Yoga - The Life Saviour

Once upon a time in Bangalore, there lived brothers named Hari and Veer. Hari joined a Yoga institution to pursue a career in Yoga whereas his brother joined an engineering college to become an engineer. Veer always made fun of Hari for being spiritual but the latter never took the taunts seriously. Every morning, Hari used to do meditation to cleanse his mind before starting his daily chores whereas his brother started the day watching movies. According to Veer, Yoga was only meant for useless old souls who neither had the energy nor age to do anything productive. Hari emphasised following our passion which is close to our hearts rather than chasing something which never renders us peace. Veer mocked his brother's words calling him a philosophical hypocrite who believed in illusions. 

On a beautiful Sunday morning interspersed with a cool breeze, birds were seen cooing on the branches of trees. Clouds hovered over the sky here and there to adorn the blue sky. The diabolical mounds of garbage begged for its liberation as they emanated foul smells around. They worked in cahoots with the street dogs to disseminate the filth everywhere. Some worked early morning and others couldn't get out of the night hole. The capricious weather continued to play hide-and-seek games without forethought. Hari had woken up early in the morning to slip into a deep meditation and then performed different Yoga asanas thereby strengthening his body and mind. Veer tossed and turned on his bed even after the clock incessantly went on a ringing spree. He hated early mornings that always conspired to disrupt his blissful slumber. He wanted to escape the early mornings in the camouflage of sleep and embrace the hyper laziness. Finally, the dawn hit his mind at noon as he let out a yawn and sauntered over to the bathroom to start his daily chores. Hari offered prayers to the Lord and the sound of the pooja bell irked his brother who screamed to cease the sound. Being an atheist he had no respect for God; he considered people who worship God as dumb jokers who had no job to do in life. He called the concept of karma a nonsensical theory fed to the people to make them dumb and live in a delusional world. People wondered how the brothers could be so dead opposite despite emerging from the same womb. 

Hari used to take Yoga classes for children to ensure they walk on the right path in life. He always believed a dose of spirituality in this material world is paramount to shaping a good personality. Yoga, a union of mind and body and the union of the soul with the universe plays an instrumental role to live a happy and peaceful life. The powerful Yoga aids in overcoming obstacles with a composed demeanour rather than getting lost in the whirlpool of stress and anxiety that suffocates us. Very seldom Hari and Veer used to talk thanks to their contrasting personalities. One day, they happened to talk to each other.

"What do you want to do in life, Mr Spiritual?"

"I want to be a Yoga master, teaching Yoga to people and writing books on Yoga."

"Oh, my Gosh! How stupid and narrow-minded you are. Relying on Yoga to live a life. So hilarious to hear that brother," he taunted. "Better you wear saffron robes and become a monk."

Hari as always didn't take the taunts to heart but rather just shrugged them off with a divine smile.

"What would you want to do in life?" Hari asked his brother.

"I want to be a software engineer who is capable of making heaps of money and then I want to settle abroad living a luxurious life."

"What is the purpose of your life?"

"Oh, you crazy brother! To make money and become rich is the purpose of everyone. Unfortunately, your ignorance is leading to your downfall. Sometimes I wonder how come my brother is so stupid and senseless to live a life of Yoga," he mocked.

"When we die, our soul doesn't take materialistic properties with it."

"This is the problem with you people. You believe in some hypothetical concepts that never materialize in reality and waste all your life doing useless work only to realize in the end how big a fool your soul is."

"Do you love the work of an engineer?"

"I love the money I can pluck out of that profession. What matters is not the soul-fool concept, it is the money which we make in life that defines our personality. We cannot extrapolate life through the knowledge of Yoga, you need to pile up heaps of money for that."

"My only advice to you is to do what interests you not what wrecks you apart."

"What a joke! You know about brothers' rivalries where they compete with each other to see who becomes richer and more famous. You never were a formidable opponent for me and never will be. You admitted your defeat even before the game started thanks to your headless philosophy. I am ashamed to call you my brother."

Without any forethought, he used to hurt people, making fun of their choices, mocking their personalities, and calling old souls useless craps. He never understood the bad karma he was bottling up. 

The days flew by. Through his relentless endeavours, Hari managed to become the Yoga master he always craved to be and his brother became a software engineer. Veer left Hari and stayed in a separate house. Hari invented his asanas thanks to his expertise in the Yoga subject. He taught Yoga to thousands of people across the world who lauded his sincerity and deep knowledge of Yoga. He didn't cajole anyone into his class but it was the people who desperately wanted to learn Yoga from him. His brother struggled to find mental peace in his job. He never had any passion for engineering, the only reason he chose to be an engineer was to make a hell lot of money. The job never compelled stress and anxiety in his mind but it was he who invited the negative energies to reign supreme over his mind. 

Hari's students had a deep respect for their master. Many who went through serious trauma and pain in life got rejuvenated and transformed thanks to Hari's Yoga magic. No one believes you when you can't bring a change but everyone will become your follower and join your crusade when you can indeed bring a change. Hari's great personality was a reflection of the good karma that he maintained throughout his life. There were a lot of detractors who laughed and mocked him including his brother, but Hari neither lost patience nor gave up his deeds because he knew he was after something that would bring glory to everybody. He penned a book named, "Yoga for a Peaceful Life" that became an instant best seller. Eminent personalities all over the world hailed Hari for an insightful book written at such a young age. The book served as a remedy for those who had no idea what to do in life and those who had lost track of their lives. The entire world looked gripped by his brilliant book.

Veer couldn't fathom what was happening in his brother's life. He is grappling with a profession that is tearing him inside out thanks to his disinterest in the field. He thought his brother would become a big loser in life but to his astonishment, his brother flew from one country to another to disseminate Yoga knowledge. The pile of anxiety and stress wreaked havoc in his life whereas his brother lived an envious and peaceful life. When he shared his misery with his colleagues, they offered him a book written by none other than his brother to get back on track. The happiness and peace which is so paramount in one's life not only to have a great life but also to have great health seemed to have receded from Veer's life. His health deteriorated day by day courtesy of the negative energies he exercised every day. The money he earned found an outlet to settle in the doctor's pocket. No money, no health, no happiness, no peace. Is there anything worse than that? His karma had gobbled up all his mental and physical peace rendering him hapless. You cannot circumvent the inevitable circumstances in life.

With things going from bad to worse, finally, he laid his hand on his brother's book. He read the book from the beginning till the end and unbidden, tears started rolling down his cheeks thereby drenching the book pages. Subsequently, he reminisced about the days he hurt his brother but the latter never retorted back. The flood of grief struck upon him repenting his actions in the past. The guy who never believed in the concept of God scampered off to the temple and prostrated before the Lord asking for forgiveness. The enormous amount of cursings he gained over his entire life has hit him like a ton of bricks. Some devotees in the temple felt pity for him as he kept on sobbing. 

Many who tackled mental health issues resorted to Yoga to come out of the deplorable pain and they did succeed because their teacher was an expert named Hari. He even started his institution and opened branches across the world to treat people with a vital Yoga that is necessary to live a happy and peaceful life. He never did anything for his gain. All he wanted was to see happy people living a beautiful life. The vision he envisaged when he was a teenager had indeed materialized. He never craved for name or fame but everywhere people talked and praised his Yoga skills. He became a renowned figure in the world. Veer felt proud of his brother for the very first time in his life. His brother's deep words lingered in his mind; back then he didn't discern the essence of his words but now he knew how powerful they were. In one corner of his mind, he longed to meet his brother and in the other corner, he lacked the courage because of the way he treated his brother in the past. Eventually, he made up his mind to meet his brother.

Veer came to see his brother but the guards didn't let him in. They asked for an appointment to which he told them he was Hari's brother. They laughed at him looking at his emaciated body. Hari who happened to walk over the corridor got a glimpse of his brother and without wasting a second, he walked to see his brother.

"How are you Veer?" there was pure love interspersed in his words despite the verbal lashes he received from his brother in the past.

Overwhelmed, Veer fell on Hari's feet with tears trickling down to his knees. Now, he understood why Hari deserved to be the most revered person in the world. No iota of arrogance whatsoever which was a testament to his pure and generous personality. His gaze had a dose of divinity, his face was ever flushed with joy, and his body looked young and energetic. To add to that, he had amassed countless blessings from people all over the world. He welcomed his brother inside and rendered immaculate hospitality. Veer was not the same as he was before filled with arrogance and greed. If we juxtaposed his terrible past life with his present life, there were innumerable stark differences. He joined his brother and rendered service to humanity which gobbled up his bad karma and consequently, he lived a peaceful life bereft of stress and anxiety that had massacred his body and mind cells before. The revival of the new chapter was always going to be great.

The glittering stars twinkled in the night sky to illuminate their pure aura to the world. The rustling leaves synced in harmony with the wind to churn out a melodious tune which stirred everyone's ears. Shining lights which were ubiquitous aroused everyone to reality. Thousands of people had congregated to listen to the wisdom offered by Hari. The crowd erupted in cheer the moment Hari graced the Dias. On a beautifully adorned Dias, Hari gave a breathtaking speech about Yoga and its benefits which were viewed by thousands of people. He introduced his brother Veer to the world. Veer gave a heart-touching speech explaining the transformation he underwent in his life and the important role his brother played to help him from the potential disaster his life was leading up to.