A few days back while I was in India doing some transactions in a bank, I found an old man standing in a corner, presumably, looking around for someone to assist him. 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 health-related ailment and I need to fill in the withdrawal slip for withdrawing money. I am looking for someone to help me out.”
I immediately 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 again asked me to count the money, 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 would be a great favour if you get me a rickshaw or cab. Getting a Rickshaw to the Budh-Vihar area on this hot afternoon is a big deal.”
I immediately said,” Don’t worry, I am going to that side, I will drop you at your home by my vehicle.”
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, perhaps, 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 course of the conversation, the old man said: “Our children are abroad. We both husband and wife live here in this ‘God’s Abode”
When I asked him about the interpretation of ‘God’s Abode’, he quickly clarified: “It is an old tradition in our family to call the home as ‘Abode 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 they live in, is theirs but never understand that ultimately each object under the Sun belongs to God only.
Before I could start contemplating on the old man’s thought-provoking statement, he uttered…”. Saying “God’s abode” does not cause any “negative action in our mind, and the body and mind stay filled with virtuous thoughts. People go to God’s abode after death, but we are enjoying God’s bliss 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 clearance, as a result of which God inspired me to drop this old man at his home.
“The house belongs to God, and we just live in His abode” this sentence kept wandering in my mind for many days.
As a matter of fact, a house fully reflects its owner’s dignity or taste. When you visit the homes of other people, some of them present a warm and friendly atmosphere, but others present a cold and unfriendly atmosphere. Just conversing with them for a few minutes, you can easily discern what kind of people they are. You can discover whether they are lazy or diligent, whether they are easy-going or strict, worldly or unworldly. A house is a place that reflects the owner’s inner self and personality. The old man and his wife looked so spiritual and divine in their attitude and approach that I began to realize that, really, each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit, where God dwells. We need to ensure that God is the owner of our souls, the owner of our house, and the owner of our worship place. If we do not have conviction about who the real owner of our house is, we will fall into various forms of worldly temptations throughout our life. On the contrary, when we correctly and earnestly understand who the real owner of our house/home is, we can realize that God has been holding our hands and leading us to a virtuous path all through our ups and downs. He is the great saviour and benevolent redeemer; we need to understand that.
The writer is an Author, translator and educationist currently based in Dubai (UAE)
