Word.

Death has nothing to do with going away.

The sun sets

The moon sets

But they are not gone.

~ Rumi

You are More Than an Inspiration, Brother.

I visited him yesterday. He is very weak, fragile and unconscious. His eyes are yellow because of Jaundice and are open since many days. He can't close them as the brain has almost stopped functioning. The doctors have discharged him from the hospital because they say that they have no idea how long he would be in this coma-like state and that there is nothing more they can do. No treatment, nothing!

The one thing which is good, is that he is no more in excruciating pain.

Earlier, I was told that I shouldn't see him in this condition as it would be too much to handle and this glum picture of his would be stuck in my memory forever. But they were wrong! It gave me so much satisfaction just to watch him there, lying in calmness and peace. Yes, he looked extremely delicate and frail but I did not fear even a bit. Why would I? He is my brother after all. So what, if at 40, his body is as weak as that of an old man's. It narrates a tale of his brave and valiant battle with the world's most dangerous form of cancer. It narrates a tale of his determination with which he tried his best to quell the bitch. Nobody could ever portray the kind of mettle spirit he did, during the past one year. 

He is a lot more than an inspiration! To me, to the family and to his friends.

All through the months, even in immense pain, he always cradled a positive outlook. Having learnt the art of meditation, he detached himself from trivial, flimsy and all other kind of worries of the world.

Day before yesterday, my mother told me that out of many, the last thing which he taught her was not to love his body but his soul, his teachings and his way of life. For he will always be there in the heart.

Death has nothing to do with going away.

The sun sets

The moon sets

But they are not gone.

~ Rumi

For both his daughters, he has left something so beautiful which I cannot put into fine words. He has written a diary filled with so many precious teachings for life. It is hard for me to express how moved I was when yesterday, I sat down in a room all alone, and read those pages. They gave me goosebumps! All I wanted to do was just read them over and over again and cry to them forever. I can only imagine how relieving those tears would be. Even now, while I'm making an attempt to tell you how soothing it was, I can't fight back this urge to read it once more. For that is the one thing which would be the most priceless asset: An exquisite father-daughter thing!

Here is a picture which I clicked sneakily.

We don't know how much time is left now. We don't know when we would get the impending news. Hope has faded into sheer nothingness. And yes! We all are preparing ourselves for the worst. Even his wife, the strongest of all, who always greets us with a big smile, has become the pillar of the family. She is a brave woman and doesn't stand a tinge of pity from anyone. Last evening, she told us how dearly my brother wished to have a little get-together with family and friends but his deteriorating condition disallowed him.

Sigh!

Anyway, as the day ended, I made a promise to myself to learn the art of meditation. I have already added it to my wish list and shall soon work towards fulfilling the same. As he, in the diary, wrote to his daughters that whenever life gets tough, just meditate and face it and it will be good again.

Love you beyond everything, brother!

On a lighter note, last evening, I received a lot of appreciation for my recently published poems. Of course, I, without a fail, kept flying higher and higher.

Wait, haven't I told you that I got published again? Yes!!! And this time it is an online magazine Tamarind Rice. Go search me and read my poems.

Don't Go Back to Sleep!

Do you see?

How the big white ball on that dark sheet covered with stars is skulking behind clouds? And look how the clouds manoeuvre past the zillion stars. They are playing a silent symphony to you. You know why? Because you are special. You are special as the world offers you its incredulous beauty. Traverse it like it is a part of you. Traverse it like you traverse your soul. And everything around shall speak endearments into your ears.

On the colossal canvas formed by a whole pack of myriad thoughts, take a stroll on a path and wander through it. Be free and free your soul! You see a young girl, there. See how her eyes gleam as she looks out of the small window. She is agog at dark grey clouds that greet her with a loud thunderous sound. She absorbs all that the nature has to offer and runs out to be a part of it. The sight is pleasing. Does it remind you of your unfathomable longing to soak up the first shower of the season?

It does, to me!

For all that is relevant is out there in open. For all that is worth a try is free of complications and doubts. Just like what Rumi says:

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you
Don't go back to sleep!
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep!
People are going back and forth
across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,
The door is round and open
Don't go back to sleep!”
__________________

Picture Source : deviantart

That Which Cannot Be Expressed.

You don't know which thing might move you to tears unless you experience it. You don't know which thing might touch your heart and take you to another land unless you feel it. You don't know what is there beneath few lines unless you breathe along with every word of it.

Sigh!

Few days back, my friend introduced me to the poetry of one of the most outstanding poets and philosophers Jalal-ad-Din Rumi, a Turkish Sufi. Honestly, I carried some knowledge about this great man but never really spent time to read his fantastic work...his quotations.

Yes, that day in the metro I gulped in some of his most throbbing words and experienced something that I can never articulate in few expressions. It is either indeed ineffable or I am too naive or callow to look for some worthy appreciation. All I can say is that this man's words which were recorded somewhere in the 13th Century moved a teenage girl to tears in the 21st Century. See how amazing it is. We say that people change with time but do you find any change in the inner soul of every homosapien? For I believe that many before me would have shed tears while reading the same lines. Many before me would have felt a strong and powerful connection the way I did. So how am I different to those nth number of people?

Think.

Anyway following is the one that I am talking about. You can read his other quotations here.

“Like This 

If anyone asks you 
how the perfect satisfaction 
of all our sexual wanting 
will look, lift your face 
and say, 

Like this. 

When someone mentions the gracefulness 
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof 
and dance and say, 

Like this. 

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is, 
or what "God’s fragrance" means, 
lean your head toward him or her. 
Keep your face there close. 

Like this. 

When someone quotes the old poetic image 
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon, 
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings 
of your robe. 

Like this. 

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead, 
don’t try to explain the miracle. 
Kiss me on the lips. 

Like this. Like this. 

When someone asks what it means 
to "die for love," point 
here. 
If someone asks how tall I am, frown 
and measure with your fingers the space 
between the creases on your forehead. 

This tall. 

The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns. 
When someone doesn’t believe that, 
walk back into my house. 

Like this. 

When lovers moan, 
they’re telling our story. 

Like this. 

I am a sky where spirits live. 
Stare into this deepening blue, 
while the breeze says a secret. 

Like this. 

When someone asks what there is to do, 
light the candle in his hand. 

Like this. 

How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob? 
Huuuuu. 

How did Jacob’s sight return? 
Huuuu. 

A little wind cleans the eyes. 

Like this. 
When Shams comes back from Tabriz, 
he’ll put just his head around the edge 
of the door to surprise us 

Like this.” 
― Rumi

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Time for some good news now: I feel elated to announce that Mirage got it's first award by two of my lovely blogger friends. Yayyyyy!!!! It is a complete honor to receive the award. Thank you so much Keirthana and Sumitra. You both made me SOOOOOOOO HAPPY.

<3 <3