Naked I Came

  His Own Hypothesis

  Justin developed his own understanding about ‘fate’. Half the world believes in ‘fate’ and the other half just uses the expression with no particular reason. It is simply a way of saying things. Well, it is not fate which leads where one is in life; it is how one conducts oneself in life. His opinion was that the journey of ‘fate’ can be understood under two broad subheads.

  One as per him was that generally people born under the same roof, to the same parents, would have similar nature—as such, siblings tend to have common characteristics. If researched under quantitative study, his thinking was that the same would also hold good for people born under similar circumstances of day or night. It can also be said, that to a great extent characteristics of a person are influenced by the place where they are born, that is, to say those who are born in a particular country/region would be influenced by the prevalent culture. They may share generalised or common characteristic because they shared similar circumstances of time, place or a particular culture.

  The above similarities, as drawn out by Justin’s own philosophy, end there for it can be seen that the life of siblings born to same parents and under similar circumstances can ultimately get poles apart in the final count of life. Why??? This is because the actions taken by each individual in their lives would have a direct bearing on their fate. For what you sow so shall you reap.

  The Word of God has a set of principles. If one sows righteousness, one shall reap the fruit of righteousness, and if one sows unrighteousness, one shall reap the fruit of unrighteousness. In accordance with the above statement, is it then that the outcome of one’s life is the direct reflection of his or her works? However, the Bible says in the book of Romans that one’s salvation is not dependent on the works of hands, bringing forth another truth, which states that ‘salvation’ is by the ‘grace of God’.

  To understand ‘works that would lead to one’s fate’, one has to understand that ‘a’ man can hand over the members of his body in the hands of God to do the works of righteousness, and ‘another’ can hand over the members of his body to his own carnal desires to do the works of unrighteousness. ‘This choice’ of ours to hand over the members of our body during our lifetime, dictates to a great extent where we ultimately reach in life while in our bodily state. Therefore, ‘fate’, as it is casually spoken of, is largely the result of the works of our hands and makes us reach where we ultimately get in life. Of course, there are always examples of good people suffering throughout their lives and bad people enjoying all the fruits of life.

  That day, sitting by himself Justin understood the practicality of his own avouchment about fate, ‘was he fated to get where he got in life’. The veil was slowly lifting up and the morning star started to shine upon him. Contemplating upon his life, he got a clearer picture of what happened with him. Forsaking all that he had in India—God, church, family and all that was dear to him—he had taken the big step of coming to America with the intent of settling down in life with Sushmita. In the process, unwittingly, he aligned his life to the ‘fate’ that brought separation from God and great worldly loss to him from which now there was no reprieve. All through his good fortune, he carved out his ‘present’ misfortune by sowing the seeds of his deeds, and now had to reap the harvest in line with God’s word that says, ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’.

  The collapse of the financial system and the great recession that had spread its tentacles in every sphere of life had closed all doors of progress for Justin and had left him debt-laden. As per the requirement of his job, he made numerous trips to New York airports while ferrying his clients, many of whom may have travelled across the continents to meet their dear ones. At such times, Justin would longingly look at the airplanes taking off to the skies always wondering, when would he travel back home to meet his people?

  The grief of not being able to see Armaan, his younger son, was unbearable. Justin missed him the most and fondly remembered each moment they spent together. Often with a grieving heart, Justin would remember the possessive nature of Armaan concerning him. When still a toddler, Armaan would expect Justin to understand everything that he tried to communicate in his baby garble. Armaan would never leave his side even for a moment and now, he has not seen Armaan for so many years. His heart ached at the very thought that he was not around his son, at times when he may have needed him the most. At times when Armaan would have needed guidance, at times in his teen-life when someone was needed to cheer him up, at times when the doubts about life needed to be clarified by someone who could be trusted—at such times, Justin was not there for Armaan. He was not there to clap for the achievements; he was not there whenever Armaan would have turned around looking for him.

  Justin used to realise that compared to his grief, what Armaan must have undergone was much worse. Owing to the fact that he was being raised in the absence of his father whom he loved dearly. Sometimes, Justin would take out a greeting card that Armaan sent him when he must have turned fifteen, wherein he wrote, ‘Dad, please come back for my sake’. Justin never discussed the contents of the card with Armaan. What explanation could he have given; how could he have told him that his father at that age won’t fit into any vocation to earn a livelihood, that others won’t welcome him to come back to take over the church again. Going back, Justin would have jeopardised his very survival, which ultimately would not be a cause of happiness for anyone. He had chosen a path where in spite of missing out on life, he could not retrace his steps. Justin had written his fate, he had chosen his destiny.