STORY ON CONTACT AND CONNECTION BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
A monk of the Ramakrishna mission was being interviewed by a journalist from New York. The journalist started
Interviewing the monk as planned earlier.
Journalist — “sir, in your
last lecture, you told us about jogajog (contact) & sanjog (connection).
It’s really confusing. Can you explain? “
The monk smiled and apparently deviating from the
question asked the journalist:
“Are you from New York?”
Journalist — “yeah…”
Monk — “who are there at home? “
The journalist felt that the monk was trying to avoid
answering his question since this was a very personal and unwarranted question.
Yet the journalist said: “mother has expired.
Father is there. Three brothers and one sister. All married…”
The monk, with a smile on his face, asked again: -
“Do you talk to your father?”
The journalist looked visibly annoyed…
The monk -
“When did you talk to him last?”
The journalist, supressing his annoyance said:
“may be a month ago.”
The monk:
“Do you brothers and sisters meet often? When did you meet last as a family gathering?”
At this point, sweat appeared on the forehead of the
journalist. Now who is conducting the interview, the monk or the journalist.
It seemed that the monk was
interviewing the journalist.
With a sigh, the journalist said:
“We met last at Christmas two years ago.”
The monk:
“ How many days did you all stay together?”
The journalist (wiping the sweat on
his brow) said: “three days…”
Monk: “how much time did
you spend with your father, sitting right beside him?”
The journalist
looking perplexed and embarrassed and started scribbling something on a
paper…
The monk: “did you have
breakfast, lunch or dinner together? Did you ask how he was? Did you ask how
his days are passing after your mother’s death?”
Drops of tears coming out started
to flow from the eyes of the journalist.
The monk held the hand of the journalist and said:
“Don’t be embraced, upset or sad. I am sorry if i have hurt you unknowingly…
But this is basically the answer to
your question about “contact and connection (jogajog and sanjog)”.
You have ‘contact’ with your father but you don’t have ‘connection’ with him.
You are not connected to him. Connection is between heart and heart… Sitting
together, sharing meals and caring for each other; touching, shaking hands,
having eye contact, spending some time together…you brothers and sisters
have ‘contact’ but you have no ’connection’ with each other….”
The journalist wiped his eyes and
said: “thanks for teaching me a fine and unforgettable lesson”
This is the reality today.
Whether at home or in the society
everybody has lots of contacts but there is no connection. No communication….
Everybody is in his or her own world.
Let us not maintain just “contacts” but let
us remain “connected”; caring, sharing and spending time with all our dear
ones.
The monk was none other than SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.