Thursday, December 29, 2005

Being Impersonal

Have you ever done any impersonal act in your life?
Have you ever done something so that other people benefit from it?
You would think of either or both of these 2 replies :
Either
that I am not capable or I do not have the skillsets to do something for somebody else.
or
why should I do something impersonal when I am happy and satisfied with the life I am living at this very moment?.

For those who think either of these two ways, there exists a single refutation to your proposal. And that is:
We have never known the kind of satisfaction and hence happiness one can experience by doing something impersonal. We have never tasted that kind of sweetness before. All we know is that today I have completed my work, today I did go to the gym, today i did pay my telephone bill, today i did prepare for the exams i will be giving next month..and so on and so forth. We extract happiness by telling to ourselves that I have completed so and so of my responsibilities today and so I should be satisfied. This happiness is all for you. It is all personal to you. What have you done here that is going to benefit your neighbour or maybe the person who sits next to you at your workplace?. The answer is 'Nothing'.
Very few people in this world learn something or study something for the sake of benefit of others. Very few people first keep have a goal of being a benefactor to somebody and then start preparations for all that is needed to being such a benefactor. Ask yourself, when was the last time you studied something that was not in your curriculum, when was the last time you tried to improve your speaking skills so as to be a good orator. When was the last time you made an attempt to give a thought to uplift the downtrodden life of the beggar who pleaded for a coin before you while you were just trying to enter the hall for a birthday party thrown by your friend and you shouted 'NO' to that beggar?.

There was once this rich and wealthy businessman who was travelling across a city for some of his business deals. At one point in his journey, heavy rain showers started and it was the darkest part of the night. The business man was in his car so he didn't have to bother too much about the heay rain outside. At that time he saw a beggar alongside the road, the beggar had nothing to protect him against the pouring rain. As a result he was completely drenched and his condition was miserable in that unforgiving shower. Feeling pity for that beggar, the businessman got down from his car and gave him some piece of blanket that he was carrying. Then the businessman faced the sky and asked God with fury why was it that one of his men was so comfortable travelling in a well furnished car as his in the face of the rain whereas the other had to bear all the misery and suffering that he had to. He asked why wasn't the other person also living a comfortable life just as him. He expressed great grief over the impartiality. With the same enragement he started walking toward his car with his face towards the earth when he heard some voice. The businessman was stunned when he heard God's reply.
God replied "Thats why I have send you my dear son."

6 Comments:

At January 26, 2006 1:28 PM, Blogger Nikhil Bagalkotkar said...

well Girish I see your point of view but in todays world where parents disown their own children and children divorce their parents. how does it work out? I think one should realize here every man is for himself and ones fate is not based on his destiny but his deeds.
Can You imagine a world where everyone stands up for someone elses problem..... I see a problem here as soon as a man can't face his own problems and looks at other places for help he becomes nothing more than a spineless creature "incapable"....Leave alone the motivation to do something

Cheers

 
At January 30, 2006 8:37 PM, Blogger Zaki M said...

i see the sorrow and helplessness, being highlighted in this post. But Girish, do u urself actually go out of ur way to practice what u just preached..& do that consistently..

And I didnt understand the logic behind the bit 'when was the last time you tried to improve your speaking skills so as to be a good orator' ... why the hell would some1 do that??
I mean u dont need to speak brilliantly to do good to others...

Anyways, the intent is nevertheless commendable!

 
At February 04, 2006 6:42 AM, Blogger Girish said...

"Every man for himself"--surely looks good in the books, but buddy, for a moment,try to leave aside your pedantic view and lets focus on the some pragmatism.
Had every man made good enough or provided equally good opportunities to glorify his living, this world would have been a far better place to live in. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This backs up the idea of Being Impersonal.
When parents disown their children and children dump away their parents, it makes sense to ameliorate the situation, rather than drawing pessimistic conclusions from it and apply them in this very living life to make it worse.

 
At February 06, 2006 2:27 AM, Blogger Zaki M said...

When did I even 'try to refute' the need to carry out impersonal acts. And you didnt answer both my questions...

...bahut zyada Barons ka upyog accha nahi hai....

PS: I didnt understand if ur comments were from me; if they weren't sorry :D
And waiting for ur answers

 
At February 07, 2006 12:15 AM, Blogger Girish said...

Hey Zaki, those comments were for Nikhil. Thanks for that Barons advice, lekin agar andar gaya hai toh bahar bhi aane wala hai...:)) neways, i'll keep that in mind.
And regarding your questions,
the one questioning my philanthropy,
to start with atleast, the spark has been kindled through this post. Yes, i am part of a process which in the first place influenced me to write such a post. I would refrain from going into the details at this very moment, but dude...dont identify this as just figments of my imagination, its happening and thats why its here.

Regarding the orator question, ppl tend to accept help from those who they think can help them. And the worse thing is about those ppl who are not even aware of whats harming them- leave alone the basic case of helping a pleading beggar. To convince them, one does need to develop some skills. Being a good orator is one of them.

Not just being a good orator, skills which help u evolve as a influential personality are always most welcome, arent they?

 
At February 07, 2006 3:31 AM, Blogger Zaki M said...

Well, I believe in keeping charity you do with yourself and not making it public.. I think that maintains if not decreasing its worth...
And my best wishes with your charity work :D

Hope, more people turn sane, thoughtful and develop a 'real' heart...

And always remember the Baron's advice :)

 

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