FRIENDS

There’s a saying: “Good friends are like stars….. You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.” And it is also true that if some people calling themselves friends feel that only seeing, meeting and talking and proving is the lifeline of friendship, then it is no more than a formal, pre-defined, conditional relationship.

In the same vein, I would say people who form the chain of the formal, pre-defined, conditional relationship are like people interested in watching Television News Channels. They only want to get the news first, but really not interested in doing anything with it.

For example suppose you are alone in the city and meet with an accident. You make calls to people you know to inform about your ordeal. A true friend will not ask a second question after he gets the news and will immediately reach out to you at the earliest. Whereas if it is not the case, there will be a hundred questions poured on you including when and at what time it happened, why did you not inform earlier and finally end up with a statement like “take care and keep me abreast with your progress”.

Friendship is like the “SUN”. It is always there at the same position giving the same warmth to us. If at all we see day, night and global warming in our friendship, it is only because we are not static and keep depleting the good atmosphere around us. It is no use blaming the sun for that.

THE WORLD HAS ENOUGH TO FULFILL ALL OUR NEEDS BUT NOT OUR GREED

These are the words of the “Father of our nation”, Sri Mahatma Gandhi. I am sorry that I have to be very elaborate in introducing him because just a few days back in a TV News Channel during the debate on acquiring the memorabilia of Mahatma Gandhi, I heard a youngster telling that people of today don’t remember Mahatma Gandhi anymore.

Coming back to his above utterings, isn’t it more evident now than ever that because of our greed we have not only destroyed our today (courtesy the Global Meltdown) but also our tomorrow by warming the Globe much beyond the levels where it can keep our future cosy.

It is really ironical to note that if we all lived a life just trying to fulfill our needs there would have been enough and more left for the future generation we have procreated. On the other hand we are working overtime to fulfill our greed in the pretext that we are doing it all for our children, ultimately not leaving a place for them even to survive and live their life.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT THE COST OF NOBILITY

It would not require a deep introspection to realize that we Indians have paid for this Roller-coaster ride of economic development with our nobility, tradition and whatever little national Interest and governance we had in our democracy.

Today a majority of people feel that everything of their interest can be bought with money or rather put it this way that they are only interested in things that can be bought with money. Things like family values, love, affection and selflessness which cannot be bought with money or may not get the true stuff with money have been sold off as consideration for economic independence and development.

This is one reason a part of the country population is so badly affected by the Global economic slowdown that they require psychiatric and counseling help to come to terms with the situation. This category of people feel suffocated and cannot even breath on their own without money and luxury. But the country is still afloat despite the Global meltdown is because there are still a good lot of people who know to live in an underdeveloped economy with the help of strong family values, traditions, nobility and discipline in life.

The second group is fast becoming extinct and it is strongly recommended to save that species if we are to prevent India and its future a history to our children.

CLEANING THE INNER ENVIRONMENT

This concept is not my original but borrowed from “Swahilya”, an authority when it comes to understanding our inner environment and maintaining it clean.

But introspection into this concept really gave enormous food for thought on how important a pollution-free inner self is to feel and understand the pollution in the outer environment and the necessity to keep it clean. For example if you wear a lens full of dust, you will naturally feel the whole environment around you hazy and you would not know the difference between the clean and dirty or say the “right” and the “wrong” in a hazy atmosphere.

Similarly only if we keep our home and family environment clean, healthy and noble, we shall realize the lack of cleanliness, good health and nobility pervading the society. On the other hand if the atmosphere in the home itself is unclean, then the lack of it in the society will not hurt us at all