Tandem Jumping

Recently I took my cousins sky-diving. We live in an area which is very near to countryside. Due to that, we have at least 3 sky-diving centers within an hour's drive. So we drove up one sunny morning into the beautiful countryside, winding along vast open fields and little villages. We reached the sky-diving center, which looked more like a family business. There was a lot of sky-diving equipment in one room, and a lot of mobile homes behind the hangar.

The instructor made us go through the paperwork where we basically absolve them of all responsibilities. A boring video followed explaining how exciting yet dangerous this sport is. Then, we got really smart looking jumpsuits to wear & take pictures in. Finally, we went outside looking for our airplane which would take us up to 10000 feet. We heard loud whirring sounds from behind the hangar, stirring up excitement. But when the airplane came into our view, apprehension took over the excitement. The plane was only slightly bigger than a minivan, and the pilot was an old gentleman wearing just an undervest & flappy shorts. My cousins and I looked at each other, unsure of whether to hand over our lives to this situation.

Hope overcame our apprehension, and my sister mustered courage to go first. She crept up on the floor of the one-seater plane where the only seat was occupied by the vested pilot. She was made to sit on the floor under the flight control panel. The instructor holed up behind her, trying to make her enjoy the upcoming fun. Revving up the engines, the pilot started taxiing into the fields. With a very short run-up, the plane was up in the air. It kept gaining height as it flew in circles over our heads. Reaching about 10000 ft where the plane looked like a small speck in the sky, they made the free-fall jump. What was about 40 seconds to us on the ground, felt like eternity to my sky-diving cousin. Pretty soon, the parachute opened up and they sailed over the winds for about 6 to 8 minutes before landing right in front of the hangar.

She was almost deaf when she walked up to us. The wind had knocked out her ears. My brother started suiting up for his jump while she recovered. After about 10 minutes, when she finally got some of her hearing back, I asked her, "were you scared when you jumped?" Her reply was almost music to my ears. "I was not afraid because he was with me", she replied. Wow! She was not scared in her 10000 ft jump into the open sky, just because the instructor was with her all the time. She was not alone up in the sky... someone was with her in tandem.

I looked up 'tandem' in the dictionary, and it said: "having two things arranged one in front of the other". I never knew the beauty of this magnanimous word before that epic moment. Tandem! Yes... I am not alone. I do not feel afraid when I am not alone. I have someone with me in tandem... always! He is with me and since He has arranged Himself behind me, I do not see Him. Yet He is the power behind every thought and deed of mine.

I can enjoy the jump only if I know that I am tethered to Him. I do not have the parachute, He does... and I am tied to him. That's how I can enjoy tandem-jumping. That singular thought absolves me of all my worries. I do not have to worry about which strings to pull. He does that for me, while I enjoy the treasures that lie yonder. All I need is complete, unwavering faith in Him. That is all I need from my side. Everything else is provided to me by Him - the jumpsuit, the harness, goggles, earplugs, the airplane, the parachute, even the instructions, and most of all: His own companionship... all I need to do is hold His hand, and JUMP!

little arpan... big anubhuti...

Sharing a very intimate experience with all of you...

One morning, I was sitting near my 6 month son who had recently learnt to get up on his knees. He would get up on all his fours, and keep rocking himself all day. While rocking on his fours, he accidentally sat up. That was the 1st time he actually SAT, and I was so very happy to be present at that time.

Immediately, I went down on the floor & sat next to him lest he might fall down. He was swaying dangerously from side to side & I was ready to catch him. He was just about managing to hold himself up in between the sudden imbalances. But I didn't hold him. It was only when he was actually falling, did I catch him & prevent the crash. Sometimes, I even allowed him to fall when the crash wasn't too big.

This incident left a deep impact on my mind. I think this incident happens not in only childhood but keeps repeating all through our lives. Only the context of falling keeps changing. Many a times, we do not know that we are falling. We try our level best to keep ourselves up, reach higher, move forward and in that process, lose balance. Most of the time, we manage to keep our balance but not always. At all times, God is always watching, sitting right next to us, though we do not know. He does not hold us all the time, but watches quietly & feels happy about our efforts. He even lets us fall sometimes when the fall is not too big; and only when we lean too dangerously, does He grab us & put us back on track.

But we, in our ignorance, start cursing Him in the process of our imbalance. We start questioning His existence and/or His love, at the slightest of misfortunes.
He is watching, and will surely hold us but only when we sway too dangerously.

• He is always there, exactly as I was with my little son.
• He desires your growth with your own efforts, exactly as I want for my son.
• He is ready to do anything for you, exactly as I am for my son.
• He is madly in love with you, exactly as I am with my son.

This was my big anubhuti from little Arpan that morning.