Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Today watched the movie “Anand” after so many years. “Babumoshay zindagi lambi nahin badi honi chahiye”, what an iconic dialogue!!! We all read, hear and agree to this theory of living life to the fullest. We all know that life is unpredictable and each moment is precious. But how many of us actually and truly follow this??Do we really value the blessing of being born as humans??
It literally takes a moment to transform any one from is –to- was. So much is left behind when one departs from this human world. The soul carries on its journey but the departed individual is survived by so many loved ones who are left in pain and despair.
In our daily routine, we get so engrossed that we forget that the mechanism which is helping us move around is with an expiry date. The date which can come as a shock too. We all take efforts to save and leave behind some amount for our survivors. But is money enough to recuperate with the loss of someone ,we love beyond words???
I feel we need to ensure that in our absence, our near and dear ones are well equipped mentally and emotionally to deal with our loss. We need to build over treasures of love and beautiful memories that can act as real booster in unkind times for all. Money, name, fame come and go. But what we create with our character and behavior is what all will remember and cherish. Everything is perishable but the respect, love and affection we give to people around is everlasting. We need to grab on every opportunity to express our love .Expression of love and care is immensely therapeutic. Life is too small to hide and share our feelings with our loved ones. We tend to take everything for granted. But considering unpredictability of our life clocks, we need to ensure that all our feelings are expressed well in time. We need to consciously share moments of joys and sorrows with people around us. We are the only species to be blessed with the power to make change. We can consciously take efforts to make life worthwhile.
Equally important is nurturing of our soul. One of my mentors’ shared a very good story of a King and his four wives. The king loved the 4th wife the most and gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another. He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times. The King's 1st wife loved him deeply, was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He asked all his wives turn by turn to accompany him. "No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. "No! Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!” replied the 3rd wife. "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." Her answer came like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated. Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was as skinny as she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"In truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we spend in making it look good, it will leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others. Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. And our 1st wife is our Soul, often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now.
How we nourish our soul, is our individual choice. I personally believe that what is important is to value our life and not to take each and everything for granted in life. I feel we need to consciously respect human values. Loving and sharing is the key to building healthy relations. Fulfilling our responsibilities with good and happy spirit leads to satisfaction. Cribbing and complaining brings in unnecessary negativity and results in wasting life’s precious time. We all see dreams. It is good to be motivated and work towards achieving our goals. But in this pursuit we need to be conscious of our mental and physical health as well as wellbeing of people around us. We need not become working robots. We need to understand difference between ambition and greed. Also we need to be conscious of not getting too much attached to anything beyond our control. Nature is beautiful and we are blessed to admire and preserve its beauty. Nothing can beat monotony the way travelling can do. We need to take on risk and try something new, now and then .Regular communication with all our loved ones and spending time with them should be on priority list however busy our routines may be.
Above all these ,two things are extremely important. Pursuing a passion other than work. It may be any hobby or recreational activity wherein we can forget ourselves and find true joy. Secondly, establishing conversation with our own self. Self Introspection is important. We also need to address the question of what we want to do of this opportunity, Almighty has blessed us with. These two things are necessary for bringing in peace and balance in our lives.
Friends we are all blessed to get a life as human beings. Love, laughter, peace, joy ,sorrow, tears, anger, success, failure all are to be considered a part and parcel of this package called life. Let us enjoy beautiful relations, good food, good music, beautiful places and all mystical creations of the Almighty.
"Yeh Zindagi Na milegi dobara", is a fact and "love u zindagi" should be our life song.
