The most important words for me are those that I speak to
myself. ‘I can try to know’, ‘I can try to think’, ‘I can try to explore’, ‘I
can try to do’ or ‘I can try to express’ are only a few of the commitments that
I can make to myself. I can make a few of such commitments only on the basis of
the physical abilities, I have acquired from the nature without asking for it.
Whether I can really know or understand, I can do or
accomplish or I can correctly explain, communicate or express anything; I do
not know. All I know is that I can continue living for some unknown period of
time on best effort basis.
I have learned that one has a fair amount of control over
what one may try to know, what to think about, what to do or accomplish, or
what one may try to express. I have also learned that on many fronts, we can
and must make collective efforts also.
We are human beings living on the planet earth. We are not some
kinds of Gods and Goddesses living in some paradise that can raise their hand
and say, “I will” or “So be it”.
I was taught early in my life, “Act as a Roman while in Rome”.
Later, I learned, ‘act like a human being while on this earth’. Statements like
the ones, ‘I can know’, ‘I know’, ‘I can teach’, ‘I can lead’, ‘I can manage’, ‘I
can accomplish’, ‘I can explore’, ‘I can know what is right’, ‘I can change things’
and ‘I can succeed’ etc., are a little too far-fetched; they can only have a
limited utility of inspiring weaker minds. Courageous people with strong minds
can do without them; with an added advantage of curtailing their egos, knowing
full well that the human ego is one’s worst enemy. The human ego kills the
thoughts of all that is right and essential about ‘collective efforts’ even
before their inception.
Any efforts to make the God a party to one’s ego by
making loud announcements about the overriding powers of the God does not help;
it only demonstrates a strange aspect of human ego; that is of its convenient marriage
with human timidity.
It is impossible to lead a meaningful life without internalizing
the essence of two passwords that are frequently used; the first is ‘humility’
and the second is ‘courage’.
PROMOD KUMAR SHARMA
[The writer of this blog is also the author of “Mahatma A
Scientist of the Intuitively Obvious” and “In Search of Our Wonderful Words”.]
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