It haunts me time and again, the question - Why was I born ? The fact that the world would be the same with or without me, is agonizingly stimulating. So many are born every day and so many die. What difference does it create to the world on large scale ? None. Birth and death are celebrated and mourned (respectively) only once a year, and that too, only by few loved ones. Is it a sin to be born ?
The idea of salvation says the prime objective of being born is to acquire freedom from the cycle of life and death. Why can't be any other way out ? If God exists, and he loves us, why does he have to put us through this ? If he doesn't, then who is the conniver? Well, these thoughts aren't expected from the unfortunate majority who struggle to make their ends meet. But the well-off minority, why don't they ever ponder about such a fundamental question? Perhaps they're too busy looking for superficial entities, as if they'll live unto eternity.
There are only two ways out of this conundrum, either live like the well-off minority, or aspire to be one of those handful men who have made a difference by their presence. The world today would be something else, had they not existed. But they were among the rarest of rare, & possessed extraordinary qualities, innate or acquired.
Everyone creates a difference in the world but only a very few make significant Impact. And the very few, I think did what they love sincerely... If you do what you love then definitely you'll make a difference... :D
ReplyDeleteI thought we live in our own worlds and we always wonder why we are here. In fact we create the world around us with some hereditary baggage of information. Even the well off minority live their lives, thinking the same questions. How do we explain the flocking of various spiritual ashrams with rich donors.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the people who changed the world or our perceptions of the world just did it for the joy of it. I think they didn't have a placard in their minds keeping them awake to change the world. Creation is such a random thing and moreover the creativity with which we connect the jigsaw to some how make sense and be at peace. It is random in a longer scale. But within this shorter scales ( Space and Time) we ask so many questions.
Its definitely good to do what you love to do, and even better if you get to do that. Then you need not bother about any fundamental question or about making a difference. As long as it makes you happy, why worry where the world goes? You can be happy with your poetry or art and demure about the billions spent in the LHC, which is just fine.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that all people who changed the world or 'our perception' of it, did that for their joy, and neither do I say that they did it for their coronation. Instead, they had a constant fire or indignation, a feeling of uneasiness, about something not being right that fueled their actions. Or else, Gandhi could have been a barrister and Teresa, a nun, jobs they loved.
@ Avi
ReplyDeleteGetting funding for the LHC is a different thing altogether. That's selling ideas! I agree with what you say about the uneasy feeling that something needs to be done to the people. Gandhi felt the need for India and Teresa for the whole humanity. But once they started themselves in their duties, what kept them going. Did they have that constant indignation? I know they had enormous will power. That's what I read in history text books. Did they not love their job after sometime? How did they continue? Did Teresa love to treat Leprosy patients? Or was she doing it as she felt it as a divine duty. Both of them derived their strength from religion. I think somehow they channeled it to the greater good.
Yes they had enormous will power. And it was their dutifulness towards nation/ religion/ society which was their driving potential, rather than love for it. At least thats what I think.
ReplyDeleteI know about one person of Madurai, Mr N Krishnan who everyday feeds mentally challenged people on the streets. He is a chef by training who loves cooking. But he left a decent hotel job and hasn't married yet. People he feeds are mentals, they throw back the food on him, hurt him. Can anyone love this kind of job ? No.
Perhaps he does it like a duty. People like him exist, and though they're far from Gandhi or Teresa, I think they're great.