Ahh!Those Bones

Genie is a good dog. My canine loves me more than any other living creature on this planet. Besides constant pursuing, she flings herself to lick faces, loves walking, pulling, fetching ball and racing around finally curling around the nearest lap at nights. But, here is A NOTE OF CAUTION: Genie is not the same with her tiny little bone. In a flick of moment she turns into the scariest creature I have ever known. A dog that runs around the house in the open confines herself to the corner of that closed flimsy store room where she carefully guards her bone. And here is her base where she furiously barks and growls at the intruder unless she turns them away.

I do not usually go to bed unless I cuddle my little dog for a while and just in case I forget to do so,in the falling tensed shadows of the day, she invariably remembers to droop by my side. Surprisingly, last night when I walked up to her reaching my hands out, she snarled bumping forth in bitterness. I stepped back in awe locating the bone by her side. It sounds strange how animals change their sides with food in their vicinity. To my relief, she was back to normal this morning. Her eaten bone did magic to her as she sat peacefully by my bedside wagging her tiny tail. Relieved, I prepared coffee and settled myself in the balcony chair and watched my neighbor wash the array of cars he had collected for himself. Ever since we shifted to this bungalow, I have loved noticing him around. Every morning he gets up at five to check and tend his cars for a while.  And while he does so, he watches every passerby in incertitude. His eyes squeeze as he walks around his loved cars a couple of times to check a sign of tinker. And when he is done with them, he would relax and smile back on strollers. 

We all have a loyal loving dog inside us that changes sides at the sight of that tiny little bone we see for ourselves. There is a continuous internal struggle within that makes us display and simultaneously guard the treasures we collect.  We hold that bone in our mouth and move cautiously in our own homes and friends. We sit by its side priding and guarding an intruder. And while we do so, our gestures become more apparent. We think we hide our bones underneath the cushion we sit upon but, it moves up and reflects in the distrusting look we give to our guests. It dramatically changes our vision and turns friends into intruders. 

That baffling human paradox

With great power lies great responsibility. Unlike nature that has very efficient methods of balancing power centers, man’s power centers are haphazard and self-regulated. Man is the only creature who can simultaneously live in two worlds: one on the inside and other on the outside.

And both can be diametrically opposite.

Besides, man can use borrowed powers: the powers developed by peaceful intelligent people can be used by destructive, unintelligent people. Creative growth solutions meant for peace and development can be used for destruction, genocide and terror. This combination of delusion and acquired potency brings forth counterfeit leaders and politicians and a hollow or forced governing system.

Every governing system no matter how beneficently conceived eventually tends to exploit the weaker segments of society. History shows us many examples of the worst implementations of benign ideologies. Communism conceived for equality and sanity has been applied by most insane dictators. Equal powers for all is used as all powers for one. Karl Marx and Lenin could never have imagined communism the way it was applied by Stalin.

Albert Einstein considered the theory of relativity that resulted in atom bomb, as his single greatest mistake in life. On the other hand, Harry Truman celebrated the night Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

Money that was invented as an excellent solution for relative worth has become the root of all evil among humans. A solution designed for active easy flow became an excellent method for passive, concealed hoardings.

Any creative idea comes as a coin: with both positive and negative sides. The owner is free to encash any of its sides. He is free to buy bread or poison from it. Ironically nature has no substitutes for wisdom. And it has no shortcuts to acquiring it either. Hard earned knowledge always carries wisdom within itself whereas book-acquired knowledge doesn’t. A life lived honestly and fearlessly produces knowledgeable and wise men: men with empathy, righteousness and intelligence.

Contrarily, pseudo knowledge earned in degrees, skills and techniques results in egotistical, destructive and rigid men. Men who do not know the worth or effect of power never hesitate to use it for wrong reasons.

It is a paradox that the more knowledgeable a person becomes the less he yearns for power. It seems as if in some warped way, power attracts the corruptible. A wise person will always hesitate to lead masses whereas an immature person will always rush towards it. So much so that he wouldn’t object to crushing others to succeed in his ambitions. Men love to reap where they never sowed.

Acquiring power helps a person ignore or hide his inferiorities or complexes.

But the fact remains that the big shots are only little shots that keep on shooting. Contemporary society which confuses power with greatness, has encouraged this mutation to flourish. Our social system has a tendency to respect the wrong attributes in subtle ways. The human power pyramid is working upside down. Rather than respecting individuals we respect possessions. This is one of the greatest tragedies of life as we know it to be.

Without a doubt….the right power in right hands blended with knowledge, wisdom, love and respect for life is humanity’s most urgent need at this time.

Homo sapiens-the most violent species on earth

Of all the living creatures in the world, man is the most violent species.It is the only species that takes pleasure in killing its own set.And,unlike animals the conduct of violence is not always for survival.Violence is imbibed even in our subtle thoughts.Our society treasures and breeds enmity and revenge.We hate to lose.Winners are always praised:in a small class, in games and in wars.We cherish our differences in name of religion,community,colour, sects and nations.The greatest unanimity is seen during wars.People and nations become one.Never in history were people united even once for peace.We unite only for wars and revolutions.On an average 5 wars are fought every year in the world .This race is bound to finish itself.No other species or natural calamity is needed to stop us.