Amar and I were sitting on the banks of Ganga. I dipped my feet in its cool water and felt the Ganga for the first time.
“Nitya…here take this stone.” Amar said to me.
“Why Amar?” I asked, curiously.
“Just take it.” He ordered.
I took the stone from his hand.
“Now fling it in the river.” I did as he asked me to do.
“Now stop the ripples.”
“How can I? That is impossible.” I said confused.
“Exactly. You threw the stone in the water that was your action and the water rippled, that was its reaction and you can’t stop that from happening.” He said.
“Yes. That is just what I said.”
“Imagine that in life, throwing the stone in the water is your deed and the ripples are the effect your deed caused. Now if you ask for my help to stop the ripples, can I help you with that?”
“No.” I said. Slowly making sense of what it means.
“See Nitya, God maybe above all people but he is not above nature and nature has a simple law. You must have studied it, ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’.”
“But then, what bad did my parents do to deserve this kind of a reaction?”
“Wasn’t your father a chronic smoker?” he asked.
“Yes but that was years ago.”
“Nitya, the human mind forgets but nature doesn’t.”
The truth now was slowly dawning on me.
“And what about mother?”
“Sometimes it’s our Karma from another life time that makes us go through such things in the present and sometimes it’s just sheer bad luck. Like in your mother’s case, the company she worked in had radioactive exposure and how that causes cancer, I need not explain to you. They shut the company down when many of its workers started dying of cancer.” He paused for a minute.
“A God Nitya, doesn’t decide what humans should go through, Nature does. It’s a cycle, your deeds decide your future. A God can only protect you from people who want to harm you but what is natural is natural and what is planned by destiny, no one can change. Just like how you can’t select your subjects till you reach eight grade similarly you can’t select what you go through all throughout your life. So that’s why you should always behave your best because your entire life is a test which you need to Ace.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. I had never thought about this so deeply. I was a fool for hating God like this.
“See Nitya, there is nothing wrong in being an atheist, it is a choice but what is wrong here is that you are not an atheist. You are lying to yourself and others. You not only believe in him, you also love God. And when we love, it should be unconditional, without any expectations, without any questions. If you expect something in return, than can you call it love?”
I was feeling guilty with each passing moment. Amar made me realise what a fool I was. I let go of the only person I love because of circumstances that he couldn’t change. How could I be such a big fool?
“When people say God can set everything right, don’t believe them. God can’t set everything right, not that he doesn’t want to. It pains him also to see his devotees in turmoil but he can’t do anything. His hands are tied in front of nature’s will. In life, inevitable things will happen but sometimes they are for your own good too. See now, a year ago you were a timid and shy girl who didn’t know anything about the world. Your father’s death changed you into a strong woman who doesn’t fear anything. Wasn’t that good for your own progress?”
“Yes it was.” I struggled to get those words out in between tears.
“So now, do you still think you are an atheist?”
“No. I was so wrong. I am so ashamed of myself.” I said tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Now don’t cry. Apologise to your beloved. He will forgive you for sure.” Amar said, smiling at me and wiping my tears away.
I hugged him tightly, “Thank you Amar for making me realise this.” I said.
He just placed a hand on my back. As soon as I realised what I had done, I pulled away from him.
“I am sorry I just was too overjoyed.” This was very awkward. I always end up putting myself in these situations.
“It feels like a heavy weight has been lifted from my chest. Like my caged heart has been released. I feel so free. I love Shiva and I am never going to do such a stupidity ever again.”
Amar was very pleased. His bright smile was genuine and as I looked at him, for the first time I felt as though I was losing myself in his deep blue eyes.
YOU ARE READING
The Forgotten Faith
Short Story(highest rank #111 in short story.) Nitya is going through some of the toughest days of her life. Losing her father just a year ago, she is still struggling to cope with the loss and find a way to deal with the responsibilities that he has left beh...
