The Boy Who Lived

Fear drives us away from all that is true. Fear keeps us from ‘waking up’. One may argue that one is free from all fear, that, however, is more than often, untrue or partially correct, at best.

We all have fears.

Yes, at-least in some phase of our lives or some particular ‘area’ (talking specifics here, although no ‘area’ exists in separation), fear governs us. Psychologists can provide ample scientific jargon about the subconscious self. Here, I am trying to keep it simple.

Fear doesn’t mean the kind of ‘reaction’ we have to, say, a scary snake. The fear I am referring to here is not a reaction at all. It is, in fact, the cause behind our action. 

To give you a metaphor (please don’t hate me for picking this one :P) I request you to imagine the following:

The pure, innermost, deepest self is like a child. He is surrounded by certain ‘obstacles’ or ‘fears’. The fears prevent the child from acknowledging the truth.  

Even when wishful thinking or any other ‘spiritual trigger’ answers the “prayers” of that child by synchronicities (or, messages from the universe in the form of, say, intuition or dreams etc), the fear keeps the child from reading that message. Is this fear evil? This, however, is another question all together (and the answer is a big NO). 

The little child is surrounded by a tumultuous sea. There is no escape. For is overwhelming him. The child feels helpless and confused. He wonders. He thinks. He ‘dwells’.  

Ultimately, thankfully, the child makes a wish. Perhaps he doesn’t know how powerful that wish could be. Perhaps he lacks faith in his own self. Nonetheless, he wishes. He wishes and oh! There comes the gigantic answer that can single handedly counter the fear and reveal the truth like some data being downloaded. The child is reborn, figuratively. He learns what he really is. He is the boy who lived (past the fears that limited him) and he does great things in times to come. Yes, SUCH is the power of THOUGHTS and WISHES.

Now, I want you to stop the imagining and refer to ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’, Chapter 1, ‘The Boy who Lived’ .

Harry is the little boy, limited (and protected) by the fear (the Durseleys, of course). they are the obstacles. they do not want him to know the truth about his past or about his identity. In the divine right time,and perhaps by the virtue of wishes, Owls come as the sacred messengers from the “universe”, so to say. The Durseleys prevent Harry from reading the message. Ultimately, Harry is on the island on his 11th birthday. He is surrounded by the Durseleys (his obstacles/ fear). The rain slashes and the weather is stormy. Harry draws a cake on the ground, complete with candles. He blows the candle and makes a wish when the door breaks and Hagrid walks in. The rest of the story we all know.

Who is ‘the boy who lived’? Is he Harry the infant who survived Voldemort’s dark spell? Well in another sense, it is the inner ‘Harry’ who faced the ‘Durseleys’ and learned the truth. THAT, in essence, is the boy who lived.