THE PASSENGERS OF THE LAST METRO - WHY ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE REST!?

Whenever I am outside in the city here in Delhi I prefer to take the last metro that is supposed to take me to my destination. In order to do that, I spend a bit extra time with people I meet, or if we are supposed to finish the gathering bit earlier, than I spend some time in quite walk trying to feel the pulse of the city and the night atmosphere.

All this just to take the last metro for the day, somewhere around midnight.

What is so special about this?

Why I prefer to remain late just to catch the last metro?

Not only to avoid the crowd which is normal appearance in Delhi Metro in the earlier hours of the nights.

Because the passengers that can be seen in that metro are different from all the rest.

If you travel the metro by day you will be forced to practice your own ability of patience and tranquility while staffed in few inches of space surrounded with lifeless faces who just like you can’t wait to reach their destination and to leave the loaf of people inside.

However that is not the case with the passengers in the last metro.

They are different than anyone else.

What is different about them?

Let's first divide them in 2 groups:

GROUP 1- They are relaxed. Energy can be noticed on their faces and the spark in their eyes just seems to be waking up although it is late at night.

These are people that have decided to spice their own story, to leave their comfort zone, and to add variety in their life.

They are persons who despite their programmed working engagement in corporate entities 8-10 hours a day, have decided to break the routine and to dive into something new temporarily Attending a party, event, visiting a friend, to whom there is some time since they last told him/her how glad they are that they are part of their life.  Maybe tomorrow they will be sleepy for work, but they will also know that:

.... YESTERDAY THEIR STORY HAS GROWN!

GROUP 2 - Part of these passengers are again employees who came back from their extended working time. It is easy to recognize them. Most of them sleep during the journey and sometimes even miss their destination. You cannot notice the spark in them, because even if it exists, it is closed inside the eyes that are faced towards the floor. Their plan, their story for tomorrow is defined in advance, and can be described in only one word – SAME!

The first are usually in small groups of 2 or 3 people. You can notice smile instead of tiredness on their faces while discussing about the lovely moments or person with whom they spent their time. Their story is not a straight line of routine and mechanics, they liberate them selves frequently, shake their day, and the burden of obligations and excuses is no longer able to control and define them.

The energy they manifest exceeds the metro facility and penetrate your hearts. It makes you addicted with the desire to be always in its presence.

That is why I prefer to take the last metro, here in Delhi!

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WHY DO YOU LOVE INDIA SO MUCH!?

Many times since my time in India, I was asked the following question:

Why do you love India so much

I always try to maintain the answer to this question short, because in essence it is much longer and I consider that there is no need to tell the entire answer in front of a person who is probably not interested to hear the whole story. Certainly I mention one or two reasons, summarizing that the answer to this question will probably be best given in the book I am hoping to write one day.

Why do I love India so much?

Today I want to share a story with  you as an answer to this question.

Few days ago as I was coming from my work, I noticed a human being lying without conscious on the edge of the sidewalk, just few inches from where the tires of the first lane of cars run the way.

Although this is a common picture here in India which faces massive social problems like this one, this sight has shaken me and was different from all the rest.

I was not sure about the condition of that man. What I was sure about was the carelessness of the people that made their walking path above him. Then in the middle of this sight an older lady appeared and stood next to him. She was eating her sandwich and the remaining of it were falling on the body of the lying person next to her.

This sight has instantly shaken me. In a small fragment of the second it created a connection between the chest and the eyes which started gathering tears, attempting to release something that was inside.

This sight combined with few other “small things” from recent days meant only one think –

I found myself in a new emotional crisis.

I got used to expect these types of conditions long ago since the day I have decided that I will no longer respond with neutrality to the problems in the world, that  I will allow myself to be shaken and disturbed, that I will not suppress my sorrow in front the rest of the world, that I will find a way to fight.

Why?

Because we discover the true beauty when we are most shaken. When we choose to be affected by the brokenness of this world, when we decide to give up the illusion that we have found the peace, when we give up from that peace.

At that moment, few thoughts flooded my heart. Why doesn't anyone pay attention. Why even I am not stimulated enough to do something. Why God doesn't make me an instrument of Love and help for his children? Is my quest so far worthless?

This condition gave me company throughout the rest of the day.

At night fall after some time of absence I got a phone call from a good friend of mine, a devotee of the largest spiritual movement in India and the world – ISKCON

After a few minutes,  I told him about my condition, and again I was not able to sustain the coming tears.

What he has told me is the reason I am writing this post.

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