What lies behind us and what before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us

Who are you? This question may warrant a simple answer, but to the inwardly aware it triggers a process of introspection. It inspires to identify and describe the iceberg within us, that mammoth of a structure of whose only the tip is what is visible to the world. Who are you? Are you a success or a failure are you happy or sad, and are you really the person the world perceives you to be? The answer is best known only to you. You are the only one who knows the intensity of the storm that blows around the iceberg that lies within you. You are not that simplistic judgement people have of you. That judgement is only the tip of the hurricane that runs wildly within you. You are no more your past and the future will also never be yours. Your past lies behind you, sometimes battered by your mistakes, sometimes flattered by your victories. What is your past but a diary of those sundry events that beautify or stain the timeline of your life? It is not mere memories that can fuel or dampen your existence in the present. Also with every step that you take alongside time the last step taken seems futile. What is your future but a laundry list of these milestone steps you have to achieve? In this context the future too tends to lose its zeal. What for do we lament in hindsight then and what for do we plot in the future? What for should we bloat in vanity then and what for should we be anxious over futilities? We are a society, and bound by our capacities for limited knowledge we tend to evaluate situations and people. How can the rains of reasoning touch upon the evaluation that is so nicely sheltered under the umbrella of limited knowledge. I ask you how? So if this be the shallowness of

our perception are we following the right path? I would like to conclude this idea by challenging the very importance we attribute to everything that is so extrinsic and would like to express concern for the negligence with which we deal with our souls. It is only what lies within us, the soul, that is the basic fabric of the garment we so ignorantly brandish. The properties of the dress are determined by the cloth and it is the cloth we need to colour or reinforce in order to achieve the desired beauty and strength. It is of utmost importance that we forgo the causes and the ends and focus only on the means the present. Our happiness, our senses of wellness and pride are only the true factors that determine the value that we derive from our existence and one need not be a behavioral scientist to appreciate the intrinsic nature of such factors. Having attempted to apprise you of the paramountcy of what lies within us I will like to elaborate on the need to culture it. Our perception, which is affected by what runs within, is in a major way responsible for our behavior and actions. Is it not worthwhile then to look inward, analyze, and try to bring about changes within us so that we can act only in the best possible way? Our perception of things is also what evokes feelings of joy, sorrow, jealousy, pride and such. And what are we but the result of the emotions we experience. Man wants to be happy and at peace. Hence our efforts should only be directed towards nurturing our intrinsic machinery and not to waste time over futile experiments. Focusing on what lies within and solving through its multifarious complications will help simplify our inner structure which seems to many of us, an indomitable turmoil. The inner peace hence achieved will help us determine the true value of our relationships, work

commitments, desires and feelings of loathing. We should strive towards expurgating our souls from all disturbances and vices. A healthy soul is the best teacher and companion for life, an asset worth nurturing. Wise men say change is the only permanent thing in this world. I find this only partially true. The only other permanent thing in this world is the thing that does not belong to this world but only to us - our soul. It is only the soul that is truly ours; it is the only thing that will be there with us till that last moment when we will be handed over to the grave. If we help our soul it will help us. Man is bestowed with reasoning and punished with ego which clogs reasoning. If one forsakes ego one will be surprised with the possibility to reason with our undercurrents. Using only reasoning will one be able to realize that the important things in life are but few and essentially intrinsic. Even the extrinsic necessities that we need to cater to in this world will start having immense meaning and we will only go for those that add value and for those that dont, we will never be expending our emotions in futility. Thus we will continue to live in peace amidst true joy and pure satisfaction. Such is the reasoning that brings about wisdom, the realization of what is relevant and what is not, what is permanent and what is not and who is the true companion and who is not. Not surprisingly, the relevant, permanent and true companion is that iceberg that lies within. It is our responsibility to be able to see its entire mass and abate the storm around it in order to bring forth peace and beauty to this enormous power, for only what is beautiful inside is truly beautiful outside. Let us stop worrying then about those fleeting events our world is so much occupied with and for a moment let us try to hold on to what is truly permanent. (985 Words)
(Debjyoti Bhol, PGP03078, IIM Rohtak)