The sorrow of the selfless ( one shot)
It's been a month since the devastating party brought hurdles into his life once again. . Arjun was karan, his very own brother who was pronounced dead five years ago.
Karan's hatred was unbearable and preeta was torn between the two brothers. She was miserable. This lured him to swallow three glasses of hard liquor that eventually knocked out his senses.
He wanted to be all alone and hence surrendered to his sorrow in silence looking up towards the dark starry nite . He knew the Almighty was watching him closely above the clouds.
In a drunk despaired state, he called out to the heavenly Lord.
" Why are u hiding after ruining my life. U stated in the holy Bhagavad Gita that good deeds receive good fruits of life. Look at me. All broken and miserable. Fruit of my kind karma. What wrong have i done to gain such punishment ".
There was no answer. It was a dark silent night. Finally he made up his mind to go home. It was a huge challenge to drive in a heavily drunk state. He almost knocked down a man riding a bicycle on the road middle of the night.
His phone was ringing. Numerous miss calls from preeta, his wife. He refused to answer. She was defo gonna kick his a** if she found out he was drunk driving. Finally he switched it off.
Minutes later, a soft knock on his driver's window woke him instantly from his slumber. He decided to spend the night in his car than facing the wrath of preetaji at home. He will only return in the morning when he would be sober and would give an excuse of a last minute long distance trip if interrogated by wife and family.
A pleasant middle aged man was looking down at him .
" Gentleman, why are u taking a shelter in ur car".
As he was about to speak, the stranger sensed that he was drunk and offered him a shelter at his place which was close by.
Rishab took the offer and the guy gave him a lift on his bike to a nearby temple. He turned out to be a priest .
Finally, he took shelter in the Lord's house.
Frustratedly he told the priest pointing towards the statue of Lord Krishna who seemed to be smiling at his plight.
" He the creator of the world is the biggest liar of all times. He stated that good people receive good fruits in life. Look at me. I am a good person but what did i get?? Only sorrow!!!
He fell on the ground. Heavily drunk and unconscious. The priest did not respond. But smiled to himself. He looked up at the statue of Lord Krishna and knew that this distraught soul was sent to him(the priest) for a purpose
The next morning at 8 am.
He woke up to the sounds of prayers and bells. The priest was chanting the morning aarti. He looked out through the tiny glass window of a room located at the back of the temple. He was moved there in unconscious state by the kind stranger the previous nite
A glass of lime juice rested at the wooden table next to his bed and he instantly pushed the savoury drink down his throat to calm his spinning head. The effects of the hard liquor.
" Gosh, how did i lose my balance".
The door to the room opened with the stranger walking in . He held a tray that consist of a plate of itali with sambar and a cup of tea , sweetly offering rishab for breakfast.
The latter stood up denying politely, replying that his family was waiting and wanted to take a leave soonest possible
But the gentleman urged him kindly. "Never say no to food. I am sure u are hungry. Eat first and then u can leave".
His stomach was growling . He gave in to the wonderful aroma of the food and ate at least five italis. The food was delicious.
As he ate , he naratted his story to the kind man who provided him shelter and food. The priest was determined to know his sorrow. What made him react in such a way.
After listening attentively for an hour, the stranger finally spoke up
"U can't blame the Almighty, Mr. Rishab lutra, it were ur own deeds that landed u in misery".
He was puzzled and annoyed as he watched the smiling gentleman sitting right opposite him holding the holy Bhagavad Gita in his hand".
"Have u actually read the whole Gita and understood ".
The confused and upset businessman replied
"No, when i was a kid , my mum used to tell me some aspects of the Gita. Do good to people. U will gain good fruits in life".
The stranger smiled.
" U have very little knowledge then, young man. Ur mum stated the right thing but not the depth of it".
Rishab was still confused.
The priest continued calmly.
" It's good to be good but not too good. There's a difference there".
The businessman was still puzzled and annoyed.
The priest smiled and continued
" U were in love with preeta but u hid the truth from ur family. U married sherlyn instead. Who's fault was that?? U wanted family 's happiness, Mr. Luthra but not ur own. So, u landed urself into deep sorrow by tying urself with a fraud woman who never loved or respected u and even harmed ur family with her lover. If only u could have spilled out ur heart and desire to marry preeta when ur mum arranged ur marriage with Shirlyn, u would have saved urself from being thrown into the dark pit of sorrow. U were silent and gave in to ur family. U try to make others happy and that landed u into a pool of misery. Ur very own too selfless deeds."
He knew somehow the stranger was right . He couldn't express his feelings at that particular time when it was most required.
The priest continued calmly,
" On top of that when u finally found out ur ex wife's truth u left there and then giving her more space for further cruel intentions towards ur family and urself. U could have stayed and punished the duo instead of running away to another country where u further faced imprisonment"
Rishab sighed,
"Thankfully preetaji saved me", to which the stranger answered abruptly,
" Nope, it was ur own past good deeds that saved u . Preeta was just the messenger".
Slowly, rishab began to understand things more clearly as the gentleman went on patiently explaining the cycle of his karma.
" Ur good deeds kept ur family secure till date. Sherlyn and her ex turned unsuccessful as preeta defeated them. U supported her when she came to Mumbai. U were always there for her. So she did equally similar for ur family. It was ur good deeds, mr. Rishab that today ur own family is spared from evil outsiders who wanted to destroy them. Ur brother, whom u loved so dearly , resurrected from the death to be with u at present. All fruits of ur good karma".
He was silent a while. Then tears rolled down his cheeks when he finally looked up at the stranger and said,
" But he hates me now. He thinks i deceived him",
To which the priest gently answered in a consoling tone.
" That's his karma. Despite knowing a wonderful brother like u if he still doesn't appreciate u then that's his problem. U never deceived him. U trust urself. That's more than enough. Don't allow others to judge u. Be urself. That's all.".
He interrupted impatiently, upset,
" But he's like a kid. Throwing tantrums. He is my child".
The gentleman smiled
" Stop treating him like one. He's an adult who is able to think, what's best for him. See, mr rishab, that's ur biggest problem, ur selfless nature. Priotizing others before u . Making sure everyone is happy. Ur own life doesn't matter to u. Ur happiness carries no value. U live for others. U absorb their miseries and becomes miserable as u couldn't provide them the happiness they desire U have a life to live to the fullest. The gift from the Almighty' but u decided to surrender it for others' instead ".
He sighed a huge relief as though a burden on his heart was removed upon hearing the meaningful route of karma explored by the priest before him.
Rishab lutra finally understood and thanked the kind gentleman for his hospitality. As he was about to take a leave , a bell of the temple rang due to a gust of wind that blew from nowhere. He instantly looked up and saw the smiling statue of Lord Krishna staring straight into his dark eyes as though saying.
" It's not my fault that i created the Gita. It was ur fault for not being able to grasp it's underlying meaning. That's why i couldn't answer to ur plight last night from the sky but sent my messenger ( the priest) to u instead".
Rishab lutra smiled and saluted the lord walking away saying loudly.
" Gotcha, from now on i will mind my own business. My life, my way".
The end
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