A सौदा with God...

"भगवान , मैं सौ रुपए  per month चढ़ाऊँगा , भगवान , promise, बस exams में बचा ले !"

"अरे सौ रुपए में तो आजकल traffic हवालदार भी नहीं बिकते, भगवान क्या खाक बिकने वाले थे ?"

Familiar dialogue, isn't it? Though this movie was named 3 Idiots, it taught us innumerable life lessons which are not at all idiotic. I remember those days when I was 5 years old and bedridden due to a road accident. Every alternate day, I used to watch this epic movie without fail( though I couldn't understand the funniest portions of it at that age). Till today's date, I might have watched this movie more than a 100 times but I'm not in the least bit tired of watching it. Over the years, what has changed, is my perspective of grasping the content of the movie. Among a zillion funny dialogues in the movie, I clearly remember the ones delivered during the time of the final exams. The promises and the सौदाs that the students make to God, apart from being totally hilarious, are also satirical towards the mentality of the भक्तs. The fully educated engineering students think that their hard work won't help them pass the exams, but God will come from heaven, in exchange of  a monthly supply of a 100 rupees or a litre of milk to help them get through their exams(all the पढ़ाई - लिखाई in vain, huh!). According to them, it's not their actions, but God's will, that helps them score good marks. If this was the case, won't the places of worship be the largest betting addas in the world!

We are all familiar with the quote "भगवान के घर देर है, अंधेर नहीं", which means that our prayers will be answered, not immediately, but definitely. This quote was meant to instill in people a sense of hope, so that they never give up on their goals. Well, we have misinterpreted this quote to such an extent, that we pray. pray and pray, but often forget to ACT, which is actually more important.

 Incidentally, I came across these beautiful lines which present the previously mentioned quote in a whole new light: 

न देर है न अंधेर है 

हे मनुष्य ,

तेरे कर्मों का यह सब फेर है. 

These lines moved me so much that while thinking upon them, I ended up writing a poem, which I would like to share with you today. 

न देर है, न अंधेर है 

क्यों हार के बैठे हैं 

सिर थाम के बैठे हैं 

न देर है, न अंधेर है 

यह तो तेरे कर्मों का फेर है।  

जब आती है समस्या 

"क्यों" पूछने से पहले 

उसमे छिपी सीख को ढूँढना 

क्योंकि बचने का सरल रास्ता 

है समस्या से गुज़रना। 

क्यों हार के बैठे हैं 

सिर थाम के बैठे हैं 

न देर है, न अंधेर है 

यह तो तेरे कर्मों का फेर है।

यह याद रखना, 

हर प्रश्न का होता है उत्तर,

तो उससे बचना है कायर की डगर। 

हारने वाले कोशिश कर छोड़ देते हैं ,

जीतने वाले तब तक कोशिश करते हैं 

जब तक जवाब नहीं पाते हैं।  

क्यों हार के बैठे हैं 

सिर थाम के बैठे हैं 

न देर है, न अंधेर है 

यह तो तेरे कर्मों का फेर है।

इस जग में एक ही डोर थामे रखती है,

वह बहुत नाज़ुक होती है।  

पर जब वह बल देती है,

शक्ति का संचार कर जाती है। 

यह है उम्मीद की डोर,

इसे तू कभी न तोड़। 

क्यों हार के बैठे हैं 

सिर थाम के बैठे हैं 

न देर है, न अंधेर है 

यह तो तेरे कर्मों का फेर है।

As it is rightly said, "God helps those who help themselves", we must realize that just praying for the fulfillment of our goals won't take us anywhere near to them. It is when along with praying, we ACT and take steps towards fulfilling them, we eventually achieve them. Thus, it is about time when instead of saying "O God, give me this and give me that", we start saying, "O God, give me the strength and resilience to accomplish this and accomplish that." I guarantee that this सौदा will prove to be more fruitful than the former...

Thank you for reading this blog and I'm open to your feedback(please mention your name along with your feedback). We'll meet again soon with a next blog.

Bbye

Until next time