Sluggish Slave

I heard a sad story about one of our domestic staff, who has been temporarily entrusted with the job of a receptionist and phone attendant. Looking at him, any one would think that he should be either an alcoholic or a drug addict. Such is the look, and yet one would notice him attending the Holy Mass at six o’clock in the morning. Is he excessively pious, just to impress the Fathers and Brothers? I would not think so, because for a man in his forties, such a thing might not occur in the mind. But what I heard from the Brother in charge of him made me think about what this man could be heading towards. To begin with, he is living alone presently, and was married some years ago, and his wife deserted him unable to cope with his temperaments and behavioral pattern, and now he is earning a living here in our house and is managing life by himself. But what could be wrong with him?

One of the reasons for the breakdown of his marriage is probably because he is an alcoholic, who would spend most of his earnings in alcohol, and now that there is no one who would control him, and say not to his drinking habits, he is quite happy. When the Brother in charge refused to give him all the money from his wages, and withheld five hundred rupees for saving, he was not much enthused. He had spent all the money he received at the beginning of the month, and in two weeks be approached the Brother asking for an advance from his wages. It is impossible for drunkards to organize their lives, and think of saving something for future. He lives every day and does not care to think about tomorrow, and if some emergency were to take place, he might be driven to the streets, and there is no doubt about it. Anyone who tries to help him put an order in his life is looked upon as an unwanted intrusion, and in such a situation, his future is bleak.

The gentleman should be happy to get a job, where at least he is sure to get his three meals assured, and if he would behave well, he might get employed on a more serious basis, and may even be taken as a contract employee and therefore might get additional benefits. But who would make him understand that he is only lucky to come to our house and work under the watchful but helpful care of Brother. If there was someone else, he would have been only too happy about the job, however mean and insignificant that is. One of his tendencies which annoy the people, who are responsible for him, is his constant attempt to threaten them that he would not continue in the job too long; poor man, he does not realize that there are other people who are ready to take his job, even if it is only for a few days. Ultimately he would be the one who would suffer due to his stupidity.

Opportunities knock at our doors but only once; now that this gentleman had been threatening us of stopping coming for work, from tomorrow someone else has been arranged, and the Brother in charge is going to tell him not to come for work for the next 10 days, which means there is no guarantee that he would get a job somewhere else where he could earn enough money to have his three meals a day. But that is what is so very typical of drunkards, who only look at the immediate future and fail to see what is ahead of them. If only he was level-headed he would make compromises with the Brother in charge to retain the job, and once he is comfortable with it, he could have pleaded with them to provide him with additional facilities. No one can predict what the slaves of alcoholism would do next, and that is why his life is being drifted each day, and for how long it would continue, no one can say.

He is one who refuses to learn from life; the very fact that his wife could not live with him is ample proof that he needed to do something to keep his marriage intact; instead he is blissfully happy with his life alone, and does not even bother to get her back. Perhaps if his wife had been with him, there are chances that she might be able to turn his mind to something else, and slowly bring him back to his consciousness. The love and affection of women has immense potentiality to change even the hardest of nuts among men; however it would be impossible for women to take risk on their lives and come forward to live with such men, who may not even care to feed them once a day. I feel sad for him, and for his wife (if she is still waiting for him to turn a new leaf and invite her back home), but what could I do, but only wish he stops his alcoholism and take life seriously.

Joy of Being

While watching a nine-minute long video of Nick Vijicic talking about what he has got, instead of being worried about what he did not have, I realized that he was touching upon something which is the root cause of all the evils in the world. With no hands and no legs, Nick is 23, and still growing strong, and goes around the world motivating people. Not having legs and hands did not deter him from venturing into areas which are unthinkable for such a person. He plays polo, swims, goes for skiing, and engages in real-estate business. He does all these without depending on the legs and hands he does not have. Wow, I said to myself!

If Nick is able to achieve so much in life, he attributed the success in life to three simple principles: perspective, vision and choices! His life is an illustration of how he turned the perspective of life topsy-turvy in order cultivate an habit of focusing his attention to what he could do, instead of what he could not. I am worried about what I do not have, and therefore make frantic attempts to get the objects of my desire, and in the process may not even bother about how this could affect others, either positively or negatively; my sole aim is to get what I do not have! I fail to notice the numerous things which have potentiality to produce some of the most noteworthy things… but I am obsessed with what I do not have.

In the recent days, I am becoming more and more aware that no one on this beautiful earth is poor enough that he/she has to look for something more to lead a happy and contended life. Not even the worst of beggars need anything more for happy life. It is only when I tell myself that my happiness is in HAVING something, that I begin to feel sad for not having it. In other words, if I link my happiness to having a thing, or a person close to me, or adulations and admirations, then when I do not get them, I am bound to be drowned in unhappiness. But there is yet another level where we could be always happy, by being content with my BEING, with all that it implies: the good health I enjoy, the still pure air I breathe, my sensitivity to colors, taste, touch, to name a few.

If there is evil in the world, it is because we have not learned to be happy with what we have, what we are; our mind is obsessed with accumulating more and more, without realizing that each of us have enough and more to survive perhaps at least two life-time. If I tell that I shall be happy with what I have, then I shall not need to cheat or rob others; I will not need to tell lies, I shall not need to kill others to take their properties. Nick had understood the significance of this truth, through hard way, and he knows he is talking about of hard facts which stared in front of his eyes. Once we realize that our happiness is not in having more things, but in enjoying our being, then we begin to live.

The human body, mind and spirit have enough potential to destroy the whole world entirely, or recreate it altogether. It is not merely the physical or mental or psychic power I am talking about, but also a spiritual power which can fuel the world to better the life we live. Today when I have a desire to have something more than what I already have, I shall convince my inner self that I will be happy with what I have, and therefore shall not look for anything more. I hope one day I shall get into the habit of foregoing the fabulous things that the world offers, and find delight and happiness in the little things that I have and treasure. Link for YouTube video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bL3GR4iAW0

Mother and Molester

Of all the Hindu deities, the one to whom I have a special love and admiration is Kali, whose festival we celebrated yesterday. Perhaps it is only in West Bengal that Kali is revered and worshiped as a Mother, following the example of Sri Ramkrishna Paramahamsa and Ramprasad Sen, both of whom had popularized devotion to her. They had “domesticated” the ferocious goddess into a Mother, and the songs of Ramprasad, known as Prasadika, depict the tender love that a devotee has for her, and at times the relationship goes to such an extent that the poet-singer even teases the Mother, asking her to get dressed!

Some years ago I had come across some feminist movements who had found in Kali an embodiment of freedom of the feminine; she dared to do something that our women can never think of; to oppose the evil-minded demon Raktabija, she did not hesitate to drink every drop of blood that came out of the demon, so that the drops did not clone into demons, to fight against the angry face of goddess Durga, which rose as Kali. The sacred text of Devi Mahatmyam has the myths associated with Kali, who can be considered a champion of injustice, and evil forces in society. We celebrate the power of the feminine, which gives life to the world even today.

But let me share an insight from Ramprasad’s songs on Shyama, another name for Kali. He had found in her the embodiment of all his desires and wishes, and therefore he takes liberty to pour out his heart to her. Many of his songs also deal with the plight of the powerless, voiceless and exploited masses, who could take shelter only in the protective arms of the mother. He also presents the kind of world these people live, groping in darkness. She is their only source of consolation, their advocate, their spokesperson. It is time that we wake up the Mothers in our society, who would stand up to speak for the voiceless.

During the last week, I had come across a wide range of feminine figures, who represented different categories of people. I dare not name them, but some of them, and their actions have disturbed me. Sometimes the feminine power and privilege is misused in order to carve a niche for themselves, while stamping on the persons they love. Kali stands on the body of her husband Shiva, who had thrown himself under her feet, in order to stop her rampage, killing all the people she found after winning over Raktabija, and garlanding their skulls. I think of several men, some of them at least innocent, who are mere victims of the ferociousness of women, which may go overboard.

Women have immense potentiality, and no wonder then Kali is often referred to as Shakti, and tantrism is often a means of entering into the limitless power of divine. But this power and potentiality can also be used to subdue the innocent and guileless, and thus create chaos and disorder in life, which is what Kali is often associated with, along with her consort Shiva. Her disheveled hair, reddish tongue dripping blood, almost naked body, are symbolic of the chaos she could cause. The world is in need of the limitless feminine potentiality to charge the world, and overthrow the evil forces, but the same power is also required to give safe haven to the innocent, the last, the least and the lost!

Never-Loser!

I don't much believe when people say that healthy competition can bring the best out of people! I don't really think any competition can be healthy, because of the simple fact that human beings cannot easily tolerate others when it comes to a race. When you announce a wonderful prize, even the lame would think of joining the race, and if people want to win by all means, then they will not bother about the means they choose to achieve their goal. It might become a matter of life and death, and where is the scope for friendly competition, and getting the best out of people. In fact, competition may be the occasion when not only the best, but the worst may also surface.

It always happens on the road. When I am on the road on a motorbike, and see a stranger speeding and passing by me, I am hurt, and I turn the gear spontaneously with the hope of throwing this stranger behind me; there is a silent competition, and I cannot let the stranger ride his bike faster than me. Unconsciously I feel I am a loser in comparison to this stranger, who is a completely new person and whom I will never meet in life! But on the road, you cannot talk about healthy competition. If someone is going to over take me in speed, it is shame on me, and I have to show that person I can ride the bike faster than him. The joke is that that person may not even be aware that I felt threatened and wanted to over take him!

The fact is, it happens all around us. Not only on the road. When I go for a walk in the evening at the nearby park, I often would like to make sure that no one overtakes me, that I am faster than all the others. When there is a smart looking youngster over takes me, I feel terrible. I chase my feet, at times even putting undue pressure on the poor legs. Wherever and whenever there is a competition, I would like be the winner, whether I am qualified to even take part in it. There is an in-built mechanism in me to win all the time, irrespective of the field of specialization or the occasion. Does the notion of healthy competition ever occur to me? I really don't remember that happening in real life situation.

But I cannot allow myself to enter into uninvited competition in all the places at all time; that would only lead me crazy. I cannot stop getting into the road, lest someone overtakes me; nor could I stop going for my customary evening walk. I have felt a way of handling this situation and it is quite simple. Before I get into my motorbike, I tell myself that I am not the best rider on earth, and instead of entering into an uninvited ad hoc competition, I would acknowledge that I am not going to compete with anyone, not even with myself. I don't really care if someone wants to show off that he/she can rider better than me, faster than me! It really does not matter to me. If I really mean these words, then there are possibilities that I may return home sane and safe.

There is a secret way how I can always win in a competition - it is for me to determine if I win or lose. The magic mantra is this : I deliberately and consciously decide to be out of competition. I am not going to prove to anyone (least of all to myself) that I am better than all the rest. I am aware of what I am, and am satisfied with my performance in the past and in the present. I am happy with my credentials, and need no more, especially from the once-in-a-life-time strangers. This sort of self-talk can take me a long way in reaching the full potentiality I am truly capable of.

Dreams that Matter

I have a dream, a song to sing... the song that had won the hearts of millions had also caught my attention. What ever the dreams meant to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and his companion Carl Jung, we know that it is the dreams that sustain our hope for a better tomorrow. But how often we come across people who have no dreams. They are half-dead; even while living, they are like somnambulists, sleep-walkers. But there is yet another category of people whose dreams are throttled at a very young age, or those whose dreams are stolen... those who wish to dream and are only too scared to, because they may not be able to bear the consequences, were their dreams come true. Even to dream of a better future is controlled by the whims and fancies of a select few, even in our own society.

If there is one malady that the world is going through today, it is the lack of dreams... we are so used to the kind of life that we are presented on a platter, that we are more than happy with the things around us, and want no more. A new form of complacency and mediocrity has set into the modern living. One of the greatest tragedies which could sound the deathknell of humanity surely is the lack of dreamers.... When I talk of dreamers, I don't necessarily think of great stalwarts as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela. That was one kind of dreamers who were instrumental in transforming the face of the earth. But we need dreamers who would transform not necessarily the world around, but the small society I live in.

Dreamers are in fact role models that the present world is craving for; role models in all walks of life... hero/heroine worship had been so rampant in our country that we would take so seriously the reel-life heros and heroines, not realising that it was their profession and not way of life. On the other hand the society had been blind and deaf to the real heros and heroines, who had lived and died quietly, without making any noise, and their spirit may live in a handful of men and women whom they were able to touch within the short span of their lives. It is only those who have dream for the world, will be able to stand as a role model... sharing the dream of others is only one way of shaping the world, but it has to evolve from meeting of dreams, not merely adopting another's dream.

Unfortunately at no time of our education in schools and colleges are we taught to dream; what to dream, how to dream, when to dream... these are the questions that are not taken up during our growth period. I am surprised that there are no business schools which have begun courses in dreaming big; who knows it may be a reality very soon. But no one can deny the fact that those who fail to dream are stuck up on the midway, and may remain there all their lives. During my younger days, I used to see my elder brother writing on every notebooks with bold letters "THINK BIG"; but I think I had begun to think bigger than him, after about two scores years.

Dreaming big is nothing that takes us away from the reality we live in; rather it takes us close to the potentiality we are capable of. If I am a tree which can bear ten tonnes of fruits, I should be able to bear all those fruits, and should not be content with producing only five tonnes. That is what dreams do in our lives... pushing us inch by inch towards the full potentiality of what we truly are... And the glory of God is man/woman fully alive... Saint Augustine is credited to have said this, and in our own terms, we would rephrase it as, the glory of God is in human persons reaching their full potentiality. To put in spiritual terms, God is glorified when a human person reaches his/her full potentiality, for the maker knows that the purpose of making this person is greately fulfilled, and that can be the great joy both for the maker and the made.