In my childhood I used to cry thinking I won’t be able to compete with the rich fellow mates of my class and cursed by grandpa for not being able to nourish me in an elite family. My grandpa always smiled at this stupid desire of mine. One day he taught me something that left a permanent imprint on my mind. He said, “Why do you always compare yourself with the better-offs?” He added, “Always thank God that He has shaped you in a perfect way, that you are not physically or mentally impaired.” I was convinced and the shabby images of poor crying children on the by-lanes of the filthy parts of the city appeared in my inner eyes. I never cursed grandpa since then. Now I often preach this axiom to my friends and students, but I fail to convince them. Either I have poor influencing skills or they are too mature, recent worldly products to accept it.
Do you know why are we dissatisfied souls? It’s because our demands and needs accumulate more quickly than our wealth and wisdom. Sheer materialism enters into our body like a poisonous serpent, pollutes it and then transforms our souls.
In our childhood we cry when we don’t get a lollypop or a balloon. But the moment the lollypop or the balloon is in front of us we become the happiest persons in the world. In our adulthood we cry when we can’t purchase a flat. But the moment the flat is in front of us we want a car. Then the new, fashionable car generates the urge of having something else, something bigger, and the vicious cycle continues…
Do you know why we fail to retain a relationship? It’s because we want more importance than the person at the other end; we want our things to be heard at, we want our priorities to get accomplished, and gradually without even knowing, we start imposing our demands on someone who we think we love the most. Again, the person at the other end also repeats the same set of things. Eventually, demand clashes with demand, priority with priority, and finally emotion with emotion. Demand supersedes over demand, priority over priority, and emotion over emotion. When our demand, priority and emotion supersede we are gratified; our friends congratulate that at last our 'unconditional' love has changed the mind of the person. When our demand, priority and emotion are superseded; our friends nullify our efforts, and we immediately get ready to create and flesh out stronger demands, priority and emotion to win the next time. When we fail repeatedly we start hating. People (and also we) think that our love has changed to hatred. But it was neither love nor hatred for the person at the other end; it is love and hatred for our own. The philosophy of “possessive individualism” dominates too much and it gradually destroys us.
I know you will say I have uttered bullshits and at times repeated the old, simple truths which are no longer acceptable in today’s world of ‘Social Darwinism’. But if it’s ‘old’, ‘simple’ and ‘true’ (bearing all the traits of a sage) why can’t we take it? You will ask me to stop now and think that I am drunk. But I am not. Still, let me stop; the piece (if at all) has lost its track much earlier. I should stop now as I would not edit it to make it consistent. Let it be my…let’s say ‘inconsistency unedited.’
(Note: Someone has said, "inconsistency is the simple awareness of the world of stark contradictions.")
9th May 2011, Monday
12.40 pm
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