“For the self there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not
come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into
being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not
slain when the body is slain.”
– Bhagavad gita (2.20)
I looked at my fully drenched body and knew the water from the latrine
also found its way to wet me. I was sick and desperate to get out. I
was at my friends’ place that was at a low line area, and while the
incessant rain got worse, the drainage leaked and liquid from the
commode gushed out and filled up the house. The other houses witnessed
the same phenomenon and there was a small lake of drainage and sewage
water at the colony’s courtyard. We waded through the neck deep waters
and it was late evening when finally his family was safe at a shelter.
Meanwhile, I was desperate to reach my own house while the rain Gods
showed no mercy. No buses or taxis were available either. I walked for
hours with the yuck feeling; I couldn’t wait to clean up the waste and
liquid from the toilets that had soaked my body.
Finally at midnight I reached home, a safe sanctuary at a decent and
well maintained locality in Mumbai. I ran to the cooling shower. I sat
under the refreshing burst of water for a long time; cleaned myself
fully; drank hot soup; and relaxed on the sixth floor balcony of our
apartment that faced the ocean. It was a relief to be home! I was in
my ‘Home-State’ and knew I was safe. I felt a sense of belonging and
shelter.
Just as in our external world we have a home that gives us shelter, we
need a similar Home-State for our inner world. Fortunes could swing
against us any moment or a loved one misunderstands, or a dear friend
meets with an accident or your mind is gripped by an unknown fear- the
list is endlessly scary; the ugh feeling or disgust with life is a
veritable experience, especially when you feel you are filled with so
much muck! You need succour and the surfeit of netflix shows give no
respite. You know you need to ‘belong’; you need shelter; you need to
come ‘home’.
To be continued…
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