Sparking Life

It’s Christmas today. Neeraj Diwan has written this status message in Google Talk – “Blessed are those who stand last in the row, for they shall be first in the kingdom of God.” I’ve become very happy after reading it, because I used to think myself ‘unblessed’ kind of person. I didn’t know that I was so blessed. I was always last boy in the row during prayer due to my habit of getting late everyday. There’s also one other reason, which makes me double blessed. In the class, I used to sit in last row.

And as I talked more about it with Neeraj Diwan, a lot of other reasons of my blessedness emerged. Although some teachers and frontbencher used to say that the backbenchers made a lot of noise. But it is true. Backbenchers were so blessed that they had to crow in order to show their blessedness. Others used to get the pleasure of being first, second etc. because I (and others like me) was last there too.

I started touching the spiritual heights like Jesus while chatting with Neeraj Diwan. I was already blessed enough myself, but I’ve began to make others blessed too. Come with me in flashback like any Bollywood movie, I show you something when I was in school. I start recalling, sitting on the last bench I’m saying this – “Blessed is the teacher, your graceful presence in the class is making us all backbenchers blessed.” As soon as I said it, the teacher who was trying to teach geography has started offering the Holy Eucharist in the form of beating up our (my friends are included too :-) holy palms with the stick. And we started making strange sounds to express our gratitude and blessedness. After sacrament, there’s some change in my thinking. Now I’m thinking – “Blessed is the teacher, your graceful absence makes us all backbenchers more blessed than your less graceful presence.” My friend added, “And we show gratitude in your graceful absence by flying paper aeroplanes all over.” We bully frontbenchers – “Stupids! you don't study properly and come unprepared... so when you can't answer, teachers look at us and ask silly questions.”

Ohhhhh!!!! What’s this? I was merging in the beautiful past and you disturbed me. You are saying – whatever I’m telling has gone, has become past. Now why I still call myself blessed? I’m still blessed and Bible is the proof – “Blessed are those who are poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” From very beginning, I’m penniless and still both of my pockets are empty. So my ‘blessedness’ is in continuity. Well, something I want to say which Jesus missed and Matthew, John etc couldn’t think about – “Blessed are those who are wasting their time in blogging, blessed are those who can read poems girls write on blogs, blessed are those who think people comment after reading their blog posts, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” :-)

Merry Christmas.

To read this blog post in Hindi, please click here.