The silence of the sail
Dr Shakira Nandini
The night’s veil rested upon the narcissus-like eyes of the cosmos. Far away, nestled in the lap of the mountains, stars shimmered like sparks of light floating on a silent sea. Deep within the forest stood a solitary tree, its bark reddish and its branches curved, under which sat a dog. Its half-open eyes reflected an enigmatic thought, as if it was the silent confidant of the universe, observing the wheel of time in stillness.
This was no ordinary dog. There was a philosophical dignity in its demeanor that would leave any observer in deep thought. It had spent most of its life beneath this solitary tree – feeling the rustle of autumn leaves, the melody of spring waters, the roar of monsoon showers, and the gentleness of winter frost.
Yet, its silence was profound. It did not speak, but its eyes spoke volumes, containing within them an entire cosmos. What was the philosophy of this cosmos? Silence. Silence that whispered every answer of existence within its quietude.
One day, a young traveler wandered into the forest. His eyes betrayed confusion, and his face bore the exhaustion of long journeys. He stepped closer to the tree and noticed the dog. Staring at it in astonishment, he asked,
“Do you know who I am?”
The dog lifted its fiery eyes toward the traveler. For a moment, silence exchanged glances between the two. Then the traveler chuckled and said,
“Perhaps not, but I don’t know myself either. I’ve seen the grand cities of the world, their lights, their cacophony, the endless human hustle—but somewhere in all that noise, my soul was lost. Tell me, what am I searching for?”
The dog remained silent, gazing at the traveler as if the answer lay hidden within the question itself. A yellow leaf detached from a branch above, trembling midair before descending to the ground.
The traveler watched the scene and faintly smiled.
“How strange,” he mused. “A leaf falls, lands silently, and yet it teaches the greatest lesson of the cosmos. Everything is temporary, dissolving moment by moment. Yet, we entangle ourselves in the web of desires.”
A glimmer passed through the dog’s eyes, as if it agreed with the traveler’s realization. This dog held a secret—one it had unearthed through the silence. To the dog, life was a sail (بادبان), a sail navigating the ocean of time. Every being in the cosmos was part of this sail, destined to reach a harbor of silence at some point.
The traveler, exhausted, sat on the ground and sighed, “How foolish is this life! We chase what was never ours to begin with. How fortunate you are to sit here in peace.”
The dog glanced at the sky once more, closed its eyes, and felt the gentle breeze against its face. The traveler fell silent. In the dog’s presence, he experienced a peculiar calmness—a tranquility he had never found amidst the city’s chaos.
The night deepened, wrapping the cosmos in its dark cocoon. The traveler gazed at the philosophical dog beneath the tree and said,
“Perhaps the answer lies in silence. In stillness. Today, without uttering a word, you’ve told me everything.”
He stood up, dusted off his clothes, and walked toward the forest path from which he had come. The dog watched his departing steps in stillness, rooted in its nature. A faint, hidden smile lingered on its face, as though it had forever unlocked the secrets of the cosmos.