The Light of Inspiration

You once wrote—
"The older we get, the more fame grows, but nicknames fade away!"

I want both to flourish for you—may your renown spread far and wide, and may your intimate nicknames endure alongside. It's only natural for someone so extraordinary to have abundant fame! You may be the sole owner of your good name, yet countless people have gazed into your eyes searching for the meaning of life. So I've given you a name—"Shayar"—meaning "successful" or "victorious."

Growing fame isn't a problem if one can live in peace. You wrote about "the troubles of being famous"—it feels good at first, but later it becomes a torment!

But let that be...

I never asked you—"Sir, how are you?"
I never found the courage to ask.
I once read something you wrote about the underlying truth of this question.
Can we really know how someone is doing?
And even if we knew, would there be anything we could do?
So I never asked this question again.

The one I consider my guru, I cherish as a friend in my heart. In Holi's play of colors, the first splash lands on God himself. Lord Krishna here is the dearest companion, the soul's most manifest existence; so through offering to Him begins the celebration of joy. One whom I cannot think of as a friend inspires neither respect nor love. Failing to seat the Creator on friendship's throne is the first obstacle in the path of devotion. When God is kept at a distance, man himself drifts away from his own self.

"One whose thoughts know no end—he's truly the heart's friend, isn't he, Sir?"
Have I ever felt hesitation in speaking with you?
Never! I can speak my mind freely, because some light from your illuminated life spills over and reaches me too...

It's like the touch of a philosopher's stone!—life might transform like a fairy tale, perhaps, following the thread of some word spoken in your casual musings!

I think: the man who can do so much just for peace of mind—may all the world's malevolent forces be defeated before the vastness of his heart!

Sir, today is a special day. (How long since I've seen you...) Perhaps this day isn't so significant to you, but for us, your followers, it's a day of special blessing.

What would have happened if the Creator hadn't sent you on this day! The existence of someone like you isn't just for yourself—its reflection can be seen in the life stories of millions.

Sir, you teach the "Arts of Life"! How wonderful your choice of words! What soothing comfort comes from reading your heart's words! It feels like—these are my own thoughts, these are the thoughts of hundreds of millions of us!

Has anyone been able to express such deep feelings in such simple language?

"I love"—when someone says this, it too has a hidden meaning. You were the first to teach us to think that there must be effort in loving the Creator, in worship, in prayer—how few have written such thoughts before?

Sir, how many more people are there whom you've carefully tended, giving them time, teaching them to live!
In your own words—you've done "work like cutting flesh from your own body" for them.

What would have become of them without you? Would they have survived some other way? Or would they have died...for lack of even a small indication of light's path?

Through the touch of someone like you, they've found life anew.

Your affection-mixed reproach—what amazing power it holds! Without knowing it, work becomes easier!

You're right when you say, does man do everything just through physical strength? How much is possible through mental power! And you increase that mental strength in an instant!

Ha ha, Sir! When I read your "Goat Category" writings, I used to think—"Oh no! I see I'm that very goat!" Then when you'd write "Genius," I'd feel—"That's me!" But when I go to speak with you, I think—"This is that very goat!"

Do you know, Sir, how many people's paths change through even your brief jokes?
The wayward boy with no one to discipline him now pretends to sit and study with deep concentration. The girl who failed in love and thought life was over has learned to see life anew through just one word of yours.

Your words touch hundreds of hearts exactly this way, carrying inspiration's light to countless addresses.

Can the debt to one who teaches us to live ever be repaid?

Don't you say, "There's only one life! Let's see if we can live tomorrow..." "If we live, there'll be suffering too, but if we die, there's no chance even to suffer!"

The life story of a "nobody" has become a tale of inspiration for millions in your hands!
I've read "The Snakes and Ladders Life" countless times, yet it feels new each time!

Your philosophy of life, each of your writings,
The countless masks hiding in life's every alley,
Every obstacle, every blow—
You've presented everything before our eyes as no one else could or ever will! Because your only rival is yourself!

Sir, many words accumulate but don't get written... When I start writing, I think—Oh! What am I writing! Then I backspace and delete it all.

Today I dared to write a few words. Let it be whatever it is, you'll look upon it with kind eyes.

I've sent you a video.
Two ice skaters' extraordinary performance...but no audience, no applause. Yet 29 million views!

Not just the performers, there's also a cameraman—extraordinary!

Have you heard the lyrics, Sir?
"Forever trusting who we are...
No, nothing else matters..."

You often say—"Nothing can be gained before its time or beyond destiny." I believe this too, Sir—fate is moving us toward our final destination...