The cage was closing in on him- it was harassing him- making it hard for him to breathe- making life tougher than it already was. It seemed to him as if he was there in that cage since eternity- yet he could not define what eternity really meant. He was restless to know all the meanings of life- so helpless to know anything about it though. He looked at the other soul standing in the cage next to him and he thought- does it feel the same way as I do? Does it have same psychological phases as I go through? Does it really exist? Does it?
Lot of questions but no answers; He realized. He looked in other soul’s eyes and could see a replicating image of lost cause there as well. Lost cause! He stuttered for a minute. Then he went ahead… though quite hesitantly:
“How long have you been here?”
Silence.
“Do you mind me asking you a question?” He continued.
A brief sigh… and a mind-your-own-business look appeared in its eyes.
“I am sorry if I am interrupting your never ending solitude, but the truth of the matter is that I have had enough of keeping quite here. I am starting to wonder if you are even like me or not… sick and tired of this cage and its walls.”
“He just wouldn’t stop” It said to itself.
“I am asking you a question; for heaven’s sake answer me.”
“Do you have the guts to listen to the truth?
“You bet. I have the guts to listen to anything right now; be it some stuff from the sages or even some crap.”
“You never give up. Do you?”
“No, I don’t.” He said with a victorious smile on his face.
“Then listen and listen carefully. You must have heard the cliché that everything happens for a reason. Well! No one ever believes that. You being stuck here with me- what reason could be given for that? That’s what you are thinking right now; aren’t you?”
“You could say that, but…”
“Then you must want to get out of this place. You think you have a right to do so but in fact you don’t. Nobody has any rights in this structure. You think you don’t belong here then I am really sorry. You aren’t the one making any decisions here neither am I. But it doesn’t stop here. Even if you manage to get out, what do you think you would do? Go have fun with your family and friends, hang out and what not? Right--- yeah you may be right but that’s not all. You get out of this cage and you think you are free. You are not- you have more responsibilities- you have more obligations- you have more restrictions- The term freedom doesn’t necessarily mean you always get it. The irony is that you never get it. You think you are in a cage right now? I’d say you are in a cage-in-a-cage. You will never get freedom my friend. Never… Its not about your perception of freedom- its about the freedom you get in little things in life- the freedom that your mind possesses while you are sleeping- the freedom that your hands enjoy when you are not doing anything- the freedom that your eyes possess when they are closed and are at your discretion to remain closed or not- the freedom that every part in your body has when you are not doing anything intentionally- that is freedom my friend. Not some old conceptualization about freedom, liberty and rights. That’s all crap. Now let me sleep… I want to get pleasure from my freedom”
And he stood there amazed at what it had said; not really wanting to get outside that cage anymore.
Nothing said again.
Freedom accomplished, “sanity” lost.
Lot of questions but no answers; He realized. He looked in other soul’s eyes and could see a replicating image of lost cause there as well. Lost cause! He stuttered for a minute. Then he went ahead… though quite hesitantly:
“How long have you been here?”
Silence.
“Do you mind me asking you a question?” He continued.
A brief sigh… and a mind-your-own-business look appeared in its eyes.
“I am sorry if I am interrupting your never ending solitude, but the truth of the matter is that I have had enough of keeping quite here. I am starting to wonder if you are even like me or not… sick and tired of this cage and its walls.”
“He just wouldn’t stop” It said to itself.
“I am asking you a question; for heaven’s sake answer me.”
“Do you have the guts to listen to the truth?
“You bet. I have the guts to listen to anything right now; be it some stuff from the sages or even some crap.”
“You never give up. Do you?”
“No, I don’t.” He said with a victorious smile on his face.
“Then listen and listen carefully. You must have heard the cliché that everything happens for a reason. Well! No one ever believes that. You being stuck here with me- what reason could be given for that? That’s what you are thinking right now; aren’t you?”
“You could say that, but…”
“Then you must want to get out of this place. You think you have a right to do so but in fact you don’t. Nobody has any rights in this structure. You think you don’t belong here then I am really sorry. You aren’t the one making any decisions here neither am I. But it doesn’t stop here. Even if you manage to get out, what do you think you would do? Go have fun with your family and friends, hang out and what not? Right--- yeah you may be right but that’s not all. You get out of this cage and you think you are free. You are not- you have more responsibilities- you have more obligations- you have more restrictions- The term freedom doesn’t necessarily mean you always get it. The irony is that you never get it. You think you are in a cage right now? I’d say you are in a cage-in-a-cage. You will never get freedom my friend. Never… Its not about your perception of freedom- its about the freedom you get in little things in life- the freedom that your mind possesses while you are sleeping- the freedom that your hands enjoy when you are not doing anything- the freedom that your eyes possess when they are closed and are at your discretion to remain closed or not- the freedom that every part in your body has when you are not doing anything intentionally- that is freedom my friend. Not some old conceptualization about freedom, liberty and rights. That’s all crap. Now let me sleep… I want to get pleasure from my freedom”
And he stood there amazed at what it had said; not really wanting to get outside that cage anymore.
Nothing said again.
Freedom accomplished, “sanity” lost.
