Unafraid of being human

Neelam Kasni

NOTWITHSTANDING the rising bar of development and the consumerism painting the life styles; our social fabric expanding horizontally is very much a part of modern-era zeitgeist. Albeit social scientists argue for and against this transition, there is no denying the truth that the warmth of relations is gradually cooling down. In the midst of such a perplexing point in time, there are happenings which resuscitate the dying cultural and humane values.

An incident happened a few years ago. I was a member of the committee conducting interviews for the selection to Class IV posts. The number of aspirants was far bigger than the available posts. And each one adduced reasons for one’s own claim for selection. But the reason cited by a young, frail lady, who had hardly seen three decades of life, stunned us. Her candid and confident reply to our query why she was vying for the post of sewadar was that she was the neediest of all. Being the eldest of three siblings, her studies were abruptly stopped in under-graduation and she was married off to a physically challenged person who was not even economically independent. The pain of this treatment by her parents was visible on her face. Maintaining a stoic posture, she said hitherto she had been toiling to make both ends meet, but now her responsibilities had increased further. Her father had expired earlier and her only brother too died leaving behind two children.

The young sister-in-law was remarried with the assurance that her children will be taken care of. So far, her mother was looking after them, but now the ageing mother was finding it difficult and wanted her to take upon the responsibility of the children. On my asking that her two sisters who were better off could share the responsibility, pat came the reply: “All families have their own peculiar situations and I do not want to disturb their tranquility. Moreover, children feel at home only where they get love and affection. I only need some resources to discharge my responsibilities. This job will help me fulfil my resolve.” 

The words of Swami Vivekananda resonated in my ears, in reply to his disciple’s query on why it was necessary to do good to others: “Well, it is necessary for one’s own good. We become forgetful of the ego when we think of the body as dedicated to the service of others… the body with which we most complacently identify the ego.”

This young lady reaffirmed the belief that even in this predominantly materialistic world, there are some who cherish values above goods and comforts. How relevant are the words of Mahatma Gandhi — “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean: if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”