NOT UNTIL I FIND A BROOM TO SWEEP THE MESS WITHIN...















Pic.: Madan Manik
The best and the shortest way to end violence in this world is to first end it within our own hearts… Similarly, the best and the shortest way to end corruption in this world is to first end it within our own hearts…


The violence we see outside is the reflection of our own collective violence within… And, the same holds true for corruption…


So, the question is: How can I end the violence within my own heart? How can I end the corruption, there?


The other day, I was sitting with a group of middle-aged men. The discussion centered around the sensational rise of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi. Two of the men in the group were ecstatic about the new phenomenon and were absolutely hopeful that corruption would be wiped out of this country, soon. During the course of our discussion, one of them received a long-distance call. Apparently, it was a call regarding a big export order, which our hard-nosed friend was now trying to negotiate over the phone… And, as the rest of us were keenly listening to what was being discussed, it became clear as that afternoon sky, how much hope was in store for all of us as far as making our nation corruption free was concerned!


Expectedly, as soon as the phone call of our friend ended, others were ready to corner him: “So, that’s how you expect to end corruption in our country; isn’t it?”


Like our friend, I, too, am very keen to see a society free of corruption, violence and all sorts of social maladies… But, then, the more I wish to see that, the more aware I become about the presence of those maladies within my very own soul… And, with that, the thought that I should expect the society to become free from all such maladies simply makes me look stupid, ignorant and even hypocritical…


Am I hopeful?


Yes, but…


Not until I cleanse the system within me…


Not until I see hope with in me…


Not until I find a broom to sweep the mess within…


And, I know, that, it is, certainly, not the ‘easiest’ way!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Anonymous said…
Politics, they say, is the art of the possible. Good Post. Rakesh D'Souza

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