Chapter 72அதிகாரம் 72 பயணம் Journey

The one who stood at the seashore saw the shore; the one who walked saw the sea.

In a forest that has never known a path, the way that comes is the track of feet that follow feet.

Before the going, the heart has already gone; afterwards, the feet go looking for reasons.

What comes in a hurry is a house; what stays, without haste or clamour, is a root.

He left the town, but only his body went; his heart never left.

When those who have swum the great open enter a small room, they twist where they stand.

Those who came back are not those who came back; what came back is the sprouting of a seed that died in new soil.

The same people came home, but not the same selves. The Tamil word for the seed, maanda, means both ‘that died’ and ‘that grew great’.

He crossed the sea, he crossed the mountain, and when he saw the doorway he broke.

After roaming every land and spending many days, the foot that knew home knows home.

The Tamil veedu means ‘home’ and also ‘release’, the soul’s final freedom; both uses here can be heard either way.

He had suffered the sun the whole way; at the house, a woman held out water to him without a word.