Correct Your Definitions
This was when I was kid 8 or 9 years of age. Was in a social
function may be a marriage or some other party.
Everything was as it happens in such functions men having their groups ,
women enjoying their own groupings and children enjoying food, sweets and
playing around. I was also playing with other kid but something drew my
attention was one aunti praising someone’s children (let us name them Mr. and
Mrs. X), as most disciplined children. I stopped to hear more, so the
description was that the reason for being disciplined is that those kids go to
a English Convent school and school atmosphere makes them disciplined. Sister
there keep watch on children and ensure that they speak only English not only
in classroom even when eating their lunch , on playground or elsewhere.
Well as a kid definition of discipline I understood was
“anyone who speaks only English” – no Hindi or Bangla, or Tamil or Punjabi or
any other language irrespective of mother toungue..
Returning home I found everyone undisciplined , my parents,
grand-parents, siblings, neighbors, friends and even milkman and maid and yes
of course even my teachers at Kednriya Vidyalaya. Naturally upset I thought how
could one be disciplined in such and environment.
Well after some days my father was discussing someone on
benefits of sending kids to military school as defense personnel are most
disciplined people and he was thinking to send me there. I was a bit happy that
now I will be sent to a place where I will also be disciplined but later it did
not happen.
Again , few month later while travelling in train some army
personnel boarded in same bogie and I heard them speaking different dialects of
Hindi with each other (they were from different parts of country and has
different languages or local dialects as mother tongue).
Now I was in total confusion it was completely against by
belief system developed in last 6-7 months. So what exactly went wrong was the
first wrong definition I learned sub-consciously.
This happens to everyone – once you learn something wrong,
to make corrections you must first unlearn wrong things.
Another wrong thing was the message that to be smart one
should be expert at English language compulsory but that is another discussion
topic.
In a nutshell one must understand that they should always
chose right definitions otherwise not only you go in wrong direction but others
, specially little children will also have distorted definitions may be for
whole life and will remain in lost
paradise further passing their belief to next generations.
We see people covering wrong things with polished words –
you give or take bribe and cover by some fancy word like bachchon ki mithai ,
or chai-paani, you cover up
dowry with some other fancy words, you disobey whole society by breaking a
queue and try to cover it by a famous (but utter foolish dialogue) “hum
jahan khade hote hai line wahi se shuru hoti hai”
Time to go back and think about your understanding of things
in life- may be at office, your home or neighborhood, friends and with your
loved ones. Correct your definitions not for yourself but for your future
generations also.