You must believe that each moment is a gift from God, writes HARISH BARTHWAl
To whatever degree one partakes of sessions of fun, frolic and celebrations or shuns all of these during festive celebrations of any description, any grudge or demur against others indulging in festivities is unwarranted and likely to unsettle one’s rhythm of life. After all, posing as welcome respite from self-same diurnal routine, the exhilarating moments of celebration bring in fresh vibes.
Apropos of the popular buoyant song of yesteryears, “Tum na gumsum raho, na aahein bharo, baat samjha karo, arre samjha karo.” life, as Osho said, has to be a celebration, it is not meant to live brooding with heads down, exuding depressive, negative ripples around. That is not what nature wants.
With lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Basant Panchami just past, to be followed by Ugadi or Yugadi in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Baisakhi in Punjab, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Navreh in Kashmir, Bohag Bihu in Assam and Cheti Chand among Sindhis, the occasions to celebrate are lined up to keep the lamp of hope and optimism ablaze. It is a healthy sign and lack of it, a matter of concern. Welcoming the moments of celebration means abiding faith in mankind, and whatever the future holds for us.
Unlike in the West, Indian festivals are more in tune with planetary movements, the underlying belief being that the ethos and pathos of human beings are interlinked with cosmos of which they are an integral part. Thus, based on lunisolar calendar, Indian festivals mostly revolve round the farming operations of ploughing, seeding or harvesting.
The other aspects of festivals are unifying people of a community together by a common platform, strengthening cultural traditions and dissolution of differences, something direly needed today. Through sharing, absolute involvement in community gathering tends to shed the narrow sectarian interests. The trend of living in isolated shells, at most concerned with spouse and children, is a leading cause of formidable mental problems rising phenomenally.
The problem is particularly grave with our youth who are getting mentally sick by the day as they steer clear of cultural activities. It is not uncommon among urban people to earmark an exclusive room for a five-year kid to spend most of his time there, a separate bedroom too.
Community celebrations imbue a sense of belonging and promote solidarity, something crucial to human fulfillment. If we don’t create an environment for children to rejoice community celebration, they are more likely to succumb to the tempting social media, creating their own ivory towers. Debarring children from sharing in the community makes them unsocial and selfish.
No surprise, children who grow up in such ambience consider committing suicide when no relief appears. By openly speaking to others apprehensions are allayed, stress bursts and one emerges as a better, more confidant being, better equipped to cope with daily struggles.
Sitting, dining or dancing together allows no room for ego or sham, something plaguing our social life and political scenario. So, if there are no festivals, birthdays, weddings or anniversaries around, occasions to celebrate have to be created in the interest of good living. Coming together with a shared vision has the advantage of coming into being of what Napoleon Hill referred to as “a collective mind”, the outcome of which is far in excess of the sum total of individual units, as in a battery the net power achieved is more than the addition of two or more cells.
However, our perception of joyous occasions must not remain confined to exchange of written, verbal or e-wishes for prosperity, gifts, new purchases, partying and outings. In line with birth, marriage or other anniversaries, such milestones each year must spell novelty and help people evolve into better, more purposeful beings.
The fact that an average human brain houses 12 billion-plus neurons and each of them are capable to have interactions with 25,000 other neurons implies that man has a role beyond the care of one’s living and comfort zone. Animals of lower order, including lizards, frogs, and cockroaches, also do that with as much ease and dexterity.
Nature has endowed such enormous potential to man, indeed more than the world’s most sophisticated mainframe computer so that he serves the larger purpose in keeping with the design ordained for him. The distinct role expectation from each human being is further borne out by the uniqueness of imprints of our fingers or eyeballs.
The evolutionary instinct of man enables him to transform his being into a superior one. The less we use our physical body parts or our mental faculties, the more they are likely to be rendered inefficient, dysfunctional, redundant and eventually defunct.
It is opportune, therefore, to review whether one is contributing to some noble cause, some mission — helping the aged or young ones is also an important activity. The home, society, community or the nation doesn’t want idlers; even mother earth doesn’t tolerate passive or deviants and decimates them.
It all begins with thoughts; the thoughts we harbour mould our actions and we tend to become what we seek because we are attracted to only those objects, ideas, persons, situations and institutions that are in line with ours.
Raymond Charles Barber said, “Your life becomes the thing you have decided it shall be.” Once we embark on activities that nature wants ie compassion for fellow beings including animals, shelling out for others whatever we have in excess of what we essentially need, and concern for natural resources, we stay happy as wards of nature.
Performing one’s role well implies openness to new vision. For, the backdrop of the home, the family, the institution or the workplace is not likely to change. Only one can develop the sense to rise above mediocrity. However, that presupposes a ‘to do’ will that is not simply a ‘desire’ but a fire within which doesn’t let you rest while others are relaxing, gossiping, posting lackadaisical comments on social sites, chatting on internet or keeping their eyes and hearts glued to whatever mundane dialogues and scenes television ads and serials offer.
Blank pages of future lie open before us, to be scripted each day provided we stay in conciliatory, receptive mode and believe that each moment is a gift from God, as Edith lovejoy Pierce advised, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
The author, formerly editor at Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata, and NIPCCD, Delhi, is consulting editor with Trained Nurses of India, Delhi
