MOST OF US HAVE TWO FACES
“We
must live together as brothers
or
perish together as fools.”
Martin
Luther King Jr.
Most
of us have two faces: One reflects our inherent selves as gentle humans. The
other reflects our superimposed selves as ‘politicians’. I think, this is true
for all of us.
It means, that I
am no exception. In the heart of my hearts, I know everyone around me is just
like me – a human being, my brother or sister, as we all are children of the
same God. So, there is no difference at all between ‘them’ and ‘us’… What they
eat, wear and pray to and what we eat, wear and pray to – yes, for the gentle
soul in me, it never matters. My ideals spring from this space – It’s so
beautiful… so Life-enriching!
But, the moment
I become a ‘politician’, I am compelled to walk around wearing the other face… the
superimposed, dishonest, false face. I am compelled to hide my true feelings of
love brotherhood… I am compelled to take hard stands… I am compelled to express
my divisive and hateful words against my fellow-beings. Yes, now, what they
eat, wear and pray to and what we eat, wear and pray to does matter. This face doesn’t
reflect my true self… Deep within, I know it. But, then, there is this
politician in me – in all of us – who drags the devil out and make him sit on my face!
‘Difference’ is
an acquired syndrome… We pick it up to make a political gain out of it. Else,
there is nothing called ‘difference’… There is nothing called ‘Them’ and ‘us’.
My
entire education took place in institutions run by Catholic priests and nuns.
When the Catholic students had their sessions or retreats, others had the Moral
Science sessions. When we went to our chapel to pray, no one else was ever
forced to follow. Despite this, I can say this with a great delight – and a bit
of shame – that some of the non-Catholic students knew our prayers better than
we did!
Aditi,
a dear friend and mother of two, who did her schooling in a convent school,
proudly tells me, that she was so good at Christian prayers, that she
volunteered to lead her fellow Christian-students! In fact, her dyed-in-wool Bengali
parents encouraged her to do it. Today, Aditi continues to eat, wear and pray according
to her Bengali Hindu roots. The memories of her saying and leading Christian prayers
in school only make her look back in pride and help her inculcate the same
spirit in her two school-going kids…
How beautiful it
is… How Life-enriching!
Tabassum
lives in the same housing complex as I do. It is she who anchors the 7-day Ganesh
Utsav in our complex. And mind you – she has been doing it with indescribable
love and gusto for two decades… When she chants ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’, so
many of us get goosebumps…
How beautiful it
is! How Life-enriching!
Ruha
Shaikh was my student a couple of years ago. In fact, her mother, too, was my
student when she was of Ruha’s age. Ruha’s father and grandparents were staunch
Muslims. Her mother, too, remained faithful to their roots. However, there was
one general consensus: Ruha’s passion for Bharatanatyam. The entire family encouraged
and supported her in pursuing it… Yesterday, on the anniversary of her
Arangetram, I saw Ruha sharing some lovely images of the event… “I can’t thank
enough my Guru and family for this,” Ruha wrote, “I feel the happiest and the
proudest”…
How beautiful it
is! How Life-enriching!
The
two-faces theory became strikingly clear to me, when I watched this video, some
years ago:
Most
of us have two faces. Sadly, one of them – the true one – we are compelled to
hide…
How sad it is!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.'s: 1 & 2 pixabay 3 & 4 Ruha Shaikh
Video: Don Bosco Schools India
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