Wednesday 22 July 2009

Virus of Optimism

Have you heard of it ? Virus of optimism . Looks a catchy word, which indeed it is, doesn't undermine the reality that we are severely affected by this virus. I first came to know of this virus from Salman Rushdie, where in his book Midnight's Children he manifets,as to how this virus ran through the genes of Indian population , once the children of midnight placed their foot on the freed land.

You are infected with it, and so am I . A perceived prospect of better future sees this virus in its full vigor. Every dream and hope further bolsters its strength. Is it pernicious? Depends. Depends on the dreams , on the optimism conjured. While on the one hand , its a necessary element for the life itself, on the other hand , it blinds our vision. The sort of wishes that blind the very trueness of things around us and symbolizes everything beyond as something worth striving for.

You may think , I am fooling around with words, but let me get you on the same page. It runs through us day in and day out, but its manifestations are easy to observe when , say , "
a blind man hears from a qualified doctor that he can be easily see after a mild surgery,
when an average student is being told by a gregarious and qualified teacher that he can easily top the class with a diligent effort,
when a patriotic movie raises your sentiment about the inexorable certainty of India emerging a global player with your efforts,
ans when " Aamir Khan told in Lagaan to other villagers that they can learn the game and win as well, and then there would be no more Lagaan

".
There are examples galore , just that you never thought of naming it.

Inherent in its nature is the capacity to drive actions, capacity to create illusions, and the tenacity to rear its head in the most pacific of situations. It serves to direct our actions towards a goal, valuing the end greatly , while placing no merit upon the path itself. It blinds our sense of being as it is and creates a make believe that what lies next is the only truth left. Sadly , the illusion doesn't last long upon its victims and they understand that it was not so , sooner or later, but remain susceptible to it , to embark on a journey to another goal. A chase it creates, mindless and end less, while the path itself has no relevance left for the seeker.

If it s virus, it must grow, and it does, with every hint of sucess , optimism grows , only to be realised at a point that it was just a bloated , skewed truth to seek. Even though , it doesn't seem to harm us directly, it certainly does redirect our way of thinking.

How do we fight this virus? Simple. Realize that Means are as or more important than Ends , and thus will be no virulent flow of optimism nor sinking feeling of pessimism , but instead a constant stream of action.

2 comments:

Numero Uno said...

Sidd, I guess this is just a human nature.... this optimism had driven many tribes and civilization to a better world... and it's true that we all are infected, as we all want a better world tomorrow.

Siddharth said...

Yeah is is this wish to see better always in future , that this virus promotes. Its not so always. If everytime we were to look for a better world , then it means we never had a good world.. What lies infront is as good as what lies beyond , but with this infeaction we always think of beyond and not what is ..