VSALAAM AMERICA! - Have a peep inside the book
C. Drago
Chapter 1 - THE DREAM
That day Chinmay woke up, troubled. Though that was not very unusual, he did not recall such a dreadful dream in the recent past.
In his dream, he walked merrily on a broad and smooth path leading through beautiful meadows. Rose gardens and sun flowers beckoned him.
The glorious, golden sunflowers held up their circular heads and waved a welcome as they faced the bright rising sun.
Sheep and cows grazed peacefully in the green pastures. Lambs romped about and bleated merrily for their loving mothers.
Bees and the butterflies hovered around every flower to suck honey or to gather the nutritious, golden pollen. Close by,
the path ran a small, sparkling stream of clear water. Tiny river fish swam joyfully and played in the stream chasing one another.
Joyful birds flew just above his head and chirped loudly. The leisurely walk uplifted his spirits and as his steps danced, he began to hum aloud.
No human joy lasts for ever. He beheld many colorful butterflies fly in many a direction. They were eager to alight on one after
another attractive flower. They enjoyed the honey and the pollen from the ever inviting flowers. They flew from one to another
with ease and gaiety. He also observed the bees which did the same, but with a marked difference. After gathering nectar and pollen, they immediately
headed towards the beehive. They were on a mission. They had to work for the beehive community. They wasted no time in loitering
around the flowerbeds like the carefree butterflies. The bees chose to journey towards their destination.
Whose life is better, that of the butterflies or that of the bees? Which gives more meaning and lasting joy? Chinmay decided
on the latter. Abandoning the green meadows and the attractive flowers he chose to walk on a path leading beyond. That is
where all the trouble began.
All of a sudden, a dark shadow moved towards him and he saw an unfamiliar figure face him, sternly. Distracted and annoyed,
he looked up at the face of the huge figure. Its towering and threatening presence cruelly interrupted his heavenly moments
of sheer enjoyment of the enchanting nature all around.
Moving steadily towards him, the dark figure blocked his view almost completely and he hardly could see beyond it. The foot
path suddenly had become quite steep and narrow. He was hemmed in by brambles, fierce thorns and insurmountable rocks. Could
he not use brute force to push his way through? The dark figure was too huge to tackle, he guessed. Should he turn back to
the lovely meadows, and run for dear life? "No. That would be cowardly," he thought.
He was not pusillanimous. He did not want to give up his journey forward. So he stood his ground resolutely and stared hard
at the dark shape once more. The giant form stood there like an immovable rock and stared back at him. Its unblinking eyes
seemed to spit fire. As he glared at it, unknown fears crept into his spine. His efforts to subdue the huge figure made
absolutely no impression on the dreadful creature.
After a second thought, he looked for some other ways of getting by it. "If I cannot defeat it, let me befriend it," he resolved.
In spite of his goodwill, he could find no way out of this situation. He felt blocked and boxed in from the ways he visualized to
escape. He could not accept defeat, that easily. His sharp mind and robust body struggled terribly for a long time to overcome the hurdle.
Feeling quite helpless and incompetent he lay on the bed, quite discouraged. He sat up, blinked his eyes. Finally he opened his
eyes and exclaimed, "What a horrible dream!"
"The mirror reflects all objects without being sullied." - Confucius
