Anna-mania: Keep your head or risk losing it

This is a message I wish to give to my near and dear ones and also to those who are willing to listen to me with an open mind. As time passes, life teaches us a lot of lessons. How well we learn those lessons determine how well and, in some cases, if we live.

Today, I see this drama unfolding on National Television and I can't help shaking my head and smiling.

We Indians, by nature, are extremely emotional. We have this inexplicable need to make gods out of people we like. We NEED to worship something. Every Indian will understand what I am talking about. There are countless examples. I've seen countless perfectly sane and rational people lose all their logic and rationalism when the topic comes to their "God".

Now, the latest sensation this country has got is Anna Hazare. Almost everyone is running high on Anna-mania, rushing to become another martyr for this new "Father of the Nation". Granted, he's a good guy, or maybe, a great guy, but he's still a man. Don't deify him just yet.

As it is said, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Anna Hazare is quite close to achieving absolute power in this nation of emotional fools. But he should be aware that this nation pulls down heroes just as quickly as it makes them, ruled as it is, by the heart.

So, my suggestion is, before you take out your "Support Anna" flags and march down the streets tommorrow, sit down and think with your head. Think about what is going on. The common man is just a pawn in this high-stakes game of politics. And the rule of the game is, pawns are dispensable.

One thing is certain, whatever you do, the world will keep moving on.The stars will continue shining, rivers will keep flowing. All that will change is the life of you and your near and dear ones. So do what is best for you and ones who should truly matter to you, coz none of your gods will do that for you.

A proverb comes to my mind, "Don't poke your nose where it does not belong or you might end up losing it."

And I'm sure, things much more precious and valuable than a nose will be at risk in tommorrow's political theatre.

Happy?

I'm amazing myself by writing so much about this strange emotion called happiness. Generally, the only time I think about it is when I'm sorely missing it.

Strangely, this is one of the happiest times of my life. I'm more peaceful, contented, satisfied and most importantly, happy than I've ever been before.

In my four years of engineering, the most important lesson that I've learnt, probably even more important than my engineering studies, is that one can be truly happy only if his/her search for happiness goes within.

In simple words, your happiness should not be a result of things in your surrounding.

Sounds so mystical, wise and "enlightened", doesn't it?

Now, if I put it in a slightly different manner, the reaction of people would be drastically different.

"To be happy, you must not be too concerned with others." - Albert Camus

I can almost hear the cries, "Oh, but that's so selfish!!"

If losing your happiness and peace of mind for someone else is selflessness, I'd rather be happy and selfish.

Ask yourself a honest question, what would you choose?

Selflessness??

We all have heard this, "He/she is so selfish!!"

Nowadays, every other person we meet seems to be a selfish, stuck-up prig. Not being a very philanthropic individual myself and having heard this phrase far too many times, I started thinking. What is Selfishness? Does something called Selflessness really exist?

What I came up with is this: there is nothing called Selflessness.

We all are inherently selfish. No one's at fault. Selfishness is hard-wired into human nature. Whatever we do always has some personal interests in the background.

Even our so-called "selfless" acts are not an exception to this.

Parents expect children to take care of them in their old age, respect them and bring honour to their name. The devout worship their God in the hope that he will grant good fortune (physical or spiritual) to them.

Even our Gods are not immune to selfishness!! (Pardon my blasphemy)

They'll bestow all boons and good fortune on you . . . provided you worship them and follow all their rules and regulations.

I'm sure you all are thinking, "What nonsense is he talking about? Isn't that what is expected of us?" My reply is, "Expectations" is just another better sounding word to express what you want from others.

Now, isn't that selfish?

Selfishness is the basis of all relationships. If you doubt what I said, take any relationship you are in and ask yourself, "What is the reason I am sustaining this relationship for?"

The answers you will get will be varied and numerous. "Companionship", "Understanding", "Attraction", even "Money/similar benefits" might be some of the answers you come up with.

Many friendships are prime examples of this shallowness. We fulfil our human need for companionship through our friends. But, as soon as we get a "better" option, be it love or maybe even another friend, the previous relationship often disintegrates and slowly destroys itself, often despite the best efforts and intentions of both parties.

That is how Nature works. Whatever is necessary and beneficial is retained, everything else is purged. It's the way of evolution. Whenever you find something better, you discard the older substitute , even if it worked fine all this time.

Hence, I believe 'Selflessness' is just a delusional thought, another redundant product of the human mind. The only eternal feelings are life's most primitive instincts: survive, procreate and nurture your lineage, in that order.

Probably, the biggest folly of the human mind is in thinking that it is superior to Nature merely because it is capable of generating these apparently "superior" ideals as compared to the "primitive" instincts adopted by Nature. We have a lot to learn from Nature.

"Vanity of vanities," saith the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."

- Ecclesiastes 1:2