しんじれば – Shinjireba – If you believe

しんじれば – Shinjireba – If you believe

When I look at things in my life so far I see so many people I loved who are not there with me right here right now. Earlier, these thoughts would bother me but now, they do not. It does not mean that I have forgotten all about those people. It also does not mean that they are no longer important to me. It means that I have realized that they are the reason I am. Every one of them has shaped me some or the other way. All of my loved ones have made me who I am today.

Today, when I feel lonely I tell myself that all my loved ones are still with me. Though, not physically present, they always guide me. The moment of realization that so many people are there with me made me feel blessed.

I always believed that with some people you share a great connection and with others you feel lost. Then, I saw an episode in one of my favorite Japanese serial called まるものおきて(Marumo no okite = Marumo’s laws). One of the dialogues in the episode touched me beyond imagination. It said,“しんじれば心がつながる。しんじればカッパにも会える。(Shinjirebha kokoroga tsunagaru. Shinjireba kappanimo aeru. = If you believe hearts will connect. If you believe you will meet a wish fulfilling ghost.” I learnt a lot through this. It taught me that if I believe, forming connections would not take much time. Slowly and gradually, I applied this in my life. Now, I feel connected to so many people that I hardly ever feel alone.

In the classroom, I have great friends. As we are moving towards the end of our course, I feel really sad. I wanted to hold on to everyone in the class. I cherish every moment I spend in the class much more. Then, I realize that though the course would end, we would not fall apart. We would still be with each other. Then, suddenly, so many living examples of this came to my mind that I felt assured. 

I graduated from my college with a degree of psychology and now I am in another institute pursuing Master’s degree in psychology. But, the teachers from earlier college, they are always there with me. Sometimes, they pop up in front of me during exams and tell me that I have written something wrong. Sometimes, they tell me ask questions, read more researches by a particular author. I hardly ever go and meet them. But, they are inseparable part of the learning process.

Similar is the case with some of my friends who are now pursuing different careers and are no longer with me. Their memory still makes me wear the dresses they complemented, go to bookshops they suggested, eat something they tried and told me.

The recent example of furthering the bonds or connections is the Wall Art Festival. The philosophies I learned there help me be open, positive and clam. I could formulate a whole idea for an assignment out of the experience in Ganjad. Understanding how hard all the Wall Art Festival volunteers worked made me realize that what I am doing is not enough. I have responsibility to contribute towards society.

And then, coming back to being in touch, there is social media which helps a lot.

As the Indian philosophy says, “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम (Wasudhaiw kutumbakam = The whole world is a family).” All the people I meet help me make my family bigger.

I would again quote a dialogue in the same Japanese serial まるものおきて(Marumo no okite = Marumo’s laws) which says, “はなればなれでも家族。(hanareba naredemo kazoku = Even when separated family is united).”

So, even if all of you are away from me in the current moment, I promise not to forget you. Anyways, it is not possible to forget the people who guide me at every walk of my life. Being at different places geographically, all my loved ones are with me right now.

अनुभूती

अनुभूती
बदलली जागा
साधे हे मानव्य
आनंदे परिमळे
सारा माळ

गीत पृथ्वीचे हे
गातात पाखरे
तयांना तरुंचे
अवगुंठन

मोकळे शिवार
वाचा ती नीरव
निसर्गचि मग
बोलू लागे

अनादी सामर्थ्य
खुले ठाकले जग
मनी सामावले
चराचर

To My Beloved Friends

To My Beloved Friends

A song started on the radio when I was resting after a lot of work related to project. Vaada Karo Nahi Chhodoge Mera Saath…. It took me back to the days I spent with my best friends. It was an amazing feeling. After a long day when I am reminded of my best friends because of such a sweet song, I feel blessed. The time we spent together has created a strong bond between the three of us.

There are very few people in life who understand you better than you do. They may not be there with you always but you feel relieved by only knowing about their existence in your life. The journey of life becomes easier and interesting when they are there.

They the two friends who let me grow and yet let me be childish and impulsive. I feel comfortable to share anything with them. They came into my life when I was on the verge of depression and was somewhat lost. They never tried to judge what I did and also believed in me and my dreams more than I did. It was a time of confusion and setbacks for me. No one thought that I would come out of that phrase. I am glad that they both believed I had the capacity to grow into a better person. They did not question my behaviours but they were interested in knowing the reason behind what I thought, felt, and behaved.

That support was enough for me. I started thinking that I am not such a bad person after all. I learned psychology but they believed that I can use it on myself.

Sometimes, while solving a sum, one has the knowledge, calculator, motivation, and everything else one needs to get the right answer. However, the individual ends up getting wrong answer. I believe, this is the time to check whether the method one is using is the right one or not. Then someone comes and says, “Why aren’t you trying that another method? What’s wrong in trying?” Then, one tries and gets the right answer. One understands that the answer was there all the time. One just had to look differently.

I believe this is what my best friends did to me. I was capable of changing my perspective. They helped me realize that if I do change my perspective I will get an answer. They assured me that there is nothing wrong with it.

I started looking at my former friends differently and came even closer to some of them. Then onwards I never hesitated to change and express my true self. I began my journey towards positivity. I found more friends in my classmates. I was able to build a good relationship with them. I asked my professors for help and they were there to help me. I also came closer to my family. The strengthening of the bonds made me happy and calm.

I think it is all about time. At that crucial time I needed that ‘a pinch of extra motivation’, ‘a pat on the back’, ‘a nod of acceptance’, and ‘assurance of being there’.

‘Brian Weiss’ in ‘Many Lives Many Masters’ mentions that it is not always the big events that change the mind. Sometimes, the events happening day in and day out repeatedly, change how we think, feel and, behave.

Friendship shaped me with simple day in day out events. I am extremely grateful that it did.