The river had been crawling gracefully slowly along the lowland which had full of thickets, a wilderness. The azure sky served a dome for all the phenomena which had been going on there, and it had been reflected in river azuring it beautifully. Both banks of the river had been painted heterogeneously and marvelously by the lush blooming thickets grown on either side. It looked like a blue python crawling slowly through lavishly flowered greenish. A smooth breeze had been blowing with mixed aroma imbibed from the full bloomed spring to make events more joyful. Atmosphere completely indulged in cuckoo cooing, nightingale singing, bee humming and butterfly fluttering. More or less all the creatures had been intoxicated with sweet honey, pleasing aroma and beauty of colorful flowers. All the beautiful people had together been creating and enjoying a heavenly realm there. Amid those feasting, an odd sound had been floating in the air, the sound of a man, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
People heard the call began to move towards that. Men moved along the footpaths which naturally decorated with blooming bushes. Different marvelous colors had been spilled all over the bushes, creepers, and tree-tops. The paths led them to the river which had been flowing loaded with fallen flowers. Amidst those flowers a man had been standing clothed in camel skin tightened at waist with a leather belt and a wine skin full of honey hanging on his shoulder. He watched well the crowd; all were living corpses, venomous expressions. They seemed like dark blemishes in that colorful spring-scene.
He shouted at them, “You brood of viper, look all the living creatures is enjoying their life, why cannot you uncultured?”
The crowd replied aggressively, “We are from a noble race; we have a noble man as our ancestor. The blood flowing through our vein is noble, we are blue blooded. We are God’s own people. How can you blame us as uncultured?”
“Culture does not flow from generation to generation along with blood and flesh. This river which I stand in gets different flowers which differ in color and fragrance at different stages of its course. In some stages, it may not have any flowers and fragrance to float along. And of course, the possibility of getting polluted in some other stages cannot be rejected. Life and culture of generations also like this. How can you claim your ancestor’s?” He responded.
“It is well known that we are God’s own people, chosen people. Then how will your argument have the ground?” People retaliated.
He continued “God’s own people? God’s people become so, as they maintain such values, such cultural values. They can see beauty in everything, everyone and in everywhere. The aesthetical awareness they possess is such. God can make his children even from these stones laying on this bank providing them aesthetical, cultural, content - or values”.
“What?”
“Yes, it is, from these stones God can give birth to his people. There are occasions in which stones, wood or metals are bestowed aesthetical and cultural values on. Exactly, it is not occasionally but always. But it is not visible always, until and unless creative spirit falls upon them. It falls upon them occasionally, so occasionally. In mediums, aesthetical and cultural values have been hibernating. When it comes across the creative spirit, the unwanted portions that cover the value vanish, beauty is exposed. Thus the piece of art or literature creates man of culture or of aesthetical awareness. He is God’s own. Can’t God create his own people from stone?”
“What do you speak about? Our ancestors, prophets, are not God’s people? Are artists?”
“They are. The prophets are because of the words. Cultural and aesthetical values are in words and verses too. So Prophets had been created by words, or the prophecies created prophets. From words everything. Prophecies tried creating a new world with new cultural values, new earth, and new sky; they, prophets, are also artists. The entire universe is from words and its creator is in words. Words bring forth all the beauty. And all the beauty reflects in words. Colorful Spring blooms full-fledged in words and fragrance emanates from it which pervading ages and ages to the end and beyond. So words create God’s own people, or from words too, God creates his people, not from the heritage of flesh and blood. Blood cannot be blue by hereditary.”
“Where is such colorful bloomed spring in prophecies? You are lying.” The crowd accused the man.
“You the blind brood of viper, you cannot even enjoy the colorful spring, the teenager among seasons, which has already appeared around you. You can’t see and enjoy the trees laden with colors. You cannot enjoy the marvelous mixed fragrance emanating from them. These things are very much exposed to your surroundings. But you cannot see. You cannot enjoy the sweet cooing of cuckoos, sweet songs of nightingales, sweet humming of bees and beautiful fluttering of butterflies. Then how can you enjoy the beautiful world in words and verses? You see only letters, words and verses and cannot go beyond. You cannot see the bloomed woods among words, you see the only leaves-shed skeleton of words. You see scorching dry summer in words, have neither leaves nor blossoms. All these are so because you don’t have a bloomed vision.
You walk along the words and verses like rope-walkers do. You think you walk in space on narrow verses its either side and below are dark deep. You see nothing other than the one-inch rope and space; beyond those, death and darkness. And you call those who see everything in words, liars. Not the words and verses but the silent space among them show you the amazing full bloomed spring, a different wonderland that you have never seen before, neither in your life nor in your dreams. And that vision makes you God’s own people.”
“You call us the brood of viper again and again. Why do you utter such nonsense repeatedly? How are we brood of viper?” men questioned.
“The lady had been in the beautiful garden where the ever-spring had found its abode, paradise. It is said that the man had been in utter despair in all the days. So it became necessary to create a woman at the left side of the man to make his life and surroundings a full bloomed spring. So she had come and converted everything to colorful in his life. That had made both evergreens. In her presence, he felt the divine proximity under green shades and in the cool evenings. The divine force walked together with them and talked to them. One day a blanket of solitude covered the lady in which her beautiful and colorful vision had been covered and altered by another venomous one; by the venomous vision of old snake viper. Gradually, in her vision, blossoms in the garden began to fade and ended up in complete fading and falling away of spring. Cooing, singing and humming of birds vanished, dissolved and died away to far away distance. Rain and mist hesitated to visit. Thorns and thistles nestled. Both the man and woman had completely become the brood of that viper. Crying, cursing, the sound of fighting with metals became the order of days among their offspring. Mutilated body and flowing blood could be seen.
Are you not brood of viper? You hear sword crossing, shield crashing and crying. And see mutilated bodies, flowing blood. What else reflect in your visions, words, and talks? So, what else should you be called? You see beauty nowhere in your life. No beauty can be seen in your language; neither blossoms nor color and aroma. The boors! ” The Man briefed so.
While the man standing in water had been briefing so, many came to him to be washed to new vision and life. The man had been washing them to provide them the vision of spring, but he was not sure whether they got the vision or not. At the same time, another one had been coming towards him. His face had been radiating. The crowd seeing him amazed that whether the spring reflected in his eyes or it reflected from his eyes. He approached the camel skin dressed man and asked,
“Wash me to the new vision of spring”
The man replied, “I want to be washed to your vision and life, please.”
“No, you have been making the way. So, first, I should be along with it.”
He agreed and washed him in that river. No sooner had he came out of the water after the dip than ‘The Word’ came from above “This is my son, in him I am pleased.”
The camel skin dressed man said “This is the man, the son, of words. This is the man who will make a full bloomed spring with words and verses, a kingdom of full bloomed spring of words and verses, a Kingdom of Heaven. Now it is at your hand, follow it.”
The crowd said “You made him to ‘word of man’ “
“No, he made me what I am now,” Said the man and moved away from the water. He had been shouting ‘Kingdom of Heaven at hand, repent.’
The breeze was in its full swing with mixed fragrance. The flower laden trees nodded their heads here and there with joy. The river still continued its course carrying heterogeneously colorful blossoms in her bosom. The green plants bowing down laden with flowers on either side had been fondling her affectionately. Her joy found no boundaries as she had given birth to the great and beautiful vision and visionary - Jesus.
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