To My Sis… With Love!

Anchal had just received her driving license today. She was on the top of the world! The driving license was like her ticket to freedom! She could drive anywhere without being dependent on anybody else and she loved it!

That day, after college, she decided to go out shopping to her favourite mall. She asked a few of her friends to accompany her, but they all were occupied with one task or the other. However, that didn't dampen Anchal's spirits and she decided to go all alone. She carefully parked her car in the busy parking lot and walked towards the shopping center. Entering a shop, she found a little boy, just over 9 years, sitting sad and sobbing. She tried to ignore, but the non-stop flow of tears from the young boy's eyes forced her to approach him. Walking up to him, she enquired, “Why are you so sad?” Taking a little while to gather back his voice, the boy replied amidst the uncontrollable sobs, “I want to buy this dress for my little sister, but the shopkeeper says that the money I have is not enough; so he will not give me this dress.”

Sitting there and weeping, he was still holding the dress in his lap and money in his hand. It seemed as if parting with the dress was something intolerable for the boy. Anchal found it a little awkward. She told the boy to simply go to his parents and tell them that he wanted to buy that dress for his little sister. They could help him. But the boy said, “You know this is the dress that my sister liked the most when we came to the mall last week. She wanted to have it. So I thought that I will gift her this dress on her birthday. But now I will have to give this dress to my mom so that she can give it to my little sister when she meets her!”

Anchal was confused, “Has your little sister gone somewhere? Why can't you give this dress to your sister directly?” The boy seemed grieving while replying, “My sister has gone to heaven to be with God. My father says that mom too is going to heaven pretty soon. I want my mother to take this dress along with her and give it to my sister, so that she can wear it!” Hearing that, every hair on Anchal's body stood on its edge! Her whole body trembled and her heart nearly stopped! The young boy once again looked at Anchal and told her, “I have promised my dad that I'll be back from the market soon. I have asked him not to let mom go till I return from the market with my sister's dress. I have told my dad that I'll be back to the hospital as soon as possible; but, till then he should not let mom go to God! I had to hurry up back to my ailing mom, but the shopkeeper will not give me the dress for inadequate money.” Amidst sobs, he continued, “Although I don't want mom to leave because I love her so much and I will miss her every second of my life, but my dad says that she has to accompany my little sister in heaven who will otherwise feel lonely up there. Dad has promised me that he will never leave me like mom! All I want from my mom is to carry this dress and this picture of mine along with her for my little sister so that my little sister never forgets me!”

Anchal was shaken to the very core of her heart! She asked the boy to hand over to her the money that he was holding in his hand. Without the boy's notice, she added some more money and returned it to the boy, saying, “I think the money you are carrying is enough for the dress. Probably, the shopkeeper did not count it properly. Let's go to the counter and ask the shopkeeper again if we could get the dress with this money!” The little boy, who was sitting half dead till then, suddenly exhibited a beautiful smile. His eyes glittered with hope and in an instant he was standing by the counter with the dress in one hand and the money in the other, and Anchal by his side. And this time, instead of refusing to give the dress to the little boy, the shopkeeper carefully put the dress in a shopping bag and in fact returned some money back to the boy! While taking the money back, the boy requested the shopkeeper to wrap the dress in a nice birthday wrapper and soon he was seen walking away from the counter with the much desired gift!

As Anchal and the little boy were coming out of the shop, the boy spoke again, “I am so thankful to God for giving me enough money for the dress. You know, since last night, I was asking God to give me sufficient money to buy the dress that my little sister wanted, so that my mom could carry it with her. And see how kind God is! He heard me! But, I had of course not forgotten my mom also! I had a secret desire to buy a white rose for my mother and hand it to her before she departs! But, I didn't share it with God because I thought God would feel that this boy is being too greedy! Even without my telling God, He has given me enough money to buy a white rose for my beautiful, loving and caring mother! I am so grateful to God for all this! You know how happy my mom will be to have the white rose because she likes white roses very much!”

Saying this, the boy picked up the best white rose from the nearby florist and left quickly waving goodbye to his new friend, Anchal. Anchal stood there like a lifeless robot, not really knowing what to do next! Love of the little boy towards his family was unmatched and selfless! This extraordinary incident that just happened had transformed Anchal inside out! She felt as if she was no longer in a condition to do any shopping! There was really nothing she wanted to buy. Whatever she needed, in fact, much more than that, she already had at home! All she wanted to do then was to return back home, give a tight hug to her parents and tell them how much she loved them and how valuable they were to her! The part of her pocket money that she had given to the boy was the best expenditure that she had ever made in her life till date! It had brought so much joy, satisfaction and peace to her heart, which she had never experienced before!

Not only had the state of her heart changed, but her whole personality seemed to have undergone a major transformation in the last few minutes! It was impossible for her to take the little boy out of her memories! The innocence and devotion of that little boy towards his family had touched Anchal deep, really deep inside and had in fact reached out to her very soul! As she sat in her car, she recalled a newspaper report that she had read two days ago. It was about a road accident where a drunk driver lost control over his overloaded lorry and hit a car, occupied by a young woman and her 3 year old daughter. The daughter was dead on the spot, while the woman had been carried to the nearby hospital in a very critical state! She immediately knew in her heart that the boy she just met was the son of that accident-victim woman!

The actual condition was that the young woman was dead and the doctors were just asking her husband if he wanted to keep the life-support system on! Now, the boy's father had to decide when to pull off the ventilator plug because the doctors were sure that the young woman had gone into an irreversible coma and would never come out of it! After her incidental meeting with the boy, the very next day Anchal read in the newspaper that the young woman passed away late last night. It was also mentioned that she would be cremated the same day by her family and relatives. Anchal could not stop herself! She bought a nice bouquet of white roses and set out for the cremation ground.

And there she was, the boy's mother! Wrapped up in an exquisite red saree, she laid on the funeral pyre, holding her son's white rose in her hand, with the photograph of her son and the birthday dress for her daughter carefully placed on her chest! All that was too emotional! It would have been intolerable for Anchal to see the little boy bidding farewell to his mother, so she decided to leave! With tears in her eyes and inexplicable pain in her heart, she left the place quietly! While leaving, she knew only one thing that she would never be the same person that she had been before meeting the boy!

Two days back, she felt elated about getting a driving license. But, now she knew how big a social responsibility it was! While issuing a driving license, government authorities rely on you as a responsible, sensible driver, who not only cares for his/her life, but is equally accountable for the lives of others! Being able to drive is not only a luxury, but a huge responsibility! According to the British and American crash data, driver error, intoxication and other human factors contribute to more than 93% of the recorded crashes and road accidents! Can you imagine how many lives can be saved by being a little more cautious while driving and following all the traffic rules! Drunk driving is a direct ticket to death, not just for the people occupying the vehicle but for many others! So please, don't drink and drive!

Another lesson which Anchal learned was that family members and relatives hold a great value and, therefore, should not be taken for granted! Sometimes we don't realise the value of a thing until we lose it; but, then, of course it is too late! So please understand that family is your valuable possession! Show love, affection, understanding and care for each other to the best of your abilities!

The most important lesson she got was, never forget God! If you want God to help and support you in the times of need, make sure that you have an unfailing connection with Him! And, this is possible only with the blessings of a true Guru, Sadguru, who is capable of not only talking about God, but actually “showing” you God!