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
January 13, 2014 at 1:50 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...