"Ready?" I asked Vichitra.
"Not like I have a choice. I'm cursed to endure this." He replied, annoyed. I took a deep breath.
"Take care of yourself, Alaknanda," Nana told me. I smiled at him.
"I will, Nana. Don't worry."
Nani came in with a small bag. "I've kept some food in the bag. Whenever you need food, it will replenish the bag. Don't eat anything from Pitraloka. Be careful. Don't get distracted by anything. Don't put yourself in danger."
"Pray, tell, Dakshapatni, how are we exactly to do this job without actually getting ourselves in danger? We literally have to go 'ghost-hunting' and bring them back to Pitraloka. How do you propose we do this without it being dangerous?" Vichitra asked.
"Salem, shush..." I silenced the cat.
"Do. Not. Call. Me. That." He brandished the razor-sharp claws, ready to scratch the hell out of my face.
"Bad kitty. Bad kitty"
The look on his face was vicious. Almost planning my murder but restraining himself because he is literally surviving because of me.
"Alaknanda..." Nani held my face with affection.
"Leaving, are you?" The subtle scent of basil leaves and sandalwood filled the air. A smile filled my heart. Out of thin air, my father appeared.
Perfect as always. His eyes sparkled with a proud smile.
"I'm ready. Just waiting for Yamadutas to arrive. Maybe I'll be the only one who would go to the land of the dead without actually being dead."
He chuckled. "I thought you would have had some small experience of death." He joked. I laughed.
"You have much greater experience of it than me." I shot back. He laughed. He touched my head and smiled affectionately.
He opened his hand and maa's ring and his locket appeared in his hands. I took them from him. Wearing the locket, I smiled.
"I know I've told this to you before but just a reinforcement of that memory. Always remember that no matter what, I will always be your father. I will always love you. I am proud of you for simply having the courage to think you should do the right thing. This isn't anything to prove me, my butter. This is for you."
I smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Yeah... yeah... peacock, we get it. You're being an emotional blah blah blah. Can we get going now?" Vichitra asked, showing attitude to him.
"Ignore the cat," I told him.
"Well, since you are so excited to go." He picked up the cat from the scruff like a lioness picking up her troublesome cub. "How about you stay there? Naraka anyway lacks cats."
"I am ready to apologize. I made a mistake." Vichitra quickly changed the tone. Everyone laughed.
Surely, the black cat was extremely cute looking but don't forget that the soul is basically a daitya that tried to take over Vaikuntha. Dad probably knew him well. For some reason, I think he must have known the daitya's plan but just let himself be amused if he could actually do that.
A mischievous smile appeared on my father's face. That typical look said that he was up to some scheming. It was going to shake the very base of Vichitra's life. He let go Vichitra.
The cat was quick to climb back on my shoulder.
The Yamadutas arrived at the Gurukul's borders. A circular vimana was brought along to take me off to Yamaloka. I went up with them.
Yamadutas almost looked like rakshasas. Dark red skin, almost bony appearance, twisted horns with some incantations carved on them, claws like fingers. They held a scythe and a noose. Almost an odd mix of Lucifer and Grim reaper in a dhoti. Almost like how western people design demons of hell.
The vimana took off.
"Hiii..." I greeted them.
"Thank you."
I gave a confused look. "uummm... Hi isn't generally replied with thank you. You reply with a hello or a Hi."
"No. I was saying thank you for making a conversation but I'd like to stay out of it. We don't speak to the living."
"Wow... really friendly."
"We don't need to be friendly. We need to do our job."
"But who says you cannot be friendly?"
"Our job is to grab souls and keep them from hovering around the earth. So, not practically an inviting friendship type of job."
The vimana picked up speed and the turbulence became high as it travelled dimensions. From the land of living to the land of the dead. It was like travelling in an opposite stream of an extremely fast river. The turbulence finally stopped and the vimana floated on a river.
The river was a beautiful looking river with filth here and there. It was extremely long stretching into the horizon where I couldn't see. The width was around a thousand kms. A rather long stretch.
"Who is polluting a pretty river like this?" I asked the yamaduta. He looked at me.
"Aren't you Sri Hari's child?"
"Yes. What does that have to do with the river being polluted?"
"This is Vaitarni River. The major river flows through Naraka and Yamaloka. Depending on the person, the river appears to them so. Pious people look at the river and see a crystal clear and beautiful river. Sinful people see it as a river of blood with man-eating crocodiles and piranhas. The dead have to cross the river by swimming. Only Yamadutas and other devansha on specific duty are given boats to cross the river."
Words didn't exist in my mouth anymore. Why did I see the river with filth?
"You stand in a morally grey area if this looks like a beautiful river being polluted. This river is a representation of an individual's life. As their life has been, so the river seems." He explained. He pointed to thousands of souls at the bank of the river. "Look."
Some of them joined hands repeated the name of Shiva, Devi, Krishna or Narayana and crossed it. It almost seemed like they crossed it without any problem at all. Almost like they walked through a large pool of water. Some even touched the waters and poured over themselves like they didn't see the pollution in the water at all.
On the other hand, the majority of people were screaming, screeching, shouting, crying and struggling pitifully through the river. They seemed like they were drowning or being attacked in the waters by animals. On small boats, yamadutas pushed them ahead to keep them moving ahead instead of returning back to the banks. Their screams disturbed my peace of mind. It almost reminded me of how the dark prison in Patala was.
"Can't we help them?" I asked, totally disturbed. "Anything."
Yamaduta sighed. "You cannot help them, Vishnusuta. It is their own suffering. Their own life torturing them. The torture they had put others through. Vaitarni is just the beginning. Naraka awaits which will be their residence for a long time."
"They are in such a large number." I counted.
"This isn't like the human court system which will let go if the number of people doing that mistake is large. Your humans don't issue punishment when a large group of people start attacking people randomly because they cannot put them all in prison. But Naraka isn't like that. Naraka has infinite space to issue them punishments. These are Kaliyuga's humans. Most of them have done several crimes in their lives. This is just ¾ of the crimes they commit on Earth. The left crimes they carry back with them at the end of their sentence for Yamaraj to decide their next birth and their next life."
The large number of people suffering throughout the entire place was almost disturbing.
"Is there no one who can do anything for them?"
"They can. Their family members can take vratas and offer the pious fruit of that vrata to their ancestors and help them. But who in Kaliyuga would do that kind of punyadaan? They have to give up their part of punya to them. Would you do it?"
"I'm not a predecessor of theirs. Can I still do it?"
He looked at me and then chuckled. "Right. You're among them."
"Among who?"
"It has been very long since we have seen people like them. Those are the people who have their Moksha guaranteed through their sharana. Great saints. At their birth itself, their moksha is guaranteed. The true Vaishnavas, Shaivas, Shaktas and Smaarthas. Their sovereign overlord ensures them abhaya from Yamaloka. So, they pour out some of their pious works to these suffering here in Naraka. Several sages have done it for humans while they live. They ensure their lord's sharana for them and make them do good things to ensure them some help."
"But I've heard people say that just surrender will save them from Naraka."
The yamadutas laughed.
"Do you think it is that easy? Do you know how many lives of tapasya you have performed to be able to take birth as Narayana's own child? 400 lives. This is the fruit of 400 lives of tapasya and pious work. Every single time you reached the court of Dharmaraja, you denied receiving your half of Swarga's pleasures and insisted to take birth again to earn more merit. 400 lives. That is how much it took you to share flesh and blood with that Vaikuntha Natha."
I just stood in shock.
"400 lives? Wasn't it just a while ago that I had been with her?" Vichitra asked.
"What??!!!" I exclaimed. Did I know him? What was this?
"You do realize we both are getting punishments for not keeping our mouths shut, right?" The yamaduta asked Vichitra.
"Oh... shit..."
"DO you mind elaborating properly? You know me from a previous birth?" I asked Vichitra.
"Didn't you hear what he said? I'm already in trouble for not keeping this food hole shut before you. I am not speaking anything else on this matter." He refused to answer.
We crossed the river. 400 lives of piousness and I still see the river with filth? Why? Were 400 lives of piousness not enough? What actions had really brought me to experience Naraka? Sure, I was no pious sage-like soul in this life. Yes, I might have made mistakes but I never really harmed an innocent. Never kicked a dog or even ate another animal. I never snatched anything from others. I didn't commit any kind of crime except the idea of murdering Darshan.
Surely, Darshan was no innocent man. He was the worst kind of human I knew.
Okay, here and there I have fought people but they all were doing what I believe was wrong. Bullying the weak, disturb the peaceful people. It cannot be a sin.
We reached the opposite bank. A large castle stood far ahead. Pure granite. When I stepped on the stone path of the castle leading up to the gate, I heard the sound of Vedic chants. Like the entire place was kept upright with the very chants of Vedas. The positive energy that the castle gave was extremely assuring after the terrible scene at Vaitarni. It almost sounded like the chants of Sama Veda to me. Almost reminding me of my father. Not exactly the same joyfulness as it is when he's around but simply assuring.
"This is the Palace of our king, Dharmaraja." The yamaduta explained.
"So, the Vedic chants are the offerings he receives?"
"Oh, no no. This is from the piousness of our king and queen. Their own piousness keeps the Palace clean from the filth of sinners that they can leave here and there."
Made up of pure marble that could put the Taj Mahal to shame. The architecture was a marvel of its own. Carvings of punishments and paradise were there on the walls. The pillars had carvings explaining karma siddhanata. Verses from Garuda Purana dictating the kind of punishment for sin were carved on the pillars. There were carvings of great heroes on the roofs.
Marvellous in its beauty and energy.
We proceeded ahead to reach the courtroom. The courtroom was made beautifully. A large shelf which had several scrolls were set on the wall. Right ahead of the shelf was the seat of the infamous deity of soul accounts. Chitragupta. The son of Brahma. A table before him with several scrolls set open one on top of the other. Everything was arranged so perfectly.
On the end was a large dais with a throne upon it. Two large buffalo sculptures were set on either side of him. The carving of the Sun. The throne had 18 stands on which the throne sat. Each stand had an inscription. Aatma. Agni. Vayu. Prithvi. Jala. Aaksha. Surya. Chandra. Divas. Ratri. Suryodaya. Suryaasta. Satya. Dharma. Rig Veda. Yajur Veda. Sama Veda. Atharva Veda.
Chitragupta looked at me and smiled. "Oh, you're here." He stood up from his chair to walk toward me.
"Has Yamaraj not arrived yet?"
"He would be here any moment now. He had finished his morning prayers just now."
"Oh, alright."
Just as he said that the drums started beating and the dwarapalakas announced the entry of Yamaraj.
Almost as bright as the sun itself. Heavy footsteps. Serious expression. The large tripundra almost covered his entire forehead. A little bindi right between his eyes. A large crown on his head. The mace resting on his shoulder. Paasha hanging from his waist belt. Unlike how the tv shows him to be a large man, he was sort of an athletic figure.
He stopped right as he reached me and stared at me. Almost like he was staring into my soul.
"Alaknanda." He commented. Most devas refer to me as Vishnusuta rather than my own name but he addressed me by the given name.
His eyes then turned to Vichitra. "So, you did return back to her. Hopefully, you know better than to mislead her this time."
"I did not-"
"If you decide to deny it, then do so but the truth remains."
"Maharaj, they are sent by Narayana. Here, he also sent you a word." Chitragupta passed a scroll to the lord of death.
He opened the scroll and read it. "Let him know that I will take care of it." Chitragupta nodded a yes and looked up at the yamaduta. "Lead her to the study."
I bowed down to him a bit and walked behind the duta. He quickly led me through the stairs and opened the door to the study. I walked inside and he left closing the door behind.
It was a library. A beautiful library. A large golden tree stood in the centre of the library. Its brightness was just beautiful.
There were several shelves with several books set on them. "I might as well faint seeing so many books. Does Yama actually want to kill me here in his own lands?" Vichitra complained.
"What is that tree?"
"It is called the tree of life, Shukracharya once told me about it. The only thing which bustles with life other than Yama, Dhurmona and Chitragupta. The tree of Vedas. As long as the Vedas survive, the tree will survive. When the tree dwindles, Shiva will destroy all of the creation from its very base. Everything, even all the elements will merge into Shiva. The tree will die and end up in Vaikuntha. Sri Mahalakshmi would once again emerge out of Sri Hari's chest, expound the tree with her power of life and bring it to life. Again, the Vedas emerge out of Sri Hari. Then Brahma will emerge out of Sri Hari's navel again. The creation will be made again. Once again, the tree will return to Yamaloka as a witness of dharma in the world."
I looked around to see the books. I picked up one and opened it. The index was titled with the names of people.
One. Shakti Atreya.
Birth: Sweta varaha kalpa, Swaayambhuva manavantara, 1st krita yuga, prabhava samvatsara, aashadh masa, Chaturthi.
This is not some book. This is a record of every soul. Each and every birth of theirs is recorded. Their karmas are recorded.
Flipping the pages, I realized that they recorded every karma that made a difference. Good ones and bad ones. Good ones are highlighted in blue and bad ones are highlighted in black. At the end of their life, the total is marked for the ease of Chitragupta. The next chapter begins with the credit and debit of the karmas. How much karma is debited with the tortures gone through in hell? How much is credited in the next life?
I put that book aside and started looking for a book which had my name on it. But the problem is finding it. How do I know which one is mine? In this maze of records, which one is mine. None of these books is marked particularly with a title to know. Chitragupta just knows because he is aware of the souls. Also, that is his job. Just as how a very efficient banker remembers his customers.
The earth only has 20 billion billion creatures. So, those many records are present here. Some of them are extremely thick and some rather thin. Out of so many damn books, how do I find mine? If I find that one, I can easily solve several doubts arising in my mind.
"Vichitra, you've got to help me. Somewhere in this library, one is my own record. I need to find it before Yamaraj finishes his court matters." I told him.
"Are you joking with me, kid? I'm not dying among books. My entire kin will laugh at me for such a death. I would become a laughing stock. I'm not doing anything this stupid."
I grabbed him by the scuff and stared into his eyes.
"I actually shared my soul energy with you to save your damned existence, kitty. You better be thankful to me and help me out. Because you and I are going to affect each other. So, better get to work."
"Umm... all that is fine but how do you propose we look through them? It will take years to simply look through the index and see if there is any kind of similarity in the names you have had across the lifetimes."
I sighed. How do I actually find out which one is mine?
What I know is, like a flawless consumer department, each and every soul is given a number with respect to their first birth or their soul's first life. Chitragupta reads this soul number and quickly picks up their file. Yamaraja has this study because he's the one who keeps the record of when yamaganda is reaching them. This is how he locates their soul record and copies down their current life record on a scroll with the debit and credit account of karmas and the balance. For their judgement. With such accurate execution.
Each of these records is marked with that number. But it isn't known to the soul.
The only person who could tell is actually someone who has the ability to break into this system and hack info. Shukracharya.
I closed my eyes, trying to reach out to him. It was rather quick. Not really taking time.
What is it this time? I am really having a hard time with my own father here. Do I have to deal with you now?
Ufff... talk about hostility. Though getting to the point. Do you have any idea what my soul number is?
What soul number?
The number by which Chitragupta is going recognize my soul when I die? You kind of already know and I know that you know it. So please tell me.
Are you in Yama's record room? I seriously think it is a terrible idea to try and break into his records. Looking into your own record might actually more or less cause you quite some emotional trauma.
Is it that bad? One of the yamadutas said that I had spent many lives in tapasya.
Alaknanda, you've had some glimpses of your past life when you met your father. The ones related to him. What do you think?
Hey!! They're all like small snippets. I need proper info if I am going to ask dad about the Narayanastra and Vaishnavastra. Don't you think?
No. Nope. You are not tricking me. Do not think like your father. Stop right there. I do not want to be roped into this mess later and have your mother skin me alive for letting you break so many damn rules. I already have a huge burden on everything that has happened. For that itself I have to give her a lengthy explanation which might involve her possibly having my head. Why do you want me to die just yet? I have loads to achieve.
Really? Loads to achieve? Don't get me wrong but you've been here since the damn beginning. Don't you think you have lived a really long life?
What do you mean? I should die now because you think I have lived long? Have I done nothing for you that you wish Yama's abode for me? Have I not been a good teacher? Have I not actually risked my life? Have I not had enough quarrels with Diti?
Mama, calm down. Don't be dramatic. I just said it casually. Why take it to your heart?
Vishnusuta Alaknanda, if you think that you are being hilarious, then you stop right now. I do not appreciate the humour.
That is why you don't get along with my dad.
I think you want to look somewhere between 13,62,000 to 13,92,000.
Okay, thanks.
Why do I always get into this with you? Why? Your mother is going to kill me. Excuse me now. I'll go find a reasonable argument to explain why I'm giving away classified information to you. Specifically breaking her rules about karmic records.
I started looking through the shelves for the number. At least we sorted it down to 30,000 records. I had to look for the one which has the last index title as Vishnusuta Alaknanda.
"Okay, Vichitra, look for the book which has the last title as Alaknanda. Quick." I told him.
"Yeah, just one teeny tiny problem. I do not have thumbs."
"Urgh... Pick with your mouth, dude."
We started looking through them. At least 50 of the ones I was looking through had the name Alaknanda at the last.
Finally, hitting the jackpot, I sat down with the large book in my hands. Looking at the index I realized that my connection with Italy and Rome was rather old. Greece here and there. Mostly connected to this land past the Himalayas for the major part of Kaliyuga noting the names.
The first one was recorded as a Gandharva. One of the batches that had emerged from the laughter of Brahma.
I had never imagined that my life would bring to this point. For some reason, I just could not bring myself to actually read through the accounts.
I had lived quite some lives as daityas. Though it did explain why I had an odd association with them. I saw one of them named Meenakshi. I opened the page and noted the basic bio-data that was written. A daitya by kin.
"So you found yours?" I looked up and saw Yamaraj. Almost froze with fear. Would he get angry? Was he going to actually curse me? "I'm not going to be angry at you. Years ago, Maharishi Bhrigu already gave me a heads up that one day you would be reaching here and have this record on your hands."
"How did he- Oh, right. He's one of the greatest experts of jyothishya shaastra."
I looked at the data but two names among the pages instantly caught my attention.
"Chitra? As in Virat's Queen? Vichitra as in this cat?"
"I'll have you know. I wasn't always a cat, kid." Vichitra countered.
"Yes." The lord of death answered my question.
"I was related to them? They're siblings? Right. Chitra. Vichitra. Matching names. A typical style of naming kids."
"No. Chitra was born much later. Almost several years after you finished that life. This one here, who is now your cat, had led that life of yours in the path of asura with a hope that you'll get to Vaikuntha."
"My association with Vaikuntha has been so long?"
"Why do you think you have him as your father? It is an association from several lives. Either to him or to Sri Mahalakshmi, whatever native form had been there relating to her. Tyche. Fortuna. Ishtar. Lakshmi."
I looked through the balance sheets of my past lives. So many karmas. A lot of dushkarma from my lives as asura had piled up but more than that was the credit of sukarma. A surplus amount of it. But when I reached this life's account, a large chunk of that sukarma had been debited away. Used up.
"How is there such a huge change? The last life's account shows such a high account of sukarma and this life shows a rather huge difference. Where did all that go away?" I asked him.
"What? You think you received your parentage as a gift? Just a stroke of luck or have you won some kind of prize? You are the kin of Bhargavas through Bhargavi. You are the kin of Hrishikesha himself. His very flesh and blood. How do you think you got it? A large amount of your sukarma was spent away to enter the womb of the Goddess."
But that still left behind some of the dushkarma from life as asura.
I looked at them and noted that some of them were actually debited during my time in Patala. Some of it debited away by separating me from Maa and Dad.
"So technically, I was taken away from my parents due to my own karmas? No curses?"
"Curse was just a medium. Narayana had to just accept it because you had to experience the karma you invoked when you killed thousands of devotees when you were an asura. Whatever you do, you have to reap it. No one can escape karma. There is no 'forgiveness' of it. If forgiveness is a concept, then divine justice is totally useless. You can't escape murder you committed by just apologizing."
"Then why do we have so many tirthas which say they can cure away sin? Puranas are filled with writing of such tirthas. If all that is false then why do we have God?"
"Alaknanda. Repentance is good but that will not wash away what one has already done. Your sorry would be worthless to a woman who lost her son because you did not reach that level of mental understanding. You cannot just appease her by simply saying sorry. If that had been the code, everyone would do more and more sins because 'sorry' seems to be a cure. People are careful about AIDS because it has no cure. If it had a cure, they wouldn't pay attention to it. The balance of celestial justice is as such. It has to be blind. Every karma has a result. You have no choice but to reap it."
"I have this much dushkarma still left which hasn't even been cured away by the time I spent in Patala or away from my parents. What do I do about that? Just carry it with me? It is possibly not in my hands to decide how to debit it."
"You have it right with you, Alaknanda. Your life. This life is all the time you have to debit away your sins. It isn't going to wash away with any tirthas. They will only help you in offering you strength to bear with it."
"That is all they would do then why should one even believe in them?"
"Alaknanda, if I ask you to donate 5000 rupees today, would be hard for you?"
"What kind of question is this? I am asking you something really serious and you're talking all this?"
"Just answer it."
"No. Why would it be hard? Nana has a lot of wealth. I spent 5000 rupees on a dress from Zara. Giving it away to someone who needs is not difficult at all."
"Suppose your grandfather lost all his wealth and you work extremely hard and earn 10,000 rupees a month from which you have to spend 5000 rupees on his medicines. Then?"
"I'd be shouting 'murder' to the hospital authorities. Practically the whole family will starve to death. No one can survive on that sort of money."
"Exactly how this works, Alaknanda. When you have a large credit of good karmas, bad karma will pass away and you wouldn't take much notice because of the kind of effect that good karmas have on your mind. The material world is temporary. Today one situation and tomorrow the other. Sometimes you are happy, sometimes you are sad. Your karmas define your state. Narayana only made you go through the entire event with Darshan on your birthday because he is your father. He knows how much karma you have and how to wash it away. Sure, it is heavy on your soul but that humiliation was a way of bearing all the humiliations you have caused in your lives as asuras and gandharva. Humiliating other people who were weaker than you. Even in this life, you have humiliated people. Sri Vishnu is your father. The moment you offered your faith to him, he took the responsibility of being your guide. Your father is far wiser than you even understand. He does things without you realizing."
It suddenly made a lot of sense. To have anything good with you, you have to use up your good karma. To pass through a bad time is debiting away your bad karmas. So, although one is suffering, it is leading to a state where eventually one would encounter a better scenario due to some good karma they have done.
"When you decide on independence, you are responsible for your own account. But when you hand over the account to Paramatma, it becomes his responsibility to get you through. He takes responsibility for your account. Once that happens, your soul account no longer stays in my abode. We simply ship it away to the respective place. Vaikuntha or Kailasha or Manidweepa." He added.
"So, why is mine still here?"
"Because you haven't completely given up your freedom to Narayana. You still relish the little control you have over yourself. You have earned this place as the child of Vishnu. A feat no soul has ever achieved. You are the brightest example of how karma can bring you the greatest glory. This is why Indra feared you. Because right through your karma, you had earned a fortune that even he cannot have. The position is far high above Indra and all the devas. Even me. You know how virility is the source of a tapasvi's tapa shakti, right? The very seed of life within the body. The seed is capable of forming another life. The seed of life. That is where all the tapa shakti is stored. Narayana is the greatest of yogis. Yogeshwara. The very land of Badrinath where you were born is so pious because of his tapasya. That piousness is simply from the very aura of his tapa shakti. You? You are the product of him breaking his age-long tapasya. This power which runs through your veins was given to you by your father by performing tapasya for 18 long years. 18 years of celibacy. Following her husband, your mother also performed tapasya for that long. Now, tell me. Is it just some coincidence that you were born? Or is it Vishnu and his maya?"
Yama laughed thinking about it.
"Think of it. You have control on maya that allowed you to take down Indra with you and drag him into Patala right at Shukracharya's feet. What can Narayana's maya do? Vishnumaya is indomitable. Just as his will. There is no overruling it. There is no counter to it. There is no escape to it. Powerful indeed. But so loving is he that the moment you call him out of love, he is willing to overrule his own maya and extend a hand to you. You have this stature of being Vishnusuta because you have given years of your tapasya for it. No one gave it to you as a gift. Neither did Narayana, nor Mahalakshmi. You earned it and Narayana simply gave you the fruit of it. You opened your palms and asked for his very blood and flesh. He smiled and offered it to you without hesitation."
I had earned my place as the child of Vishnu. I had earned it.
That was a really powerful feeling. The wave of the emotion was so powerful, that I had no choice except to shed tears. He granted me the gift that so many didn't have. A gift that even the Rishis desire. I had earned my place behind my father.
I closed the book and handed it to him.
"I don't want to read more." I told him.
"Worried what you would see?"
"No. Just decided what I can do about this. I guess my Gurus had long ago given me the path. Almost taking the burden of finding the map for me. I just have to follow the map. It isn't hard to follow that one instruction."
"Which one?"
"Don't ever let go of your father once you have held his hand."
The reply actually made him smile a bit.