and his wife for dinner at a local restaurant. I was very reluctant to join them being in the frame of mind to do the unthinkable.  Something inside me said I should go out with them and spend sometime. The evening was filled with memories and laughter, I didnt eat much but I did look around me and the people who entered the restaurant to have their dinner and then I would glance at my friends sitting in front of me. 

The thought, while I was at the restaurant, was of rejoice and breaking through the chains of frustration and sadness. It was like a phoenix of hope was rekindling itself within me and giving me the strength to move on. Its been 5 years since the event happened and today I can proudly say there are no difficulties that I cannot overcome with the light of hope hovering in the prayers and blessings of my near and dear ones.

I remember the day for each moment of my life and do not think it was coincidence for them to have to come at my house on a weekday to save me. It was their and my destiny to be with each other for the time and it was their presence to which I owe my happiness and joy.

I have been subject to many such coincidences in my life and many a times I fail to recognize the plan that is being followed to make me build my foundations of happiness. The times when I did turn a blind eye to it, I would be dejected and frustrated.

When I am alert and aware of the coincidental plans that happen, I see the signs that make me remember the plan that the almighty has in store for me and that I should ready for the good or the bad to come my way based on the circumstances in hand. 

Be aware, of the coincidences in your life. You may never know the plan that has already been put in place for you in the form of this coincidence!!!