The RatRace

     

Courtesy : Google Image

                     It is the frenzy, the maddening race that prevails in our life today. We might not actually see the race tracks, but it is very much there, carved into our paths, drilled into our minds, insidious in nature. There is a constant burning urge for people to overtake their neighbours  in this great marathon. Caught up in the heat of the moment, they forget all but the range covered by the pursuit -and the pursuit of what exactly ? If your answer to that is happiness, you are under a blinding illusion because that is one thing we are actually running away from, by participating in the competition, by entering the labyrinth and getting lost in it.

         

                   Friends compete with each other for better scores and ranks in studies and academic activities. If only we could be confident enough of ourselves and let go of rivalries, co operate with each other, we would not only let go of all embitterment but also make a marked improvement in our performance. Agreed, part of the reason this doesn't actually happen is that the Indian education system asks for it. The disparity in the supply and demand of seats in colleges and companies makes it inevitable that quite a pandemonium is created across student circles. It spawns distrust, jealousies and also depression for all those who cannot keep up with the rest. This can have quite a debilitating effect on the entire student community. If only it could be a relay instead of an individual race, where we could pick up a baton from our team mates to win as one team. Everyone would be happy, everyone would have achieved. 

                   Okay, for the moment let us set aside academic competition. Lets take a look at some of the more ridiculous forms of warfare that go on among people, especially youngsters. The clash to own better gadgets, better clothes, and hell ya, even the clamour to get the most likes on pictures on Facebook!! (How many times have you been implored by companies and products with the line 'Like us on Facebook'?) . It has gone to the level that now Mr Zuckerberg is planning on deleting all the fake profiles conjured up for the sole purpose of canvassing 'Likes' and inflating their public profile. Apart from these, there are other innumerable comparisons being done like best bike, prettiest girlfriend, richest boyfriend, best gifts received on birthdays...blaaaaah. Leaving intricate details aside, the broad picture shows an extreme form of depravity and materialism that has seeped into the life of youngsters today.

               Even though I can't say I really enjoyed Karan Johar's 'Student of The Year', it had one point worth noting. A single competition to win the school's most prestigious award marred all friendships,even turned the students bitter towards their parents. There would be no worthwhile memories to be left behind, just a single trophy in the hands of a single person. Even in the domestic scene, we see siblings competing to outdo each other, to earn a wider share of their parents' attention. They don't want to share rooms with each other because they want a bigger room for themselves. More the belongings, better the life, that's what they think. Where is the love, damn it?  Do we want to grow up remembering the steel cover of our laptop, or do we want to grow up on the loving bonds of our parents and siblings? Are memories of our gadgets and clothes going to live with us or will our memory ring with the uncaring laughter and joy of your family members' sweet voices? Although this is totally our choice to make, I will end the rhetoric of this paragraph by saying 'Hug your sister or brother, mother or father today. Show them you love them now, do not wait till later, because later never comes. Take that one holiday from your work to spend time with your family.' It will do a whole lot of good for you.

               If ever we can slow down, sidestep our race track and leave the maze altogether, we will find richer pastures to explore, a brighter horizon and have more prospects for adventure. And one day, we will see that we will have reached a point analogous to our former finishing line, but the difference is that, we will not stop there, we will keep on going further, as there is no real finishing line in life. Also, the satisfaction we will get will not be one of having defeated our friends and family, it will be one of having done good ourselves. I will add the cliched line 'Compete against yourself, not against others'. Because only we have the power to truly forgive ourselves, others will never forgive us completely. We are not rats scuffling for a block of cheese, we are humans, capable of learning from each other. After all, as the famous philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthi said ' Everyone is a student, and everyone is a teacher.'

Images from the Internet