There is a song from Gurudutt that I loved listening to a while ago. It was called “Jala do, Jala do”. It talks about the futility of trying to win over a hypocritical world where only those who make wealth through whatever means are recognized, where palaces and thrones are built to separate people, one where traditions are used to create enemity, one where everyone is dejected and unhappy and yet one can only think of wealth making as a remedy to these problems and instead of trying to transform it, it is better to burn this down and build something instead.
In the past few years, my friends used to remark that my resume is really great and I should have no problems in doing what I want. These are very flattering compliments and I have taken these with a sense of pride. It reminds me of a story in Mahabharata where Bheema became arrogant about his strength. While walking across the mountain path in Himalayas, he sees an old monkey lying down on the side with its tail lying on the path. He arrogantly demands the monkey to move its tail as it was obstructing his path. The monkey pretends to be an old, feeble creature and monkey goads Bheema to lift the tail and put it away from the path. Bheema arrogantly agrees and after several failed attempts realizes his folly that he was vain in front of the strongest warrior on earth, Lord Hanuman. With his pride destroyed, he humbly requests Hanuman to protect the pandavas and bring them victory in the war.
I went through a pretty humbling experience recently and it made me realize that a lot of things that I’m proud about are neither the things I truly care nor do I qualify for those. For majority of my career, I’ve had the herd mentality where I had blindly followed people with successful careers and aped them.
So, the song of “Jalado Jalado” has struck a chord with me. It makes me not worry about the preservation of the world I’m surrounded with but in the creative destruction of it to realize a world closer to my dreams. For what good are the palaces when they prevent peace from entering the mind, for what good are the accolades when they induce anxiety and for what good is the throne when they only bring troubles?
Liberate yourself and forge your own path!
