The journey of a lifetime

Gets a bit obscure in the end...read at ur own risk :)

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We often look toward big things...icons, spiritual leaders, public figures...to learn lessons of life. But sometimes even an insignificant, inanimate object can teach you a lot. Its poignant silence can convey much more than would ever be possible by speech. This is exactly what happened while I was on my way to Kapurthala recently.

I was a bit restless on this journey, engrossed in thoughts that were making me uneasy. It was a situation where the more I thought the more wretched I felt. And the more wretched I felt, the more compelled, I found myself, to think about it. I was really suffocated inside the compartment. A sinking, gloomy, desperate feeling surrounded me; and it was getting unbearable now, so I came out to the door and stood there, taking the rush of air on my face. The loud roar of gushing air did not allow me to think, and the fast jerks on the door, where I had to constantly tiptoe to keep my balance, shook me out, each time I was about to lapse back into memories. There, I stood ; absolutely thoughtless like a zombie, still... atleast relieved of my anguish.

But soon, even these disturbances were to fade into the background. By the side, there was another railway line; two rails running along...and my mind wavered again.

Two rails...so near, but yet so far. Running side by side, neither coming close, nor going away. Was that the only fate of these rails?

To get an answer, I looked back... and what do I see! far back the two rails appeared so close! Like two nice friends, playfully moving along in their lives...two good friends who are a part of each others lives...two great friends, looking forward to be together in their future lives.
Encouraged, I looked ahead...and again! near the horizon, the two rails seemed to be merging together! Two Partners together, hand in hand, enjoying their shared past...partners never to be parted in life. Wow! what a beautiful view...

But I knew...I knew that both these were mere illusions. I knew that neither were the rails closer in the past, nor are they going to come close in the future. God himself has tied them down on opposite ends. This seperation was going to remain...It was going to be the same fate...till eternity.

The gloomy feeling gripped me again. But... why then were the rails still moving on? Why did they still appear full of life, full of zeal? Was there something more to it than was visible to me? Probably yes... From my vantage position, I had come to see some illusions of the past, present and future, and they did not match with reality which made me feel dejected. But the rails couldn't see these. Infact... they did not really want to see them. They wanted to meet the future only when it became the present, and they wanted to accept the present, whatever it was, as a gift of God....
...I was looking at the future. They were looking forward to it :)

I could hear some murmers. Faint voices of one rail as it tried to say something to the other...

"Dear, indeed God has tied us down, but that also is a blessing in disguise. God has ensured that we do not get lost in this vast world. I dont know what future has in store for us. We may never meet, not even come close, but one thing I know, we are going to be side by side throughout; this divine link, the spiritual connection, shall be there forever. There is nothing to worry, nothing to be upset about; God has taken special care of us till now, and he will continue to do so...till eternity. Let us just keep moving ahead, basking in this sunshine that God has bestowed upon us."

...Yes! There was much more than just a fate that had to be accepted. There was a life to be lived. And the rails were showing me how to do it...

Look ahead! towards the horizon again. There is no illusion now. It is the purest truth; There is no destination to be reached, just a journey to be made. This is the journey of a lifetime, and the rails are going to run it...happily... side by side... till both of them, quitely, inconspicously, merge with the heavens above.

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cogito ergo sum :)