CRACKED THE TOUGHEST EXAM, OR SOUL?

 

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled,

but a fire to be kindled.”

 Plutarch

 

It’s easy to get a little – often, a lot – drunk with power when one gets to any seat of power. To understand this, we needn’t look to netas  alone. The position of power can be as basic as that of a compounder at a busy dispensary, or an ordinary clerk in a government office… The traffic hawaldar or a hawaldar in a local police chowki… The class teacher or the Principal of your child’s school… From a grocery-store owner to a temple priest, and from a bank clerk to a muttonwala… anybody and everybody, who has some power in his hand – yes, can get tempted to wield it…

Power can be intoxicating… Dangerous!

And, you and I, who have better things to do in life than getting into some silly ego-battles, often, let them get a kick out of their power-game, saying, “Kaam hone keliye, kabhi, kabhi, gadhe ko bhi baap banana padta he ji!”

My Post, today, is about this question: When we crack tough exams and get degrees such as a Ph.D.,  IAS, IPS, IIT, IIM etc. (I am talking about in our own country), and, consequently, bag coveted positions in government or private sectors, does it, automatically, make us arrogant and insensitive to people around us?

Recently, when I watched those viral videos of young IAS-officers – both men and women – misusing their power by harassing ordinary citizens, for whatever reason that was, I not only felt angry with these officers, but also felt sorry for them. I really felt like shouting: “What is the use of cracking the toughest exams in the country, but not being able to crack your own arrogance?”

“In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed is the king.” These guys – the DMs and SDMs – who thought they had the power in their hand, lived in a fools’ paradise.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”  Young Peter Parker was advised by his uncle, Ben, before he would slip into the Spiderman’s garb and go about saving the world!

If the most competitive exam in the land doesn’t make us kind, sensitive and responsible humans – we have only cracked a useless pot of dopiness!

Years and years of training goes into making a fine sportsperson, singer, dancer, and, even a monk… Seven years, fourteen years and even a lifetime. There is no end to the path of learning… The more we  tread, the more the path unfolds before us…

The learning experience is a very, very humbling experience, Sir!

So, to assume, that by cracking a tough exam and getting trained in an academy for two years, we can have our way – the way we like – is to live in our illusionary bubbles!

Probably, that’s the reason why Jiddu Krishnamurti said this:

“Real learning comes about

when the competitive spirit has ceased.”

We may disagree with what the revered thinker says here. But, if competitive spirit has numbed our compassion, I don’t think, that we have learnt anything worth priding over as our education.

“Teach him to be gentle with gentle people, and tough with tough people.” Why did Abraham Lincoln want this simple lesson to be taught to his son by his (son’s) teacher?

  

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s.: 1. Dmitriy Ganin/Pixels 2. kira schwarz/Pixels

Video: LifeVestInside