I was low in spirits that day. Nothing
looked meaningful or encouraging. Gloom and failure were revolving around
me. I was feeling stagnant. The last day I was seeing a cricket match,
amidst a stadium jam-packed with a roaring crowd. I was enjoying the game.
The players were all competitive and were showing their spirits with great
vigour. And then among so many players, there was one ‘man of the match’
who played a wonderful innings for his team. On finishing his turn, he
was coming back to the pavilion. And that was the very moment that triggered
the sad feeling I am talking about. The whole stadium was giving him a
standing ovation, applauding him in perfect unison on his return
to the dressing-room. He waved his bat in acknowledgement. A look of spilling
delight overwhelmed his face; he was in the air at that moment. ‘Oh my
God! What a moment in that man’s life’, I thought, carried away by the
sight of such a triumphant occasion. I would yearn to be one such man in
my life, one such hero in some sphere of activity. But I couldn’t. I was
a failure; just a useless man on this earth who couldn’t accomplish anything.
A poor background, ordinary education and no laurels in the bag – and no
applause. And at this particular moment, the feeling of so many
fiascos had become all the more gripping.
With that same dejected mood, I was
slowly walking to my classroom for the last lesson of my college years
– years of ordinary grades, of course. There were some four students who
were already in the room when I entered. I knew them; they were the heroes
in their own right. The tales of success. They were talking to each other,
gossiping happily when I addressed one of them.
‘Sir, would you tell me your big events
in life, something you can boast on?’
‘Oh man, there are many such occasions,
you know. But one was surely unforgettable. This was when I won the international
debating event in Hague in the Netherlands. What a moment that was when
I received the trophy and the hall filled with thousands made a rapturous
applause, something that was penetrating in my soul. I cannot forget
that,’ he related in a rather emotional fashion.
‘Wonderful to hear this, sir,’ I replied
and continued again with the same question to the boy sitting next to him
‘Sir, I would like to listen to your story of success in life. Have you
ever been through such times?’
‘Yes, my dear, I have had a very fulfilling
life. I can recall one moment when we won the national hockey championship.
That was the toughest of the tournaments in my life. We were the least
favourite for the tournament. But our struggle and unity brought us the
victory. A victory acquired with immense toil. And then came the occasion
when I was on the stage for the winning prize. The crowd was applauding,
admiring, appreciating, all magnificently, and we were not on earth. It
was like a dream come true.’
‘What a memorable occasion, that would
be, I am sure,’ saying this I turned to the third guy who, by this time,
looked anxious to share his golden moments in life.
‘I am sure, sir, you must be having
your share of triumphs in your life?’ I inquired.
‘Surely, friend. It was my passion
for music that won me laurels. It was the inter-college music competition
that brought me recognition and the kind of satisfaction one aspires. I
was the winner of the competition. It was held throughout the country and
the jury comprised of very senior musicians. And when the jury announced
my name, it was like a soothing breeze brushing against me. With eyes replete
with tears, I went up to the stage for the prize, and in the background
I could listen to the applause from the whole auditorium. ‘Oh man! What
you have done to me; made me remember that time,’ he uttered passionately.
By that time the class was filled
for the last lecture of our college years. But I wanted to hear the fourth
voice. The voice of the boy who was sitting a little further away, working
solemnly and gracefully on some class-work, but overhearing our conversation,
I was sure. I called him.
‘Sir, would you relate to me your
one wonderful event of enduring memories when you received a massive applause.’
He slowly moved his head and looked
at me, smilingly. ‘My dear friend, I am sorry, I can’t tell you this moment.
But I do crave for an applause,’ saying this he stood up under a spell
of intense passion, and made for the rostrum, and spoke:
‘My dear brothers, I have nothing
to tell you about my accomplishments, my victories, my triumphs in this
life because these are trivial, worthless things I have achieved. I find
them nothing compared to the victory, to the applause on one special day.
For that special day, I am preparing myself, dear folks. I cannot impress
upon you the inferior things I have done in my life. Valueless applauses
resounding through the perishable auditoriums and stadiums of this world.
I am looking forward to a special applause, instead. An applause that will
outclass all the applauses and all the accolades in my life. An applause
that will be my fate if I happen to get through the test of this life,
the ordeal of this human existence on this earth. My dear fellows, you
too can receive that applause if you crave for it and work hard for it.
Something you have never imagined, never heard of in your life. If you
attend the noble calls of your conscience and follow the message of the
Almighty, you too can be the honourable recipient of that gift. One of
my friends, here, was asking me about one such occasion. I can’t waste
my time telling tales of worldly achievements, you innocent soul. I am
in the middle of a test. The test of this life. One special day will reveal
all my struggle, all my accomplishments in the test of this life. And that
occasion, sir, will be the Judgement Day. Yes, my dear brothers, I crave
for the applause on the Last Judgement. Just imagine, my dear follows,
that the day has come, the Day of Reckoning, and you are standing among
your fellow creatures, ready to hear your result. The eternal bliss of
the Paradise or the terrible infernal Fire! And here your name is announced,
amidst a pin drop silence within you, with nerves shrinking and the breathing
betraying you. And then, … you are declared the exalted the citizen of
paradise! Oh my Lord! What will be that applause like? Can you imagine,
my friends? Have you ever thought of such an occasion and the grand victory
waiting ahead?’
At this very moment, my eyes, filled
with tears, saw our teacher standing in the door, hearing the sermon of
this unique individual. The next instance I saw the teacher giving him
a clap, spontaneously, rather unknowingly. The whole class followed and
in a twinkling of an eye, the whole room was resounding with tumultuous
applause for the young man for delivering the only missing, and much needed,
lecture of our college years.
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