One would agree with the famous opening lines of the 150-year-old opera song "Home, Sweet Home" that say, “Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.” Truly, a home is considered to be a place of sanctuary for all its members, where children feel free to express themselves and are assured of peaceful and firm guidelines for their behaviour, growth, and development. It is for this comfort that each of us yearns to be back home at the end of a long day, where we can unmask ourselves to parents who are ever-ready with an accepting heart, and where we can rest while others are on guard. A person deprived of such natural rights has to be on their own. There is no doubt that they may receive occasional support from others along the way, but the perennial overflowing resource of parental backing is missing. Just think about it: Can we find anyone today who is completely free of worry and fear like a little child is at home? How many of us sleep at night as a child would when their parents are by their side? Not many. This is because most of us carry the baggage of things to be done and anxiety for the future all the time, as a result of which we sometimes hesitate to trust even the closest of our companions. We sometimes do not know where we truly belong, who we are truly connected to, or where we are heading. This hollowness exists because we have been separated from our eternal Father for too long now and are unable to find our way back home.

Not many of us remember that we originally lived in the soul world, a place far away from this planet, and came down to play our part in this eternal drama of life. Even when everything material perishes, these truths remain intact. We may be believers, but we have not been able to experience the protection that comes from being children of the Almighty. The flow of deep, unconditional love from our eternal Father needs to be revived so that our lives can bloom again from their barren state. It is high time we stop begging from each other for a few drops of love and respect; instead, we must take it from the Source Himself. We have missed our spiritual shelter for too long now. Just as we feel the need to anchor ourselves in our physical home at the end of each day, we must unwind and prepare ourselves for a journey back to our eternal home.

The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal and the UK, and has written more than 8,000 columns. He can be contacted at nikunjji@gmail.com / www.brahmakumaris.com