Sarhadein

A few days ago, i was taking a walk on my apartment complex . I passed by a bush of flowers that folks from the apartment pick everyday for pooja offerings. A new building recently came up nearby and the bush has grown over the dividing wall into the other side.

Passing by I heard someone remark - look our plant has grown over to the other side - they get the fruits - er - flowers of our labor now .

My mind went back to several years ago when as a child I watched my family and the neighbor jostle over a big mango tree that was just over the border separating our 3 houses. The roots lay firmly in the neighbor's garden but the heavy branches grew over to our side resulting in a lot of friendly and sometimes not-so-friendly arguments between the 2 neighbors about who the mangoes really belonged to.

I also suddenly remembered a song composed by the lyricist Javed Akhtar , for the Bollywood flick, Refugee . They go something like :

पंछी नदियाँ पवन के झोके
(panchi nadiyaan pavan ke jhoke)

कोई सरहद ना इन्हे रोकें
(Koi sarhad na inhe rokein)

सरहदें इंसानों के लिए है
(Sarhadein Insaano ke liye hain)

सोचो तुमने और मैंने क्या पाया इंसान होके
(socho tumne aur maine kya paya insaan hoke)


A rough near-literal translation would go :

Birds, Lakes, Breeze
No obstacles (borders) stop these
Borders are for humans
Think what you and me have gained by being human

Add Trees to Birds, Lakes, Breeze...

What if we all gave up our pettiness and shared freely with our fellow beings ?
School children sharing their lunch with hungry friends, toys with needy kids, teens mingling freely with others and avoiding the cruel group ism that disfranchises a few, adults helping others find jobs and succeed in them, society looking out for the have-nots . Small steps with a profound impact on society and its ills.

What a wonderful world this would be, What a wonderful world this would be !

I realized why Guruji's vision of a world with Human Values is so important. He said at the US Art Of Living Silver Jubilee function : "Technology has made the world a global village, Human values will make it a Global Family" .

All the more important why its important for me and you to bring more folks to the wonderful Art Of Living programs that make this process a lot more easier and natural.

Jai Guru Dev,