Moksh

MOKSH


Ved Prakash, sat on his bed his eyes focused out of the window, but he wasn’t observing anything. He was thinking about his past. He was thinking of Deepak his only son, his daughter in law Neelam and his grandson Armaan (whom he had never seen, though his eyes forever awaited his arrival). A month before Armaan was born the son and daughter in law told him in so many words about the lovely Vriddashram in a beautiful place covered with greenery. They told him, he would love there and have many friends. He wondered why they felt he suddenly needed friends. Why were they suddenly talking about this place? He didn’t want anything .He was looking forward to having his grand child around. Then came the jolt when they said “Bapuji this is just a small bedroom flat. When our kid comes along we will need more space .Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable having so many people here”? “So many people?” wondered Vedprakash . It was just him and he wondered how then did a family of eight live in a one room flat when Deepak was a kid. They had a huge family with his in laws ,his parents living with them along with his wife and 2 sons . Vasudha expired 5 years back and from then he has been living in hope of spending his last days with his grandchild.
But alas at this age he was shown the door. He did get a meager pension but that would not be enough to buy himself a place. Now he felt it was foolish to have sold his old house and given the money to Deepak to buy this new place where there wasn’t space for him. He felt sad to think that while children grow up the bond is so strong and the parents are a part of their life and once they grow they wish to amputate the very part called parents.

He had been living here in the Vriddhashram for the last 2 years. He wondered what life had now in store. His son never came to meet him. Called once in a while and came once a year to give the money that they took annually for the space provided.

Yes he had friends there , if you call them that, those who were saddled there just like him with no where to go, trying to come to terms with the fact that during the sunset of their lives they are not wanted by anyone.

That day they had a special guest to meet them .Very often people came her to distribute some things, trying to think it as something noble to lessen the burden of all the sins committed by them. They barely came near worried that they might contract some disease and gave an ostentatious smile. Today one small boy came to meet them with their father. He was very happy on seeing his grandparents. His father told him that these were all his grandparents since he didn’t have his own. He was so excited and was particularly fond of Ved. He sat on Ved’s bed for sometime and Ved asked him some questions, laughed at his kiddish answers (He felt his own laugh so strange, one that he hadn’t experienced in years).

Jeev , the father of Moksh along with his wife Kaamna were watching Moksh as he enjoyed himself. Moksh had a wonderful time. He was with Ved Dadu.

The next few days Ved looked forward to Moksh coming in to meet him. One evening Moksh asked Jeev, “ Papa, can we get Dadu home”? Jeev looked astonished to hear that, to realize that Moksh missed Ved so much, “I don’t think we can get him here dear but we can definitely meet him at the home, where he lives.” “No Dad I want him here, with me always. I’ll have food with him, play with him, sleep with him. We’ll have so much fun”. He sounded so full of enthusiasm that it hurt Jeev to refuse him. “Ok tomorrow after we meet the doctor and then we shall go and see. Moksh already looked happy though weak. He hadn’t been keeping well and the entire month had been spent in getting a series of tests done. Some results of the tests taken were expected the next day.

Jeev looked at the doctor in horror as Moksh sat out with Kaamna. “Are you sure Doc, There might be a mistake.” He said his voice trembling his heart pounding hard so hard that he could barely hear the doctor. “I understand what you’re going thru Jeev but there’s no mistake I asked for these tests because I doubted it. It’s a very rare disorder almost just one in a million who suffers from it. And his body is not responding to the medication.” Jeev couldn’t see the reports in hand clearly. His eyes were filled with tears of grief. Moksh was suffering from a very rare disorder affecting the blood cells ,the counts dropped dangerously each day with only a couple of months to live. He looked out and saw Kaamna and Moksh laughing. How was he going to face them? What would he tell Kaamna. Their only son. How would he look at Moksh and refrain from crying. The doc spoke as though reading his thoughts. Never grieve in front of him Keep him happy. Let him enjoy himself. Well continue the medication…till….
Jeev mechanically thanked the doc. He went out and Kaamna took one look and his traumatized face and looked shocked, “What happened Jeev? Why did you ask me to sit out with Moksh? What is it?” “I’ll talk to you at home not in front of Jeev.” At home Kaamna grieved nonstop. She was uncontrollable. She could t accept the fact that life could be so cruel as to snatch away her blessings and happiness so soon.
That night there was no sleep at home. Trauma stopped Jeev and Kaamna from sleeping and happiness stopped Moksh from sleeping. “Papa Ved Dadu will come here tomorrow, wouldn’t he?” he kept confirming every five minutes. “Yes dear he would”. It was toughest for the parents to smile. They just couldn’t. come to terms that their life would be devoid of Moksh. How could a body survive without a soul? How would they live without Moksh? .Why was life so cruel as to stop the laughter of a child who had just begun to bloom.?

The next day Jeev met the authorities at the Ashram and they were considerate enough to mend the rules and arrange for Ved to live with Jeev . Ved was informed about it and of course they had to seek his permission. The moment Jeev asked him to live with him for some time Ved just couldn’t bring himself to believe this was actually happening. There was that home of his son Deepak that he was a part of but had no space for him and here was a home that he never knew existed and they had so much to offer him.. His eyes filled with tears as Moksh jumped on his bed to kiss him. Ved was also informed about the condition of Moksh. He looked at the kid and forgot his sorrows. There was so much sorrow in the world and he thought he was the biggest sufferer. No here there were many other sufferers, he thought looking at Jeev and Kaamna , who already looked like a ghost of their former selves.
While Ved was leaving the Ashram, he felt sad for his friends who were all probably hoping that they were in Ved’s place and would find solace in the love of some body wanting to give them a home.

Once home Moksh was constantly hovering around Ved prakash and his life seemed to be so different. Jeev and Kaamna realized how much difference the presence of grandparents can have in the life of children. How much difference the presence of children can have on grandparents.Ved looked so happy these days and so did Moksh.!
He began looking more cherubic and lively. Suddenly his body began responding to the medication. There was hope! Jeev and Kaamna found life again. They began to live. They began to hope! And it was a relief!

Ved sat in the garden sipping his tea, when the handsome young man got him his newspapers. “Dadu we shall leave in half hour. Can’t be late for golf you know”, he winked at his Dadu. Ved smiled and looked at him lovingly. So soon the time had passed. It’s been ten years since he moved in here. Moksh was fine now. How ? No one knows even the doctors. A miracle that’s what they say. There was a home with no place for him and here was a home that made place for him, gave him love togetherness a sense of belonging. Ved now thought less about his son Deepak. Yes he definitely rued the fact that kids can abandon their parents when they felt the need to. When children are small and cant speak well, yet the communication between them is so complete because of the language of love that speaks for them and as they grow and can talk ten different languages with articulation yet we are unable to understand them as they are overcome by selfish needs , desires , greed that forms a barrier that cannot recognize the power of love.


Well friends what do you think? How did Moksh survive? What happened?
A miracle? Yes indeed it was! It was a miracle! A miracle called love! The strongest of all emotions. The greatest healer of all .The balm to all sufferings . Love, .The love of his grandfather, a relation he always wished for and a love that helped him fight his illness. It does happen with all of us doesn’t it. We may feel drained out ,very sick , unable to maintain interest in anything and then suddenly when we see our loved one we feel a surge of energy, our illness, sorrows, vanishes into thin air. That energy is the power of Love.
Sometimes in life we wonder what it is that keeps one going .Nothing can be as instrumental as love. Its doesn’t require an effort and its one emotion that one can only benefit from sharing. The more you Love the more you’ll find it in you to keep loving. The more you give the more you get. So it’s the most flourishing emotion, yet we find so much skepticism to use it. These days there is so much of need for it when people are caught in a web of their own needs and refuse to see the benefits of sharing such a wonderful emotion with those who have helped to get you into this world, see you through the highs and lows , provide you with comfort.
A little love you give and a lot of comfort you experience.A little love takes away a lot of pain! So let the banks of your heart overflow with the emotion of love. After all as we have seen here Love conquers all!

Love ,
Devika