There always comes a time in our life when we know that we
are alone, that we are all that we have for ourselves. What was your first
awareness of being on your own, in this world?
Mine was, when as an eleven year old, I was sent away more than a thousand miles from home to a boarding School. On the very first day, we were woken up in the early morning by the matron with her crisp and authoritative voice, calling us by our School numbers. So it was not ' Wake up Shailendra', but rather ' Wake up 314'. Right there, away from ' home' , in the middle of a dormitory of 12 boys, a class of 35, and a school of 700 students, i realized that i was just a number. Oh, the miserable feeling that only i knew my own thoughts and emotions, and that i had to keep them closely to myself. I knew right then , that i had to make my own place for myself in the middle of all the 'Others'. And the knowing that i was alone in this ,was indeed a sad one.
And then came the more amazing realisation that actually, the 'Others' were also in the same situation. Hmm.
It is the same with our Cosmopolitan world today. We sometimes realize all too deeply that we are just a number ; This realization can come to you anywhere, when you view and understand how many 'multitudes' of people are present in your world, even though you don't know many of them. Especially for example, when you look at the thousands of windows in a 'High- rise' apartment complex, and though you cannot see them, you know that thousands of people live somewhere inside these windows. .. And there,as a witnessing bystander in the middle of this Universal circus, you may become determined to make some good sense of this beautiful life that has been gifted to you by God:
You want to shine out much beyond your ‘ Just one of many thousands’ status.
Am i right?
But wait, the world of God isn’t just a huge challenge after all, there is another beautiful phenomenon that we come by.
Togetherness.
What was your first realisation of sharing the world?
Mine was when i held my soulmate's hand during our wedding ceremony. Right there, in the middle of a crowd of friends who had gathered for our event, i realised the world was going to be totally different from now on. Somewhere between alone and together, the binary of life started to make itself known - There always comes a time in your life , when you know that it was meant to be lived in Togetherness...
Mine was, when as an eleven year old, I was sent away more than a thousand miles from home to a boarding School. On the very first day, we were woken up in the early morning by the matron with her crisp and authoritative voice, calling us by our School numbers. So it was not ' Wake up Shailendra', but rather ' Wake up 314'. Right there, away from ' home' , in the middle of a dormitory of 12 boys, a class of 35, and a school of 700 students, i realized that i was just a number. Oh, the miserable feeling that only i knew my own thoughts and emotions, and that i had to keep them closely to myself. I knew right then , that i had to make my own place for myself in the middle of all the 'Others'. And the knowing that i was alone in this ,was indeed a sad one.
And then came the more amazing realisation that actually, the 'Others' were also in the same situation. Hmm.
It is the same with our Cosmopolitan world today. We sometimes realize all too deeply that we are just a number ; This realization can come to you anywhere, when you view and understand how many 'multitudes' of people are present in your world, even though you don't know many of them. Especially for example, when you look at the thousands of windows in a 'High- rise' apartment complex, and though you cannot see them, you know that thousands of people live somewhere inside these windows. .. And there,as a witnessing bystander in the middle of this Universal circus, you may become determined to make some good sense of this beautiful life that has been gifted to you by God:
You want to shine out much beyond your ‘ Just one of many thousands’ status.
Am i right?
But wait, the world of God isn’t just a huge challenge after all, there is another beautiful phenomenon that we come by.
Togetherness.
What was your first realisation of sharing the world?
Mine was when i held my soulmate's hand during our wedding ceremony. Right there, in the middle of a crowd of friends who had gathered for our event, i realised the world was going to be totally different from now on. Somewhere between alone and together, the binary of life started to make itself known - There always comes a time in your life , when you know that it was meant to be lived in Togetherness...
And i knew then, that Alone-ness is not meant by Nature as a way of life. The Alone -ness we get, is for providing us Ekaant, Kevalya; it is good for us to think, to introspect, to wonder about the purpose of life, the challenges and the opportunities; And then, to come out into the world ready to share it with a beautiful partner and together dance this binary dance of Shiva and Shakti…And that fabulous feeling that i can share my thoughts and emotions, that i don't have to keep piling them up like a heap of secrets that only i can know or think about, but rather, that i can share my inner world, every little fairy tale i hold in the heart of the eleven year old child, with my partner in life.
Meditate upon this.
Aum Namah Shivaye.
~ From the notes of Shail Gulhati, Author of SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
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2 comments:
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Aum Namah Shivaye 🙏beautiful musing as usual.. Yes it gives us solace sometimes that everyone is alone in their own world but very get this blissful experience alone with togetherness.. Humans are social animal, even sanyasis and sadhus move together, they also need company but sometimes life throws on somebody.. Lonely alone.. Solitude or misery!!! Only Shiva bhakti saves!!!
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