Like so many of us, he too suffered from bad times. Like so many mothers, his mother showed his kundli to the pandits. They all said that he is suffering from bad ‘Grih’. And to appease those foul mood Grih, he needs to do some rituals and wear some stones. He ignored all such advice from the pandits and focused on the real world efforts, namely applying probability theory. The more you try, the more you increase your chances of success. He never believed that his luck would change if he threw 5 coconuts in a pond which was located to the west of his home.
Or he should go the Shiva temple every Monday, for seven Mondays, and offer milk to Lord Shiva. Or worse, wear a 51,000 pendant to ward off evil Rahu / Ketu. What he believed since he was a foot tall was that it was his parents’ blessings and brothers’ love that will make his luck and guide him in the world. For him, the God, the almighty, the supreme power, is simply Love. His love for his parents guides him do the right things for everybody around him. His love for his brothers gives him so much confidence in whatever he chose to do. His love for his country gives him the courage to raise his voice against any ill doings. His love for books guides him in the dark times. His love of puzzles, programming, and finance made him decently successful. For him, it has always been love, it will always be love.
“What he believed since he was a foot tall was that it was his parents’ blessings and brothers’ love that will make his luck and guide him in the world.”
He remembered the time when his father said “Don’t worry about the 51,000 Rs. We will pay it in two or three months.” He was angry and frustrated that his father, his hero, his guide, was asking him to believe in these things and spend his hard earned money on this. He calmed himself down and showed him that red thread around his wrist.
“Papa, Ma has tied this RakshaSutra around my wrist when I left home to study at IIT. She changes it each time when I come home. She picks up my wrist, cuts the thread and ties the thread ever so lovingly. You know, when she holds my hand for 10 seconds while she murmurs her prayers, I look at her. I look at the devotion of a mother, my mother. It reminds me all the times when she kept fast to wish for my good health . It reminds me how she would beat me with broom stick only to cry and hug me moments later. It reminds me of her uncountable kisses of love. Her undying devotion for her son’s bright future. I remember all that. And honestly, I don’t care if the universe is conspiring ill fate against me or all the Grihs are out there to get me. All I care about is this little red thread around my wrist. She is my goddess and I need just her blessings and no one else’s.”
His father had no words to say. He only smiled with teary eyes.
“And besides, papa, you were a small town farmer and now look at you. You own a big house in a metro city, a flourishing business, and have well-educated sons and daughter-in-laws. You have the cutest and loveliest grandsons and grand-daughters. Tell me it was all because you wore some pendant and I will believe in all this. It was your hard work. Your ability to stand tall against everything that came for our family. It was your karma. It was your love for us. I learnt it all from you Papa. I have always learnt it from you.”
He rose from his seat and gave me hug. A hug which was simply his way of saying “I raised you well! You will do well in this world, long after I am gone.”
