Sunday, May 22, 2016

"Excerpt 1.4"

It is easy not to be inspired albeit rather head for the shadow. Eventually, the shadow will fade away. The lights will remain as it is. The day before yesterday, the JCILP committee called for the 38 hours statewide bandh in Manipur. That day, we were suppose to be in Imphal to meet our local MLA Manga Vaiphei (Henglep constituency). By ‘we’, I meant our local youth club leaders. In spite of the bandh, we went ahead with our plan as the appointment was arranged earlier than the bandh that was planned later by the JCILP committee. We already knew that people who supports the bandh will stop us on the road and will tell us to return back or even worse. In fact, we were stopped more than 10 times but we reached on time for our appointment and back safely. 

Ever wondered, how did we overcome the stringent bandh that day when we could have cancel the appointment? A boy stopped us for a lift before we hit the main road at Ningthoukong gate or popularly known as Loktak gate. We decided to give the boy a ride. Fortunately, the boy turns out be a college student who have an examination at Imphal that particular day. I’d say it was a blessing in disguise for us. Whenever we come across the bandh supporters, we told them we were dropping the boy for his college examination. In fact, we dropped the boy right at his college examination centre. Also, we had a successful meeting with our local MLA as per the appointment. On our way back, I put up a sticker written as ‘EXAM’ on my car front mirror and we managed to escape the bandh. 

I guess ‘karma’ has it own wonderful work ethos. Moving on to the title Excerpt 1.4, “Citizens live with heroic spirit”. Excerpts from Inaugral address (April 27, 1980) by Swami Ranganathananda. 

It is the heroic spirit that came to the Western people and made them great. England sent its best people to die in the oceans, in the forests and mountains, and far-away islands; and they went fearlessly and cheerfully, for the love of their country, and for the sheer love of adventure. It was that that made that country great. I shall live in ease, I shall save myself, and yet my nation will be great--that can never happen. But we have been doing that very thing. We try to avoid all difficult assignments to hilly, forest, or rural areas, we circumvent all postings to situae offering challenges to our courage and daring, and seek the maximum advantages to oneself and one’s family. In all these, we see the good grihastha, no doubt, but fail to see the quiet heroism and patriotic spirit of the enlightened citizen. 

It is the minimum of spiritual growth that enables the citizen to take care of the national interest while protecting his own personal interest. And even that personal interest is not just money and more money only, which is all what most people understand by that expression, but also honour, dignity, creative life, and heroic adventure. And these come only from the spiritual growth involved in enlightened citizen. 

When this growth comes to a person, public spirit and human concern manifest spontaneously; he or she has not to struggle for it; seeing somebody in distress on the road, the impulse comes : I will go and ask the person in distress: What is the trouble with you? In what way can I help you? If, in all situations, I move far away, thinking, I don't want to be involved, I don't want to be caught, then there is the complete absence of citizenship-awareness. Yes, I am prepared to be involved and to face the consequences in the service of my fellow-men. That is how the humanistic impulse operates in a citizen. 

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