People we meet in life

A friend tries to take off 

People we meet in life

As we travel along a mysterious journey we call life, we come across many fellow travelers. Each and everyone out there has a lesson to teach, a painting  to give you, a story to share, a song to sing and a reason to smile. And believe me; each one of them leaves an eternal imprint on our soul. They subtly shape the way we perceive the world.

Back in college days in Goa, I had a catholic friend named D’souza.  She gave me a copy of The New Testament. Later she also gave me a copy of the Bible. I would read it in the evenings when the singing birds would return to nest on the giant jack fruit trees near my hostel. The central learning from my reading the two holy books was our purpose to love. God created us to love without boundaries. God sent his own son to show how much he loves each and every one of us. We love because we need to love.  Love is an act of faith. Not an exchange of emotions.

Then, during my college vacations, I often traveled to Mysore, a place popular for studying Buddhism, in train. I met and made friend with a simple monk from Lhasa, Tibet. His name was Kusho Lobsang Tenpa. As we would take a walk around the monastery towards the evening, I would ask him questions on love and compassion. What I learned from him was that from Mahayana Buddhist point of view, love and compassion forms the cornerstone of Buddhist practice. To love freely without attachment, to exude un-prejudiced love to all sentient beings is the main purpose in  life. It is only through pure love and compassion that we free ourselves from the chain of sufferings.

When it was almost time to graduate, I got a painting from an Artist classmate of mine. She painted a beautiful mountain, rivers flowing gently and suddenly cascading into beautiful waterfalls. The piece of art is still with me, in my bedroom. The picture exactly reminded me of the thought to write a blog post on ‘people we meet in life’. It also reminded me, how much love she must have put while applying every stroke of the paint on the paper.

On a sunny November afternoon, I met Yuri, a Czech student interning in Goa, while I was pampering myself in the warm sand. He shared me a Czhech folk song. Though I didn’t understand the lines, he helped me enjoy the song by explaining the lyrics. The song, I remember, started like 'hey Hori Hori…’ The singer was longing to return to good old days when all people worked in fields, when everyone had the joy of living in every beat of their heart. At night, back in our room, we shared a bottle of cheap red wine.

Everywhere we go, we meet people. On way to office in the morning, the sight of people circulating the Memorial Chorten reminds us to rejoice in their act and love all beings. Walking back to home, the sight of taxi drivers playing cards, reminds us of the need to enjoy every second of life even if you are very busy. Walking in the street in the evening, seeing countless people walking up and down, reminds us of the blessings of our fathers for building a safe and happy nation. And while sitting in a coffee shop, alone, reading a book, the sweet delicious mug of Cappuccino reminds you of the amount of love the coffee maker has invested to make you enjoy the coffee after a tiring days work. All people we meet are good people. If you met someone bad, it is just because your mind ‘tricks’ you into thinking he is a bad guy.