I sat by the sea looking at the ships
Waves covering my legs with sand
and cleaning them back, saying
It's neither yours to take
Nor mine to give.
This was a big wave, reached my hip
but had not taken everything it brought.
There lay between my legs a huge shell,
designed probably by the God himself,
it has many layers and compartments.
A prototype of a palace.
I tried to handle it, but it slipped.
The mollusc is still alive, I thought.
It tried to get back to sea and
I started to pursue it, but
Sand is different from sea.
It tried to run, walk and roll
but the sand did not help,
even the waves did no favor
and the little one seemed tired.
It just stopped.
I picked it up to see the mollusc,
but it is dead the little one.
So huge is the shell, hard to believe
it is built by such a little one.
That poor one wanted to get back,
Why? To protect herself, or this beauty?
In no time I had the answer,
the poor one is not the only one
in the shell, something is moving inside,
Who? The Queen of the Palace?
Or some sand that intruded?
There it was, finding its way
between the rooms of the castle,
the magnificent one,
finally jumped onto my palm.
Is it a fish?
No, the shape is too flat.
Is it an insect?
But has no legs or wings.
What is it?
It began to tap a part of it
repeatedly, onto my palm,
as if trying to say something.
Whatever it is, it needs water.
Not wanting to leaving it in sea,
I took it home with me to see.
I put it in my aquarium
near a mound of sand and weed
and went to sleep.
In the morning I woke up,
but where is the magnificent one?
Not near the mound, nor the weed
Did one of the fish eat it?
Damn those fish.
Wait, what is that, that new fish?
I don't remember seeing it earlier.
Is that the one? Is the one a fish?
Possibly, I thought and left for the day.
Next morning I had another surprise,
now the fish is gone and there is it!
The small turtle in my tank!
Walking, swimming and feeding on the weed.
Shocked, I checked the Net, but
Turtle's larva is not a fish!
I might know what's going on,
but that was to be the final reason!
I thought I would give it a day,
and it did confirm my hunch.
The next morning in my house,
I have a pig, playing with my football.
And I began to trust in God.
Something told me I had to be careful,
For I know what is next in line.
Next morning, I had a lion evolved
and I had to close my doors
and live on the attic, fearing for life.
It is one of the peaceful, the next morning,
a small boy came to me when I woke up
and I spent my day playing with him.
But he liked keeping his feet on my head
and I am confused whom I should pray,
God or Him?
The next morning, I had a man with an axe
standing at the gates and shouting at people.
When asked why, he called them sinners
who must be killed to purify this earth.
I pleaded him to get back inside and he obliged.
Here is a man so obedient and passionate,
filled with kindness and empathy,
who followed my every order and called me father!
He strove for perfection in every act and
at the end, befriended a monkey.
I woke up in the morning to the calls
of my neighbors pounding the door
complaining about the boy stealing their milk.
I defended my boy but Oh God!
He is a difficult one to get hold of!
I lectured him about good and bad,
but he struck it off saying
"I am right and I am wrong,
I am the Subject and I am the Object,
And I am the Verb!"
Next day, a sagely figure is in my house,
one who called me by my name, and said,
"Gautama, Drop your material wishes,
Follow the path of righteousness,
Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah"
I know not what is next, nor does any
so I could not sleep well that night.
When I woke up, my room felt so bright,
I cleared my eyes again and again
but the light is all pervading.
I tried to make my way to the source,
and there I could make out a horse,
with wings and man with a sword on it.
I called him, "O Magnificent One!
What are you? What is the reason?"
He replied but I see not His lips moving,
"Gautama, come, Lets go home."
And as I neared the horse, I was pulled
into the source and it came upon me
that I left my body and am one with Him.
I felt it all, whatever it is all.
The horse started to move up into the sky
and He waved the sword towards earth
and the land below me began to crumble,
I can see earthquakes, volcanoes erupting,
great forest fires consuming animals, people,
buildings and all the civilization as I have known.
I asked Him, again,
"O Magnificent one, What is the reason?"
and thus He spoke,
"Do not worry, O Soul!
This is neither the end nor the beginning,
Or either the end or the beginning,
It is going on before you,
and will go on after you."
"It is not yours to worry about,
it is not mine to take away,
Whence it started, I cannot definitely say,
Or am I the origin, I cannot definitely say.
I perform my duty, so does you."
I thought about it, and asked again,
"O Magnificent One, I still do not understand."
Then I felt a great pain crushing me,
I cried, "Do not punish me,
I shall try to understand"
But it did not stop, after a while,
I lost my consciousness.
I woke up again but it feels different,
I have a body, but it is odd.
I cannot see myself.
No, I am not blind.
I looked around.
And I found the reason.
I am a mollusc.
I cursed out loud, "Why?
O Magnificent One, why?"
Something replied,
"Life, O Soul, is a question,
I, O Soul, am the answer.
As long as you do not understand me,
you must live."
And the mollusc started building a shell around it.
