“I just can’t take it. Am I to face only disappointment? How can I handle it? Who will help me? Oh my god…” he shouted in desperation.
“I am here, my dear. Did you call me?” It was God suddenly in front of him. He didn’t really believe it.
“Who are you” he replied back with a shock and trembling voice.
“Only you called me as if you know me for ages. Now, look what you said. Is it the way to receive a guest?” God laughed.
He looked at God. He could not believe the sight. But he had to, when he remembered the man in front came from nowhere suddenly. He looked puzzled as he saw God clad in jeans and t-shirt and with a well combed long hair. He forgot to speak. And again, he refused to believe.
“Why are you staring like this” it was God.
“I can’t believe what I see”
“Well, will you believe if I change my attire” God asked with a mischievous smile.
“Guess I will” he replied with an uncertain voice.
“It has been a problem with humans for ages” he continued with a tone of slight frustration, ” well, whom would you want me to appear like now – Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Siva, Sun, you, your neighbor, your puppy… ”
“Wait.. wait… enough.. enough.. I like Krishna”
“You humans don’t have patience with God too” God laughed.
He saw the same God in Krishna attire in no time. He felt comfortable suddenly. Now he wanted to believe and he did.
”Are you happy?”
“Yes” he replied happily.
“Shall we get on to your topic now? Why did you have to shout?”
“I just ca…” he started but didn’t complete as God interrupted.
Looking at that little bottle on his bed side table, “hey is it SmirnOff? Can I have some with your kind permission? ” said while still looking at the bottle.
“Oh my God! Am I talking to God?? Listen.,.. wait.. it is Alcohol” he hurried.
“So what? Will you give it to me or not”
“I hate to hear such words from God. It is against ethics even for humans. I just can’t imagine God wanting it”
“Oh dear human, lets talk about your ethics later. What stops you from giving when it is God who is asking?”
“Didn’t you say that it is wrong?”
“I never said that. If I were to claim it to be wrong, I would never have let you to create it. Isn’t it?”
“So, am I encouraged to drink it without any guilt?”
“Yes please do it. You have the free will. But remember everything has its consequence. Or simply everything has its own cost based on well laid physical rules. Nothing ethical about it”
“What do you say?”
“I said nothing could be qualified as right or wrong”
“means….”
“It means… you can do whatever you want. You always have options before everything. You always have an option to choose the right fuel for your engine. Also, remember human body is never designed to run in alcohol… the engine might stall anytime. But you should not crib later”
“How can I crib when I am not here?”
“Until you realize that you are not your body you will not understand my point”
“Leave it… but why the hell do you want to drink it now”
“God doesn’t own a body to damage it” smiled saying it.
“You always play safe huh…”
“Why can’t you play safe too… why is this bottle here btw?”
“Stress… I am in a trouble. I don’t how to get out of it.. So…”
“Don’t fool yourself and me… lets toss away this topic and talk something interesting. I remember you telling something about ethics.”
“Yes I did. But you should know more about it being The God”
“Oh is it so? But I don’t know of anything than simply watching these ethics-games played by you humans”
“Are these ethics not laid by you?”
“No. And, I don’t have any control over your imaginations and sufferings. But, you are granted a free will to do what you want”
“Don’t say that free will thing again. If I do whatever I want, will it not spoil the world?”
“Don’t talk as if it is clean now. You humans have been playing all sort of possible games in the name of ethics. You fool and suffer yourselves. The funniest thing is that your ethics are different across the entire world. You humans copy it from wherever it is convenient for you and provide false excuses to yourselves. You know what; humans have been redrawing their ethical boundaries in all convenient ways. I tell as an example, your favorite topic on your own land… not long back, your ethics bounded a boy and girl from even touching each other before your so-called marriage. But now your same land allows them to dance together in a pub in the name of social behavior”
“Am I listening to God?”
“Yes... more to come… Humans like to forget history whenever convenient. Is your land the same conservative one that I saw a few hundred years back? No. then, have I, God, changed my principles? No. Then has your so-called heaven-goers rate decreased? No. Now if you ask why and where it is leading to, in another few hundred years, making love with a person, on the street, in front of everyone, will be considered divinely ethical”
“I hate to hear such words from God. I mean my words. How can you be so cheap in your words?”
“When you say I am everything, why can’t I be cheap” God laughed aloud. “But listen, I am talking the Truth. I never qualify things to be good or bad. It is you humans who do that and suffer endlessly. Who asked you to create boundaries, then suffer and then drag it all along? Don’t say it was me. There is a well defined physical law for everything. That applies everywhere. Nothing ethical about it. You are granted a free will. Do what and as you wish. But remember, what you think, what you speak, what you do, shall you experience. The choice of experience is yours and hence mine.”
He was silent. God continued.
“Well, lets not deviate from your topic. Tell me your problem.”
“I am highly worried about my professional life… I am deeply troubled by anything that comes competitive along the way. I am afraid if I would ever catch up with others. My ambitions seem to be a distant dream. I have lost my peace. I can be happy only if….”
He did not complete the sentence. God interrupted again.
“Will you all please stop saying this only ifs? I am frustrated really. If you can, please do recollect your own only if 5 years back. The same you said you would live happily forever only if you get this job. Now, you still have your newly discovered only if to be happy. Don’t you think you stretch your boundaries of needs? You have already spent half your lifetime worrying about future. And you still do it. You all like to worry. Isn’t it? Anyways, what bothers you at work now?”
He took a little time to gather himself and then replied.
“Yes, I agree. I have been stretching my needs. But I can’t help it. My world requires me to stay competitive throughout my career to reach the heights.”
“heights??”
“Yes, height in terms of wealth and social status”
“Oh… proceed”
“I am always on the race track with others. I have also been told that nothing is impossible.”
“Nice phrase. But have you ever wondered why peace and contentment has almost been impossible for humans. Anyways, tell about the race you told. By whom, when, where and how the race is declared to be won? Who judges whom? I am sure none of you have an answer. Even I don’t know. But I know one thing, before the end of your so-called race, you will die! Did you hear, You will die before the end of your illusory race”
“My God! How can you talk so to your devotee? Are you not here to give us good health and a long life”
“I never declared so. Whenever you are afraid of something, you surrender yourselves to God, without knowing God cannot do anything better than what you can do to you. You always use me to carry your burden by calling me God, without knowing what God is. But believe me; death is inevitable even if you don’t like it. It will for sure occur to you. I am not threatening you. Because, death is as beautiful as life. In fact, they both are the same. You are all afraid of it. But the funniest part is that you live your life as if you are going to live forever with your this body. You keep acquiring and accumulating materials. But, all for what? You say it for future. A good portion of your lifetime is already gone. And you are afraid of death too. You live in illusions and when the illusion confuses you, you call me again. Excuse me, but you humans are really crazy. I don’t really know what you guys are actually up to? ”
“I called upon you to comfort me. I never thought God would confuse mankind. Am I wrong in wanting to lead a quality life in my short life span? what am I supposed to do when I should not even long for a high quality life”
“What do you mean by quality? Ferrari? Mansion in Switzerland? Being the president at Washington? Marrying the most beautiful person on earth? Lets now assume that you possess all that I mentioned now. Do you think your quality of life would boom suddenly? The great man Jesus, and almost all your so-called Gods, lived during the time, when whatever you humans now possess in terms of comfort, could have only been fairy tales. Does it mean that you are all leading a better quality life than them? Will owning 2 cars elevate your quality of life above that of Buddha? You simply don’t know what life is and how to live it. When some one does it, instead of following him, you tag him as God, start worshipping and demand all sort of materials from him. Funny isn’t it?”
“Do you then mean that we all should live as saints?”
“Saint is a word coined by you. Coined for those who simply Live, those who live without needing incentive for living, those who see the perfection of the world and themselves at every moment. Unfortunately, the way humanity has evolved, they are being looked upon as something not-ordinary, and being perceived so, they are isolated from illusion-loving humans.”
“Do you mean that the life they live is the way it should be lived?”
“Will you agree if I say yes?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I know it too. Because, the entire mankind would go mad, if asked to simply live without expecting any incentive. Because, your ill-programmed mind and ego can never be silent. It always needs incentives to differentiate you from the rest of mankind. Only if you are content with your life As It Is, and only if you agree that you lack nothing to worry about, and only if you realize that Life, the beautiful process doesn’t require incentive to be lived through, you will agree with my words. Otherwise, you will keep calling me whenever you suffer, and you will suffer endlessly, sometimes without even knowing that you are suffering. But believe me, the best thing about being God is the incentive of watching all your games. You all fight to win and collectively lose” God laughed aloud.
“when you know that we humans are suffering, why cant you interfere in our lives for our betterment rather than laughing like a villain”
“yes, I can do that, but only if you and me are separate. When I am you and you are me, who will interfere with whom? Ha ha ha” he laughed again.
“Oh my goodness! I was about to understand everything that you told. You should not have told that last line. Will you please explain that?”
“…………….”
He suddenly found God nowhere. He looked all around but in vain.
“Do you hear me?” he shouted.
“…………….”
“Oh my God! Do you hear me? It is not fair I say”
“…………….”
It was only 5.00 AM when he woke up suddenly. He realized it to be a dream. He perspired heavily. He felt an unbelievable, incomprehensible silence and peace inside. He turned that dim light on. He looked around.
The Good shepherd picture in front seemed to be a yet another picture. But the entire world looked amazingly beautiful through his window.