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How
the journey began
51
years ago
a
9 year old boy had a question
This
photo had always been in our home and I had stood before it and
prayed to it a thousand times. But nothing like this had ever
happened before. I was 9 years old. One day when I was standing in
front of Bhagavan's photo ready to say my prayer and suddenly there
was a question in my mind.
Shankar
Bhagavan is meditating
on
whom?
In
that one question,
there
were several questions.
Who
is higher than HE?
HE
is GOD. HE has everything.
Why
does HE meditate?
What
does HE need?
The
question excited me. It energized me. I felt happy like I had found
something precious.
My
father and I, we had a great thing going. We were buddies. I could
talk to him about anything, ask him anything. He always explained
everything in great details. He had taught me how to do my own thinking.
I
thought about this question for several days. Then I asked my
teacher. He said, "Oh, artists just draw pictures like
that." That didn't satisfy me so I asked the Pujariji at the
Mandir. Somehow my question made him very happy. He kept looking at
me in a special kind of a way. I couldn't understand that look but it
felt warm and loving. Finally, after a very long moment, he said,
"Son, I don't know the answer. I'm doing puja in this Mandir for
all these years, but this thought never came to my mind. You're still
a small child and you have this thought. You're blessed."
I
was talking to other people because my father had explained to me
that discussing our thoughts with other people helps our thinking.
Anyway, when I sat down with my father, we had a long discussion. He
told me, "Hold on to this question. Keep thinking about it. When
you think, you will come up with more questions. Think about the new
questions and that will produce even more new questions. Keep
thinking. This is a never ending quest. No one can ever understand
everything. Some answers you will find soon, some answers will take a
very long time and some answers you may never find. But don't ever
give up. The thinking will enrich your life. The more you think, the
more you will benefit."
It
takes only one seed to plant a tree
and
no one can tell
how many
fruits that tree will bear.
I
am blessed that my father planted that tree. As the tree grows,
deeper go the roots. 51 years of thinking and still hungry for more.
Now the desire is to explore my questions with others who may have
taken similar journey and to learn from their thoughts and
experiences and in the process of my own quest, to help others
explore their questions.
This
is my father,
Shri
Haridas Thakersy Sampat,
my
best friend, my Guru,
my
source of inspiration and strength.
This
is me
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