To this day, he had left
us some method to contact him, though, he does not initiate any contact with
us apart from rare snail mail.
Few months after leaving
our home, he had written us a letter inquiring how everyone was doing and
reassuring that he was doing well. This had not helped much as the void was
still there and the sorrow remained high. Letter was very general and did
not pass any new information on his sudden and profound transformation from
a journalist to a Sannyasi apprentice. He said in the letter "Only good will
come from his leaving for the family and to the whole world".
I am yet to find out
what good will come to anyone from his leaving the care and love of our
family, his friends, and our town.
At home, mother has been
feeling very low although she does not always show that in her demeanor and
during conversation. I often think how she would be feeling and how she
would be coping. I feel all the more guilty due to the fact that I remain in
Gulf. On my part, I do not wish to be here. It is my greatest wish today to
get back to India in some kind of a job or business as early as possible.
However that hope remains a mirage at the moment.
Swamijis remarked to me when we met them pleading for our brothers material
life to be restored, "why don't you stay at home to care for your mother and
why do you expect your brother to take care of mother?". What do they,
'living in the world of spirituality comfortably' know about an average
family's struggle to make ends meet?. Even if they knew, they would hide
that for winning the argument, though.
I
wonder whether I was required to have spilled out my family's innermost
fears and struggles for an already loosing battle? Swamijis showed little
compassion for our agony though they said to dedicate their life for the
world peace, harmony, and everyones happiness. How can they bring happiness
to the entire world while not even being able to answer for a single
family's pain?
Much to my dismay, one
day, my mother told me that one of our relatives who tried to get in touch
with my brother on phone to Calcutta could not succeed. He seems to have
been unable to speak to my brother due to unknown reasons. The thought of
him being out of reach completely overwhelmed me when she said that. He was
one who has been always within reach. Now he is not only out of reach but
also out of communication.
Being an expatriate, one
always finds the solace in the fact that a male member of the family is back
home to take care of elderly parents and other affairs at home. But
now, there is none at home for that. He left us to fend for ourselves both
physically and mentally.
Next :
Leaving for
Calcutta; fighting for will power