My Spiritual Journey from Santhome Beach, Mylapore, Madras to Englewood Beach, Florida to discover Whole Love

Yes Indeed, Life is Complicated. The complexity of Life is about the nature of the man’s Life Journey. How would I know if every move I make has been predestined? How could I make this journey from Santhome Beach, Mylapore, Madras to Englewood Beach, Florida? Do I have the free will to make the choices for the moves I choose?

Pope Gregory X sponsored the travels of Marco Polo particularly out of interest to investigate the place where Apostle Thomas was buried on the eastern coast of India. The place described as Moabar by Marco Polo has been identified as Mylapore, my birth place. I believe in the Oral Traditions of India. As a kid, while visiting the Santhome Beach, on several occasions I interacted with the local fishermen who dry their fishing nets on the Beach. They believed that a holy person was buried on that shore. Their belief is not based upon any scholarly work or research. It is simply a narrative shared with them in the Oral Traditions of India.

Christopher Columbus(1451-1506) discovered America on October 12, 1492 for he was determined to reach India by sailing West. He had indeed discovered the Land but failed to discover Love or the meaning of Love. Columbus had never reached the coast of Florida.

The Land that Columbus  discovered was not India but he had mistakenly identified its people as Indians. It was claimed that the Discovery of America by Columbus had resulted in the introduction of sexually transmitted infection like Syphilis from the New World to the Old World. That is one reason for which I have chosen to compare my Discovery with the historical Discovery of America. My discovery is not about the New World, or the Old World. My discovery will be known as the Whole Discovery, the discovery of all the aspects of Love, a discovery with a potential to transform the Whole World.

I ask my readers to read this story about my Spiritual Journey giving attention to the Indian Concept of Life Journey described as Samsara.

Whole Dude – Whole Fear – Whole Samsara – Whole Journey

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” says the Holy Bible, The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 1, verse 7.

The cultural traditions that originated in India motivate people to seek refuge or shelter at the Feet of the Lord by evoking a sense of fear and this fear is described as the fear of “Samsara.” Samsara or Bhava describes the viewpoint about the human condition and deals with the problems of human existence. It contributes to a sense of apprehension and anxiety and the attitude it generates is one of intense fear and helplessness.

For the religious traditions that originated outside of India such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the fear of the Lord could be a primary motivating factor to seek the worship of the Lord. On the contrary, the religious traditions that originated in the Land of India, do not encourage their adherents to entertain any such fear of the Lord. In the Indian traditions, the Lord or God that Indians choose to worship would receive them with a sign that proclaims ” Be Fearless.” The Lord reassures them with a sign that is popularly described as ABHAYA HASTA or ABHAYA MUDRA. In Indian literature, and in Indian Arts comprising of countless number of images, idols, paintings and drawings, there are invariable references to a consistent message of ABHAYA (Be Fearless) and naturally Indians are less concerned with ” The Fear of the Lord.”  

Samsara portrays the picture of Life Journey as a tedious,difficult and challenging swim across an unknown, uncharted and treacherous ocean. The Journey is difficult for it involves repeated cycles of birth, death, and rebirth before the human soul arrives at the Shore or the Final Destination described in terms like Moksha (Liberation), or Mukti (Release) from the perpetual cycles of birth, death, and rebirth.

Samsara is also depicted as a serious disease entity afflicting a person’s health and is referred to as “Bhava Roga.” Others view Samsara as existence in a bottomless deep pit (“Aghada”)or that of being trapped in a deep well from where an escape would not be easy. The fear of Samsara/Bhava, the fear of the human condition, has nothing to do with physical courage. The powerful idea of Samsara inspires a sense of fear in the hearts of even the most courageous of all people. Cultural traditions that have their roots in the other parts of this planet may not be aware of this kind of fear and hence the fear of Samsara could be viewed as a feature that defines and molds the Indian Identity. Indians chant the Lord’s name as a medicine to cure this terrible disease and they seek Lord’s protection to reach the shore and complete the journey across the ocean. There are numerous references in the Indian literature about this affliction or disease entity called Samsara.

Human existence is beset with countless uncertainties and difficulties which may arrive without any prior warning from different directions in an unpredictable manner. It is rational to approach life with a sense of apprehension and seek the help of the Lord who graciously held His right hand in a show of compassion and receives with a greeting of “Abhaya” and is willing to banish the fear of Samsara.