Reading about the personal journey of an Irish boy who grew up in India touched me in ways I did not anticipate. Rudyard Kipling's novel, 'Kim', took me as far back into my own childhood as I could remember, except that I was more fortunate, and less lonely than Kim.
Kim is energetic, playful and yet has a yearning for something more profound than playing catch with the other boys his age. This profound longing and search for the truth leads him to a quest for enlightenment, in the company of a Tibetan lama who is seeking enlightenment. The two journey through the vast and empty mountainous terrains of India, and finding themselves astray resume their quest in the vast populous plains. Here, the lama eventually finds the 'River of the Arrow' and achieves enlightenment. Kim, on the other hand, is the 'chela' or the disciple of the lama only, and we are left to wonder if he too will pursue the enlightenment that drove his master to undertaking the great journey. The answer is not revealed, and conveniently so, we are obliged to think what would we have done.
Would you take enlightenment if it were presented to you? Or would you prefer to pursue it instead undertaking an arduous journey at ultimate peril?
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