O' CAPTAIN... MY CAPTAIN

Pic.: Ganesh Waran

“Remember: the time you feel lonely

is the time you most need to be by yourself.

... Life's cruelest irony.” 

― Douglas Coupland

I am a very firm believer in Life... its sanctity and value. Therefore, I know how much grateful I should be to God for the this amazing gift called Life; and, I, also, know why I should make the most of it, live it to the hilt and celebrate it...

Some twenty-five years ago, when I just founded THE DAWN CLUB, I first met Sundar, who went on to become one of my good friends. Both, Sundar and I loved writing, reading and human psychology. For many years, together, we would publish our motivational magazine ‘The Bloom’ and the poetry journal, ‘The Pearls’. It was during these initial years of our friendship, that Sundar spoke to me, animatedly, about Robin Williams' amazing movie - ‘The Dead Poets Society’. The movie was about teaching and learning, the teacher-student relationship... It was about helping students to open the windows of their heart, touching their lives... Inspiring them. And, above all, helping them to live creatively, fully and passionately.

We had a rich library housing hundreds of inspirational and other books. Pointing at  Dale Carnegie’s famous titles, such as ‘How To Win Friends and Influence People’ and “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living’, Sundar would remind me that the death of Dale Carnegie, believed to be a suicide, would rob away from his brilliant philosophy the much needed substance called ‘integrity’. “He had to practice what he had preached,” Sundar would remind me, “How else one can rely on what he had taught?”

But, Sundar would never decry any person who chose to end his life because of acute depression... For, he was conscious – and, today most of us are – that depression is a mental illness, and it could afflict anyone of us, including the richest and the poorest, the most famous and the totally unheard... and, yes, the mightily funny – who have spent their entire lives making other people laugh – like Robin Williams!

But, twenty-five years ago, neither Sundar nor I would have thought, even in our wildest imagination, that it could be Robin Williams, twenty-five years down the line!

Depression defies logic... Hence, let’s not try to argue or debate over the death of such a fine actor and human being, Robin Williams... Only he might have known how difficult it was to go on, how lonely... how scary. Perhaps – and I go on my knees and pray it should not come – if it comes on any of us, or on any of our dearest and nearest ones, yes, perhaps, we would be able to understand what it is, and how it is...

Let’s stop labeling it as ‘the ultimate sign of defeat’, or, as ‘the most cowardly act’, or, as the most selfish act’ and so on...Yes, to say so would be our ignorance, and ignorance  of the top order!

There is a sea of people afflicted by depression, out there... They need empathy, a helping hand... and, yes, some space in our prayers...  The least they need is our judgment!

So, even if Dale Carnegie had chosen to end his life, I would choose to believe in what he preached when he lived, here, on this earth... and, ditto for Robin Williams... He lived like a real man, a gem... teaching us to live life to the fullest, laughing and playing, thinking wildly, crazily... Yes, I choose to believe in how he lived and not how he died!

Twenty-five years ago, his movie, ‘The Dead Poets Society’ – the story of an amazing teacher and his young students – had inspired me to be a bit like him...

Hope, I have...

“O Captain! My Captain!”

GERALD D’CUNHA

Video courtesy: YouTube