Enlightment!!!
Buddha got his under the bodhi tree, Kekule got his while dreaming, Archimedes got his while in the bath. I got mine sitting in the second class compartment of the Kalyan Slow at 5:48 a.m.
Its gives you happiness that shines through you...its the fulfillment of so many unsuccessful and so many aborted attempts.
Like I have said in one of my other blogs, giving advice is the most tiring/exhausting thing, if you have a conscience. Cause that conscience remembers every advice you gave, every suggestion you made and when you face a similar situation, a similar problem it comes back to bite you in the butt. If you don't follow your own advice, it hurts. Hurts like anything.
One such advice has been my love for the city I live in. I hate it when people spit. I hate it when they throw plastic wrappers outside their trains, their cars, their buses in their own city. I had talked about telling these people to stop it. Well, you might have guessed it. Going up to unknown people and indirectly telling them to stop being jerks is easier said than done.
I was scared. Shit scared. And depressed, that I had advised something which I myself never achieved successfully.
Then, it happened…
I was sitting reading a newspaper and across me sat two gentlemen who were discussing politics. One of them was emptying his wallet of extra and useless bits of paper. He was talking and tearing those bits into smaller and smaller pieces of paper. While he was enjoying his discussion, I was sitting there, tensed cause of what I knew was going to happen next. Ten more bits of paper were about to get added to the garbage in the drains of Mumbai.
And true to habit, out went the hand towards the window. But this time, another hand also swept out. Not to slap, comment or hurt. Rather to take those bits of paper and place that garbage in his pocket. Not in that person’s pocket. Rather in its own.
I talk about it as if I was observing it because that’s what it felt like. It happened without thinking. It happened instinctively. And like all instinctive actions, I was terrified of what would happen next.
The gent continued tearing new pieces of paper. I was still scared but knew in my mind that my choices were limited. Ideally, I shouldn’t have been scared. But, I was. Looking at my newspaper with my attention focused on what that complete stranger would do with those bits of paper. His friend asked me to lend my paper to him, which I did. And we talked about Sachin’s innings. I blabbered a little still focusing on the future of those bits of paper. My station came and I got up. I took my paper but couldn’t resist saying, “bhau, nako.” (Brother, don’t). He looked at me and said, “Samajla.” (Understood.”)
I walked out.
“I appreciate your courage. I, too, need such courage. In this cause, even I am willing to die. But, my friends, there is no cause in which I am willing to kill. Even this method of fighting hurts. Like all fighting does.
But here, we don’t give blows. Rather we take them and through our hurt we help the enemy understand his folly.”
--M. K. Gandhi.
Its gives you happiness that shines through you...its the fulfillment of so many unsuccessful and so many aborted attempts.
Like I have said in one of my other blogs, giving advice is the most tiring/exhausting thing, if you have a conscience. Cause that conscience remembers every advice you gave, every suggestion you made and when you face a similar situation, a similar problem it comes back to bite you in the butt. If you don't follow your own advice, it hurts. Hurts like anything.
One such advice has been my love for the city I live in. I hate it when people spit. I hate it when they throw plastic wrappers outside their trains, their cars, their buses in their own city. I had talked about telling these people to stop it. Well, you might have guessed it. Going up to unknown people and indirectly telling them to stop being jerks is easier said than done.
I was scared. Shit scared. And depressed, that I had advised something which I myself never achieved successfully.
Then, it happened…
I was sitting reading a newspaper and across me sat two gentlemen who were discussing politics. One of them was emptying his wallet of extra and useless bits of paper. He was talking and tearing those bits into smaller and smaller pieces of paper. While he was enjoying his discussion, I was sitting there, tensed cause of what I knew was going to happen next. Ten more bits of paper were about to get added to the garbage in the drains of Mumbai.
And true to habit, out went the hand towards the window. But this time, another hand also swept out. Not to slap, comment or hurt. Rather to take those bits of paper and place that garbage in his pocket. Not in that person’s pocket. Rather in its own.
I talk about it as if I was observing it because that’s what it felt like. It happened without thinking. It happened instinctively. And like all instinctive actions, I was terrified of what would happen next.
The gent continued tearing new pieces of paper. I was still scared but knew in my mind that my choices were limited. Ideally, I shouldn’t have been scared. But, I was. Looking at my newspaper with my attention focused on what that complete stranger would do with those bits of paper. His friend asked me to lend my paper to him, which I did. And we talked about Sachin’s innings. I blabbered a little still focusing on the future of those bits of paper. My station came and I got up. I took my paper but couldn’t resist saying, “bhau, nako.” (Brother, don’t). He looked at me and said, “Samajla.” (Understood.”)
I walked out.
“I appreciate your courage. I, too, need such courage. In this cause, even I am willing to die. But, my friends, there is no cause in which I am willing to kill. Even this method of fighting hurts. Like all fighting does.
But here, we don’t give blows. Rather we take them and through our hurt we help the enemy understand his folly.”
--M. K. Gandhi.
posted by Ishan Bhole | 11:42 AM
2 Comments:
hey thanks 4 takin up the trouble n more so 4 appreciatin it
so u are a 'blogger' now, eh?!
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