In Chidambaram, I used to go to church along with other Christian friends occasionally. Once when I was in my dental (graduation) 3rd year, I went with them on one Sunday. On that particular day Father speaking about “Sermon on the mount” (Teachings on the mountain), said if we could become like children then the kingdom of heaven shall reveal itself to us. Not by just reading scriptures, other holy books, and different types of practices. What he preached that day had an impact on me.
After going back to the hostel, I went into my room & contemplated. I took a paper and started writing the qualities of children. Innocence, contentment, purity, fearlessness, cheerfulness, forgetfulness, forgiveness, faith, and so on very naturally! If we have to get these qualities after growing into adulthood and continue to be the same, we have to be with no negativity, keep ourselves pure & positive. Even if we are like that, society would not be like that to us. So, however, the world or society would be if we could remain like a child, then it is possible to gain the kingdom of heaven. With these thoughts running within I lied down on my bed & went off to sleep.
Then I can't say if it was total sleep or wakefulness. I happened to have a vision of Christ in front of me as a huge glowing pure white light in white robes, the light was so powerful, I couldn’t look at his face with my naked eyes. With a very deep intense voice, he addressed me “My child!”. I just couldn’t believe my eyes, awestruck & astonished I kept looking at him forgetting my body & surroundings. Then he continued saying, “I will show you the way!” I went into a room pushing open a door. In the room again Jesus was seated, Looked like Nannagaru from far but as I came near it was Jesus himself, with his 12 disciples. He looked at me and said, “Come my child!”. He showed me a door & told me to open it & said ‘I have already paved a path for you. You just have to walk on it without looking back. You will not have hunger & thirst on this path.
I couldn’t believe this even in my dream, bewildered I just continued looking at the form of glowing extraordinary white light. He told me to start walking without any doubt & in complete faith. When I opened the door, I found a long wide smooth road with crystal clear water on either side. I started walking on that path & kept walking endlessly. There seemed to be no end to that road. I was tempted to look back as I didn’t know where it led to, nor how long it would take. But since I was told not to look back, I continued walking for a really long time. There came a point when I couldn’t resist the temptation of looking back to find out where this path led to, so I looked back & the vision vanished abruptly. A little disappointed I had this urge to clarify this vision with someone.
As I walked through the corridor to wash my face, I saw my PG senior (studying MDS)who was a hardcore Christian, reading in her room with the door open. She was an introvert who minded her own business & was totally devoted to reading books pertaining to her studies & the Bible. So I went inside and told her about my vision. She was astonished & had tears. She said that she had been so devoted from her childhood but never had a vision of Christ nor did she ever hear his real voice. She also said “Though you aren’t a Christian & know nothing much about our teachings, it’s extraordinary that this has happened to you. These things are very rare & you are extremely blessed to have his vision.” Then she said to me that all I had in my vision was mentioned in the last chapter of the Bible (Revelations). There is a path straight, smooth, long & wide with crystal clear water on either side.
What is the destination of that path? Where does that path lead to? I asked her to read the following paragraph. The verse as it is in the Bible is, “He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations, and there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light and they shall reign forever and ever.
After Neeta read these lines I had tears too. With a little sorrow, I told her that Jesus told me not to look back but I did look back. Then she said, “He had shown you the path in the vision (to be the child always) to attain the kingdom of heaven. You walked the journey a long distance too. This vision was to make it clear to you that you have tread this path for very long & you shall reach your destination. Just because you turned back in vision, it doesn’t mean you have stopped the journey to Truth. Probably there is a profound purpose in doing so, which will reveal itself to you as time goes by.so don’t you worry or take it otherwise. Be happy as you are.” As I walked out of Neeta’s room, I started contemplating on Nanna’s words, “The essence of all religions is the same he would say & also that for the self-realized souls, for the truth realized souls, the calm, the light, the bliss, the peace, the power, the courage, the boldness, the strength, the heights of knowledge & seas of Ananda! (Aurobindo)”
Also according to Bhagavad Gita, a self-realized person will be bestowed with 12 divine qualities spontaneously (love, compassion, patience, courage, peace, power, forgiveness, strength, fearlessness, generosity, equanimity, faith, and so on). So I understood that all the saints & scriptures were indicating the same truth with different expressions.
Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you & also I am that I am!”
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