Happy Independence Day, 2016
Independence Day ,2016. 70 years of Independence. A watershed. An era. Time to celebrate. And a time to reflect. What does it mean to us?
As you sit in your room, or your office, or in the car, reading this, ponder over the fact that:
1. Over 21 million people in India are suffering from one or the other kind of disability (http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_A…/disabled_population.aspx
1. Over 21 million people in India are suffering from one or the other kind of disability (http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_A…/disabled_population.aspx
2. 3000 Children Die In India Every Day Due To Malnutrition (http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2015/10/ten-facts-about-hunger/
3. 2000 girls are killed across India every day (http://time.com/…/2000-girls-killed-every-day-india-minist…/
4. 37 % of the Indian population is uneducated (http://scroll.in/…/india-has-more-uneducated-people-than-an…
None of your business? Only the government’s? Wrong. Ponder over the facts and their implications once again:
1. What would happen if your driver met with an accident? Would you be similarly nonchalant if you found no one to drive your car?
2. What would happen if your maid servant’s son or daughter died of malnutrition ? How long would it take for you to get a replacement in case your maid decided to discontinue services, given that domestic help is a highly skilled category these days?
3. All of us were born of a mother. If we respect our mother, then why this disrespect for the girl child?
4. Very simple. As a boss or business owner, would you prefer to employ an uneducated employee for a skilled job?
1. What would happen if your driver met with an accident? Would you be similarly nonchalant if you found no one to drive your car?
2. What would happen if your maid servant’s son or daughter died of malnutrition ? How long would it take for you to get a replacement in case your maid decided to discontinue services, given that domestic help is a highly skilled category these days?
3. All of us were born of a mother. If we respect our mother, then why this disrespect for the girl child?
4. Very simple. As a boss or business owner, would you prefer to employ an uneducated employee for a skilled job?
Society’s ills affect you too, whether you realize it or not.
One might say, it’s all rhetoric, we can’t do anything; I would say the opposite- only we can do something. Americans or Pakistanis or Chinese will not come and do it for us- we only have to improve our country, by ensuring that we elect proper governments, respect women, do something for the disadvantaged and disempowered. We are not too busy for Facebook or WhatsApp or Teleserials or even backbiting about our friends ,neighbours and colleagues, then why are we too busy to do things that matter?
One might say, it’s all rhetoric, we can’t do anything; I would say the opposite- only we can do something. Americans or Pakistanis or Chinese will not come and do it for us- we only have to improve our country, by ensuring that we elect proper governments, respect women, do something for the disadvantaged and disempowered. We are not too busy for Facebook or WhatsApp or Teleserials or even backbiting about our friends ,neighbours and colleagues, then why are we too busy to do things that matter?
I find my fulfilment by engaging with the local Cheshire Home , and sure as hell, I get huge lessons in resilience and happiness in being with kids who have lost everything but their cheerfulness , dignity and determination to live life to the fullest. Vicky, the kid I have taken responsibility for, has lost his arm but not his loving attitude. Samira hops about on a wheelchair but never gives up on her smile. Sangita’s parents are dirt poor but that doesn’t make the kid any less happy than any other kid around us. I thought I was helping these kids, but actually I learn more from them than they can ever hope to learn from me.
You will find fulfillment if you know where to look. Cursing society's problems is passe, doing something is the need of the hour.
And people are sitting up and doing things. CSR initiatives have increased , more people are taking part in social welfare activities. Some examples:
1. Teach India campaign by Times of India ( I have a friend who gave up a lucrative job in Delhi to be associated part-time with this campaign)
2. Back to School by Surf Excel
3. The Bloodline Club, A Tata Docomo Initiative
There are many others, too numerous to enumerate.
1. Teach India campaign by Times of India ( I have a friend who gave up a lucrative job in Delhi to be associated part-time with this campaign)
2. Back to School by Surf Excel
3. The Bloodline Club, A Tata Docomo Initiative
There are many others, too numerous to enumerate.
I do not agree with everything that Gandhiji said or did, but I love his quotation which says, “To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
People do all kind of rituals for God - why not do some rituals for humans also ? We are not solitary human beings, and it is in engaging with others that we become true human beings. You can find your pleasure if you know where to look. It’s you who will actually gain, more than the other. I will call it the “Karma credit. “ Your work, i.e. Karma, in the form of helping or appreciating others will earn your credits in the form of respect and good behavior / help from others.
I tried the karma credit concept on the guy who cleans my car, and it worked. My sincere guidance and facilitation to him when his wife was ill ( having hopped from doctor to doctor) , saving him hard-earned money , has led to the fact that he now saves my money and the other day, he repaired the car AC rather than take it to the workshop and incur extra expenses. On a bad day when the car tyres went flat, he went out of the way trying to get things repaired, forsaking his other duties.
It is the truth of life that what we give out, comes back to us. And so said Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, "Forget not that the grossest crime is to compromise with injustice and wrong. Remember the eternal law: you must give, if you want to get.
Jai Hind and happy 70 years of Independence. India is a beautiful idea. Keep it going with your love , concern and faith in your countrymen.
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