A raindrop that never met the Ocean

Life is always strange and full of surprises. I was enjoying every moment of it, yet there was some vacuum.  Walking uphill to enjoy the beauty of nature became a daily affair. The joy in admiring nature was priceless, yet I wanted something more. Reading different thoughts on life and joy did suggest that I wanted a spiritual path to meet the ultimate joy in life.

I knew none who would guide me along the path to ultimate joy. Stressed out of the thoughts of finding a Guru, I fell asleep. I set out uphill on Himalayas to witness the path many Monks and Gurus followed to attain Moksha (Salvation). I met many like-minded people in pursuit of Moksha, but none was able to tell me what should I do to attain  Moksha. As I rested under a tree, an old Monk appeared and asked me who I was and what I am searching for ?. He asked me to sit on the ground and close my eyes as he delivered a discourse, which he claimed would help me attain my goal. After the discourse, I opened my eyes, just to find that my journey along Himalayas and meeting with the enlightened Monk was just a dream.

There was something in me that forced me to believe that the dream was the answer to my search of ultimate happiness. I set out to Himalayas and started learning Yoga for next few years. As I started practicing Yoga, I felt my heart was getting lighter, my mind was fresh and there was positive vibe around me. Several years passed with my penance and spiritual endeavor. I was now integral part of a group of spiritual Gurus living in a small hermitage.

The life in the hermitage was so different from my past, which was more mechanical and artificial. I saw many fellow enlightened ones attaining the eternal Moksha, reaching the Divine abode. I also saw new aspirants walking up to us with desire to attain Moksha. We guided them to overcome the pain of the materialistic & artificial World.

One morning, as I was walking in the beautiful orchid garden, I saw a young lad lying unconscious. One of my disciples told me that this lad had come to our hermitage in search of Moksha and has not had food for last few days. After few days, I was informed that the lad has recover completely. I asked my disciple to bring the lad to my hut.

The lad looked lean, tired and dejected from his stressful life. Arjuna (the lad), requested me to accept him into our hermitage and guide him towards the peaceful divine life. My disciples helped Arjuna learn the greatness of life devoid of attachment and the mindset required to attain Moksha.

Though everything seemed so nice and rosy, I was quite unhappy for the fact that I have not been able to attain Moksha, though I guided many of my disciples and fellow Monks to attain Moksha. My effort towards my goal grew as the days passed, yet I couldn’t see the sign of divine call. I then decided to go on a long penance to search the reason  for my disability to attain Moksha. Days turned into weeks, Weeks turned into months, yet I couldn’t find why I didn’t receive the divine call.

Meanwhile Arjuna was getting groomed as a wonderful disciple and probably the best ever disciple I had. On his request, I allowed him to stay in my hut and taught him the extremely intense ways of meditation.  One fine morning, I came to know that, Arjuna has attained enlightenment and has been glowing like Sun on a sunny day.

My jubilation at the achievement of my dear disciple was over-shadowed by my disappointment for not able to achieve my own Moksha. I was so engrossed in that thought, that I failed to realize the fall of night and I went into deep sleep. That night I had a dream where The Divine Soul appeared before me and ordered me to accompany to the Holy Ganga. The divine self, asked me to observe the water for next few days and disappeared. I sat on the banks of the river, on  hot and sunny days, on rainy days in anticipation of answer to my search. After few days, the divine self appeared in front of me once again and asked what did I observe in these few days of my life along the Ganga. I described the way I saw water flowing perennially along the river and the inherent calmness and greenery around the river.

The divine soul, then asked me “Did you find answer to your search ?”. I fell silent. The Divine Soul asked me its next question, ” Did you see where the water in the river was coming from and where was it going?” I replied, ” The rain brought water to the river and the river discharged into the Ocean”

The Divine soul asked again ” Did you see the rain drops falling elsewhere other than the river?” I replied ” Of course the rain drops fell along the land and on trees on the banks of the river.” The Divine soul asked again ” Do you know what would happen If you cut down the trees in the dense forest along the region?” I replied, ” The land would turn barren and the river would dry up.”

My curiosity grew as the questions from the divine soul also grew in number. My wait for the next question from the Divine soul didn’t last long, as I was immediately asked “What would happen if all the rain drops fell into the river and not on the land or trees in the region?” I replied, ” The trees will go dry and the rains would stop and the river would go dry”

The Divine Soul, spoke again, but didn’t ask a question, but answered my question. It said, “You are like the rain drop that didn’t flow into the river to be discharged into the Ocean, the dream of a water drop. You are the rain drop that fell on the tree to stimulate further rain, resulting in many rain drops attaining the Ocean.”

The world would go scarce of people attaining Moksha, if everyone attain Moksha and none was left to guide others. It is wonderful to attain Moksha, but it is more than wonderful to help others attain their goal. ”You may not realize that your destiny is in helping other’s reach their destiny!”

Dedicated to all Teachers, Friends, Leaders, Peers helping me grow both Personally and Professionally

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