Chronicles of Karma

32~Souls

Author's Note:

This chapter has around 3.9k+ words, each coming from long thoughts, and crafting them took me a whole day. I know that my story may not be for everyone; some won't even take a second glance to read it in the pile of other wonderful ones here. But I hope that whoever reads it will find something that they like. Each chapter reflects my thoughts, which I publish for the world to read in hopes of finding the people who like them or at least complain about why they don't like them.

It's not much to ask. I often imagine what it is to be someone who has an enormous number of readers on a platform and how their notifications might look. Where mine looks deserted, occasionally, dear readers leave comments and votes, which makes me smile and fills my heart with hope.

And for the next chapter, I am not sure when, but I will surely post. I guess it doesn't affect anyone if I miss a week or so; I think that takes off my pressure to know that maybe in my mind alone, I am a fan of this story where the world revolves around many, and mine is just a grain in them.

***

It has been said that life, as in mortal, doesn't begin in birth and end in death; it's just the body that goes through, but the soul that is part of the body will always remain jumping from one body to another, with no restriction of who and were and what gender the body is designed to be. So what makes the soul act on it and choose which one to occupy next like a homeless mortal trying to find a home to call theirs for the specific time of their stay and to be gone and emptying them never to visit again?

Was it the action that the soul takes to find its next target, like a predator choosing its prey, sensing the proximity of the prey for its capture as its next meal? Did the soul have a choice in matter or say in this? Or, like in a court of matters, would the souls be passed on to the following body without thinking about who they will be or which body they will be on? Like a prisoner of one mind, does the soul feel that it must finally follow specific rules to rest and break the cycle? Do they feel restless from having to jump from one body to another? Do they feel bored seeing the same place repeatedly and having to form relationships that will cause their virtue or their downfall for the next birth? Do they get disappointed when seeing the body they were destined for, or do they feel disconnected from them?

Was the soul wept when it found out that it had to leave the mother who let go of her child in the river whose body it was designed to settle in this birth? Was the soul angered when it was deemed as adharmi cause of the actions of one's mind that are being hosted? Was the soul hurt when the body of the one that is residing on has to be shared and passed on like a ragged doll between the five husbands? Did the soul ever complain at all? Or, just like many things, pain and other factors are just an illusion of this mortal world that the soul would never be able to feel, and it would always be ready and let go of the bodily and material things once they are passed on?

Many mortals had the same questions over the years; the ones that found the answers were either left too soon to pass on or were just deemed godly figures for the upcoming generations, to be prayed and looked upon when one needed guidance. But was it all true? All the writing, messages, places, and scriptures scream that this is all Maya (illusion). If so, then who is that Maya? Were they defined as superior to others since they could cause havoc or a great spectacle that changed the course of the history of mortals? Or, to be a Maya, they must also dwell within the illusion to forget who they are.

Well, what the soul remembers, the body and mind forget, yet it is always pulled towards its destiny, the one it has been earning since the dawn of creation.

That happened when the three of the youngsters planned to sneak into a kingdom unannounced, and with their plan executed correctly, they needed to have the permission of the elders or, in this case, the king. But with Dhritarashtra, who could nod to his death itself if his favourite son had asked it, it was not much of a hurdle, but the one with his grandfather was. Whose question on why, where, and when it was planned caused the young trio to be stunned, but Ashwatthama acted quickly by providing the needed answers in a heartbeat with a static expression not to give away their real reasons.