Do you remember your school days? The English classes in particular? Where they used to read us a lesson and then give us assignments like “Draw a character sketch of such-and-such character”? Of course, the teachers used to give the answers to these themselves until we reached class eleven, but that’s not what I’m trying to drive at.
What I want to bring your attention to is the fact that these days, such a thing as a character sketch seems so...outmoded. This is after all the age of fast food, two-hour Carnatic music concerts and instant gratification; who really has the time for character sketches? In our relentless pursuit of more wealth, more enjoyment, and more entertainment, we don’t pause to think about people; not their words, not their actions. Most of the time, we are obsessed with what’s happening elsewhere, definitely not what's roiling within our own minds. Most of us are not even aware of the punishing pace that we put our bodies and minds through. We've been fed the idea that more is better, and we gleefully submit to the consumerist indoctrination. We don't stop to think about our own lives, where we are going and what we're becoming. The media – TV, newspapers, websites – feeds this dangerous superficial extroversion and seldom makes us introspect.
Even when we’re with friends, we’re talking something all the time; it’s almost as if we’re scared of the silences that may engulf us if we don’t make small talk. As somebody said, it’s only in the depths of silence that the voice of God can be heard, but we seem to be afraid of the truths that may emerge from the stillness of our mind. Indeed, we're frightened by the very thought of introspection. Silence and stillness are looked down upon, if at all they manage to not be overlooked, these days. The mind tends to be restless, but it’s only when it is stilled that concentration can be achieved; and without concentration, what can we really hope to achieve that has any lasting value? We prefer the company of people, even those that we're not particularly fond of, to a few moments of undisturbed solitude.
What exactly is it about solitude that scares us? Why are we afraid to look within? Are we scared that inconvenient truths about our own selves may bubble up, once the insignificant thoughts crowding our minds are pushed aside? Are we scared of who we may actually be? If that's indeed the case, if what we may really be scares us badly, then it's imperative that the pain be borne while we look inside. For, the problems of the inner world manifest themselves as problems in the external world. We vent our anger on our family when we are faced with a situation in which we are unable to assert ourselves; our inability to solve problems in the workplace may get translated into cruel worlds spoken to our parents / children.
If we're to be at peace with the world, we have to first make peace with ourselves, for the two are inextricably intertwined. Without one, the other can't have an enduring presence.
As the year draws to a close, it's as good a time as any to look back at what we have done over the year; what we have learnt about ourselves - no matter how bitter that may be or how uncomfortable that may leave us; how far have we come in the quest to be the best that we can be. There's no need to be overwhelmed by how much we have to learn yet; instead, we can satisfy ourselves by the progress we have made in our journey towards self-actualisation.
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