The Journey of the Soul

 “I believe in the immeasurable power of love; that true love can endure any circumstance and reach across any distance.” ― Steve Maraboli

The soul has been a fascinating topic to understand for ages. People say that the closely related souls are born in the same family yet the word soul is a spirit or essence of an individual. It is also called the ‘Atman’. Our thoughts are linked  to our actions, the spiritual energy we possess influences our surroundings. 

It was a beautiful evening. The sun had scorched before the onset of summer, dragging the cool clouds to surge and tramp the city with cool winds and heavy downpour. The atmosphere had put up a cleansed look with everything crystal clear now. The rain had settled the temperament with joy and happiness. What was better than a walk to smell and feel the warmth in this  ambience. As we turned at the corner and walked the long lane leading to the tailor’s shop, we saw a six month old baby in the lap of his father. The mother was away at the Patanjali Ayurvedic center, which has a doctor visiting to cure patients. The queue at Patanjali to visit the Ayurvedic doctor is a long one, he has an assistant and it is a roaring business with more and more people preferring alternate medicines to allopathic medicines. The man kept looking away into nothingness, we looked at the baby and smiled, but the baby was smiling to itself. They say babies remember the previous lives and smile at the musings of that life.

 I rushed into the tailor’s shop while my husband tried walking hither thither. I took a long time at the shop as the tailor and the workers are my good friends. I saw Ajith who quickly told me that  it would take some more  time for my dress to get ready. I asked him about his mother who was hospitalised. The head, Ranbir also spoke about all and sundry, and at the end said, ‘madam the dress will be ready in a couple of days’. I was well used to the ways, the delay helped me walk many times to the shop and chat with these people. I smiled and reached back to the place where I had left my husband. He called me excitedly,  I looked around only to see the baby nestled in my husband’s arms. It looked at his face, then thumped its palms on his face. They seemed to enjoy themselves. I wanted to pick the baby as it looked lovable, but the minute I tried to take it in my arms the baby howled. I did not want the baby to cry. It again smiled at my husband thumped him, a little later the mother came back from Patanjali and wished to take the baby. The baby refused to budge from my husband’s arms. The father too tried his level best, but the baby wept, now my husband again took the baby for a short walk, the baby smiled again, punched him, pulled his face as if it had been his long lost friend.  Finally, we had to return a weeping baby back who yearned to jump back into my husband’s arms.

I kept thinking about the incident long after we left the place. Was it the stirring of two souls, where they know each other, or was it a rebirth of a soul related. A soul which attains life the first time has numerous difficulties and is unable to understand the concept of serenity, the desire to attain things quickly and venture into life’s various stages in a jiffy mellows the soul through the experience. A soul that has taken many lives is a placid soul that shows great equanimity and maturity in behaviour. Right from the infant stage such babies do not cry for food, create a lot of noise and are the forgiving kind. People often mistake such human beings to be slow in the zest of life, but in reality they are in their prime and would be joining the lord back as a tiny glow. These souls are able to influence people. They guide them through their supreme behaviour, thoughts and actions. These souls are able to act well on their destiny as their actions or karmas are noteworthy. They easily reach out to other souls and believe in contribution rather than competition, helping their actions grow to reach the lord.

A visit to a Satsang brings like minded souls together who are able to understand the pains of others. I have seen a blind sixteen year old reach the satsang with her mother who is crippled travelling 25 km effortlessly every Sunday owing to some kind soul who drops them lovingly at the doorstep. We see people weeping their hearts out here, however, leave away feeling better with a gratitude for God as the soul is able to see some other human being suffering greater than itself. This inculcates thankfulness towards their own lives, healing the inner self through the act. People then understand that after all they are tiny glowing lights from God and need to go back once their roles come to an end in this world.   This awareness helps  man to be  conscious of his providence and endeavours to alter the course of events.

 In the Dhammapada we find the following words, "All that we are is a result of what we have thought, it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts.