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magic was quenched. He had no intention of using his new knowledge to impress others; rather, he was now able to warn people not to be deluded as he had been, by magic masquerading in the name of miracles.
Going Beyond
Once a year in Rup's school, there was a program in which each student spent all day blindfolded, starting with the first waking hours before school and ending with the last hour before bedtime at home. Fellow classmates were assigned to assist each other. In this way, the students came to feel firsthand the feeling experienced by blind people each day of their lives. When it was Rup's turn to spend twelve hours in darkness, he came to feel how bleak life was without access to his eyesight.
When he removed the blindfold, he greeted the day with a new joy. Every leaf, every flower, every blade of grass, every face he looked at appeared with an aesthetic touch. He had received a precious gift, fresh perception, which seemed to divinise each thing he saw. He exclaimed, “I can see the world! How fortunate I am!" .
“What are we doing with our eyes?" the teachers reminded the students to ask themselves. “Are we taking them for granted? Are we misusing them?” They were awakened to the dawn of this new awareness each year. They were given these words of a Hindi poet to ponder as well:
"Every night is a wedding, Every morning is a new year!"
Rup felt the wonder of this. He began to experience living as a celebration.
This day I will greet the beautiful sun the minute I wake up.
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