TIME (& SPACE), I SURMISE THE REAL CULPRIT

EVERYTHING IS PARTIALLY CORRECT — SAYAAD BAAD¹ (THE CENTRAL TROPE)

This article is a meticulous introspection and the fruit of my 4 years of overthinking about the mundane things that are still noteworthy.

Everything stems from an underlying philosophy, and working backwards culminates in a class of latter. Our actions are governed by our (their) decisions, and the results thus obtained are sweet or bitter. Wait, is it so?

Has it ever occurred to you, the thought, that if “I had pursued the alternative I would have landed in a better, more prosperous state than I am”? The constant act of loathing of your current state (any particular aspect), even to a certain degree, makes you evaluate your life choices to the point where you ask GOD — why did it happen to me, so much pain and ordeal to bear. And sometimes you yourself justify the course of ordeals you have endured and get contented — Psychologists call it Cognitive Dissonance; few call it PROVIDENCE; I call it ACCEPTANCE. Anyways, it fulfils the job of attaining a state of bliss.

Ethically speaking, honestly, one should always be grateful for what one gets from the universe. As humans, we always tend to fill our platter with the most exquisite dishes that we can either EARN or FINAGLE. While the former is idolised, the latter is neither always condemned nor always worshipped. Even ethics takes a toll; ends might justify the means, or the other way around (classic).

(purely hypothetical stories)

JUSTIFICATION — 1:

Everything is fair in Love and War

In the 1990s, at a college, there was a beautiful lady, a student and the daughter of a professor named Sanjana. With her petite, she carried an innocuous yet sexual look hard for anyone to miss, like a siren. She was childish, a prude, yet warm and kind. Very polarising indeed. Boys approached her regularly. She didn’t fall for any advances and considered them mere cheap theatrics. Veer is among the most afflicted. He was devastated when Sanjana tore his 30-page confession to shreds. He was eclipsed by none other than Vikram, a well-read yet smart-ass, reckless man, a character painted in both black and white, as he fought ragging by beating the pulp out of seniors, only to flee afterwards from one of the premier engineering colleges of the 90s. Given this polarising reputation, Vikram stands out, and finally, Sanjana fell for him.

Well, everything is not merry. Whatever Vikram sold, Sanjana bought, but not his father (The professor). To secure your love, you endured every ordeal. They eloped. Their love bore them a child, Nik. Vikram and Sanjana tried hard to meet their ends. They were equally and highly qualified, egotistical, and had an air of superiority, THE PERFECT MATCH. Their love matched their conflicts. As time passed, they didn’t end up in the desired locations. There was no luxury, rather mediocrity. As both fought against their families for this union, they compromised their bargains with their respective families, thus surviving the crisis. Of course, things got worse when Vikram was diagnosed with complete organ failure. This took 21 years to happen, day after day, with negligence in paying heed to the symptoms. The ailment swallowed all the family’s Money, and Nik stood in despair.

Nik could not stand his mother’s turmoil, as day after day he saw her stuck in either her job or at the hospital. The situation was pathetic (inexpressible). Amidst all the personal distaste, Sanjana, deep down, was devoted to her husband; she fought for her love again and borrowed Money from her father. What a malady!!!

Their love was pure, fair, and all colourful- as a poet can portray, but the course of events really taught them a new lesson. If Sanjana had chosen Veer or her father’s choice, she might have saved herself from all this upheaval, perhaps even been more flourishing, or perhaps worse, reinforcing my central trope. All they fought against for their union are now their providers, a turn of events. TIME SCREWED THEM.

JUSTIFICATION — II:

The Grapes are sour

Vikram was born in a family of five. His elder brother died early. That leaves him with his three other sisters. His father was a primary school teacher, and his mother was a housewife. Life was really hard for them back in the 60s in a village in India. With such hardships, by all means, it is natural for everyone to get their ticket out of the misery. One of the sisters was Sashini. She was very docile, soft and delicate. A proposal came for her. The groom was a big-hearted businessman (wealthy) and demanded no dowry and asked for a housewife. Vikram’s father didn’t approve of this consociation because of the mismatch in professions (values). To this, Sashini sobbed relentlessly, with the fear of loosing the prospect. Finally after few gloomy days, Vikram could not stand his sister’s plight and finally persuaded their father. The marriage was solemnised. Everything was merry, but later Sashini found out his husband had a knack for consuming alcohol. There were periods of rift between the two, following his temporary forgoing of it, only to resume later. As time passed, he was diagnosed with liver failure and subsequent other organ failures. After years of medications and surgeries, he kicked the bucket. Sashini became a widow, with a child named Rich. The family’s wealth and prosperity declined.

Once upon a time, for what you have fought to relish might not be all sweet. As the fox reasoned that the grapes were sour and left with a heavy heart, mocked for his act, can indeed be correct.

JUSTIFICATION — III:

God has mercy on the nobles (one who performs noble acts)

Nik used to play with the other children in the neighbourhood. He had a friend whose father was a very respectable man. Every morning, he used to donate money to beggars, maids, house-helpers and other destitutes. He lived modestly, without any luxury. Vikram too idolised him. However, the same man got afflicted with a certain disorder that led to complete paralysis and subsequently became bedridden. Nothing on earth helped the guy to fix his ailment.

He who cared for all gathered no mercy on his deathbed.

Nik was flabbergasted as his mother always glorified deeds of noble acts being reciprocated equally by the universe (and researvation of a seat in the heaven 😊). However, on the same note, Sanjana’s sister’s father-in-law was a corrupt government officer. He left no stone unturned to squeeze the juice out of people to get their work done. He lived a life of luxury beyond anyone’s imagination. Apparently, he met the same fate as above.

He who chastised all gathered no mercy on his deathbed.

Nik was, as always, perplexed, and Sanjana had no explanation.

JUSTIFICATION — IV:

The legends are always awe-inspiring

Vikram and Sanjana made good friends in the city. Time was hard, and they were all struggling for a common cause: Money. Two notable friends were Suryansh and Ajay (Nik’s uncles). Ajay was highly intellectual, worked on various part-time international projects for the IMF and the World Bank, and had an air of superiority. He was immaculate in his executions as per Vikram’s testimonials. Suryansh, on the other hand, was dull and subservient but always cheerful from within. He hopped jobs like a rabbit, as he always got fired within months, so had a tough life. Everyone adored Ajay a lot. However, as years passed, Vikram and Ajay kept striving for stable jobs but didn’t land one due to the scarcity of them. The luck was a little better for Ajay when he finally got a clerical government job at a very late age. By this time, the situation has flipped completely for Suryansh. By the grace of God, he took a managerial job in the IT sector. Given his naïve, down-to-earth, meek nature, the boss kept him as a “Gomastha”² in India. He flourished like nothing else. The boss required a yielding man who is ready-on-go, asks few questions, executes, and is loyal. The company grew, and so did Suryansh resources. Later, he married a girl from a neighbouring village and also inherited a lot of property. Everyone was dumbfounded and started lauding Suryansh. Ajay was eclipsed like a moon in a lunar eclipse, while Suryansh became THE LEGEND, the PONTIFICATOR, the OPINIONATOR (whose opinion once never mattered)

A miser turns to a prophet after his luck shines. It is the time that made him a legend and put him on the summit of popular acclaim.

JUSTIFICATION — V:

The genius child wins the life

Nik was an average student, chronically asthmatic, underweight and ill most of the time. He was reasonable in his studies but not extraordinary. He struggled hard to keep up with his peers. His mother, Sanjana, encouraged him to work hard but also told him the famous proverb in Odia: “ତୁଳସୀ ଦୁଇ ପତ୍ରରୁ ବାସେ” or in Hindi: “तुलसी के पौधे की महक उसके केवल दो पत्तों से ही आने लगती है”. There is no apposite English translation that preserves its essence; however, it refers to the actions someone elicits that others value highly (ingenuity) and envisage a brighter future.

The justification requires no further explanation at this moment, as people have begun to realise the scope beyond traditional career pursuits. Readers might point out the survivor bias in this statement, but it is true. The metric for fulfilment lies beyond material, and the means to it are very subjective and contentious. Few argue for mental richness, aka wisdom, rather than material wealth. You can be rich in your own ways.

For completeness, Nik has been trying to reach the pinnacle 😊

FINAL JUSTIFICATION — VI:

The Quest for Contentment (Spiritual sense)

“Passion is different at every stage of life: Toys, love, wealth, and eventually, the search for the divine (God).”

We cherish pleasure, and it manifests in various forms, such as toys, love, wealth, and God. We are never entirely content. We inadvertently treat pleasure as a passion although it is honest, but flawed.

When we were young, we loved playing with toys and were never really satiated, stubborn about getting bigger and newer ones until we let it go. Cherishing love is highly subjective; I leave it to your way. To lead a happy life, we accumulate wealth. The crazy part is that few are content with what they have earned, and for others, it is never enough.

BUT IF YOU ARE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, ARE YOU NOT LIMITING YOUR ROOM FOR DEVELOPMENT?

Contentment is dualistic, and the same analogy extends to Divine pleasure as well. We see hierarchies/ranks in sadhus and gurus. Is it contentment or a spiritual race to conquer ?

CONCLUSION

There is no definitive truth. Everything is entropy and chaos. The universe has no structure, and hence it is not bound by our social, cultural, mental, psychological, or physiological constructs; thus, there is conflict. By this argument, I don’t justify any heinous crimes at all. As I have mentioned, the central trope of this article: “Everything is partially correct”, Everything includes itself, and hence it can be incorrect too.

Everything is a spectrum.

¹Aka Anekantavada

²Gomastha