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.
Blaze!
Krishna is very
happy with you today. He loves the heart like yours, soft like butter, and is
anxious to enter inside them and give them consolation.
Try to understand
first that we are not controllers of other people’s life. We are not even controllers of our own life.
Krishna is the
supreme controller.
Despite this, He didn't fully take our ability to make our own choices in life.
But never give up
praying. Today you were not able to do a lot for that person. But you can still
pray for him, right?
Pray. Not only for
him but for the entire world. Pray for the whole world to receive the mercy and
love of Krishna. Pray for the purification of your heart, because prayers from
a pure devotee can instantly produce an effect.
Krishna is the
supreme controller. But you know what? He also wants to be controlled. He wants
to be controlled by his devotees, by their prayers and wishes, to give what they long for, by all who seek heart purification and truth.
What I am telling
you today is not my own personal opinion.
This has been told
long ago in the Holy Scriptures and Bhagwat Gita. I am just a humble
transmitter, transferring what was already said. I thank Krishna for the opportunity to once again spread his Word.
... And thank you
for sharing this with me today.
These
words were like a balm for a freshly opened old wound They came when they were
most needed and they brought me peace.
How did
they know to come in the real time and in the real shape?
That is
why I love India so much....
