This kid in my neighbourhood calls up to me in the supermarket.
“Didi, IIT-JEE ke results aa gaye. I did it!” I saw in his misty eyes, the look of a young man who has endured an excruciating struggle, had mortgaged his life for that struggle and has achieved his personal ambition, his highest moral purpose. He was happy. That non-contradictory joy which is like an end in itself!
I met his mother in the morning. I smiled to convey my congratulations. “This is worth living for.’, she said in her emotionally choked voice.
“Achievement is the only ethical and rational principle of all life.”, I said, bowed proudly and went off for running.
The result, for the kid and his mother, does not just mean getting into the best educational institution of the country. It is the spiritual payment in exchange for their consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed efforts and values. It is a concomitant reward for their loyalty to their values, to their judgement and to their life.
Happiness is only true to achievers. There can never be happiness in the dim-flicker of undemanding sensations. Parasites, looters, moochers and thugs can only pretend to be happy. Imagine a man with no achievements. Nothing is possible to him except the terror and guilt of a dirt ball caught in a nightmare universe. There is no greater self-delusion than to imagine that one can be happy being mediocre; it is like sabotaging the function of one’s own consciousness. Only a man with scarcely a shred of self-esteem can take pride in not desiring.
The profound pleasure of a student when he succeeds in an examination, the mad ecstasy of a batsman on his winning stroke, the smirk on the face of a strategic consultant when he sees the productive work of his mind on a client slide, the bright eyes of a baby eager to learn her day’s walking lesson — this is the pure, unadulterated form of happiness and it’s only form.
There can only be achievers and non-achievers. There can only be happiness and sadness. There can only be blacks and whites. The cult of wannabes, happiness pretenders and grays is sham and so are the men who cling on to these middle-of-the-road grooves in a panicky attempt to justify it.
12 comments:
Your definition of happiness is quite true and everyone experiences the same feeling whenever they achieve something good and when they remember those achievements.
However, life is all about achievements and failures. What we need to realise is that it is all Divine dispensation and we are mere players in this game.
Goddess, then u must be the happiest person in this world.
Very nicely written. Very Srilakshmi-ish post, infact. The thought of you has always brought to my mind, a very focused, ambitious and serious kid with the trademark smirk, of course.
Happiness is momentary. Contentment is something that lasts. A person hankering after achievements is always restless and unhappy. If one is obsessed with a desire, and it remains unfulfilled, then he goes crazy. Imagine this kid, failing in IIT? What would become of him? CAT 2007! What became of you! Achievements and failures are just a part of life. You must learn this lesson, kid. Strong desire is good. But the madness with which you pursue your desires is really scary. Grow up.
bowed proudly..hehe
Inkenti antha Happies...
Kannavaallaku adivelu
Chinnavaallaku happilu :)
Goooooooooooodddddddddessssssssss!
U r the greatest. Hw can u cum up wd thse posts? Missing u..........
Come ON, Srilu. Not everybody in this world is blessed with the your kind of brains!Imagine a man with no achievements?..that is TOOOO much! You can't say non-achievers should jump in the river.This has always been your problem..anybody who is not as focused in life as you are is like dirt for you.Whats wrong in enjoying life?Is life only about achieving and winning? You'll never change!!!
Goddess , ur presentation is wonderful . U will scare a lot of ppl with this blog - post btw . :))
And , I finally completed reading Fountainhead . U r like Ellsworth Toohey re . Before U say I didn't understand the book only , its only in the sense that U make ppl so much dependent on u that life becomes difficult without u . Missing you . :((
I saw goddess in d coll 2day.i musbe reely lucky.U stayed only 4 5 mins,goddess.....The whole coll becam alive wen u came.u hv a bright light around ur body.I wantd 2 cm and talk but I gt scared.U r saying happness,wot i felt wen i sw u is happiness,and its only form.
but MFC becomes happy wd Goddess's successes and acheivements.
y d change of address Goddess?????
Srilakshmi,u r a magician.its only after I met you that I started liking myself so much.I was ordinary,u made me feel tht my life is spl.u do it to evrybody. ur like the angel in cindrella story,angel makes life livable and stories end happily..My full happiness, I owe it to u.pls dont delete this comment.I knw u hate senti and even this u'll call filmi,but this is straight frm d heart not frm a film.let it be.and plsssss dont find grammar mistakes in this.u knw,earlier I never used to capital my I's.it was always i.wen I do it now,by mistake,I think of u and change it wd a *.I'm happy now and thats only bcz of u,THE GODDESS.I hv told u this evn bfore but I realised after I talkd to u 2day tht u are really a Goddess.So I must comment on dis post.
Srilakshmi? Nice name. I have no idea what to comment on this post. All the best for CAT this time. I am not interested to know anything about you except your performance in CAT mock tests. Just the numbers. Get ready!
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