A WIDE WAY OUT!
“I invest in books and
travel, brother! That’s how you collect to recollect anything here, right! Books
help you know and learn; travel makes you learn and know. I do both which makes
me a better “jack” of all and also “master” of some. So it’s consequential to
be in demand, isn’t it?” Ananth,
subtly smiled and nodded to the straightforward answer given by his long lost
and just found cousin, Dr Vaidyanathan, when he casually quizzed about the constantly
surging popularity of Nathan’s intellectual talks and advices in diverse fortes,
across the country. In the flux of time, Nathan, who began his career as a
humble professor at a profound college in Trivandrum, had subsequently evolved
into a most sought scholar because of
his ceaseless appetite to know maximum of the most and at a young age of 42,
he was unanimously held fit to shoulder the responsibilities as the principal of
the college for all the obvious reasons.
Meanwhile, at an early age of six, polio, that chose
Ananth, only to bequeath him with crippled legs and limited choices made him
settle for weaving as a means to earn his bread, as it effortlessly ran in the
blood. Both Ananth and Nathan, who were brought up together during their
childhood, at a tiny unchartered village in Kerala, grew apart in their
adolescence when the latter decided to leave the primitive settlement for a
progressive life. After nearly three decades, the two disconnected cousins
happened to accidently bump into each other, when Vaidyanathan was deputed to expand
the services of the college into rural areas and his birth place was picked to
be the pioneer site for the project.
The planning, erection and commissioning of this
assignment were reckoned to take nearly two years, and accordingly, Vaidyanathan
had to relocate to his native for close supervision of the whole process. Since
both the cousins were unmarried and stayed alone, Ananth invited Nathan to live
with him for as many days. Initially hesitant Nathan eventually gave in and
accepted the offer after being lured by the warmth of his innocent cousin. The
project was launched two months following their meeting, concurrently,
rebooting the childhood days of the kinsmen, as Nathan joined Ananth.
Vaidyanathan’s native was a small village and the way
of life practiced there seemed of Stone Age. Once again adjusting to the setup
of his early life, Nathan toiled to seek comfort with limited diversions available
there but could sustain for not more than a week. Even though he enjoyed his
work hours in a serene set up, after work time was the hardest to pass as life
here was quite mellow and he was used to a life maneuvering in the speed of jet.
While in Trivandrum, Nathan was habituated to a glamorous yet dynamic routine
which included exercising regularly in his customized gym, reading and researching
at his personal library that possessed nearly two thousand and odd books, visiting
recreational clubs thrice a week and not to miss his main energy booster, savoring
his personal cook’s comforting food which was a medicine to all his stress. As
his tentative lifestyle could not accommodate most of his habits, Nathan’s
spirits sank to the bottom but, since he was sincere towards his work, he never
once thought of opting out from his assignment however tough it got and simply pushed
himself to handle one day at a time.
One evening while Vaidyanathan was returning from
work, Ananth who was sitting on the bench outside his house, noticed a sense of
sadness on Nathan’s face and felt genuinely concerned. Nathan freshened up, but
the sadness had not been washed away. Worried Ananth, prepared a glass of hot
turmeric milk, walked up to Nathan who was blankly staring at the wall, passed
on the milk to him and warmly asked, “Brother!
Is something bothering you? You don’t seem fine at all. Am I in any position to
help you feel better?” Thinking that his answer might sound a wee bit rude
to his modest cousin, Nathan hesitantly replied, “Thank you, Ananth! But don’t bother about me, I am doing quite okay
and the hot milk should fix my mood.” Ananth who was unconvinced by his
kin’s reply, softly pated his back and said, “Hmm! If you say so! But at any point, if you feel like venting it out
to someone, do think of me, I am right here.” Being touched by Ananth’s
concern, Vaidyanathan nodded and gave a smile in agreement but deep down, he
felt like instantly pouring out his anxiety to him as he felt incapable of
holding it any further.
The very next day, the discomfiture within Vaidyathan persuaded
him to finally open up with Ananth. It was dinner time; both the cousins were silently
savoring a humble dinner, when Nathan cautiously asked Ananth, “Brother! As far as I am aware, you’ve never
once travelled out of this place. How do you manage to not feel tied or stuck
from within? I’ve also observed people coming to you seeking guidance in varied
areas and it’s surprising to see you give them practical solutions. How do you
manage to gather awareness without moving around?” Smiling with humility,
he replied, “Nathan! Most of us believe
that we need to move around to understand the world, which is partly right but
my thinking is whether we move or not, the world is incessantly moving around
us to show itself. Either ways we are travelling because the world is
inherently dynamic. And when it comes to learning, you can learn however, if
you have the receptive mode switched on within you which is being open to grasp
anything as it is. It’s as simple as that.” The analytical mind of
Vaidyanathan was blown away by the simplicity in Ananth’s comprehension which
also brought in a sense of calmness to his anxiety.
With a hope to find comfort and align his thoughts with
the current set up, Nathan went all out and revealed, “Brother! You possess a perspective which effortlessly obliterates the
stress that life entails. By saying that, I am begging for help! I feel
alienated in the present ambience as this is making me feel like I am living
someone else’s life which is not even an inch closer to what feels like mine
and it is chewing away my zeal by the end of every single day here.” Ananth,
totally bewildered by his cousin’s revelation, paused to think for a moment and
uttered, “Nathan, please Calm down! I
shall definitely try my best to pull you out of this. But before that, could
you be clearer about what is persuading you to feel terrible in this spot? Ananth’s
non- judgmental response induced a sense of assurance in Nathan who further
confided, “This might feel childish Ananth,
but it’s still troubling me majorly. Before coming here, I was used to a
totally different way of life which always kept me on my toes. Also, I practiced
a handful of habits that pumped my morale everyday along with a couple of
hobbies that soothed my soul. And please don’t take offence, your cooking is so
motherly and I truly mean it, but I do miss my cook, Gopal’s delicacies to which
I am accustomed to for more than a decade. I also miss spending time in my
library which was a daily ritual. To put it together, I am currently devoid of the
space where comfort was so much in handy. Only now that I am unable to practice
my old regime, I’ve realized that I was emotionally attached to the way I lived,
be it habits or possessions, it provided certain character to my life. From
the day I began living with you, even though there’s not a single thing to crib
about, the dissatisfaction about not being able to satisfactorily recreate my
previous way of life in the current space is dampening my spirits and I clearly
need a way out from this!”
Ananth, who was unsurprisingly listening to
Vaidyanathan’s concerns, took a deep breath and began, “Brother! This is quite normal with all of us. When we are not in a
space to perform all those things to which we are comfortably used to, the human
tendency lures you into a deep abyss of discomfiture. You’re saying you need a
way out right; life naturally involves one. Just think! When we get the final
call from the creator to depart from this world, can we say we aren’t coming
because we are habituated to living? This mere part of the existence indirectly
communicates the wisdom of ‘never get used to anything here as it’s of no use’.
While Vaidyanathan was still processing Ananth’s
uncomplicated understanding, the latter further continued,” Nathan! You say that you’ve been emotionally attached to your
earlier lifestyle, which is again not unnatural because emotion is what sets us
apart from all the other species, isn’t it? But it is here that we must be
cautious about distinguishing between feelings
attached and attached feelings. Having some feelings attached to anything doesn’t
cause turbulence here, whereas, possessing attached feelings or attachment towards
anything is capable of causing irreversible calamities. Attached feelings are
similar to an invisible ring master and it grabs complete ownership of you. Developing
habits and having feelings for the same is okay, but allowing the habits to control
you is what disrupts the buoyancy. Keeping the impermanence of the being (existence)
in mind, the only two habits to which humans must be permanently habituated is,
the habit of detachment and flexibility! Won’t practicing this pair provide us
a wide way out?
Ananth’s elaborate explanation opened up something in
Vaidyanathan’s scholarly mind which suddenly brought a broad smile on his face. Chuckling feebly, Nathan blurted,” Oh Dear! One of my colleagues would
always say that we shall laugh at our yester selves tomorrow and this is that
sort of a day to me. Earlier I called myself to be childish but after hearing
your words, I feel foolish. How could I have missed grasping such an obvious
piece of insight in all these years of my life? I’ve finally found a way out
and my journey from tomorrow will never be the same. I appreciate your patience
pal and know that I am ever indebted to you.” Ananth threw a pleasant
smile, sneakily slid his hand into his pocket, took out two traditional coconut
candies which were their childhood favorites, handed over one to Nathan and
blurted, “You’ve have earned it brother! Hope
you like your reward.” Both the cousins heartily relished their childhood
treat and slipped into nostalgia.
A simple thought
to live well!
“Mummy stop doing that
please…..I am hungry and don’t make me wait!” whined four year old Tara when her mother kept on
circling the plate with her fingers before feeding her every morsel. This was
an unusual habit developed by Tara’s mother since childhood. She used to circle
the plate with her fingers several times before every bite, the reason best
known to her. But today, little Tara had a growling tummy after being back from
school and this habit of her mother’s tested the child’s patience who
restlessly asked,” Mom! why do you do
that? Were you born with it?” to which her mother carelessly replied, “No girl! I somehow developed it unknowingly”.
Tara was surprised by her mother’s reply and innocently questioned back by
saying, “Mummy! You said you weren’t born
with it. You also said you developed it on your own. Then why can’t you stop
yourself from doing it on your own as well?” Naïve Tara’s undecorated yet sharp
words penetrated straight into her illogical mind set, instantly unblocked her
intellect and consequentially, that very day she drew a finish line to her age
old uncommon habit.
Be it habit, possession, person, regime or ritual, when
you are capable of being intoxicated by the same know that you are also adept
at finding the way out because being unconsciously habituated to anything here
is nothing but only purposeless.
Comments
Post a Comment