Today, in our country, everybody wants reservations, even some leaders in the country who have divided the people saying that our beloved country should only be reserved for those who worship in one particular way!

And as the word, ‘reservation’ gets bandied about, my thoughts go to ‘reservations’ on a train. It means a secure, safe and stress-free journey. No fights, no adjustments, no hassles. The reserved seat is yours from the place you board to your destination.

Nobody wants a reservation only halfway. How would you react if the clerk at the counter says, “We can give you a reserved seat only up to Ratlam, from there you will have to travel unreserved to Delhi!”

No, you want reservations till your destination.

I ask those who want reservations, “You want reservations for school and college?”

“No!” they shout, “We want reservations in school, college, jobs and promotions!”

“Why?” I ask.

“So that we will lead a comfortable life till death!”

Not till Ratlam. Not till college. But till their destination; death!

I look in the mirror and ask myself, “What about after death?” I stare at my ageing body. It was hardly a few years ago, I could push into a crowded train and get a seat, today if I do dare to travel by train I’d wait for someone to offer me one.

Are we fighting reservations for this fleeting life, while forgetting that our destination is many miles more? Have we been fooled by the ticket clerk at the counter to have been given a ticket to Ratlam, when we wanted one to Delhi?

There’s a huge long journey ahead, and even as we sit comfortably in a reserved seat, how does it make you feel that you’ll be standing soon, or the ticket collector may say later, “Get off! You have no reservation!”

And how did this happen? You went to the wrong counter! You bought a ticket for the train of life while the train of eternity was the one you should have boarded. And had you got that ticket, you’d look at the ticket and ask, “It says two of us are traveling together?”

“Yes sir,” says the man at the counter, “You will have a Companion throughout your journey, who will hold you as it goes through dark tunnels, laugh with you at joyous scenery, till you arrive safe!”

“Safe where?” you ask.

“Up, to the Home of the One who travelled with you!” says the man at the counter with a twinkle in his eye, “Shall I reserve a ticket for you?”

“Yes!” we shout, “Yes! Yes!”

That’s the reservation quota for you and me; it’s free, there’s no fighting for it and is there for the asking!

Want a reservation?

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