Yes! God!

The man has magic in him. Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare, when speaks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, his voice gets an unusual depth, his face gets embellished with spiritual glow, his eyes start shining, and hands go up in the air with an unknown energy! The man, who, for his lifetime, has sung the ballads of the great King of India, is now eighty nine years old.

A blessed orator, he speaks on the culture, heritage, spirit, religion, patriotism, and national character of India with authority. In strong words, he criticizes Hindu religious leadership, which has failed to instill the spirit of nationalism in its people. A studied scholar, he firmly expresses his anger over increasing casual attitude, ignorance and inaction of Hindu society and expressively laments over casteism, materialism, and lack of knowledge which are destroying the values, history, and spirit from the lives of Hindus. But, after all this time, when the man switches over to his most beloved subject – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – he is completely a transformed one. His ailing vocal chord forgets the pain and becomes a trumpet of the Maratha spirit. His shivering hands gain power of the lightning and rise like sunrays to raise the impact of the speech. While speaking about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Babasaheb Purandare becomes Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare.

Listening him the other day, at a book-release function was a thought-provoking encounter. The speech, the energy, made me remember another similar incidence I witnessed some two years back. It was concluding function of Rashtriya Kirtan Mahotsava in Nagpur. Vidya Vachaspati Ram Shewalkar was about to speak on Lord Krishna. Shwalkar was not well that day. He appeared on stage in a wheel chair.  Introductory speeches were on, and my eyes were watching the man, in his seventies, struggling even to sit constantly in one position. Finally, he was asked to speak. Shewalkar rose from wheelchair. He adjusted the microphone, and… the rest was a great contradiction! Words started flowing as if the rains start dancing under the sky full of black clouds. Spirited was the speech. Each of his gestures, reactions, expressions, and words was just out of the world. The seven decades long knowledge-penance overpowered the ailments of body, and Shewalkar spoke for almost half an hour. It was pin drop silence during the short pauses he took. Even after he concluded, the audience stood up and clapped only when Shewalkar rested back into the wheel chair. From where, this magical energy came from?

Similar was watching Syed Haider Raza, ninety-two year legendary painter, while painting his innovation – Bindu – in Nagpur’s Jawaharlal Darda Art Gallery. Otherwise wavery, hands of Syed Haider Raza turned firm with a divine capability when they hold a brush to draw lines on canvas. Otherwise weary, eyes of Syed Haider Raza sparkled with a spiritual light when they concentrated on shiny white canvas. Otherwise busy in watching the Shlok’s painting exhibition, art-lovers turned sculptures, immobile, to store the moment into their eyes forever. And otherwise a common white paper, the canvas at Jawaharlal Darda Art Gallery, turned into a masterpiece of contemporary art when the universal ambassador of Indian style of painting filled the hues of life into it. How it happened?

From where the energy, the magic comes in Shewalkar, for Raza and for Babasaheb Purandare? What makes Sachin Tendulkar practice non stop for more than nine hours even after playing regular match for six hours? What makes Ustad Zakir Hussain continue his Riyaaz for eight hours even after being busy in worldwide concerts? What makes 86-years-old Pandit Bhimsen Joshi touch the Shuddha Shadaj in Sawai Gandharva Music Festival? What makes Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar study for twenty two hours a day? What?

Passion? Dedication? Penance? Goal? God?!

Yes God!

Here he shows his existence. When someone gives lifetime for a cause, the cause becomes God for that someone. And that someone becomes godly for others. Yes. Isn’t it a comparatively easier way to find the God?

Wait…

Wait and watch – we always say, but nobody likes to wait. “I enjoyed in waiting room” is so rare to here. In fact, waiting rooms have TVs, newspapers, magazines, music, refreshments, every possible option to kill time for the inmates, but no one really wishes to stay their for long. A lover waiting for his beloved in garden or some other apologizing his beloved for coming late in garden, are the key situations for romantic songs in Hindi films. Yes, we hate, but we have to wait.

My friend’s wait has just started – his homoeopathic clinic. Firstly, he is a young doctor. Secondly, a homoeopathic physician, and finally, working in a small town like Yavatmal, where people generally prefer allopathic medicines or traditional home-made remedies! Yes, he was hopeful but concerned; confident but uneasy, and smiling but hiding something. When I wished him all the best, he said, those who were with him are settling down one by one. It’s tough to wait when others are claiming bigger and better opportunities, he said. Nothing I could do, but to agree with his views. Yes. This concern is absolutely all right and must. But the only thing, he and most of us have to do while waiting is not to lose temper and not to get depressed.

From his clinic, I went to bus station. I started waiting for my bus, and also comparing him and myself. I found myself lucky to get job without much wait. My work was waiting for me in Nagpur, but he was waiting for his work in his clinic. How many days, my friend will be waiting like he was today? I was wondering, when a bus came. Being a jam-packed overflowing one, I left that bus. Thinking continued.

He is hard worker, talented, and yes, he is a good doctor, I am sure. Only thing is that he needs a boost, and he needs initial number of patients to prove his mettle. He will get everything, name and fame and money, soon, but for that he has to wait patiently. One more bus came, and I left it, too.

Even in a job, when I see sub-standard people getting preferences in promotions, just because they are seniors, or near and dear ones to the management; I feel exactly the same – others are claiming bigger and better opportunities and I have to wait. Well, this wait is more painful, but still, I am waiting, because, positivity, hopes are there within me. Finally, one more bus came. This was having ample number of free seats; and I got the one of my choice. The bust was quite new, neat and clean, and the driver was young. It started, and I really enjoyed the journey.

Yes. I was waiting for long. I left two buses. But I got a great journey as a result of this wait. My friend, don’t worry, you are waiting patiently, I know. And you are going to get a better, newer, and younger bus for a happy, safe and prosperous journey.  

Art of Living!

She said the decade showed her many things. School, college, graduation, job, post graduation, love affair, break-up, and finally marriage! For my ex-collogue, the first decade of the millennium was a full of turning points. It’s a long span for anyone, especially, for youngsters. She inspired me to think what happened with me in the decade gone by. Oh! I realized. Many things! Even my decade was also an eventful one.

I joined a drama group. Performed in State Drama Festivals consecutively for five years, and won a state level certificate. I cleared my board examinations, failed in science stream, passed in arts stream, and completed graduation. I left home for job, learned how to live alone, started earning and completed my PG. I made new friends, preserved old ones, and trying to be even matured. I wrote poems, one act plays, short stories, and news reports. I tried to write blogs regularly, tried to lose weight, and tried to acquire reading habit, and failed. But, the most important thing, this decade gave me is my way of thinking.

I realized that philosophy of life, spirituality and the definition of peace of mind defers from person to person. Whatever I read in these days, made me think that there is no point in following path told by somebody else. Whether it may be Sri Sri Ravi Shankar telling us about Art of Living or Swami Ramdev finding peace in Yoga, or it may be Aasaramji Bapu finding ‘shanti’ in reasserting the name of god or Sudhanshu Maharaj finding the goal of life in Satsang, -- it is their way of finding peace, and not yours and mine. It may be Vipassana told by somebody, it may be Ahimsa, Astheya and Aparigraha told by somebody, it may be Pradnya, sheel and Karuna told by somebody, or it may be Karmayog told by somebody – it is theirs way of thinking. No doubt, they are great thinkers, they are Gods! But, it is their thoughts, and their experiences, and not of me.

Whatever little I read, whatever little I heard and whatever little experienced and whatever little I thought in these ten years, I conclude, everyone has to think and find oneself within and one’s philosophy of life. In Hinduism, it is allowed. That is why; Kapil Mahamooni dares to state his own ‘Sankhya’ school of philosophy even after being a son of a staunch follower of Vaishav tradition. That is why, Siddharth Gautam Buddha, Bhagwan Mahaveer dare to state Buddhism and Jainism respectively. That is why; Guru Nanak dares to introduce Sikhism, and hundreds and thousands of Maharajs, and Babas, and Gurus are still daring to state their way of achieving the ultimate aim – mental peace.

Instead of following some Maharaj or some Guru, why couldn’t we read everything, go through many thoughts and decide our own way of living life? Yes, no doubt, we can have our own way of living. Everybody can have. Everybody must have. I think.