Ages and ages have gone by since I last posted on August 4th; I have had a near fatal bike accident resulting into scratched arms and an exposed palm; Had my engineering result declared and have had to call up the office 'n' times to 'request' them to correct the printing mistake of my birth-date on the transfer certificate for the 3rd time in my life (all of my last 3 colleges had entered my birth-date as 14th Feb, Why! Valentine and me have no connection what-so-ever! 4th is a good date!); then have had a demanding MBA class schedule with amazing teachers dissipating knowledge not only on Finance, Marketing and HR but also on inter-personal skills, psychology and spirituality; have had a brand new laptop with fingerprint recognition enabling me to now go for the full-monty in forgeting passwords without worrying about them and saving my already pathetic memory from strain! Last but not the least, I have exams from tomorrow; and balance sheets are testing me and my class-mates' abilities to withstand pressure and frustration. In the midst of it all, I decide to come back to something which is my virtual home, something which makes time flow like quick-sand, something known as Livin' Free....
Well, I would have loved to spend that time freely but that would not be feasible and hence, instead of going for the topic I had earlier decided, I will switch to one which would consume less time. Firstly, I write this blog to honour the honesty of Mohammed Shakil Ansari. The bloke returned Rs. 20 lacs worth diamonds in a case of misunderstanding. I appreciate this act and with it the regime in which it has taken place - Gujarat; it is another subtle pointer towards the growth story of Gujarat; such cases would be once in a while in Maharashtra (most of my friends in Pune would agree, I believe!) On one hand, I indeed appreciate the media in bringing out this positive news, but that actually is their job; the fact that incidences of honesty are perceived to be as rare as the media broadcasting positive news, speaks for itself; on the other hand, I am wondering, has honesty indeed become so rare that it gets the attention it has got? or the reward it has earned? The answer can be a mix - Yes/No - depends on the perception and the individual experiences one has had; there is one experience of mine which I relate to this incident - It was late evening in Thane and I was on my bike waiting for one of my friends to get her scooty from the Railway parking. The road leading out of the parking merges into a small lane with a total road width of a normal bus. I revved up my bike as I saw her coming out of the parking and stop beside me, parallel to my bike, effectively blocking half of the road with an intent to talk about something which was unrelated to our next course of action. I insisted we chat at a place which would not hamper traffic and then I started moving. We later had a great argument over this incident which led to how I am not a regular city driver and how such things are "okay" in the city and how I (and all other drivers) should be patient while driving (derived from the true data that I argue quite frequently with pedestrians or other drivers) and not mind pedestrians walking on the road or bikers using the road as a hangout place and how this is "normal" etc etc. She justified her actions by arguing that she would have moved aside had another vehicle come by to which the technician in me responded by saying the driver of that vehicle wont know you would be moving as he/she would again use your "normal" system as a reference effectively slowing his/her vehicle not only increasing efforts and costs but also irking him/herself in the process - no one likes to keep shifting gears and varying speed - no one! We wont obey traffic rules suo moto but want our politicians to understand and effectively deliver on their duties suo moto! Why the bias? There can't be one; in reality, it is the social mirror at work!
Simple question, why in the name of heavens this thinking by her to the event at hand? Have we become so accustomed to imperfection and a flawed system, that we have embraced it as the norm? And now, are we so afraid of perfection that we justify imperfection by using the adjectives like "normal" or the most stupid phrase ever - "Its Okay!" Damn it! It is not okay! This is not normal and neither is it acceptable; It is the reality of its existence which is to be accepted but that does nowhere mean it is to be embraced and compromised with or settled for!
"The minute you settle for less than what you deserved, you get even less that what you settled for"
Maureen Dowd
This is what sets the developed countries apart, don't you think so? For a change, why cant we move the frame of reference from the individual to the outside and think how our actions would negatively affect others? I have a big dislike list for the US ways but such issues, they have dealt with precision and it is worth learning the systems which have been set up in the US when it comes to management in day-to-day life. Similar is the case with honesty; we are so habitual to dishonesty that an honest deed amazes us; we are in awe of the person who has done it and secretly fear it too! I repeat, the person should be appreciated but the deed must not be something alien! Have our value systems declined so much? To the extent that correct values seem as rare as torrential rains in the Sahara? We want to shine like the sun, but then why do we refuse to burn like the sun? We have been attracted to America till the beginning of the 20th century and even now to an extent but then why has America attracted people from the world over? And if America does it, why the hell cant we given that we have a Vedic foundation 'n' times stronger than everything else?!!
"One must not become the System one opposes."
Desmond Tutu
Jai Hind!
Well, I would have loved to spend that time freely but that would not be feasible and hence, instead of going for the topic I had earlier decided, I will switch to one which would consume less time. Firstly, I write this blog to honour the honesty of Mohammed Shakil Ansari. The bloke returned Rs. 20 lacs worth diamonds in a case of misunderstanding. I appreciate this act and with it the regime in which it has taken place - Gujarat; it is another subtle pointer towards the growth story of Gujarat; such cases would be once in a while in Maharashtra (most of my friends in Pune would agree, I believe!) On one hand, I indeed appreciate the media in bringing out this positive news, but that actually is their job; the fact that incidences of honesty are perceived to be as rare as the media broadcasting positive news, speaks for itself; on the other hand, I am wondering, has honesty indeed become so rare that it gets the attention it has got? or the reward it has earned? The answer can be a mix - Yes/No - depends on the perception and the individual experiences one has had; there is one experience of mine which I relate to this incident - It was late evening in Thane and I was on my bike waiting for one of my friends to get her scooty from the Railway parking. The road leading out of the parking merges into a small lane with a total road width of a normal bus. I revved up my bike as I saw her coming out of the parking and stop beside me, parallel to my bike, effectively blocking half of the road with an intent to talk about something which was unrelated to our next course of action. I insisted we chat at a place which would not hamper traffic and then I started moving. We later had a great argument over this incident which led to how I am not a regular city driver and how such things are "okay" in the city and how I (and all other drivers) should be patient while driving (derived from the true data that I argue quite frequently with pedestrians or other drivers) and not mind pedestrians walking on the road or bikers using the road as a hangout place and how this is "normal" etc etc. She justified her actions by arguing that she would have moved aside had another vehicle come by to which the technician in me responded by saying the driver of that vehicle wont know you would be moving as he/she would again use your "normal" system as a reference effectively slowing his/her vehicle not only increasing efforts and costs but also irking him/herself in the process - no one likes to keep shifting gears and varying speed - no one! We wont obey traffic rules suo moto but want our politicians to understand and effectively deliver on their duties suo moto! Why the bias? There can't be one; in reality, it is the social mirror at work!
Simple question, why in the name of heavens this thinking by her to the event at hand? Have we become so accustomed to imperfection and a flawed system, that we have embraced it as the norm? And now, are we so afraid of perfection that we justify imperfection by using the adjectives like "normal" or the most stupid phrase ever - "Its Okay!" Damn it! It is not okay! This is not normal and neither is it acceptable; It is the reality of its existence which is to be accepted but that does nowhere mean it is to be embraced and compromised with or settled for!
"The minute you settle for less than what you deserved, you get even less that what you settled for"
Maureen Dowd
This is what sets the developed countries apart, don't you think so? For a change, why cant we move the frame of reference from the individual to the outside and think how our actions would negatively affect others? I have a big dislike list for the US ways but such issues, they have dealt with precision and it is worth learning the systems which have been set up in the US when it comes to management in day-to-day life. Similar is the case with honesty; we are so habitual to dishonesty that an honest deed amazes us; we are in awe of the person who has done it and secretly fear it too! I repeat, the person should be appreciated but the deed must not be something alien! Have our value systems declined so much? To the extent that correct values seem as rare as torrential rains in the Sahara? We want to shine like the sun, but then why do we refuse to burn like the sun? We have been attracted to America till the beginning of the 20th century and even now to an extent but then why has America attracted people from the world over? And if America does it, why the hell cant we given that we have a Vedic foundation 'n' times stronger than everything else?!!
"One must not become the System one opposes."
Desmond Tutu
A paradigm shift is required; a battle-cry against imperfection is to be issued - that is the need of today. Friends, we deserve a perfect system but to get a perfect system, to get what we truly deserve, we must put in what we are truly capable of! And as Swami Vivekananda says, "Few wise men and women can do in a year what a mob can do in a century" There is nothing to fear in perfection; the right values can be as frequent as the Mumbai Locals! Lighting candles and sporting "I am Anna" caps or shouting slogans is not called lending one's hand to the fight for a better tomorrow! Breeding sensitivity and contributing to perfection is the real deal; and if the true efforts cant be undertaken, we as a society don't deserve a corruption free perfect value system. We deserve to keep cribbing as always and "okay"ing stuff! I know I don't deserve it and so do many more like me and hence my battle continues; "Haven't thought about it so much; you think too deeply - good for you, man; keep it up" I get such comments - some sarcastic, some genuine and some just to please me on my face or shoo me away in an argument (doesn't dampen my spirits!); Friends, The country needs our help much more than those comments! It boils down to the people who matter - us! It boils down to whether we do what is right irrespective we are supported or not; it boils down to whether we embark on this journey towards perfection being helped along the way and helping others as well. There is nothing to fear about in perfection, it is a dream and can be turned into a reality. Lets go turn it !!
Jai Hind!
2 comments:
Qualities like Honesty have not become rare but no of people appreciating it has gone down drastically. So one needs to begin @ the very begining my dear.
Well said son.y
I hope all of clearly perceive that we need to be a part of the change that we long to see.
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