The delectable and the doable
Dr.
Yerneni Venkateswara Rao
M.Sc., Ph. D
Retired Principal
GUDIVADA-
A.P
yernenivrao@gmail.comh.
We all have kith and kin and near and
dear ones of whom we love one or two no less than we love ourselves/lives.
Likewise, we all live by certain ethical and moral values and principles of
which we love one or two more than we love our lives. If ever we are forced to
weigh them in a balance and make a choice , it will be a tragedy of the first
magnitude –for those few surviving members of the fast dwindling tribe or species
that go by the name of men of integrity.
Sri Rama, being the most outstanding
example , torn as he was by the conflicting demands of a conscientious and
concerned monarch , on the one hand and a loving and understanding husband on
the other , soon after he ascended the throne of Ayodhya as a culmination of
the long delayed fulfilment of the hopes and desires of its citizens, and on
the very eve of a much awaited unfoldment of their dreams and aspirations in
the realm of reality.
Finally, he was constrained to banish his peerless spouse of sterling
character from his palace bowing to the dictates of public opinion, ignorant
and ill informed though it was.
B2 -47
Anything in excess is to be avoided
like plague , for even such a virtue as gratitude turns into a deadly vice when
in excess as when a man tries to be grateful to someone at the cost of his
honour and a woman at the cost of her chastity.
B2-48
We are prone to be swayed by life’s
many ups and downs often letting success push us into complacency or failure
into despondency , either event foreshadowing our premature exit from the stage
of life .What is needed is to keep or values constantly burnished so they may
serve as lights/lamps of hope urging us ever onwards and ensure that our sense
of direction ever remains unimpaired so we may not deviate from our path by
losing sight of our goal, and keep on striving until we attain it(till we reach
it)
B2-49(b3-33)
We seem to be passing through strange,
nay, downright crazy times. Some parents, specifically the nouveau rich, that
too the male of the species, refer to their sons in anything but deferential
terms as if they are talking about the Pope instead of in normal paternal terms
as is their prerogative, even in informal casual conversations. Whether they
really mean to be so deferential or are only conveying a subtle message that
others be as deferential to their sons is a moot point. This phenomenon being
more prevalent among parents of sons of marriageable age- eligible bachelors-
the needle of suspicion points in most cases to the latter alternative. As
against / counterpoised to these are some sons who are so conscious of their
newly acquired status and image as to treat their parents , especially if they
are of humble origins or lowly attainments or both, as anything but an
avoidable nuisance and desist from making any mention of, or reference to them
, at all , as if they arose from nowhere like the mythical creatures known as
ayonija sambhavahor swayambhuh.
Is there any need for raised eyebrows if sons
of such clever parents turn out to be such weird sons who, with the passage of
time , move on to be in the shoes of such queer parents of the next generation
reversing their roles, and the theatre of the absurd goes on ad infinatum?
Can cynicism sink lower or hypocrisy rise
higher?
B2 -50
The tragedy of life is while man always
wants to see the back of his troubles , they always love to accost him face
first with a far greater success rate to their credit than his, and on the few
occasions, on which they settle for seeing his back rather than his face ,
creased with worries, they do so looking over his shoulders and breathing down
his neck. Front or back, troubles are troubles and the best and only way to
deal with them is to stare them straight in the face and grapple with them head
on, and better still , be done with the whole thing once and for all.
B 2-51
I am no less than anyone, who thinks he
is great, and no greater than anybody , who thinks he is small, but always
consider myself far humbler than he , who is truly great in mind and spirit,
and humble in mean and manner.
B2-52
Ordinarily, truth and falsehood are as
distinct as day and night, but in extraordinary times- or are they
absurd/anomalous times?—like ours when falsehood uttered loudly enough is
believed to be the truth , truth appears to have lost out to untruth. The fact,
however , is that truth needs no props like popular belief or public acceptance
and acclaim for its survival, for, it is the basis /substratum of all that is
including even falsehood.
The few brave and courageous ones among us have the intrinsic ability to
instantly recognize the truth and steadfastly hold on to it while the vast
majority is revelling in the quagmire of untruth and falsehood.
B 2-53
Any relationship is meaningful and
significant in proportion to the coherence and harmony the two partners bring
to bear on it.
A mature relationship is more a full-fledged dance of quiet joy and
ecstasy that the two spontaneously choreograph to lend charm and beauty to each
others every movement and carry through with grace and elegance, a visual feast
replete with cautiously chiselled postures, fluid movements , rhythmic steps
and subtly nuanced expressions than a mere tango or samba , the gentle and
joyous dance forms comprising rhythmic and fluid movements that the two do
consciously gliding past the possibility of mutual hurt due to treading of each
others toes or a whirling waltz the two perform in gay abandon in an ambience
of joie de vivre unmindful of the consequences of tripping over each other as
they have a gala time with spirits touching new highs or even the jiving and
jigging of the rollicking pairs of the young and the pretty , the guys n gals,
to the tunes of popular hits or chart busters being belted out by their
favourite singers as part of the entertaining fare presented to the fun loving
audience which usually laps up every bit of each such presentation as the most
pleasing musical experience in pubs filled with billowing smoke rings.
B2-54
Truth has unexpected ways of asserting
itself in totally unexpected places when it is least expected. Trying to play
with truth is like playing with fire- a foolish misadventure fraught with
catastrophic consequences. So , how much more natural and wiser will/would it
be to walk always in the shadow of truth rather than trying to shove truth into
our shadow, however long and dark it be?
B2-55
There is nothing like a perfect
solution to any problem in life, for if anything is perfect it brooks no
problem at all. So we have to make do with good pragmatic solutions or at best,
those that are tinged with excellence in actual practice. However, what appears
to be an excellent solution in a certain context can easily turn into an
intractable problem in a different situation/context. This happens all the time
as revealed by even a wee bit of reflexion.
One who waits for perfect solutions, instead of moving ahead with the
best available under the circumstances is condemned to live a life of futility
groaning under the weight of unsolved problems.
B2-56
Freedom of speech is precious but
speech is free and talk cheap unless you are a liar.
B2-57
“I do not want my house to be walled in
on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands
to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off
my feet by any.” – Mahatma Gandhi
There are far too many things going
wrong in this country at the moment. I don’t like many of them, I positively
detest some and I abhor a few. However, that is not reason enough for me not to
like this blessed country of ours. So I like it, not only like it but actually
love it in spite of everything as I have always done, for I am a congenital/
compulsive lover of this noble land.
Things go wrong and they can always be set right and set right they
certainly will be sooner than later. Then I can’t travel back all that distance
in time and wash my psyche of its sin of disliking my mother land now, that too
for the inadequacies and indiscretions of my fellow-beings, if at all , I
dislike it now or ever.
More fundamentally , I was born in this
country , I have lived most part of my life here, drawn my sustenance from its
soil, deduced my value system from the study of its epics and philosophy,
formulated my world view on the basis of its culture, heritage and
civilization, shaped my character and individuality from my knowledge of its
heroes and fashioned my personality from my interaction with its many good
souls, found the seeds of my spiritual aspiration in the fields and parks,
forests and orchards, hills and dales and groves and gardens of its ancient
wisdom, and derived solace from the fruits and flowers there of as also from the
many spiritual insights and truths about the ultimate reality revealed by its
saints and sears of the more recent times while at no time denying myself the
privilege and pleasure of wafting in the elevating breeze of enlightenment
gently blowing through every window and door of my humble abode from all climes
and times. In short, I am what I am because I am Indian. With such huge debt to
be redeemed, how can I turn my back on India
If anyone born, nurtured and groomed to
be someone here allows himself to be swept off his feet by the gales of material
prosperity and affluence of other lands, and commits the further foul mistake
of disowning his Indianness , I feel pity for the ungrateful wretch. Needless
to say, I detest the cur who not only disowns India
I only know how to keep on doing my bit to ameliorate the present
conditions in the society around me and the country in general, and I do it
gladly and unreservedly not in return for what I get but because of what I am-
an Indian first , an Indian second and a world citizen next.
Yet, to be honest, I must confess that I too despair over certain goings
on in our country, even as I love her, adore her and pride myself on being her
son.
B2-58
If one refrains from retaliating a rude
remark, slight or insult in the same coin out of compulsions of the moment like
fear of losing one’s present advantages or future gains, it is nothing more nor
less than an act of quid pro quo or a commercial decision; to do so out of
conviction born of higher human values and principles that it is the right
thing to do is a true mark of one’s superior upbringing and culture.
However, it is not unoften that
deliberate attempts are made to palm of commerce as culture.
B2-59
If one had raised one’s children with
due care and concern in an environment of lived values and principles imbued
with love and understanding and illumined by knowledge and wisdom, they should
naturally ‘be learned and pious and would repay to one’s age what their
childhood had received.’(Dr Johnson)
If they are otherwise one must look within for possible reasons and
causes instead of rushing to fault them.
B2-60
Middle age is that vantage period in life that
gives one the dual advantage of the power of perception of the glimmer of
youth’s bright vivifying radiance on one side and the quiet glow of the
illuminating brilliance of the wisdom of age on the other. The knowledge ,
maturity and discernment accruing from the later and the power , courage and
strength flowing from the former complement and reinforce each other , and
together make it the ideal stage of life for the realization of Henri Etienne’s
fond hope and sweet dream : “If only youth knew , if only age could.”
B2-61
Life is not only the few seemingly
important decisions we take and things we accomplish but the millions of small
and apparently insignificant things we do, and all those joys as well as
careworn moments we share with our loved ones. To think that the question of
choice arises only in important matters while the rest does not matter is
basically wrong and patently absurd , for life being essentially an integral
whole brooks no such compartmentalization, and every transaction we make in
life , irrespective of its nature, has its own significance and relevance in
it. Those that mistake the few important things for life itself are like
generals who concentrate the best part of their military might, strategic
wisdom and martial skills in fighting a few select battles leaving the war to
be waged by the lieutenants. It is no doubt important to win a battle but more
important is to win the war, even if a few battles are lost, for a war is waged
on many a battle field, big and small , involving successes and failures, which
together decide the ultimate victory or defeat in war. To be mindful of a few
important engagements in select theaters of war rather than the whole war is to
mistake the part for the whole- an absurd stance with all its attendant
calamitous consequences. Just so should life be lived whole , not some select
parts of it. Even though the contrary appears from the point of view of
efficiency to be a good tactical move, it is in fact a bad strategic
step/blunder. For, at times, an innocuous word , a casual gesture, an innocent
deed or an inadvertent silence, ours or our partner’s, pertaining to those
aspects of life that are relegated to the less important category and hence
given less attention may lead to unforeseen consequences that change the whole
course of our life in undreamt of ways.
None can ever afford to take anything for granted in life with impunity
for one should live life as an impeccable warrior, ever alert and always ready
to defend oneself and one’s cause, steadily moving towards one’s cherished
goal.
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