A Miser's Mite

A popular adage says, it is easier to wake up a sleeping person rather than the one who pretends to be asleep. The wake-up call for the Indian subcontinent was sounded sixty years ago, when the leaders of the nascent nation and all those who mattered in the political arena declared her to be a republic, ruled by the people. It is not easy to find how far the nation has truly become republic, taking into consideration the feelings and sentiments of all peoples; for a country like India, with hundreds of cultural traditions, languages, rites, rituals, customs and ethnicities, it is hardly possible to apply a uniform rule for them all.

The largest democracy in the world has much to offer to the world at large, and the world fraternity of nations sees a point in her unique position. It is difficult to find a country in the world, which has so diverse and unique cultural traditions and languages as India. In fact, it is proper to say that India is a federation of nations, just as the United States is. Each of India’s states could be larger in size and population than many of the European countries, and yet poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and underdevelopment plague the nation as a whole.

What has the nation achieved over the sixty years, since it was declared a republic? Has the country realized some of the great dreams and ideals that the freedom-fighters and countless martyrs envisaged in 1950? If the country has not achieved the basic level of satisfaction, what are the causes and what has been done to remedy the blocks and obstacles? There are more questions today than there are answers as one looks at this emerging super-power! No wonder, India had been basking on past glory, the ancient civilization, multiplicity of cultures and religions, and had not concentrated on some of the basic problems existing still today. After the independence in 1947, the nation had given birth to a class of people who made use of ignorance and illiteracy for their benefits, and unfortunately the nation is a pawn in their hands even today.

There have been so many Five-year plans declared and huge amount of money had been pumped to remedy the crying needs of the people. India has the resources, which can even feed the whole world, but a large amount of the Indian resources are locked up in banks outside the country, especially in Swiss banks, and in investments outside the country. We had known only one Mittal (a proud Kolkata Xaverian), who had pitched his tent in Luxembourg, to rule over the largest steel manufacturing unit in the world; but there are many who had been quietly going about in Europe, selling the nation to the highest bidders, in the name of bringing foreign investments and exchange. We may never come to know about them, but it is good for us to know that there is a big hole in our purse.

Abraham Lincoln is famed to have said, ask not what the country has done to you, ask what you have done to the country, and it is time that every literate and conscientious Indian ask himself/herself, what s/he has contributed to the growth of this republic! What we need today is not great leaders, who can show the way; we need public opinion, which can build bridges between the rural and the urban, between the literates and the illiterates, between the poor and the rich, between the haves and the have-nots. It does not cost a lot to become part of a nation-building; it is primarily a matter of attitude, which may lead to realistic action. If every Indian thinks at least on this day for the nation, what s/he has to offer to the nation, India can truly be proud to be a ‘great tradition’.

Mutual Giving

I have great regards and admiration for the people who want to make the most of the years at their disposal. Quality living is a big question mark, when the world battles with all odds to gain a few more years added to our life span. But we need to ask ourselves, is adding a few more years with the help of artificial means going to help us realize the worth of this life? Are we not in many ways the replica of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, who floundered his whole life in acquiring all known knowledge, and was on his knees before Satan, pleading for a few more years, months, weeks, days, hours or minutes. If Doctor Faustus failed to receive reprieve, so it may happen in our case too.

To make hay while the sun shines, is not merely a proverb that has no relevance to our times. A few days ago, a friend of mine brought this point to my attention when she said, we can't afford to be bogged down by trivialities, but will have to look beyond the horizon, to make the best of our situations and times. Our life span is carved into our hearts, and there is no physical mechanism to stop aging. It is said that only in the case of film stars, age does not catch up with them (or at least that is what they think!). A journalist has asked an actress, you said you were nineteen two years ago, and say the same even after two years! She smiles, I am not the kind of person who changes her words!

Fortunately most of us are quite aware of our own limitations, and do not expect to achieve the impossible, and our expectations from life are quite reasonable. On an average, we are capable of giving only about half of our life span for quality work - real contribution to the world. Is it possible for us to carve a niche for ourselves in the annals of world history? Or is it really necessary for each one of us to leave behind a legacy that the world will care to safeguard? Legacies are formed on the basis of what we want to give to the world, rather than robbing from the world's treasuries things that will benefit only me and my concerns.

Often I am reminded of what is often quoted, even out of context, from one of the sayings of Abraham Lincoln, Ask not what the nation has done for you, but ask what you have done for the nation. The same quote could be rephrased as, ask not what the world/life has offered to you, but ask what you have offered to the world. In fact, the world heritage that we cherish today is the fruit of the labor of several thousands of men and women, who had given freely what they had so that the future generations may have happiness in full. But the beauty of life is that if returns to the giver manifold of what is given, and one is filled beyond all limits. We are called to this mutual sharing of what we are and what we have.

Today I would like to pause for a while and consider what I have given to the world from the moment I was up from bed. Let me enlist all that I have done which could benefit the world; it may be a hug to my spouse, a kiss to my child, a smile to my neighbor, a kind gesture to the aging parents, a kind word to an ailing relative, a sympathetic look at the beggar on the road. In other words, there are much more important things in life, which I can offer to the world than my money and riches. Perhaps it is easy for me to throw a few coins to a beggar, and may cost me a lot to stand and look at him sympathetically, even when I have nothing to offer. If I begin to give without counting the cost, then I will know that I am going to receive in turn manifold riches, that can fill the whole world!