The Universe: Once upon a time, it was thought, that, the mother earth is the centre of the universe and all other stars including the sun were spinning round it. How could the prodigal sons of the soil think otherwise. It took millions of years for the man to find, that, the planet earth was one of the little objects spinning round the sun, along with a large family of planets and satellites, big and small, separated by astronomical distances. There is wilderness and unending wilderness, almost everywhere in the solar system, except on the mother earth, which supports air, water, vegetation and life in all its forms. Man has always gazed at the starry nights and twinkling little stars and had all sorts of conceptions about those things, that, he saw hanging in the sky. Millenniums went by, before the man found, that, our all powerful sun was also a little star in the family of millions of stars in our galaxy and subsequently, he could see, that, our galaxy itself was a small galaxy in the company of millions of galaxies spread round the universe. The wonder of wonders is that all stars, in all galaxies continue to move faithfully and religiously in their orbits, separated by their gravitational fields, without bumping into each other, in vast stretches of space.
Space, empty space, it is here, it is there and it is everywhere. Space is the biggest component of the universe. Universe has no ends, no corners or borders. Therefore, universe is all that we see and all that we are unable to see, high up in the skies. Nobody knows, who created it and who controls or operates it. And naturally, in spite of all the theories and perceptions, nobody really knows, how all this started and how it is going to end.
Life: Life is a mystery, perhaps a bigger mystery than the mysteries of the universe. In spite of unending studies, research, revelations, intuitions and spiritual experiences of all the wise men, apostles, prophets and religious thinkers of the world, spread over thousands of years and with all their contributions and available literature, nobody really knows, what life is, when and how it begins, what are its cycles and where it ends. The biggest mystery is that nobody has physically seen life, but the manifestations of life and what life does and what life can do, is understood and felt almost everywhere. Life is that something, which keeps everything moving, kicking and buzzing with activity. It is life that distinguishes our mother earth from all other planets and their satellites in the solar system and perhaps from all other objects in our galaxy or even in the universe. When we are born, there is something which makes us smile and cry and that arrests the attention of everybody, who comes in contact. That something remains with us throughout our existence on this planet and keeps us working ceaselessly and nobody knows where this something, ultimately goes out, after leaving a dead and dormant physical body. There may be an unending stream of questions about the real purpose of this odyssey. So far nobody knows and naturally, there are no answers.
Mother Earth: Mother earth is bountiful. It supports oceans, mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, fertile lands and deserts on its surface. It has a huge wealth buried under its bosom in the form of minerals. Nature has endowed mother earth with a liberal supply of air, water, heat and light and a large cover of vegetation all over the surface. Mother earth sustains all types of life, below the surface of the earth, on the surface of the earth and above the surface of the earth, on the mountains, in the plains and in the rivers, lakes and oceans. The bounties of the mother earth are freely available to all forms of life, everywhere, without any constraints, discrimination or borders. For millions of years, the mother earth was covered by snow and it was all wilderness. This was followed by a great deluge. Thereafter, gradually, all types of life forms have grown and co-existed on this earth. Most of them continue to grow and develop like that even to-day. The most prominent of the life forms on this earth is man, dubbed as a rational animal. He is said to be lavishly endowed with intelligence. For many millenniums man has been engaged in unfolding the secrets of nature and exploiting the available resources of the earth. During this period, he has been able to set up a very brisk pace of development, which has the potential to usher in an era of plenty and prosperity for all. However, in the process, he has been able to create all types of conflicts, divisions and scars, which face almost everybody, everywhere. Rich and privileged have become richer and more powerful and they do not know, what to do with their money, power and other resources, whereas, the poor and unprivileged have become poorer and they continue to be exploited and are doomed to survive in an extreme state of want, fear, helplessness and insecurity. Land, water and air, the basic resources of nature have been polluted and fragmented and the challenges of climatic changes and environmental disaster are threatening the very existence of all that we stand for in the name of growth and development. For billions of years, the celestial bodies have co-existed, scrupulously obeying the laws of the nature during their motion. However, the few billion people, supported by mother earth have flouted all norms of the nature and have unwittingly behaved in a manner, which has created borders, divisions, stratification and unending conflicts between man and man. In the process, the mother earth bleeds and bleeds profusely and its very existence is at stake.
Circus on the move: Everybody has seen a circus at sometime or the other in his life. These are travelling caravans, moving from place to place with all their men, animals, tents and other supporting materials. They move right into the heart of the town and pitch their tents, wherever, some space is available to squeeze in. A light signal is rotated at the top, so that, the whole town knows, that, they are in. Everyday, circus men, women and children perform in their glittering outfits. Lions, tigers, elephants, horses, donkeys and birds can be seen in the rings with their masters. Every member of the circus tries to give his best performance and completes most of the tasks in a very relaxed and professional manner. People congregate there to enjoy and relax. Who cares to peep into the daily routine, drudgery and feelings of the people, who dedicate the best part of their life for the entertainment of the people and to make everybody happy. Some of them are masters, some are organizers, some others are trainers and the rest of the people are performers, dancing to the tunes set by their peers for them. Life on this planet is almost akin to a big circus. Everybody in this world has a part to play. There are some who take the lead, chart their own path and get all the applause. By and large, all others follow the beaten path, dreaming all the time, for better days in life. These are some of the games, which life plays and goes on playing, all the time. Meanwhile, the show goes on and on. Some people are fortunate and are able to get an opportunity to enjoy, relax and smile, while most of the people, go through the ceaseless grind, in a very passive manner, almost resigned to their fate and flashing an occasional grin here and there.
Twilight Years: Sun rises in the east with all its splendor, throwing its crimson rays all over the earth, heralding the beginning of a new day with all its hopes and aspirations, accompanied by a burst of fresh energy, will and enthusiasm for every living being to look up to a fruitful future. Sun burns the whole day, so that, the world can live and get its life-giving light, heat and energy. Ultimately, it crosses the horizon in the west. The heat and shine goes off, but the sun looks much bigger, much broader, magnanimous and magnificent, lighting up the horizon with the parting rays radiating from the golden disc. People all through the ages have looked spellbound at the setting sun. It mesmerizes the people with its calm, cool and dignified glory and seems to be transmitting a message of peace, love and affection for the deeply fractured communities of the world. Life is almost like that. When the child is born and radiates his first smile, the whole environment is lighted. As he grows, he becomes a symbol of love and affection for almost everybody. Gradually, he finds his feet and becomes a symbol of strength and support to all those who come in contact with him. Finally, he enters into the twilight years providing a healing touch to all and sundry and freely showering love and affection and blessings to all those who cherish it. As the time rolls on, the body becomes feeble and old and bears all the scars and strains of lifelong struggles for survival and trying to keep the head high. Unfortunately, the people at large look at the bodies, physical disabilities and outward appearances of the people running through their twilight years. However, there is always something inside those bodies, which keeps flickering and sustains the insatiable desire and yearning for love and affection.