With waves  of thoughts in my mind, I stood with the book in my hand.
I felt I too was one among the seven thousand, who sat enthralled by Swami’s speech at Chicago Art institute. Foreseeing the world from the east, he spoke in the West.
No wonder, he began with “Sisters and Brothers of Americaâ€, winning unparalleled applause from the gathering. How else could  the representative of ‘mother of religions’, address his fellow beings.
There was an air of indolence about as I carelessly floated towards my living room, wondering how to overcome this listlessness. I slipped onto the couch and sat still not liking the grip of lethargy one bit.
Suddenly an idea came to mind – Hey! Why not play a video game! At times, it can equal the effect of a powerful energy drink and is enough to get you ‘rejuvenated’ real fast. I opened the CD cabinet to select a game and as usual, I chose my favorite – ‘Erik the Viking.’ I always enjoy playing Erik Viking and the search for my family kidnapped by the evil Dog fighters. Of course, I don’t always succeed.
You may know that, I’m Captain, but there’s something you don’t know. I’m not a ‘tough’ Captain, I don’t usually have a puffed-up face with artificial seriousness and cruelty upon it. I like to be jovial, because I believe you can improve the relationship with your crew with this approach. There’s a general picture that the outside world (including my wife) has about ship captains, but I’m just the opposite of what they imagine. Please don’t think I’m boasting. This is the general opinion of my crew, just sharing it with you. Above all, I like to view this life as a ‘Divine comedy’ and not a ‘Serious puzzle’.
I’m open to discussion and any of my men can come to me at any time. Once when we were to anchor along Italian shores, my crew members approached me and spoke about their desire to visit Rome. The idea had me on board, as Rome was a place I had been longing to visit. We had been to Italy before, but for some inexplicable reason, had never been able to make it to Rome. What we usually do is shopping, I really enjoy jaunts to Italian Lifestyle shops and the spree of buying and adding to my trendy wardrobe and perfume collection. This time, we decided to revise the plan, and invade Rome.
Let the book remain virgin for just one more day, I think as I move my hands from it to another, half read by this very intellectual sailor, the book- ‘Swami Vivekananda’.
It’s said..never get carried away by the external appearance of things, because it may not be the same within. This is true. The exteriors of two entities attracted me toward them and the interiors weren’t matching, they were even more beautiful! One is my ‘beloved’ and the other – this book and honestly! I don’t regret my choice.
Read the rest of this entry »