By: Shiben Raina
A few days back while I was in a bank doing some transactions, I found an old man, presumably, looking around for some assistance. In the first instance, I thought he must be looking up for a pen. When asked, he said: “My hands are shaking due to some ailment and I need to fill out the withdrawal slip for withdrawing money. I am looking for someone to help me out.”
I said: “If you don’t mind, shall I fill it for you?”
He readily agreed and allowed me to fill in the slip. After withdrawing the money, he asked me to count the money, as well, which I happily did for him.
Both of us came out of the bank together. While coming out, he said to me, “Sorry, if you don’t mind. I want to give you yet one more trouble. It will be a great favour to me if you get me a rickshaw or cab. Getting a Rickshaw for the Budh-Vihar area on this hot afternoon is a big deal. Difficult, as ever!”
I immediately said, ” Don’t worry, I am going to that side, I will drop you at your home by my car.”
After reaching his home, his old wife looked a bit scared. ‘Something must have happened to my husband in the bank otherwise why should a stranger come to drop him off!’ The old lady thought in her mind. Reading the expressions on his wife’s face, the husband exclaimed: “Nothing to worry about, dear! This gentleman has simply come to drop me off just out of courtesy and civility.”
A little conversation followed and during the conversation the old man said: “Our children are abroad. We both husband and wife live here in this ‘God’s House”
When I asked him about the interpretation of ‘God’s House’, he quickly clarified: “it is an old tradition in our family to call the home as ‘House of God’. The sense behind this is that this house primarily belongs to God and we are mere occupants of this house. Unfortunately, people believe that the house is theirs and God lives in their house.
Before I could start contemplating on these two thought-provoking statements, he uttered “God’s house does not cause any negative action and the body and mind stay filled with virtuous thoughts. People go to God’s house after death but we are enjoying God’s house while we are alive!”
As soon as I heard the last sentence of the old man, I felt as if God had given me some pleasance, as a result of which God inspired me to drop this old man at his home.
“The house belongs to God and we live in His house” this sentence kept wandering in my mind for many days.
The columnist is a writer, educationist and translator currently based in Dubai
