When Love Symbolises Eternity............

Love Love Love......

One of the most talked about feeling in this world, one of the most discussed topics in our lives..

Do we only yearn for love in our life? Or simply love makes "it" easy?

These and many more similar thoughts were pounding in my head and I was still steering my life in this ocean of "Love"..........

Everybody falls in love... with somebody or the other at some point of time in life...it's in nobody's hand but  God's will!!!!

Some say if you fall in love, you can never rise....well more than a lot has been written, interpreted and discussed about love a word perhaps which is not understood by most of us. and as it is correctly said, if you can define love, you have never been in one before......

I could not find better words than of Rumi's to explain the phenomenon..

This is love: to fly towards a secret sky to cause a hundred veils to fall an each moment. First to let go of life. Finally to take a step without feet.

Awestruck by love, my eyes glued to one of the wonders of the world "TajMahal".. to me it appeared to be a god's painting. I could not take my eyes off for a long time. Its not that I am visiting it for the first time but still... a large number of thoughts then hit my always so webbed yet so vivacious mind... and I get a new meaning to this evocative structure every time. Even being a mausoleum, it never dwells upon the melancholy in me rather I feel more ecstatic being witness to this tallest structure epitomizing this beautiful feeling called 'Love'. Its truly a reflection of two deeply in love souls..the timelessness of TajMahal and much more.. We remember the art..we remember the heart... but we forget the hands which creates masterpieces...

At every age and stage of life.. TajMahal looks and feel different, as a child one gets mesmerized by its beauty, as a teenager you get charmed by the story behind and as an adult you get captivated by the love empowered perpetual and eternal. Each stage gives us a reason to learn, to yearn and a reason to get fascinated... propelling a thought that one life may not be enough to love or to be loved back. Lifetime falls short when its true and the person you love is with you. 

The Taj is considered to be an epitome of love, unlike of the almost all materialistic love existing today and I wonder, does love always happen for a reason today or there exists no love at all...for what we call all is infatuation, attraction, lust- all temporary emotions which will fade away with the passing time. May be the irony is that love only exists as a emotion in this ever growing emotionless world....

But I cannot swish away by saying that, as I am also very much part of this emotionless world. Why it happened at the first place then? Did the degree of love come down gradually over the last few centuries? Or we as a society or me as an individual growing mechanically only?

Perhaps the answer lies in the other aspects of life, guess the elements of lust and greed took over Love in a big way. Love was always there, Love is still there. The same pious feeling one can have for another soul. But our own untrue self propels the pains in our life, in our love relationships and in our journey of eternal joy.

Yet we dream, yet we love.. yet we make relationships some work while others turn enemies in the mind. I have often heard people in the failed relationships say that we will make better choices next time....I feel there are no better choices but only better way to deal with your choices next time.....

Glaring at Taj I felt... one of the most beautiful concept in life is that of 'soul-mates' and that's what it remains for most in today's world a concept... I laugh at myself sometimes...still to believe in the same...still wish to live life like a dream come true...TajMahal of course is not what I dream of, but true love of its kind is I believe everyone's eternal desire.....

Heart has its own wings.. no reason, no justification, no logic can ever control or restrict its flight and such is my heart...and sometimes I wish to be brain-driven person... life would have been uncomplicated then...search for eternal peace is longed by everyone...but does anyone achieves it by decoding all the inquisitive is a much larger question here.... the battles you fight out there in the world are no big deal but the one you fight often between your mind and heart are far more crucial... they are the ones you must fight well and win. 

 In the journey of life you love some ... you hate some....and few years down the line it does not even matters.. but the feelings remain and the memory remains.. as they are immortal... whether they bad or good but they remain constant in our lives....such is TajMahal.....symbolizing that some emotions exist in the world which are ever lasting....

A greatest quote I came across on Taj.....

You know Shahjahan, life and youth, wealth and glory, they all drift away in the current of time. You strove therefore to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart?  Let the splendor of diamond, pearl and ruby vanish. Only let this one teardrop, this Tajmahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time forever and ever.

 Shahjahan on Tajmahal, 

Should guilty seek asylum here,

Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.

Should a sinner make his way to this mansion

All his past sins are to be washed away.

The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;

And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes. 

 In this world this edifice has been made,

 To display thereby the creator's glory.

Love is an eternal bliss to be savored by all human beings, come let's get wet in the rain of love, let's dance on the tune of love, let's embrace the feeling of being a soul mate, let's leave the malaise of an impure heart, let the impure heart get purified in the love machine.... For love is the most sacred thing ever happened to us........

(An important has also contributed to this post significantly, but wishes to remain anonymous at this stage)

 

The Green Mammoth..........

Nostalgia often strikes the corner of heart whenever you are alone. Down the memory lane you take yourself ,like sitting in a time machine to relive the past. A world of beautiful past is created around in just few minutes and you start wandering in a forgone era. Of course, few memories will be greeted with teary eyes while others with a gentle secret smile. Engrossed in these thoughts my car stopped at a traffic light, the signal was red. Red indicating danger as well as a sign to halt and I halted myself with my thoughts from past. A lifeless, shambled Peepal tree then caught my attention. 

A huge Peepal tree, taller than most of the structures around, a witness to many summers, storms and winters. Yet an epitome of strength, it stood there sometimes nurturing life in its nook and corner and sometimes being simply lifeless. But it stood there always. Its shacky branches were telling a different story though. In the blistering heat of  the sun, the Peepal appeared out to be worn out. The annual "harvesting" season had taken its toll on the tall yet weak Peepal tree. 

Does it remembers that once it was a green mammoth? Gulping down whatsoever heat sun use to shower on it. It would have acted as a savior to lot many souls by giving them respite from the ever burning ball of hydrogen. The green mammoth would have been a habitat for many new flying lives around. it was a harbinger of hope for all the lives who came in contact with it. It didn't even remember that it was in the same shredded shape exactly a year ago as well. But definitely it allowed to let go of the dead leaves, so that it can make way for new leaves to come upon. To occupy the same place in its heart and be the harbinger of hope once more. The green mammoth is not allowed to fall in love with any of the leaves, for they have a limited time span of existence but serving their purpose till the last drop of severance is not over. 

By this time my eyes were completely dry rather I was awestruck. Perhaps it is very important to unlearn the past and get yourself ready to become an oasis of peace, love and happiness. But I wondered what really motivated the Green Mammoth to regain itself almost 100%? To still stand in the worst possible conditions and with a promise to never come down?

What happiness does the green mammoth derives by just being a green mammoth? Are there any material benefits for it?

What prevents us from attaining eternal joy? Greed, jealousy, meanness are some of the things that mislead the mind hugely.....

The sun's rays fall on everyone equally without discrimination. Similarly no one can say that eternal joy is partial in approach. It is our choice or prioritization which determines our accessibility. And once it is tapped it gives us a unique feeling. Even in the midst of worldly misery the overflow of joy can be immense. All our tears and smiles are actually leading to that joy, little by little. The source is there in each one of us and can get activated any time. At times we say" today I don't know why I am feeling extremely happy", there it is the eternal joy waiting inside us in our "womb" to come out. Because most of the times we are aware of it, we do not know how to sustain it or dwell in it and thus, we look for an earthly cause to make us feel good and happy. The happiness needs to come from within, earthly pleasures are not permanent and the joy within is. 

Perhaps it is the hope of giving selfless love to its inhabitants and others which really drives the green mammoth to be a green mammoth. 

Hope with a self interest becomes greed in no time and in turn greed pushes the beholder to go to any extent for fulfilling it. whereas selfless hope becomes love in due course of time, for love has to be selfless. Green mammoth draws inspiration from selfless love for its cohabitants of its ecosystem. 

And, yes a shredded and shacky Peepal tree returned my smile to a beautiful present. Be a green mammoth and identify the joy within!!!!!!!! 

(An important person has also contributed to the post who wishes to remain anonymous at this stage)

When the Rainbow Comes Out.........

No matter how hard you try to control your wishes.. the inner ones, the deeper ones and especially the true ones... they keep emerging out. For a while they might subside but they usually strike back with a blistering vigor. They will calm down only if you hear them once yes just once....

A light bird feather glided in to my window and as I lay on my easy chair with myriad thoughts of my own dreamy world, it came down at the doorstep to knock my door. A light feather was heavy enough to brought me back into the world, a world not created by me but I still call it mine. It came down swiftly to caress my wet cheek. I was still embracing the touch and its mildness while it glued itself to the moistness of that single drop of tear which had failed to slide down. The graze reminded me of the days when my wings were still not clipped and wishes  were largely not hidden.  I allowed it to accompany me for a detour in my past and then distanced myself gradually yet feeling the softness on my wet skin. I gave it back to the playful winds watching it fly away into the rains now reduced to mild drizzle and so were my journey into the world of great heights and my ability to fly to touch upon a new high. 

I followed the movement of that feather, it went around Asoka Tree and then the Neem and then around many other green milestones moving in circles and reaching no where. But it was smiling, because it could fly as per its own choice. I could feel it smiling even from a distance. 

While it was still swirling, I was following its journey through the transparent curtain of those gentle rains from one tree top to the other. Its free flight, the way it moved up and down, high and low and then it would suddenly swish to one side. Just the kind of life probably I wished for and yes still wish. Were the mischievous winds playing with it or did the rains somehow breathe life into that lonely feather. Was it moving from tree to tree carrying messages of love or was it simply being playful or was it telling them of all the sadness in my heart and the intolerable pain of parting that was of mine to endure...??

I was still gasping for more thoughts about my inevitable transition, a transition to breathe less, to not fly anymore, a transition to cry but not with tears and many more........

The white feather again caught my fancy, Did Some bird shed it on its own free will or did it separate from the bird out of its own wanting? Did winds send it my way to know my story and share my thoughts? Did the merry yet wise winds know where to look for my unabashed smiles or just want me to search for it? They carry the smell which tells me that the world is still fresh and wild. There is yet more to live, yet more to flourish. May be it inspires the world how to live selflessly, how to cry inconsolably, alone while the world danced to the first shower of rains....

I would never know that.....

But I know for a fact now that wishing alone isn't enough in life. It does not translate into actualization of  dreams. I have realized that bitter truth now, for if that were so I would wish to fly out of my window like that feather and far away higher in the sky with those little friends of mine... floating and gliding on the air current ; or mount on top of the grey fluffy clouds to sail... to simply breathe the air on the high....and lastly to feel that I am still alive and I can still fly.......

I stretch my hands to fell the sparkling drops from the clouds above, beg to persuade its falling water to carry on its drops the small innumerable pieces of my dreamy heart.... just wishing to fly high.... and it kept wishing...

But nothing like that happened, the winds didn't blow anymore instead quieted almost to a halt, it continued to drizzle but I could not see the feather anymore flying, I strained hard and noticed it lying on one side of the small lane through my window...Lifeless.....May be it too eventually realized it was too incomplete once detached from the bird....

...Its destiny was to make the bird fly and not fly on its own...

....the winds were just playing with it...tossing it around for their own gratification...

I know wishing alone does not make things happen.. I know the rains this time would last much longer and the skies for a while continue to remain grey and dark. Yet I realized, like my tears, I cant control my wishing too, so I wished again and yet again.....

looking out this window when the rainbow comes out.................. 

(An important person has also contributed significantly to this piece of work, wishes to remain anonymous at this stage)