'What lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us,' said Oliver Wendell
Holmes.
I strongly believe that unless we value the values which are within us we shall
go on the path of decay and decadence. To prove my point let me begin by giving
examples from modern times.
More than two decades ago a gawky young Hyderabadi went to England to represent
his country in test cricket. He scored not one, not two but three centuries on
debut and conquered the conquerors in their own land. Yes, you have guessed it
right – Mohammed Azharuddin. His wristy genius and incredible knowledge of the
nuances of the game of cricket made him one of the greatest achievers of his
generation. What he couldn’t have imagined even in the wildest of dreams was all
his. He practically had the world at his feet. But then, he made one blunder. In
his lust for more he forgot the difference between the right and wrong and his
world came crashing down. Today his name is an anathema. Those who swore by him,
now swear at him.
Now-a-days we have many instances of kids from rich homes indulging in every
imaginable crime because they probably don’t know what to do with their time.
Even slight provocations like refusal of a drink, camaraderie which doesn’t suit
can lead to young lives being snuffed out in the most brutal manner possible.
I’m talking about Manoj Sharma and Vikas Yadav whose fragile male ego and
protection of parents who were stinking rich gave them the license to kill. Then
there is the case of poor little Rahul Mahajan, the depressed and lonely son of
Pramod Mahajan. The death of his father so shattered Rahul baba that he had no
other option but to use 500 rupee notes to snort cocaine. In the process if his
friend got annihilated so what? That was a small price to pay for dissipating
the moody blues which Rahul baba was suffering from. Salman Khan is another
example of how Page 3 goondaism is now becoming fashionable. Killing a chinkara
here, a few pavement dwellers there and roughing up his fellow actors seems to
have added to his charisma and popularity.
The rave parties in Pune where young boys and girls were caught doing drugs and
lots more, the intellectual giants in St. Stephen’s who under the influence of
alcohol badly scarred their junior and the scions of the rich and famous I have
already mentioned epitomize the decay that is all pervasive among the wealthy
today.
We have numerous examples of politicians, bureaucrats, scientists and research
scholars who have amassed wealth. But this wealth instead of giving them
satisfaction has resulted in moral decay making them lust for more.
I feel we as a society have forsaken all the values which our part of our
glorious culture and heritage. Earlier a person who sacrificed was a considered
a big man to be respected and revered. But in the present times of corporate
takeovers the person who accumulates is the modern messiah and his simple mantra
is that the end is important, not the means. In the age of sabse bada rupaiah
and apna sapna money, money, greed rocks. Naturally values get the short
shrift.
Among the rich today new mores have become fashionable – values inspired by the
richest and greedy.
“Knowledge enables a man to realize that he is the soul with a body. Now, in his
ignorance he thinks that he is a body with a soul,” said the great poet and
philosopher – Emerson.
We have to go back to our values
and our ethos. We have to imbibe the credo of sharing and caring not hoarding
and hogging. We have to go back to the realization that we are bodies with
souls.
Radhakrishnan once said, “We have learnt to race in the waters, we have learnt
to fly in the air but alas we have not yet learnt to walk on this earth.”
Dear readers instead hoarding wealth let us aggregate values, instead of running
after lucre let us pursue wisdom. Then and only then shall be we be able to
truly walk on the earth with peace in our minds, love in our hearts and dignity
in our souls.
October 27, 2007
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