Ponderings from Beyond the Mountains..

Last week I returned from Ladakh. At the risk of sounding cliched, I shall venture out to say that I feel refreshed. Since then I have been in a rather philosophical mood - I guess the mountains and the lack of oxygen does get to you. Ever since I stood at the Sanchi Stupa overlooking the town of Leh a thought buried deep in my conciousness has returned and I realised that this core thought has always driven my thinking and behaviour. The thought I recall, is one that has been thougtfully ( pun not intended...what pun? ) included in all NCERT text books back when I was in school. The thought belongs to none other that the Mahatma..

"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."

- One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.

More than the social intent that colours the second half of the sentence, I tend to focus more on the first line. In a world where consumerism marches on and people seek to be increasingly connected, where people spend many days agonising about what mobile phone they must possess, what clothes they must wear, what laptops they should use, when you stop and contemplate this in the serene silence of the mountains, these questions simply become meaninglessly irrelevant. Whenever we feel victimised, enraged and simply frustrated I recall this thought, and I feel thankful that I have not to worry about my next meal and a perverse smile returns to my face. We sweat the small things in life far too often and spend far lesser time on the things that matter. Although there is room to misconstrue this as a fatalist strain of thought, I believe that this is not the case. We all have goals and ambitions... we all seek to acheive something. While this passion to acheive something must remain - the paths towards acheivement shall always never be fully revealed. We must live in every moment and strive towards what we seek to acheive, shrugging off minor set backs, laughing at our mistakes and frustrations. At this stage the second half of Gandhiji's thoughts starts to make much more sense. If this is indeed the ideal disposition to maintain, then the goal itself must be a noble one, otherwise the equanimity and selflessness of this disposition will be difficult to attain. Passion combined with a noble cause makes the Mahatma.

In simple words, whenever you loose your cool or feel defeated, Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man or woman you have seen, then put your noble goal in front of you and trudge on with a smile - there is no other way.