Life can be as green as a Christmas tree.
Neither snow nor storm can
whither the leaves of a Charismas tree. Does not it sound familiar?
“Nainam
cchindanti shastraani nainam dahati paavakah;
Na chainam kledayantyaapo na shoshayati
maarutah.
(Weapons cut
It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not.”)
(Geeta -Chapter 2, Verse 23.)
Christmas tree
is brought home on Christmas and decorated with full glory. This possibly is the
only tree that can survive the onslaught of winter winds and snow in the
Western world. Christmas is God’s reassurance that He is with us all the time.
The tradition of decorating it during Christmas is age old. Will it be fair to
compare Christmas tree with the eternal Soul? Christianity does not talk of the
cycle of birth and rebirth and eternity of life. I am rather inclined to
believe that He created Christmas tree to remind humanity of the joy of living,
the brightness of life and the eternity of life.
Life is
living within a physical body and death is the perishing of the body due to
accidents, illness or ageing. It is therefore very rational to decorate this
body as long as the soul is within this body. We need not decorate this body in
the usual terms. By decorating I mean, decorating our overall thinking with
noble ideas of honesty, truthfulness and compassion for the less fortunate. We
celebrate our festivals with gusto, spend fortunes and forget all our owes during
these festivities.
But there
are millions who are deprived of basic needs in life. Presently my thoughts are
for the people who live on footpaths and have no shelter for the life threatening
cold nights. Government provides them night shelter bit no blankets. Some
cannot move to the night shelters because of logistics. North India is reeling
under a very severe cold spell and colder than even London. News papers are
carrying photos of people stranded at the Railway stations because of
delayed/cancelled trains. Most of the passengers have woolens on and some have
even blankets. Just across the platforms there are urchins in tattered clothes
collecting empty water bottles.
Have as much
fun as you can but give a thought for these less fortunate people and do weigh
your own miseries with that of theirs.
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