‘Desires have no boundaries or definite parameters. Come back to your spot and wait here’. These are not words uttered by any famous politician or public figure or even a sage guru, but by a poor old woman who was with her friend in a queue for receiving alms from a devotee at an ashram in South India. I was there once and, soaking in the holiness of the ashram activities one afternoon. I had heard that there was this ashram where a daily feeding ritual for the poor was conducted and I wanted to see it for myself. They have this system where anyone can sponsor a feeding of the poor ritual, on a token payment depending on the number of people one would like to feed. However, it does not mean that only that many number of people would be fed and that others would be asked to leave. I saw that more than the number of people a person desired to feed were there and everyone was fed sumptuously. The quality of the food was visibly excellent including all the normal recipes that are found in every ordinary household, in fact more than that. The Ramanna Maharshi Ashram located at many places in the south is well known, as the saint was a revered figure who had made it his life mission to nurse the poor and the needy of the society during his lifetime. After his death, his values and traditions are being ably upheld by the followers of the ashram and his disciples who are influenced by his teachings.
This particular day, I was in front of a group of people who were there to receive the food from the ashram, and in fact some of the administrators of the ashram even invited me to partake of the food with them there inside a pandal permanently erected for the purpose of feeding guests who visit the ashram every day, immaterial of caste, creed or race. I was thrilled and agreed to join the lunch time guests, but not before I had witnessed the activities in the feeding area. This woman, a poor lady in semi tattered clothes had addressed her friend who had joined a queue yet again to receive a coin being given away by another devotee close to the feeding area. This lady wanted to get as many coins as she could, but the lady behind me reprimanded her in the words quoted above, as was interpreted for me by my host who was with me during my visit there. He told me that he was immensely impressed with the philosophical tenor of the lady’s statement to her friend, spoken in a gentle voice too. The impact of those words sunk into me too, and I felt that these were indeed words that would have been uttered by any sage, philosopher or guide during their sermons. The lady had enlightened me with these simple words and the sentiments behind those simple words were indeed profound. All of us have desires that often tend to go overboard without us realizing that it has. It can also provoke us to ride rough shod over other people and the order of society even, to reach the end of our desires as we are taught to believe that the end justifies the means. But does it really? A sensible and ordinary question to ask when we do run after achieving something for ourselves blindly. The object of our desire becomes the single most engrossing point that demands our complete attention at such moments, obviously. In the process of reaching the destination, we even commit a few small and big sins on the way, the force of which can never be calculated. The achievement is itself the reward for us. And, mind you it can be anything.
The same seems to be the case with our ongoing tussle between the class boycott agitators and the parents – guardians involved in a soft spoken verbal duel with each other, carried by the local dailies with some prominence. The promoters of the agitation have casually called the guardians as anti - people. Is that justified? Are the parents not a component of the people who are being termed as ‘anti – people’? Are they not a people, to be precise? What is the denotation of this kind of democracy? Here, the democratic unit is being branded as a negative force to achieve a cherished end of toppling Ibobi as Chief Minister. To further rationalize this situation, we have a rally of people carrying slogans that they oppose the merger with the Indian union and want freedom. By the way, can we common folks ask a simple question now? Let us for a moment believe that the much desired call for breaking away from the Indian union is realized finally, who will take over the reigns of the state and maintain order within the society that is free? Which organization or political party is above board to take the keys to our society and lead us away from the bloody aftermath of such eventuality? Have we sanitized our border from our uncertain neighbor who are, rogues to say the least at that, and ensured that they will not foment more trouble within us thereafter? Remember, we are people who are easily influenced to believe first, and think later. We proudly claim that we will not take things lying down and will stand up for our rights. Nevertheless, although that is a commendable aspect of our character, what we don’t know to do is to sit down, once our concerns have been addressed either.
The proliferation of organizations that are in the fray today is so confusing and, not one of them is ready to go in for a debate with the perpetrators of our miseries, the Indian Republic. Every call for dialogue is derailed due to stubborn riders that often come from the organization that is called for dialogue. If at all the Indian Republic does agree to such riders, the consequences of it for the land will be huge, but the leaders of the groups do not understand this fundamental fact, or rather wish to neglect it for their own nefarious means. Not all the organizations can be termed as such, though they have been mute spectators to these menacing groups and turn their face away from the repercussions that they can cause to the movement. The credibility of every organization therefore comes under suspicion here. Freedom is not going to be decided simply due to their sporadic violent activities or by killing a few soldiers of the Indian Army now and then. There is a protocol to be followed and dialogue will be absolutely necessary to achieve that dream, and we all know it.
To which organization, political party, or political figure will the Government of India hand over the administrative responsibilities of the state? Believe me, we are looking at a scenario where there will be a President, Prime Minister, and Council of Ministers with their different constitutions in each Leikai in the state, should this wild thinking possibility turns into a reality in today’s bleeding state of affairs in the state. How many of our hundreds of agencies working for this goal are able to see ‘eye – to – eye’ with each other and work cordially on a common agenda, even right now? The agents who are taking up these issues on our behalf will evidently turn their attention on us and extort more than needed to further their own brand of war against the enemy who is occupying our lands. We have already faced these realities and continue to be the targets who watch with horror when newer organizations enter the conflict zone with more and more promises, only of misery for us. We have now understood that it is a purely business venture here, as the new entrants have come up due to the fact that the industry is worth a few crores, and a small percentage of it would take care of their lifestyles and ensure that they obtain a square meal with a few lavish accompaniments more often than not, without much toil.
Fight for freedom is merely turned into a jovial jamboree of misery for us unarmed vulnerables, genuinely peace loving, innocents walking the lanes of the state and trying to eke out a decent living under hugely adverse conditions. The restrictions imposed on us in trying to do just that by all and sundry are so discouraging that just living an ordinary life is a task almost like scaling the highest mountain top that originates on the ocean floor. We are all at sea! I often recollect the wisdom I gained from that poor old lady in tattered clothes down in an ashram of South India and wish that the enlightenment I got from her would also be available to my own people, who can do with a little bit of simple logic to understand that desires have no limits, but the manner in which it can be achieved needs to be reasonable. Simply, be sensible and serious about it. Let us not turn the ‘Viva – La – Freedom’ identify merely into slogan for us to exercise our decibel levels whenever chanted in unison? Seriously!

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