WITHOUT SAYING A SINGLE WORD TO 'HIM'






I love, respect and, even, worship my mom. I know it, and she knows it, too. But, for more than two weeks now, I haven’t called her (She lives away in Mangalore). The same thing goes to my son, who lives in Bengaluru. He is my only son, and, I adore him. And, I know he, too, does. But, sometimes, weeks pass by without we talking to each other!

 

Today, a thought was passing through my mind: If I do not ‘pray’ for weeks and weeks, will my reverence to God, my Father diminish? Will He feel bad, sad or angry? Will He forsake me?

 

If my mother knows how much I love her in spite of I not talking to her for weeks, and if I know how much my son loves me in spite of he not talking to me for weeks, won’t God – the almighty, the omnipresent, the all-merciful – know it?

 


I can feel God in every pore of my being… I can feel Him every time the breeze kisses my cheeks and every time the leaves speak… I can feel Him when I am on top of the world; I can feel Him when I am down in the dumps… I can feel Him in the tender palms of an infant; I can feel Him in the blood-red eyes of a mercenary… In the deep silence of a valley, I can hear His voice; I can hear it in the eye of a violent storm!

 

I can see myself praying to God without any words… without having to tell Him, repeatedly, “God, I love You, respect You, Glorify You,” even “thank-you.”


I can see tears simply rolling down my cheeks and my heart simply resting in peace… by just being there… Yes, without even saying one word to Him!


Will my mom like the idea of me sitting before her and repeatedly telling her, “Mom I love you,” or “Mom, thank-you.”? If my son does that to me, I will run for cover in shyness… Maybe, I will blast at him, “Stop this drama… the nonsense, the mumbo-jumbo!”

Yes, let me tell you this:  despite my mortal cravings for validation and acceptance from people around me, if anyone – leave alone my son, wife or mother - sits before me and keep chanting the ‘I-love-you’ or ‘Glory-be-to-Thee’ beads, I would feel not only uncomfortable, I would be angry, too!

“What about God?” I was wondering, today.



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic,: Madhusudan D. Jeurkar

Comments

Kewal N said…
Meaningful words... will do good to understand what prayer is.
December 18, 2014 at 2:42 PM
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