Harsha Mohan Sarma
(harshasarma183@gmail.com)
“The world is governed more by appearances than realities, so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it”—Daniel Webster. In other words, the reality behind many events in the world is different. It is our sacred duty to know the truth.
After the fleeing of then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina from her country, protesters entered her residence and looted it. The furniture, utensils, and animals of Hasina’s house were taken to their houses by the protesters. The scene of a protestor lying on Hasina’s sophisticated bed with dirty shoes and sleepers and screaming may be a strong expression of accumulated anger, but it also reflects the mental disorder of a section of the new generation. In the midst of all this looting, another thing has attracted the attention of the conscious community. The books in the library where Hasina studied have not been touched by looters. No one has shown interest in the books. Two psychological aspects seem to emerge from this. The plunderers either revere the knowledge hidden in the books or they are not attracted to or interested in the knowledge of the books. Seeing the circumstantial evidence, many would like to accept the second reason. However, this is an idea formed from the behaviour of the looters. Since the protests against Hasina were led by students, the students must not have misunderstood the significance of those books. The underlying knowledge will surely enlighten their lives.
Another video is from the Bangladesh High Commissioner office in New York. There, Bangladeshi citizens entered the office and shouted harsh words at their consul. The employees of the High Commissioner’s office were forced to surrender. Hasina’s photograph and that of her father, Mujibur Rahman, have been removed from the office. All signs of the then government have been removed. However, the photograph of Mahatma Gandhi did not show the handprints of the Bangladeshi protesters in the United States. This shows how deeply Gandhiji’s ideals are rooted in the hearts of people all over the world. Even if some of us slander Gandhiji, he is the fearless identity of Indians all over the world, to whose non-violent ideals everyone bows their heads. The fact that Gandhiji’s photograph was not removed from the consulate’s office shows the devotion of the protesters to Gandhiji’s ideals.
People in the neighbourhood need to be vigilant if something unexpected happens at a neighbour’s house. Care should be taken in all conversations and actions. Instead of jokes, irony, laughter, and empathy should be shown. Any person should not say anything provocative that could hurt the family involved in the accident. They should also not make any slanderous statements. Who can guarantee that the hurt they received today may not be received by the condemned tomorrow? In times of crisis, making unnecessary comments without knowing the root cause is likely to make matters worse. After many people go to say many things without knowing the real reason for many things they see and hear, the environment and situation become uncontrollable. A wise man learns from the misfortune of others, and a fool laughs at him. The brain of a fool is fertile for poisonous trees. The seeds sprout when they fall. The trees grow lushly. They cover the entire area in a short time. It is difficult to clear the dense forest and plant nectar trees there. Just as poisonous trees do us no good, poisonous stories do us a lot of harm. It is wise to expose the people who spread poisonous stories. Society will be orderly only if the wise can make the foolish understand that good is good and bad is bad, and then the path to progress will open automatically.
Suppose some teachers always let the student ride the bike. They also give him a little money for gutkha, pan masala, and tea. The student loves the teacher very much. He gets to ride a bike and eat shikhar, gutkha, and bimal. His parents are also proud. The boy is able to ride a bike. His father is telling a couple of other parents that his son has become smart by putting a packet of gutkha in his mouth and spitting everywhere. The boy and his father also do some household chores at the teacher’s house. But the student and his father could not argue that the teacher was showing the student the way to hell. The teacher is trying to achieve his goal through the student. Instead of encouraging him to study, he has made him do his homework. The boy and his father failed to understand the motifs of the teacher. One day I asked the teacher why he was using a higher secondary student to do household chores instead of encouraging him to study. I know he is poor, but he is good at his studies.
If he does well in his studies and becomes self-sufficient, who will work in my house? — The teacher replied shrewdly.
You will find many such teachers in our society. They will show you and me a beautiful scene of doing good to others. But a different form of things behind the scenes will remain unnoticed by many. It is the responsibility of the wise and conscious people of society to bring those invisible ideas to light.
People in power can invoke any scene to express their position. For political gain, they often try to cover up their true identity and present another personality to the public in a credible manner. But the face behind the face sometimes appears to the public. As soon as people understand the meaning behind the scenes, their work is disrupted. There was a time when there was an expulsion of foreigners from Assam. The scenes were portrayed as if Assam had been plundered by foreigners. But the real purpose behind this scene was to gain power by hanging a veil before the eyes of the people. But it didn’t take long for the people to understand the hidden purpose of the movement. They overthrew the selfish circles and decided not to be fooled by their lies in the future. Today, in the age of social media, as fake scenes are spreading, the scope of people’s thoughts is also expanding. They have refuted the negative things with reason. Equally positive conversations are spreading. As soon as we hear or see anything, it takes a minute to think and make a decision to get the right answer. Things that are not found in rock are sometimes found on the seabed. As Aesop said, believing on the outside is likely to deceive you. Appearances are often deceiving.