Be the change you want to see- Gandhi

Mediocrity is something every person is born with. However, he is sent on this earth to get rid of it. Mediocrity is removed by education, discipline and changing what is not right. When a child is born, he/she has no knowledge of anything. Their brain is an empty slate that is ready to be written on. Good education and upbringing serves this purpose.  Life is a race and if you don’t run fast you’ll lag behind, this simple statement has changed the meaning of life around us. Everyone is nowadays running behind materialistic things; not realising the true meaning of living which our past generations preached.

Remembering the Indian freedom struggle, one name that always comes to mind is Sh. Mahatma Gandhi.  He was the one who preached non violence. His famous quote “Be the change you want to see in the world.” is famous everywhere. This quote has change the mindset of many people. The famous speeches of US President Mr. Barack Obama have often been laced with the quote “change we can believe in.” also he mentions Mahatma Gandhi as one of his inspirations.

This quote is simple in language and can be understood by children as well. This quote should be applied to real life. We can make our lives worth living by changing little things in us or in our surroundings or society; because charity begins at home. People are often categorised as pessimist or optimist. Pessimist is a person who looks at the negative aspect of everything and optimist is a complete opposite. The person who sees the glass as half full is the one who is willing to change for the betterment of the society. The other always ends up suffering and is not capable of making any worthwhile change in life. Many people contradict such statements by saying that it is necessary to introspect the negative aspects of something that we do so that it can be dealt when such situation arises. Their contradiction is also right but it should be in a checked manner and this pessimism should never make a person abysmal.

The difference lies in the perception of the people and how they see the world around themselves.

Past is gone, future is unknown, today is a gift; the reason why it is called present. A person no matter how powerful or rich has no power to change his past and overcome difficulties that lie ahead in his future. The person must learn to live in the present and cherish each moment. Present changes every second, making our lives worthwhile.

Dreams always come true; this statement is what we believe in. But, if you ask someone up the social ladder, he/she will disagree. Dreams never come true; desires do. Desires fuel the fire in us to achieve something we want; they may be materialistic things such as a house, car, expensive clothing or something spiritual such as peace of mind, happiness and contentment in family etc. Such desires can only be achieved if we change our perception and know the difference between dreams and desires. Also to add, optimist people who have the will and the understanding to change them always achieve what they desire and turn out to be nothing less than legends.

Change has always been an inevitable part of human race, early man invented wheel, we modern people made tyre; he discovered fire, we burnt houses. This example of early man clearly shows us the two types of changes. Changing something can be done in two ways, first is doing it in a violent way and second is doing that thing in a non violent way. Gandhiji always preached non violence and kept the British Government on his toes. Whether it is his famous Dandi March, Non Cooperation Movement or The Civil Disobedience Movement, East India Company always found itself playing on a difficult pitch.  Another epitome of freedom, The French Revolution was however heavily marred with violence.

Life is not just a show, it is a blessing bestowed upon us by the almighty. It is however set by many difficulties and overcoming them can sometimes be a tedious task. Overcoming them with valour depends upon the person, how he views the difficulties and whether he makes a great deal of those sufferings or not. A person is always in control of his life and always has the option to make it or break it. This making or breaking depends upon the decisions taken and the changes incorporated within. “Rolling stones gather no moss”; ability to change as per time makes life worth living and also we are no stones. So its better we change as failure in doing so will cover us with moss of those difficulties.

This change within is not easy and sometimes is near impossible. People argue that changing according to someone or something else will make them infirm, this is utter non sense. Changing for someone/something makes the moment worth cherishing. So whenever someone feels like they are not worthy of change further, they should remember where they started. A weak man cannot say that he forgave the mighty, for that he has to be mighty.

                People nowadays are so engrossed with their lives that they have forgotten the art of forgiveness. Law and order has not been given a damn since long time now. Political houses have been shunning their responsibilities. People have given up their hopes on the administration. Also whenever someone does something for another person, they feel ambivalent afterwards. Is such society worth living? Above we have read various advantages of bringing change in ourselves. But, if we change ourselves; who gives the guarantee that the “civilised” world would care? 

Many people have given up their lives in order to make the world a better place to live. Giving life should not be confused with death here. Giving life means, donating their entire time for the betterment of society. Our history is rich with such examples. Moving apart from freedom struggles and coming to far more developed times, technology has evolved a lot and one man that many people would not have heard about comes to the mind. The man, Nikola Tesla invented nearly 60 percent of the modern world from AC and DC Current to induction motors and gave it for free without patenting it. The change that he brought about in the world would not have been possible if he would not have changed himself first. Taking a decision for the betterment of the society is surely a bold decision because seeing the present scenario he would have been deemed foolish. This change surely made him an immortal in the eyes of science enthusiasts; respectable more than Einstein.

Just when you think that you have learned the way of life, it changes and when your life changes you can change the world. Every Homo sapiens is born with a different identity, different upbringing and from different cultures. However, one thing that they have in common is their mind. We know human mind has immense power and can withstand almost every hurdle, but we must never forget that attention span of majority of people is small. People do something, they see, they hear and forget after a period of time. They remember things only when it happens to them. Such bitterness is prevalent is society now. So to make them realise that life is a blessing, the learned masses need to change and set examples.

Talking about our country, India is reeling under corruption in nearly all spheres. It has become a stigma on the name and reputation of our country. People with power try to control the nation in perpetuity. A big fry generally goes scot free; it is the poor who has to face the brunt. Things have reached such a pass that people believe “go in for bribe and flourish; shun it and be damned.” In order to remove this stigma, the people of India need to think and act collectively. Changing our attitude towards the system, refusing to pay bribes and exposing those corrupt are the needs of the hour. Also, the Right to Information Act gives us immense power to raise questions over functioning of the government departments.

Swaying away from the professional point of view, change is also felicitous in personal life. Changing bad habits, changing your nature for your partner, changing your busy schedule to teach your children, all results in heavenly adobe called home. Always have a desire, work hard to achieve it, but never lose the sight of what is important; because after all else fails, there’s family.

Change also brings a sense of contentment, optimist people tend to help others in need and feel contended after doing so. Everyone on this earth has two choices in front of him. First is the choice of giving up all vices and live life as a blessing and second choice is of living with all the vices and showing off the flamboyant lifestyle one lives. Choosing the second option makes us a materialistic person, whereas first option makes us one of a kind.

Change is never boring; it actually refreshes a person from the cobwebs of the world he has been stuck in. Whenever we are tired, we all say “let’s go out for a little change.” This change fills us up with enthusiasm and energy to get back to our regular schedule with full vigour. Change is not only a word; it is a way of life. It shows as to how you perceive your life and how respectful you are to your family and your peers. It’s your life; make it large by changing small things that hold you back.

Concluding, I would add that whenever life pushes you back, just remember that an arrow is pushed back by the bow only to throw it forward. So whenever you feel that life is holding you down, don’t panic, change your outlook towards the problem and try again because winners do not do different things, they do things differently.