FAITH

Just visited The Harmandir Saheb or The Golden Temple and I really need to write this post. Situated in the middle of a wide lake which serves as an abode of innumerous fauna of fish, this radiant structure of gold is visited by thousands of pilgrims almost daily.
As I was walking on the burning marble leading to the temple, there was something in the air of this place which soothed the unrest accumulating inside me from months and stirred the most indistinct and the most intimate of my thoughts-

What makes human beings so insistent?
What causes them work so hard at building a small temple at such a remote spot?
What causes them to put their life at stake for its protection and functioning?
What makes people visit this place again and again without bothering any of the four dimensions of space?

I looked at a couple in front of me with a newly born baby in the gentleman’s hand, while standing in the queue for entry in the temple.
What had brought them here in this scorching heat?
What had brought me there?

These lines by P. Coelho, from my favorite novel echoed in my ears-
“The Buddhists were right, the Hindus were right, The Muslims were right and so were the Jews. Whenever someone follows the path to Faith and sincerely follows it, he or she is able unite with God and experience miracles.”

I entered the temple. The august carvings of Gold and the sacred ambience of the place left me dumbfounded. I bowed and then climbed upstairs. The view of the lake from the upper floor was magical. I entered the shrine and bowed again. As I lifted my covered head, I felt as if some unknown hallowed power had gripped my soul. I felt pushed towards the wall. I felt as if He lifted my body from the floor and took my head in His hands. SANS SIGHT. SANS SOUND. SANS TOUCH. SANS EVERY THING BUT THAT FLEETING AND POWERFUL MOMENT.
Two big tears rolled out of my eyes on my burning cheeks and I whispered-
“THY WILL BE DONE.”
I opened my eyes. Everything was as before; sound, vision, touch, everything. The moment had passed. The miracle had occurred and I had understood. I was still shivering.
I covered my head with my dupatta which had fallen down and departed from that abode of aurum.
As we were leaving for Langar, my friend, who had accompanied me in this pilgrimage, asked me-
“So, how did you like the place Gazal?”
I paused for a moment and then looked at her-
“Some places are like that. They can suffer through wars, persecutions and indifference, but they still remain sacred.”

AND WHAT KEEPS THESE PLACES SACRED FOREVER?
FAITH.

COMING UP....

That dark stormy night, He spoke to me all over again, and things changed since then. Yes, He spoke to me; He, who creates and destroys; who binds and separates; and who’s is the kingdom of heaven. He spoke to me again. He speaks, through signs around you and via his own ways. You just got to be a patient listener. That night, I listened to what He wanted me to know. He communicated with me through Her. She, the lonely, muddy and thin street, running outside my hostel and who was as lonely that night as I was inside my hostel walls….

My world had turned upside down. There are times in your life when you are left with tussels and conflicts; between believing and not believing, accepting and rejecting; letting go and being in love forever.

“Can we be in love forever?” was what I asked her and what she told me can just be felt…

coming up soon with "THE EMPTY STREET"...