"So, what is the solution?" Kabir asked, desperation creeping back into his voice. "Do we ignore the body? Do we become ascetics? Should I have ignored his health, his needs, because he's 'just a soul'?" "No," Shukla Master smiled. "That is the other extreme. That is Spiritual Bypassing. You cannot ignore the car. If the car breaks down, the driver cannot complete his journey." He leaned forward. "You must follow the Middle Path (Yukta Vihara). The Gita says in Chapter 6, Verse 17: 'Yuktahara-viharasya...' Yoga is not for him who eats too much or too little, nor for him who sleeps too much or too little." "How do I apply that to love?" "You treat the body with respect, because it is the Temple of the Soul. You feed it, you clothe it, you care for it. But you do not worship it. And you do not judge the soul by the condition of the temple." Shukla Master picked up the shawl and folded it neatly. "When your father was alive, the Middle Path would have been this: You buy him the medicine for his body (care for the costume), but you sit with him and ask about his day (connect with the soul). You don't ignore the coughing, but you don't let the coughing define him. You see the actor through the costume." Kabir closed his eyes. He saw the image of the fruit plate again. He realized he had failed on both counts. He hadn't cared for the costume enough (ignoring his health), and he hadn't connected with the soul at all. "The infection of sorrow," Shukla Master continued, his voice soft, "spreads because we are all interacting with masks. We are actors on a stage who have forgotten we are acting. We take the script too seriously. 'He insulted me.' 'She didn't call me.' It is just dialogue in the drama. The Soul is untouched." "I want to tell him I know who he was," Kabir said, tears leaking out. "Not the old man in the sweater. But the light behind the eyes." "Then tell him," Shukla Master said. "But more importantly, tell the living. Go to your office. Look at your employees. Do not see 'Project Managers' or 'Interns.' See Souls playing a role. See the Driver, not the uniform. If you do that, you will never have to say 'Alas' again." Kabir stood up. He picked up the "Good" clothes—the silk kurtas. "I'll donate these," he said. "Someone else needs a costume for their play." He kept the grey shawl. Not as a relic of the body, but as a reminder of the mistake he would never make again: Mistaking the wrapping paper for the gift. ________________________________________ Key Concepts Covered in Narrative: 1. Body Consciousness (Deh Abhiman). 2. Soul Consciousness (Dehi Abhiman). 3. The Costume Metaphor (Vasamsi Jirnani). 4. The Middle Path (Yukta Vihara).