Brotherly Love

Aniruddha das

On returning home one evening I found an envelope tucked under my door. I took off my grubby boots and reached for my desk lamp. Who is this from? I couldn’t identify the hand writing, yet it did seem strangely familiar. There was something in the way the brown envelope was lying on the floor. It seemed to be just waiting for me to come home. It contained something of great importance. I gathered my thoughts and prepared to read.

An exchange of letters continues to flow, and is of great encouragement to him and me. For Robbie, my brother, and I lost contact some twenty years ago.

That brotherhood is now being revitalised. I have been asked to share with you excepts from our letters. Because my brother made the first move, I would like to preserve that by first sharing from his letter and then my response. Let’s start not with his first letter but his second. This exchange has benefitted me. I hope that others may find encouragement in feeling the way a little Krsna consciousness touched the lives of two souls, who were more or less dead to one another. We are now becoming close friends.

Dear Andy,

I never knew you could write such letters. How long we have known each other but not really known each other if you know what I mean? Your words pluck chords with me that I didn’t even know were there. How did you know what to say? I’m not ashamed to admit that I wept openly after hearing from you. Maybe our lives, although apart, run on parallel tracks. I feel much better now after a bit of soul searching. I’ll be in Ireland soon, I’d like to spend some time with you.

Hare Krsna,

Robbie.

Dear Robbie,

Hare Krsna brother.

….I’m honoured that you feel encouraged by what I’m attempting to offer you. Wherever there are talks in relation to God everyone is benefited, the speaker, the hearer and even the place. Just as you express gratitude to me I also feel enlivened to hear troubles and doubts, and to try to help you through them with what I have heard. It is not that I’m better that you. We both came to this mad world, let us help each other get out.

You say we never really knew each other. Yes, that’s not so surprising though, for I didn’t at all know myself. How can I have a relationship with others when I don’t even know who I am? Slowly that’s changing. As for your heart strings, you and I were fortunate to have been given a belief in God from our parents. Now it is our responsibility to develop that into a firm faith and thereby honour our father and mother. You say you now feel better. Good. One thing though, the RSPCA have a saying that "A dog is not just for Christmas." Similarly "God is not just for crises."

We all have an eternal relationship with God. He is our well-wishing friend. But we have become a little cluttered in the heart and forget of Him. Sometimes we are down. As Yul Brennar said in an old film "Get up. At least as far as your knees. You can do it. I know you can"

As for those tears you cried. I don’t think that they were shed in pain, but in relief. Your real identity was awakened somewhat. Nothing to be ashamed of. What is lamentable is our forgetfulness of God for millions of lifetimes.

As for our parallel paths, yes. So let us keep in touch, and if you desire I’d like to know how your soul searching goes.

You’re on the list,

Aniruddha