A Bend in the River of Life (46 page)

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ife was born when God created man in His own image from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him through his nostrils. Man, however, was not clothed and it did not matter to him, for neither did he have the knowledge and acumen of the tasteful standards of behavior and propriety in staying clothed; nor did he have the insight into shame and disgrace attached to remaining unclothed. God made him the caretaker of His Garden of Eden where He planted many trees and plants, some bearing fruits and some pleasing to look at. The Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life stood in the middle of the garden. God told man that he could eat the fruits of any tree in the garden except the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. However, nothing was mentioned about the fruits of the Tree of Life. That might be purely an act of ommission. In any case, man complied with God's instructions and God was apparently happy with man's obedience and thought it was not good for man to remain alone. So God wished to give him a “suitable” helper. But it was not easy to think of a suitable helper, for God might have been really looking for someone more like a companion than just any kind of helper. Finally, God put man into deep slumber and cut out a rib from his body, filling in the gap with flesh. From the rib of man God created an exquisite figure that in many ways looked like man, but was in other ways different from man. God asked man to give his helper a name. Man called the helper “woman” probably because she was made out of his body with woe. The woman was also without clothes. It did not make any difference to
them for knowledge remained beyond their grasp and they were ignorant and unashamed of their clothelessness.

Then what was yet unthinkable to God, happened. The woman ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and gave some to man also. Their eyes opened up and they were able to distinguish between the positive and negative attributes ascribed to man. That knowledge made them aware of the affliction attached to staying unclothed. The first thing they realized was that they were without clothes and felt ashamed of it. They stitched fig leaves to cover themselves up before God would visit His beloved garden next. Obviously, fig leaves could not cover a whole lot. When God did come to His garden subsequently, they concealed themselves behind the bushes, for they felt ashamed to encounter Him without clothes. God became flabbergasted to find that they ate the fruits of the forbidden tree. He cursed both man and woman separately for their insubordination and deceitfullness and imposed severe punishment on them to remain in effect for all times to come. Moreover, as a matter of abundant precaution, God banished them from the Garden of Eden so that they were not able to lay their hands on the fruits of the Tree of Life also and become immortal, a state of being attributed to Divinity only.

Nevertheless, God is the embodiment of love and compassion. How long could He remain angry and aloof when His own children were afflicted by the feeling of humiliation and disgrace out of shame? His fierce anger soon washed away by the torrents of His love for them. In that loving state of mind God made garments of skin and clothed them to cover their shame. In a flash, the veil that was made to eliminate their shame became the instrument of romantic attraction by the tantalizing disappearance of their distinctive physical features from the sight of each other. By covering themselves up they became adorable to each other; they became loveable to each other; they became the object of desire for each other. Like the touch of the magic wand a process for life was created.
Soon the first son of the man and woman was born and God blessed the new comer.

With the arrival of the first son on the earth two important events happened simultaneously: Firstly, a foundation was laid down for the birth and numerical growth of man. Secondly, the Human Component was added to the Invisible Component to form the Hypothetical Phenomenon called, the “River of Life.” In other words, the River of Life was born and began its unremitting journey on the face of the earth. For the sake of abundant clarity, it may be restated that the River of Life is composed of two components, that is, Human Component and Invisible Component. God created man, the Human Component, not only in His own exterior image but also endowed him with the mind and intellect as a minuscule replica of His own mental faculty to make man a genuinely constructive force in the River of Life. The Invisible Component, on the other hand, consists of God's unmistakable but unseen hands and the influences of the natural and extra-terrestrial forces, which are nothing but a smoke screen for God's invisible hands, because none other than God created them and set them in motion at the beginning of creation.

By definition, Human Component should be considered as the most important component of the River of Life because without man the River of Life cannot even be contemplated. The River of Life is all about human life, the way the human beings conduct themselves in the daily discharge of their duties and responsibilities within the guidelines of fairplay, but under the commanding, controlling, regulating and restraining influences of the Invisible Component. It implies that though God created man in His own image, He did not want to give unfettered freedom to man in the daily conduct of his life. To be crystal clear, though without the Human Component the River of Life cannot even exist, it plays a subordinate role to the Invisible Component simply because God Himself plays an overwhelming role in the guise of the Invisible
Component. Naturally, God's supremacy should be unquestionable at all times.

Yet the human life, which is but the breath of God, was not created unpremeditated. To begin with, the Divine Wisdom crafted the planet earth with meticulous details creating its environmental conditions not only conducive to sustain life but also to help it flourish. This environmental condition on earth was not created in isolation. It was connected by design to the solar system. Sunlight is a prerequisite for the creation and preservation of life. The moon exerts influence on the oceans and waterways on earth as well as on human mind. Astrology tells us how stars have overpowering effects on the destiny of mankind. It is, therefore, logical that the whole gamut of nature, i.e. the wind, the water and the echo system of the earth and the extra-terrestrial bodies like the sun, the moon and the stars that touch life, play a central role in the functioning of the River of Life. For instance, without the wind, the water and the sun rays life would not exist, what to talk of the River of Life?

In other words, the River of Life is not just the endless procession of human lives; it is the creationism at its supreme best that links up God's greatest creation man to cosmos through the solar system. Therefore, it may be postulated that the River of Life is a carefully choreographed and orchestrated symphony of the complex interactions of billions of stars and planets casting their influence on billions of lives inhabiting the planet earth. All these are interwoven in patterns and sequences so complex that one misstep might result in cataclysmic collapse of the whole Creation. Nonetheless, since that collapse has not occurred in billions of years, it only points out to the uncanny precision and flawless craftsmanship of the Creator, which has eliminated all the missteps and would continue to do so forever.

The River of Life was artfully designed on the basis of a handful cardinal truths, namely, Birth, Death, Relationships, Inaccessible Future, Inevitable Contrasts and Invariable Repetitions. The Creator in His unfathomable Wisdom will always keep an absolute,
unwavering, non-negotiable and uncompromising control on these invariable fundamentals on which hinges the lever of the River of Life. For all the variables, which are also necessary ingredients and concomitants for the perfect functioning of the River of Life, man has been bestowed with the mind and intellect and the freedom to exercise his best judgment. There are no right or wrong judgments, but only alternatives. A judgment that appears to be perfect in one circumstance might be utterly inappropriate in any other circumstances. Most importantly, there is no visible higher authority on earth to judge the judgments of the human beings in their daily conduct of life. There are only judgments and consequences.

Not all that happens in the River of Life is exactly as expected. What could happen in it may be generally hoped for but how and when they would happen and who might or might not be the beneficiaries of those happenings would never be known beforehand and even during their occurrences would not always conclude as visualized till the last moment. Rana's own life is the reflection of that truth. Most of the significant events that have changed the course of his life or afflicted him immensely have occurred without any prior knowledge or without adequate notice. The separation of his parents at his tender age when his mother was untruthfully declared dead at an era and place where divorce or separation was few and far between; the partition of his ancestral country with many thousand years of history on communal lines; his family's flight to safety leaving behind substantial inheritances; the unconventional manner in which he obtained his job; his tradition breaking marriage; shocking early demise of his wife; his subsequent romances which supposedly took place only because of the passing of his beloved wife leaving him desolate and forlorn; his string of international postings at places never imagined before –all these happened either without any foreknowledge or not as expected. Yet they happened and changed his life and that of his children and their future offspring forever. Had it not been for his transfer to Miami,
or his assignment in Buenos Aires to manage a serious financial crisis involving Latin America, Smita would not be in Buenos Aires to have Carlos as her boyfriend and subsequently her husband. Occurrences of these unpredictable nature whether personal, political, national or international have far-reaching implications that keep changing the composition and fabric of the River of Life at every instant without the mankind realizing it a wee bit.

Smita all but walked out on her father, leaving him shattered and desolate. She was the apple of Rana's eyes, especially because she never knew her mother. Her birth was intertwined with her mother's passing. Rana was always apprehensive that Smita would have a huge void in her life that would be difficult to bridge. He was conscious of the depth of her sorrow since the time she began to understand the circumstances of her birth. Instances like that were few and far between in human history. Only those who were in her position might substantially perceive her mental woes, but not all of it. For every situation is different, crafted with adroit uniqueness. To alleviate Smita and Saurav's emptiness somewhat, Rana dreamt of giving them opportunities that eluded him at their age. For that reason, he never expected that the complex questions that remained unresolved in Smita's mind would drive her to embark upon such precipitous steps that would cause excruciating mental agony to her dad, for she knew from the heart of her heart how dearly her dad loved her. It was not that she was not expected to leave her father's abode ever. From the inception of the River of Life it was universally accepted and rightfully ritualized that daddy's little girl would grow up one day, would be given in marriage, would go to husband's home and make a family. That was how the River of Life was designed with intricate craftsmanship to maintain its vigor and drive in a disciplined manner and to keep flowing forever to its fleeting destiny, the ever inscrutable Eternity. What, however, was expected in this instance as in all other instances was that the marriage would take place in the natural process, in an orderly fashion, at an appropriate
time, when Smita would acquire adequate education and experience in life. At the age of eighteen one could hardly exercise one's matured judgment and educated discretion.