Your label?
Friends! Today I am going to share a short story with you that I read somewhere. The title of the story is... 'Humans are Lost'....
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"There was a philosopher. He was often deep in thought. But when he spoke, he said very profound things. Because of this, people respected him greatly. However, sometimes his words were quite strange, and interestingly, he himself couldn't stop laughing at his own words.
One day, people saw the philosopher walking somewhere in the middle of the afternoon with a lit lantern in his hand. It was midday, and the sun was shining brightly. Light was spreading everywhere. In such a situation, what was the point of walking with a lit lantern?
Seeing that sight, people were rolling with laughter. But the philosopher kept moving forward with a serious expression.
One man couldn't resist. He asked the philosopher... 'Sir! Where are you going with a lantern during the day?'
The philosopher looked at him and said... 'Something is lost; I am searching for it.'
Curiously, the man asked... 'What have you lost?'
The philosopher said in the same tone... 'Humanity (Insaan). I am searching for it.'
By then, many more people had gathered there. Hearing the philosopher's words, they said together... 'Sir, what are you saying? Are we not humans?'
The philosopher said... 'No, you are not humans.'
People asked... 'Then what are we?'
The philosopher replied... 'No, you all are not humans; among you, someone is a merchant, someone an engineer, someone a teacher, someone a Hindu, someone a Muslim. But unfortunately, none of you is a human. A human is one who considers everyone equal and loves everyone. Just search your heart and see how much truth there is in my words.'
People were speechless."
'Edited with gratitude to the unknown author'
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Friends!
In the current times, this statement seems literally true. Where have humans vanished? Today, in the name of identity, everyone has put such 'labels' on themselves that the human behind them has become obscured.
A couplet by Bashir Badr describes today’s reality:
"There were names on houses, and titles with the names,
I searched a lot, but found no man."
It’s true, isn't it? From religion, caste, and gender to rich-poor and black-white—we have divided humans in so many ways that no one is interested in being called a 'human' anymore.
Now, pain is felt only when it is associated with one's identity. No one has the time anymore to become a human and understand the suffering of another human. Look at the irony: today, instead of sharing others' pain, we look for ways to increase it. Every 'identity holder' feels that the cause of their sorrow is the person with 'another identity.' For example, women see men as the cause of all their sorrows, and men see women as the root of all their problems.
In fact, everyone looks for the blame for their sorrow only until they find another human as the culprit. After that, a never-ending battle of revenge and lessons begins. Whereas 'identity' alone cannot be guilty.
Just as if a house falls, the fault is not of the bricks but of the 'mortar' that joins them. Similarly, if society begins to break, the culprits are not the superficial identities like religion, caste, or gender, but the lack of 'human mortars' like trust, harmony, sensitivity, love, and tolerance that hold society together.
Today, the problem is being seen in the wrong place, so how can there be a solution? The result is that there are fewer ointments in hands and more 'scalpels' of selfishness and insensitivity.
It pains me the most when our great country, which gave the path of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The world is one family), also seems to be in the grip of this narrow-mindedness. The souls of our ancestors would surely be disappointed with us.
Look at the irony of division:
First, the world was divided and countries were formed, then countries into states, states into villages, villages into neighborhoods, and finally, neighborhoods were confined within four walls. And now... now divisions are happening in relationships. Property, rights, and responsibilities are being divided in every form—parents, siblings, husband-wife. Earlier, society added 'partnerships'; now it calculates 'divisions.'
The interesting thing is that all this division started under the pretext of 'management and convenience,' but the intent fell prey to selfishness and accounting. If there were a true intention of care, a human would be loyal to another human without any boundaries.
The 'Trap' of Politics:
Religion, caste, and social systems were created for self-elevation, but now they are a 'political trap.' Current politics is like a fierce and cruel 'spider' that wants to swallow your peace and happiness to fill its stomach. As soon as you step into the web of 'religion-caste' debates spread by it, you become a victim of that poisonous politics and you start seeing only 'opponents' everywhere.
The Burden of the Past:
This web is made sticky and attractive with the resin of bad events from the past. You are brought close to this web by being told bitter stories, some false and some true. Some people use the bitterness of the past as 'bait' (chugga) in today’s life.
Just stop and think, how long will you continue to soil the present by dragging the mud of a handful of truths from the past on your feet? After all, you too are creating a 'past' with one hand in the form of the 'present,' and the responsibility for your future is in your other hand.
If you consider yourself wise, then save your coming generation from this 'rot.' It is your responsibility to straighten this reverse direction of society. Do not wait for 'good times' to become good; it is the bad times that carve a 'good personality.' We have spoiled the time, so we must be the ones to fix it.
In my words:
"Let a lamp of hopes be lit,
Let little feet be saved from stumbling.
When the storms haven't accepted defeat, then,
'Nishabd,' let the glowing hearts be saved from fading."
So friends! For once, try putting away those 'scalpels' of selfishness, bitterness, and intolerance associated with superficial identities. Instead, try applying the 'ointments' of love, tolerance, trust, and belonging—hopefully, something will truly change.
With this, I end this article and leave a question for you. When you sit at leisure today, ask yourself a question... "What is your label? By what label do you identify yourself?" That's all.
[Read my bilingual (Hindi/English) poem 'Dried Neem Leaves and Blue Ink' here. Also, don't forget to subscribe via email to receive blog updates and to read many more stories, articles, and poems.]
【Click here to read this Article in हिन्दी...👇】
Thank you, have a good day...🙏💕
✍️From the pen of 'Nishabd'...💕
🖌️ Images created in collaboration with Gemini and Nano Banana...🌷
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