MY WIFE SARASWATI

I was really excited for the date. As I was walking towards the table I could feel the adrenaline rush within and as she turned her face towards me I felt as if a daisy spread all its petals to embrace the world. She was wearing a simple yellow top and denims, her hair was short,curly and of shoulder length, there wasn't even a pinch of makeup on her face but she was extremely beautiful,her face seemed to glow due to some internal light I believe, simple-serene-pure the way she was.

"Hey Saraswati"

"Hi Shiv! You are late....." she took a pause. "..but I knew you would come"

"Yeah..errr..I'm really very sorry..I got stuck up in the traffic"

"It is alright..come sit"

I took a seat and was unable to change my gaze which had already fixed itself on to her eyes. I was sitting really close to her, much to my awe she smelled like sandalwoo. The cafe was crowded and was a really vibrant place for a date. I ordered two cups of coffee and some cookies and our conversation resumed.

“I thought this was a good place and I have heard from friends the coffee here is good too”she said.

“yeah..absolutely..the place looks decent”

“So who all are there in your family Shiv?”

“Well...my father...and two young sisters”

“Your mother?”

All of a sudden the people around in the cafe disappeared. The music which played on the speakers nearby stopped abruptly.The staff of the cafe disappeared in a fraction of second.The lights were turned off somehow, and all I could see was Saraswati's face which seemed to be radiating even in that darkness. Emotions of panic and fear surrounded my face but Saraswati was calm, almost expressionless.

“What the hell is this..I can't believe my eyes!What's happening?”

“Well..Why do you need to worry about that?You came here for me and not this surrounding. Why don't you answer my questions instead?”

I was already sweating totally unaware about the unusual things happening around.

“My mother was a drug addict...and....”

“and what?Speak ,don't stop!”

“....and she died 5 years back due to the addiction's deteriorating effect on her health”

Saying this I was in tears and began sobbing like a small child.

Saraswati kept her hand on mine. When she did so, from the centre of the table where we were seated originated a small plant. It had a weak stalk and two little leaves.

She in her deep voice said, “Close your eyes now and repeat whatever I say”

I did whatever she said in my emotional overflow ,quite moved from the series of events that had just happened.

“All the things which have happened to me in the past,which happen in the present and which will happen in the future are just circumstances and I am totally detached from them for I, I am the pure, The unshaken, The ultimate constant, The truth. No power, no event in the world can harm me. I am the strength of god”

I repeated whatever she said and to my surprise a huge amount of bitterness and pain within was gone.

“open your eyes Shiva”

I opened my eyes and was dumbstruck. The small plant had grown into a tree. A tree so huge that it broke the roof of the cafe and extended its branches outside.

She pointed towards the roof and said, “can you see that?”

“yes..The tree...I can't believe my eyes”

“Not the tree shiv..im talking about that” and she again pointed above.

Ah!It was snow!

My eyes twinkled as I saw the snow, gently moving inside the cafe through the hole made by the tree. It fell on me, It fell on Saraswati and it surrounded our whole table. It seemed some realisations I experienced ,freezed due to the snow, creating a permanent place for the knowledge in my thought process.

“Do you know how to play a Sitar?” she asked.

“No! Why do you ask?”

“Do you know to sing ?”

“Oh yes! Little bit..”

“That's amazing Shiv. Will you sing something for me”

The snow had made the place cold, the silence around was caressing it.I closed my eyes to focus all my energy on my voice and nothing else. I began singing out of devotion. Devotion for whom? Devotion for whom? I was unable to answer this question but it seemed as I sung I was moving closer and closer to the answer in a process of understanding what true devotion actually was. As my singing continued and I seemed to reach some higher state of consciousness my ears heard an enthralling music of a sitar. I opened my eyes to find the chair where Saraswati sat to be empty. She was seated on the floor,playing a Sitar! She was in an ecstatic mood, in a state of superconsciousness. I continued singing and she continued playing the beautiful Sitar. The music was trying to teach me something. Our inner beauty is so wonderful that it has the power to separate us from all the things around, our inner power can make us reach energy levels so subtle that even oceans can't fill that depth fully.

I was so enchanted from her music that I went close to her,bend down and touched her feet to offer my respect and when I did this there was a sudden flash of light and energy that I cannot describe in words and all of a sudden-I found myself seated on the chair, Saraswati seated on her chair, the staff of the cafe busy with their work, the people around enjoying each others company, the speakers playing the song despacito, the tree was gone, the snow was gone, the sitar was gone.

There she sat,Saraswati....Looking at me intently..

“I love you Saraswati! Will you marry me?”

I never clearly understood what happened that day. How did the tree,the snow, the sitar come in the cafe? Where did the crowd in the cafe disappear suddenly for that period of time. These questions have no answer, but to every emotional illusion and to every spiritual hindrance I have learned to answer through self exploration journeys...Only with the help of MY WIFE.....MY WIFE SARASWATI...