Wednesday, October 06, 2004
The RAT race!
Y’day I happened to see a play at Prithvi Theatre – Chabi (Key) directed by Dinesh Thakur. The play was about an assistant accountant who has dreams… dreams we all have… of money… of promotions… of love… of life! Having a room (with just bathroom and no kitchen) his life was nothing more than work, work and then sleep in the room (can’t call it a home either). And then… some senior members of the company found him or rather his “room” a bit of “need” for their “past times” … Yup! You got it right… it was needed in evening/ nights… from day one of the week, his room was booked for almost whole of the week. He had to do nothing but to pass on the keys. This would help him in getting some raise and some promotion.
It happens in our daily life too… of course in many different ways. We try to get into the “rat race” and to get ahead of people around us in all the possible ways … forgetting the core fact that even if one wins the race… we still remain a RAT!!!
So the bigger question is are we too in a rat race… running against the life… getting tired, frustrated, and depressed with the seeing rats around … if yes then I think, being in a rat race we chose to have rats around us. But why are we in that race… can we survive without it…
The answer is not NO… neither is yes! Since childhood, we are tuned by our parents, neighbors, teachers, and preachers, about the good, the bad and the ugly. We make our choices with the option given to us and nothing beyond that. Our thinking is limited to a world designed by the environment we grew in. We try to achieve what everyone else is seeking – even if it is not worthy or no way related to us. And the story doesn’t end here – the performance is evaluated every now and then, and it’s more of complains every time rather than appreciation of what has been achieved. (That’s the making of rat!)
Is there any solution to it? Yes! But it’s not easy to achieve. It is salvation – nirvana … NO! I am not talking about going to Himalayas and do meditation… (actually that can be one) I am talking about self realization – what do we really want? What is the intrinsic value we are seeking by doing something and are we achieving it…
As I said, it’s not easy! In the play too, though the man gets his love (after the lady realizes the intentions of the boss and took a bold step of refusing him); he, when reaches the status of being the Boss (!), does the same act of getting the key!
We all are rats and will continue to run throughout our life. There is no escape!
It happens in our daily life too… of course in many different ways. We try to get into the “rat race” and to get ahead of people around us in all the possible ways … forgetting the core fact that even if one wins the race… we still remain a RAT!!!
So the bigger question is are we too in a rat race… running against the life… getting tired, frustrated, and depressed with the seeing rats around … if yes then I think, being in a rat race we chose to have rats around us. But why are we in that race… can we survive without it…
The answer is not NO… neither is yes! Since childhood, we are tuned by our parents, neighbors, teachers, and preachers, about the good, the bad and the ugly. We make our choices with the option given to us and nothing beyond that. Our thinking is limited to a world designed by the environment we grew in. We try to achieve what everyone else is seeking – even if it is not worthy or no way related to us. And the story doesn’t end here – the performance is evaluated every now and then, and it’s more of complains every time rather than appreciation of what has been achieved. (That’s the making of rat!)
Is there any solution to it? Yes! But it’s not easy to achieve. It is salvation – nirvana … NO! I am not talking about going to Himalayas and do meditation… (actually that can be one) I am talking about self realization – what do we really want? What is the intrinsic value we are seeking by doing something and are we achieving it…
As I said, it’s not easy! In the play too, though the man gets his love (after the lady realizes the intentions of the boss and took a bold step of refusing him); he, when reaches the status of being the Boss (!), does the same act of getting the key!
We all are rats and will continue to run throughout our life. There is no escape!
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rat race !! pretty tru .... we are all a part of it .. and only those who can run 'away' and not 'in' the race are the ones who succeed like success !!
Gr8 writing .. do go on ...
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Gr8 writing .. do go on ...
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