Shifting residence is one of the most arduous tasks in life. It is more so unless it proves to be a shift in life also. A person is always on a constant journey even when s/he stays motionless. An eternal restlessness is at work within soul. The flight of mind is not always known to the possessor of the nebulous thing called mind. Sometimes some gifted people can share the inner journey they experience. It may be a spiritual or a very mundane one but the essential knowledge is what really makes the life of man different from all other species of life.
However a shift of residence is not always a shift of home as well. This is of little consequence, though, to most people concerned with the small cares of life. They would rather take utmost care about making all things safe during the shifting little aware that in this world nothing is permanent in human life. The articles that seem to be so priceless will have no part in life ultimately. Man is alone --all alone in this world and perhaps in the world after. True, people change homes because they want to live better. But what is the definition of living a better life. Sure enough, home is where one ties life's loose end. But to have a home of one's own choice does not necessarily mean the most luxurious one with the latest amenities.
Rabindranath Tagore, a widely travelled man, was never quite satisfied with his abode. At Shantiniketan he had built some small living quarters like Konark, Shyamoli, Punascha, Udayan and Udichi for himself to live in. Always on the move within himself, all such homes except Udayan were just a place where the simplest person could live in. In fact, the mind always in search of life's meaning lived a hermit's life. Some of the houses were made of clay where Tagore, a man taller than the average Banagalee, were so tiny that he could barely huddle in.     Â
Today people are in quest of opulence. They would not be satisfied unless they have possessed the latest gadget and made inner decoration so eye-catching that it draws appreciation from friend circles and visitors. There is no endeavour to create life simple and beautiful. Instead, the effort is towards making life regal and majestic so that everyone around looks with envy and awe not necessarily with esteem and reverence. Troubled with the smallest concerns and details of material possession, they would travel the entire length of this globe to possess their desirable gadget and look down upon all around them.
At a time when home has become global, some are in a rat race to make their home special in the way Mukesh Ambani has done. But shifting or creating home needs something that money cannot buy. Men like Tagore knew the true meaning of home and it is because of this he never became a prisoner of the home he built. The lesser men actually get imprisoned within the fortress they construct for life's comfort.
Home: Where life\\\'s loose ends are tied!
Neil Ray | Published: March 23, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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