Sekar made a living by delivering gas cylinders to local residents. Not the most glamourous or casual of tasks to do. Lifting 15kg cylinders to the ultra convenient sms booking of residents, who make their payments online or through UPI. Imagine doing all the work and not seeing the results of it in person. Atleast, collecting the cash in hand might provide some gratification but these days, thanks to invisible currency, no one actually sees the money we deal with. As he entered the premises of Shri Rama Vilas , he bit his lip as it was a 3 storied building and he had to take the stairs. Just when he mustered strength from the morning tiffin he had, his eyes caught the elevator concealed by the side. Like an oasis sighting in the desert, his heart thanked the residents for their prosperity, as the arduous climbing up the stairs with the cylinder was averted and he delivered the cylinder with less physical strain.
If you read into the above passage, it is not just describing a mundane day from yet another bourgeois neighborhood. A whole life truth is embedded in this. You see, sekar, by luck or fate, was working in a very tough job with not much earnings, but he was thankful for the blessings of more fortunate people to whom he was serving. Life has an extremely complex logic of balancing each of our strengths and weaknesses. If today, I am not able to do something, there must be one of you out there in my path, who can do it for me. It is not mandate that I am to do all that is IN my life. My void is your opportunity to show you exist, through your ability to do something that I can't. Average people know themselves as average only because there are people Better than them and vice versa. You never know how blessed you are by the divine, unless you actually see someone less fortunate themselves. Our weaknesses, define who we are , as much our capabilities. There is no reason to feel proud or ashamed by something we have or can do .
Sumathi, wife of Sekar, works in the same neighborhood as a house help. She travels by foot, to all the houses, a strict military routine from 9.00 am to 1.30 pm , washing utensils, sweeping and cleaning homes. Not everyone have the "humane" software activated in them, though all of us are installed with it. Some people, out of their condescending superior ignorance, treat the postmans, delivery guys, house helps like a doormat , earning all their collective scorn , all of which pile up their negative karma. Some days, sumathi gets to do extra work, at the request of the owners and she endures it all. One such house was Mr Imranullah's. Imran Bhai's wife had recently passed away and he was still recovering from the loss. Before she passed, Zaffrin, his wife had given some sarees, bindis etc from her wardrobe out of good will. One of these was a saree which she had tried once, didn't suit her and she gave it to Sumathi. That day, Sumathi wore this saree to work and when Imran bhai saw her that day, he was petrified by the reminder. His heart melted, by the memory of it and he decided to feed Sumathi for that day's lunch. She declined it politely as her kids themselves were waiting for her at their place and she settled for a nice steaming cup of badam milk. Imran bhai's loss , evoked the kindness in him to treat Sumathi for the physical labor she was performing and she mentally blessed the household , praying for their continued welfare.
Naveen and Praveen, the kids of the Sekar-Sumathi couple, were in their formative education and Naveen being the elder took care of his younger brother , when his parents were out for work. The pernicious stray thoughts, that tend to steal the innocence of a child needs to be monitored closely, without which, they tend to take root into evil habits and mess up a child's mental ecosystem. One such danger came in the life young Praveen, a 6th standard boy . As they were playing carrom, they suddenly heard strange sounds from a nearby house bedroom and it didn't sound exactly as though someone was in trouble. But there were some strange exclamations and things being dropped when Praveen went to peek in there. One of the adolescent kids was abusing the internet , without closing the windows and just when Praveen could fully see the act, Naveen rushed to him, closed his eyes and tucked him into their house. He asked his brother to wait there, barged into the next house and started bashing the teen left and right for his gross misconduct. He told, how such bad influences can totally rewire young minds into wrong paths and gave that teen an earful. That teen, was shocked at his lapse in attention, ashamed that his indecent habit was outed and pleaded to keep it low , lest the others might know what happened. He thrust him 150/- in Naveen's hand and asked him to shut up. This infuriated Naveen further and he started beating the teen out of disgust, Just then , Sumathi was returning from her day's work , saw the fist fight and dragged Naveen by the ear and scolded him for his Trash behavior. Naveen explained himself, which made Sumathi, embrace him out of gratitude for having raised a gentlemanly kid and they sat down for lunch. She asked him to buy two wafers for his good conduct and their life resumed in the humble one BHK.
You see, life balances out our mistakes and intelligence , fortunes and misfortunes, and it is our duty to not be attached to either of the opposites. Nothing really is permanent. Today, if you had done some mistake, obviously there was a lesson meant for someone else as well , and you were probably the primary actor in that incident. But we are never alone in anything. In joy or misery, no one or nothing happens without connecting all our collective karmas / deeds / fates / lifelines. If someone causes pain or injury to you, you were probably paying for a previous misdeed of yours and they were probably paving the way for their own future misery. Likewise, if you help someone , out of compassion , there is no room to be proud or beat our chest in our charity as , ultimately, it is because of someone's misfortune or weakness, you derive the pleasure of helping / serving them.
Never look down on someone, as the higher power is looking down on us all the time and it is just a matter of time, when with a flick of destiny, the tables get turned. If I write well, I need someone out there to read it. If some can read it, they need someone to share it with. We are all so interconnected. In reality, we must be thanking the divine for using us to be off service to each other , and not turn it inwards , growing horns of pride on our heads, at our capacity to do something out of our power. We must look out for each other, in such a way , the giver feels gratitude towards the recipient for having being bestowed with the opportunity to accumulate good karma / deed, and the recipient likewise, should have gratitude towards life for having placed people who can help them in their path. Every act carries a score , and we must make sure we make the right choices. We are being watched from within by what's above us , and let us earnestly , sincerely make sure, our live feed which is getting relayed up there , only elevates us and not send us into another round of existence.
Love all, Serve All.
I wish each one of you a Blessed year to come and dedicate this humanitarian post marking my 2021 innings in the blog.
May life be kind to all of us.
