“Ha-ha-ha. I see that you have grasped Einstein’s theory of relativity to a fair degree.” said Karamjit in a witty manner as they both laughed out. “But there is always a creator or the ruler which sets the standard. He is the one who defines what is right and what is wrong. He is the one who separates light from darkness. He is the one who separates Truth from Ignorance. He is the one who sets dreams in the hearts of men and gives them the ability to fulfill them. He is the ultimate one who stands for the people who are righteous with his word” Karamjit said.
As soon as he said it, Amrit looked very anxious and confused. “ I have had enough.”he said. “Will you please explain to me what is this righteousness? How do you define it? I am not asking you to describe God or whatever you call him. I want you to tell me how do you decide whether someone is righteous or not?”
“ Well, its no rocket science. Its quite easy actually. Righteousness simply means right alignment or positioning with God’s standards. You do not necessarily have to wear religious clothes to be righteous. All you need to do is to not just seek your own individual good but the welfare of others and the whole community. Righteousness means to help others when they need you and doing works which help in uplifting others from low status to a rather high profile where they could do the same to other people they meet.” he explained.
“Oh, I see. I believe that you are somehow different from all the religious people out there. I mean, the things that you say make some sense unlike the heavy words that those religious people throw at you just to puzzle you up. But it’s not that easy Karamjit. There’s a whole lot of difference between saying these things and then actually executing them in the practical life.” Amrit remarked.
“ There certainly is a lot of difference and that is the reason only few of the many are righteous because they have gone through the pain, suffering and hardships that walking on that righteous path requires. So it is difficult as you rightly pointed out. If it were easy, every other person would be righteous which is not the scenario, not in the contemporary world at least. You have to believe in the God when you have lost everything and even then continue doing the good works, only then can you attain that righteousness. And if you look at the history, you would find that there were very few people who were actually righteous and who endured that pain and suffering to attain and maintain it.” Said Karamjit.
“ Well.... Maybe you know quite a lot more than me in this context. But I am always skeptical about this concept as I have been in the past from a long, long time. I am understanding all you are saying and it even makes sense at the surface level but the real issues arise when you look at the problems with this theory at the micro level. What I mean to say is that I have seen and read about many people who struggled all their life and they never really got rewarded or appreciated by the society or even their own community for what they did. On the contrary, they were criticized by their own people. So, my question is: if they were walking on this righteous path that you were mentioning while facing all the hardships and turbulent times, then why is it that their efforts weren’t recognized?” asked Amrit scratching his forehead.
“ See, it’s not about whether people appreciate or even recognize what good you have done for the others. They are not the ultimate judge even though they may make laws and legitimize them. Because even though, the society has its own measure by which it measures your actions, there still is the ultimate one who is above all the nations and national laws. He is the ultimate one who has created the universe and everything that exists in it. He is the ultimate judge. So he is the one who sees whether what you have done is righteous or unrighteous. It doesn’t matter what people reward you for your efforts, but in the end what really matters is the appreciation that you get from the lord. Because he sees when no one is watching you. He knows everything. So if you are living a righteous life and even though nobody knows about it, he still knows it and appreciates you for doing that. That’s what I meant” he explained.
“ Oh, I see.... So you mean that there is a judgment for everything or every act that an individual commits in even the shortest moments of their life? Well, if that’s the scenario, then its horrible for many people. Because the stuff that people do in their secret life, they don’t want nobody to know about it.” Amrit pointed out.
“ Now you are getting it. So the crux of the matter is; if you are living a righteous life even when no one is watching you, then you are aligning yourself with that righteous path. Because remember, he always has an eye on you even when you think you are doing something secretly.” Said Karamjit.
“ Gotcha. Okay, I think we have had a good discussion on God. Now, my God is making some noises and he needs some food. So let’s go and eat something.” Said Amrit wittingly moving his hand on his belly.
“ Ha-Ha-Ha. That’s funny. We can go to the Langar hall. You will get some delicious food out there which would help you to relax your tummy.” He said jokingly.
They continued straight to the Langar hall, a large hall where worshipers receive free meal while in the Gurudwara. Karamjit did his services in the Langar by serving food to the worshipers as all of them sat down on a long mat signifying equality for people of all castes, religions, and ethnicities. Amrit joined Karamjit in serving meal to visitors. After sometime, they too sat down to eat their meal which was served meticulously with chapatti, Dal and spinach with some salad. Before eating his meal, Karamjit would fold his hands and pray to the Almighty.
Amrit could hear whispers from Karamjit while he was praying. He copied Karamjit and he too started praying joining his hands with a piece of cloth wrapped up around his head all this while. After finishing the meal, Karamjit went to the Joda Ghar to finish his part on storing other visitors shoes, slippers and then polishing them. It was a part of the services performed at the Gurudwara by the willing people. Amrit was along with him as he watched Karamjit quietly whispered into Amrit’s ears. “Are you getting late? You can leave if you want to.” “Are you not coming? How much more time will you stay here?” Amrit asked. “It won’t take me more than ten minutes. I am almost done. You can stay if you want and then we can leave after some time.” “Although, I had to study but alright, let’s leave together then.” Amrit responded as he glanced over Karamjit’s Hungerford watch at once which struck 8’o clock.
They stood up as Karamjit removed a small rectangular piece of cloth that he tied around his waist so that the leather polish cannot stick to his clothes & make them dirty. They went over to the wash basin, washed their hands & feet, and left the Gurudwara building to catch up their vehicles to leave for their respective homes.
Karamjit went out and sat on his bike. “It was a good time together” he said. Amrit tapped him on the back as he jumped on to his bicycle. “I still have some questions which I want to ask you. I won’t leave you until you answer all of them and leave me contented.” Amrit said teasefully. “Ha-Ha. Sure, now that we are friends, we will have plenty time together discussing some interesting things.” Karamjit replied. “Okay, then. See you tomorrow. Good night!” Karamjit lifted up his hand & waved as he bid him farewell. “Alright, Bye”
But Karamjit’s day was never over until some trouble hit him giving him plethora of reasons for complaint. As soon as he reached home and opened the front door, he saw his aunt sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room, watching television while eating her chocolate chip cookies. He tried to rush quietly to his room without his aunt noticing him but failed. A loud voice struck his ears.
“ You idiot! Where have you been all this time. Why have you reached home so late? I thought you only go to the Gurudwara but it seems you have slowly picked up your pace like the other squirrely teens looking for mingling parties. So you have also grown up your wings to fly huh? Do you think you have outgrown us you little dirty boy? Look at you, your clothes are all messed up. Oh.... You are such a disgrace to us. Speak up you dirty scoundrel!”
“ Aunty, actually my friend.....” “ Friend
what? Now, listen to me carefully. This is the last time I am cautioning you. If I ever come to know again that you are not at home by the evening time, you will face such a harsh punishment that you will not ever be able to think being persuaded to do this again. I might even send you to boarding school. Do you hear that?” Karamjit’s jaw suddenly dropped and his tone became depressing. “Boarding school? No-No-No. Okay, I will never do that again. But please don’t’ send me to boarding school. Please, please....” “Now, shut your mouth, go eat dinner and then quietly sit down on your study table and start studying. Remember, I shouldn’t have to remind you that again.” Karamjit’s aunt threatened him as he rushed immediately to his room and started studying.
While studying, his mind was wondering about Amrit. He thought about the meeting that he had with Amrit feeling a mixture of absurdity & excitement at the same time. Absurd because he never thought that he would be able to make a good friend which was an interpretation from the experiences that he acquired all throughout his life.
And excitement as he was ready to meet his friend again and speak up his mind to him which he couldn’t do with any other person. It was due to this excitement that he wasn’t able to sleep adequately that night. Due to lack of sleep, he woke up the next morning feeling low with an unusual pain in his back which was partially because he slept crumbled the whole night.
He rushed to school on his bike. This day was however different for him unlike other days. He was excited beyond measure and this was probably the first day in his life when he was excited & amused while going to school, singing on his way and one of the happiest moments of his life.
When he reached school, he quickly rushed pass the front door and entered the class with an unusual confidence that none of his classmates would ever witness from him on an average day. Karamjit would normally walk with his head down and dropped shoulders while his hands would be searching some lost treasure in his pockets. But today, he held his head high and chest out all the way swinging his arms in a harmonious way as he walked among the others. And everybody was a bit surprised at his unusual confidence that Karamjit was carrying along him.
But Karamjit being himself did not bothered about the staring eyes of his classmates and scanned the class looking for Amrit. He looked around the whole class but Amrit was nowhere. While he was thinking about Amrit’s absence, a gentle tap came on his shoulders from behind and as soon as he turned around, he saw a beautiful girl who was one of his classmates standing next to him. “Are you looking for Amrit?” she asked him. “Yes, How do you know that?” “He told me to tell you that he is sitting right there in the canteen waiting for you.” “Oh, I see.... Thanks for informing me.” Karamjit said.
The girl quickly walked away without any response straight to a group of girls which to him appeared to be her friends. And all this while, Karamjit stood there awestruck, looking at the girl until she appeared out of sight and suddenly Amrit came and shook Karamjit at once to wake him up.
He said, “ Hey, didn’t that girl inform you that I was in the canteen?” Karamjit nodded his head. “Yes, she did.” “ Okay, let’s go to attend the class then. The lecture is about to start and you know that if you enter late then that rude, agnostic professor will throw us out of the class for the rest of the semester. Amrit warned him.
They both walked away for the class as Karamjit was still lost in his thoughts of that girl he just had encountered. “ By the way, who was that girl? Do you know her? ” Karamjit asked. Amrit started pacing up. “ Oh, Yeah. She is my friend Riya. We are friends since our childhood. She lives in our neighborhood. ” “ Great!” Karamjit said.
2.
Trapped in the Snare
Many days passed and life went for Karamjit. One night, he was sitting on his study table with his room locked, rolling his pen between his fingers trying to focus on his homework grinding hard to understand the Calculus problems when suddenly his phone rang. He picked it up hurriedly and saw it was Amrit.
He was a bit surprised and skeptical thinking why had Amrit called him at such an odd hour of night? Is everything fine with him ? Could it be that something bad might have happened to him that he is calling me late in the night? He thought for a second. He went through all these thoughts in a matter of seconds and then picked up the phone.
“ Hello...” he paused for a second and then continued “Amrit, is everything okay?” he asked with a clear intent in his mind. “Do you know the park that I visit every morning to exercise?” “Yes, the one on the Bhadson Road. Right? What happened?” he asked as he suddenly got up from his chair.
“ This morning when I had just finished my running, I stopped nearby some benches to sit, take some rest and recover myself to prepare for some stretching as usual. And like every day, after gathering myself together, I set the timer for two minutes for stretching and kept it on one of the benches. As I got up, I saw an old guy probably in his 80’s walking past me. When he went past me after some steps, his knees started trembling and he began to shake all of a sudden. I looked & thought that it could be a serious concern so I immediately ran towards him to give him a helping hand. As he was about to collapse, I took hold off him and called one other guy who was standing nearby. Two of us held him keeping his arms over our neck & shoulders and somehow we gathered him to put him on the bench. I instantly took my water bottle and asked him to drink some water to get him hydrated. He refrained from drinking water. He shook his head and said that he was fine. After about ten minutes, when he looked a bit relaxed, I asked him if he needs some help, he told me that he often encounter such short term paralysis in his lower body. He said that he was healed from paralysis a decade ago but still there is some effect that prevails. I asked to help him to take him to his home but he ignored my concern and said that he will call his son and return home and that I need not to worry about him. I asked him again but he reassured me with his gentle voice that he is doing well now.” Amrit said all this in a single breath and took a pause to breathe and continue.
“ What happened then? Did that old guy went home with his son?” Karamjit asked intrigued to know the complete story. “Yes, he sure was taken home safely by his family but when I got back to the spot where I was stretching, I was dumbstruck as I found my phone nowhere. I searched around every bench and every corner but I found it nowhere. I haven’t told my parents about the incident yet. I don’t know what I should do now. How careless I am! How can I tell them that I lost the phone due to my careless attitude? ” Amrit said in a feeble voice.
“ Umm... so you are telling me that somebody stole it. Right? Are you sure that you haven’t forgot it placing somewhere else? ” Karamjit asked. “I know it, for sure. I haven’t misplaced it. Somebody has stolen it surely. I am definitely convicted about that” Amrit responded anxiously. “Alright, first of all calm down. Worry can’t change nothing. We will sort it out. Should we report the matter to the police then?” “No-N0-No! No police! If my parents get to know about that, it would be terrible for me. We have to do something by ourselves. And don’t tell anyone about this matter to anyone. Promise me that.”
“ Don’t worry about your parents. We can convince them that it was none of your fault after all, you just tried to help that old man while someone took hold of the opportunity to steal your phone. They would definitely believe you and we can even figure out a solution readily after that. Their support would make the job easier. ” Karamjit assured Amrit.
“ No-No. See, you don’t understand this. It’s not that I don’t want to be criticized for my carelessness by my parents. But I don’t want them to put unnecessary stress on them because of my irresponsibility. I am grown up now and I must take complete responsibility of my life and possessions alike. So, please I urge you again don’t tell the matter to anyone. I am affirming this to you iteratively that no one other than you and me should come to know about it. Do you get it? ”
Karamjit started speaking in a low voice making sure his uncle and aunt can’t hear
him. He whispered in a low voice to Amrit. “Alright, but how are we going to do that? How in the world could we find who stole your phone?” he asked. “Well, I have an idea.” “What is it?” “We can make use of the tracking application that can help us track my phone number and get to the thief’s location to catch him red handedly.” “Okay... but will it work?” Karamjit asked. “It sure will. Can you help me out with it?”
“I’ll be glad to help you. Tell me what you want me to do?” “I’ll meet you tomorrow morning outside the Environment park on Bhadson Road. Since school is off tomorrow, so meet me there at 9:00 a.m. and I’ll tell you the plan. I need some time to think about it.” “Alright” said Karamjit. “And don’t worry thinking about it again. We will find the thief and get it done. Take some rest now and I will see you tomorrow.” “Okay, Good night” Amrit said as he hung up the phone.
Karamjit too went to sleep early so he could get up early. The next morning, he got up only to realize that he was already late. He went to take the shower straight away and didn’t ate his breakfast. He ran hurriedly to the park and saw Amrit with a worried look.
He went straight to him and tapped him on the back. “Hey, I am ready. So, tell me what we need to do?” “Give me your phone” Amrit took Karamjit’s phone and pointed to the tracking app. “Look, this is the tracking application that I was talking about. If I can put my phone number and some details into it, it would probably give us the location of my phone making use of its I.P. address.” “What are we waiting for? Let’s go for it then!” Karamjit said immediately.
“Let’s see, I will have to first put my IMEI number into it” “What is an IMEI number? Is it your mobile number?” he asked. “No, it’s different than a mobile number. IMEI means International Mobile Equipment Identity. It’s a unique number which is given to each user for their device which can help them to track their mobile’s location.” Karamjit began scratching his head. “Oh, I see. So, do you remember your IMEI number?” “I have already noted it before hand. And gosh, it saved me from a lot of trouble further!”
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