A trip to Varanasi

A long time ago when we did not have modern transportation or railways in India, people used to travel from place to place by foot. A group of pilgrims from a small village in south started off to Varanasi by foot. They stopped enroute to cook and eat their meals, rest for a while in Serais and continue their journey.

During their journey they were travelling through a forest, when the weather did not permit them to go any further. It was raining heavily and they all agreed, that they have to stop and look for some kind of shelter to spend the night before continuing their journey in the morning. It was dark in the forest and all they could find was an old abandoned and rather dilapidated temple, with the aid of lightning in the pouring rain. They all took shelter in the temple premises.

After resting for a while, the weather grew worse with more lightning and everyone sensed that there could be thunderbolt that could strike the temple killing them all in one go. Everyone was very scared and started praying but could not think of any solution or an alternative to escape from the impending disaster, apart from spending the night and risking their lives by staying in the temple. One moment it appeared that the thunder would strike, and the next second it stopped building the tension in the pilgrims’ minds. Nature was playing hide and seek scaring the wits of the pilgrims.

One of the pilgrims was a prominent astrologer, who sensed the confusion and thought he could make himself feel important, so he seized the occasion. As they all were his fellow villagers he quickly took advantage of the fact that he chose the auspicious time and date of the journey and calculated the obstacles enroute, went on to make an announcement.

The astrologer proclaimed his knowledge and said that the thunderbolt would strike on only one person whose lifespan is coming to an end. He added that this ill-fated pilgrim, whoever it was should not risk the lives of the rest of the pilgrims. So, instead of putting everyone’s life in danger, the astrologer announced his brilliant plan of sending each person out of the temple and stand in the pouring rain so the thunder can strike him and take his life. This way the rest of the group would be safe inside the temple and can continue the journey next day.

The idea was accepted by everyone, as they firmly believed  in the astrologer and went ahead to implement it. Each one of them, while leaving the temple, bore a tearful goodbye to their loved ones and stood at a distance from the temple, in the pouring rain for a few minutes to let the thunder strike them and returned back after the signal given by the astrologer, joyfully to reunite with their family and thanked God for sparing his life. Everyone finished their turn except the young man who was travelling alone. He was a bit hesitant as he too believed in the astrologer and feared his impending death which was almost certain now.

The weather was getting worse as moments passed by. As he was hesitating to go to meet his fate, the rest of the group grew impatient and forcefully threw him out of the temple into the pouring rain, eager to save their own lives. The astrologer too was feeling smug for coming up with such brilliant idea. The young man was standing all alone in the rain shivering and praying for his life.

Then something strange happened. The thunderbolt struck ferociously with devastating noise and struck the very temple, where all the pilgrims were taking refuge. All were dead the very moment with the impact except the young man who stood at a distance in the rain waiting for his death. That was too surprising for the young man who had a hard time digesting the fact that only his life was spared and rest of the pilgrims including the astrologer were taken by the thunderbolt. 

Mom told me this story and said, ‘sometimes, life does single you out and you might feel that, you are the odd one in the crowd. But you should not try to blend in for the sake of impressing people. Rather stand alone, and face the consequences, no matter how dire they are, as long as you are confident that you are doing the right thing and following Dharma.’ 

Thanks to Mom that story is coming true today with Aam Aadmi Party election results. Very happy to share this with my fellow AAPians. 

Happiness permeates faster and better

If you sit back and recall childhood memories, I am sure you will remember that, as children we all enjoyed and looked out for a smiling face or a friendlier person to play with. Probably because as children we are more friendlier to people who smile than with someone with a serious face.  I remember my kindergarten teacher Miss Shamim, who was always smiling and taught me how to fold a handkerchief. It is another matter that I never managed to learn anything else she taught in the class, which is why my mother always frowned at my report card. Those were days I preferred my teacher’s company, which was the only reason I went to school.  Thank you teacher. 

Positive emotions spread easily and, faster and it is more natural for human beings to adapt. That is probably the reason why we smile when someone compliments us and get upset if someone is upset with us. It is not rocket science and we don’t have to be a psychology major to prove this.

Similarly, positive and good ideas have a strange way to permeate into minds than the negative ones.  The more positive they get, the better they are accepted. At times when I crib about how messed up my day was, Mom always reminds me of a story from Mahabharata about Yudhishtir and Duryodhana. Yudhishtir was unsuccessful in finding a bad person in the kingdom and Duryodhana couldn’t find a good one, after searching the entire Hasthinapura. That story was a simple one yet held profound meaning in our family. Mom always gave us to choose who we want to be – Yudhishtir or Duryodhana. But then mom is optimistic about everything.

But as we grew up to be adults, we forgot the story and the choices in the drudgery of daily life, and often turned out to be skeptical about a lot of things. My mother is an avid follower of politics she insisted that I took her to Aam Aadmi Party’s office so she can meet the team she admired. I was extremely skeptical and thought them to be a bunch of very enthusiastic people who were after a mirage. I thought Mom should rather sit back and enjoy her life now rather than running around meeting activists. I had only two reasons to go there – first one is Mom and second is to say hello to my mentor Mr. Venkat Reddy who is active in AAP activities in the state. He was my mentor and guide at MV Foundation and made me think correctly about Child Rights. Thank you Venkat Reddy garu.

So, the trip to AAP office, resulted in changing my mind totally, about my own mother and the team behind the much talked about political party in India. As I was introduced around to the team by Venkat Reddy garu, I came to know that none of the volunteers got paid for the work they are doing there. People who left their well paying jobs and comforts of their life and came there to work for nothing, not even name or fame. There were people who were much younger than me and a lot older than me driven by a single motto, to do something positive, not for their selfish benefits but a collective and nobler motive – to build a better nation. I noticed that the entire team was smiling and had a strange radiance kind of “Brahma Tejassu” on their faces. I could see this in Mr. Venkat Reddy himself was touring around rural villages in Adilabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Rangareddy , Mahboobnagar for the past 6 weeks preparing reports collecting information at the grassroots level and he did not even own a car. Trust me that was back-breaking work. I did not see him as a tired person or a tanned man for his age. Instead he appeared to be more energetic and happier brimming with enthusiasm. The same is the case with rest of the team.

Apart from being happy and smiling, they were actually brainstorming, discussing and debating passionately about the core issues that need to be addressed. They were preparing strategic plans and road maps for achieving their goal, based on the real numbers from the ground team who were compiling data. I managed to peek at the notes on their desks. In the 20 minutes I spent there, apart from the strategic planners and think tanks in the team (I was fortunate enough to meet some of them too), I saw a  lady volunteer preparing a list of to-do things for each member, a man probably in his 30s sharing his notes with a team,  listing out priorities for a particular village he recently visited, another man translating something from English to Telugu preparing campaign material, someone was updating the social media pages, another volunteer making serving tea for everyone, a lady training new volunteers and updating them that they don’t derive any financial or any other benefits for working for AAP and sternly adding that they can leave if they were expecting any benefits in cash or kind…

The first minute in the office was chaos, but as I started observing what was going on, I knew everyone was actually doing something constructive as per their abilities and appeared very happy doing it. Even difference of opinions were considered and points noted without any prejudice. This team had no selfish motives, no recognition, no personal benefits, and not even proper furniture or air-conditioning.  Yet each member was brimming with positive ideas and enthusiasm and are willing to share with others to rebuild the nation. They don’t seem to care about the outcome of the general election which is perceived as an impending thing according to media. They are already visualising a positive future for the nation and are working happily towards achieving it.  I realized why my mother was so bent upon visiting Aam Aadmi Party office. I was mistaken that she was suffering with ‘Kejriwala syndrome’. (That’s how she prefers to call him with an extra a added to his name)   This infectious enthusiasm is what Mom noticed and insisted that we should go there.

Mom gave me a choice of sitting in the living room and whine about how selfish everyone is are and how difficult it is to change things in India or to do my bit and be a part of the positive change my country is about to encounter soon.  The choice she gave me was whether to be a part of it or not.  Thank you Mom and Aam Aadmi Party for giving me the much needed direction. I sincerely hope your positive attitude permeates and reflects among the entire nation.

I recall one of my favourite quote from Yuva Bharati meeting which is on the same lines… ‘Instead of cursing the darkness, it is better to light a candle, no matter how small it is’.

చుట్టూరా ఆవరించుకొని ఉన్న చీకటిని

తిట్టుకుంటూ కూర్చోవడం కంటే ప్రయత్నించి

ఎంత చిన్న దీపాన్నైనా వెలిగించటం మంచిది.