Our life is similar to a train journey. A train is continuously on the move. We board the train at some station and join those who were travelling from earlier stations. We travel with them for some distance and some passengers unboard at the next station while some new passengers join us. This boarding and disembarking goes on and on, similar to our lives.
Taking birth in a family and joining existing family members is like boarding a train at some station and joining other passengers who are already in the midst of their journey. The family members have different nature, age and attitude. Some are good, friendly and affectionate, others are unbothered and some are rude and arrogant. As we have no other option than to travel and adjust with existing passengers having boarded the train, we would have no option other than to adjust with family members in real life too.
During the train journey, one of the passengers may disembark at some station, which signifies one of the family members has died. The passenger who has disembarked will catch another train going towards another direction means that the family member who has died will take rebirth to join another family to continue his life journey in a new direction.
In the train journey, we do not develop any attachment or enmity towards passengers even though we like some and do not like others, because we know that the journey with the co-passengers is temporary and would come to an end sooner or later. However, in real life, too, even though we know that the life journey is temporary, as birth and death is inevitable, yet we develop undue attachment for those who are good and friendly with us and develop enmity and hatred for those who are bad. This attachment and aversion is the major cause of pain and pleasure of our life.
If there is a constant awareness about the fact that our life journey is like a train journey, where unification and parting is the basic ingredient, we would not develop undue attachment or aversion with anybody irrespective of their being good or bad. Our life journey would have no peaks of high and low emotions.
The sense of duties and responsibilities will prevail over expectations and disappointments. Forbear and forgive will become an indispensable part of one’s attitude. Negative reactions will cease to exist, as the sub-conscious impression of everything being temporary will be the basis of our behaviour and attitude. Our focus will shift towards our own self, the Divine Self. This shift will eventually make our life journey a memorable and an enjoyable one.
