At Lunch

It had not been very long since Nick had been back. His friends had missed him and he was glad to see them too. They met for lunch at Cafe Seaside on a Sunday, because unlike Nick, they had jobs on weekdays. 

Adil was there, and so were Dinesh and Vinod. They were all bachelors like Nick. Adil was a journalist and Dinesh was a film editor and Vinod worked with his father running a bakery. The three of them had not met Nick for three years and were full of questions for him. Nick was happy to meet them too. 

Adil went first and asked “So, how does it feel to be back Nick?” 

Nick shrugged and said “It is good to be back, but it doesn’t really matter where we are, does it? I mean, no matter where you go, there you are. Hahaha!” 

“Always the philosopher” piped in Vinod. 

“What is the message you have for us Swamiji, now that you have got your answers” asked Dinesh. 

The waiter came to take their order and they ordered a mix of Chinese dishes and starters and some beers. 

Nick cleared his throat and said “The message my child, is that there is nothing like an individual. Our so called reality is an illusion. This identity we hold so dear is only the Ego. When this identity dies is when truth or reality is found. Life is a cosmic joke, but it takes a lot of work to get it.” 

Their starters came and they started eating. “The battle is to lose one’s conditioning about life, relationships, ambitions and so on. The real deal is that when the Ego dies, one realises his infinite nature which is God Himself. God is the one who realises himself, THAT is the cosmic joke. Hahaha. One has to be interested in this to want to know more. Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” 

The three of them were listening to Nick intently and nodded and smiled and raised their glasses to him. 

Adil asked “So what are you going to do now?” 

Nick said “Nothing! Just live life and continue my spiritual practice and that is all that needs to be done. Work, eat, sleep, normal things like that. There is no drastic change required. Unwanted things fall away and new things come in their place. All of these will shape your material life. That is how Karma is created. That is what decides the kind of life you have. What you do today shapes your tomorrow. Live well and all will be well.” Nick signalled the waiter to get some more beers. 

“That sounds pretty simple” said Dinesh. 

“Most things are simple, but it is we who make them complicated. If we surrender our minds, that is the start of our faith” said Nick. “Now lets get a Sunday buzz going, for tomorrow is closer than you think.” 

They said “Cheers” and chugged their beers while the waiter brought fresh ones to their table.

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