Thursday, June 18, 2009

Is Duty above everything else ? ?

I have always been told that duty comes first. We look with great admiration at Ramayana where Lord Ram is called “sarvaseshtra purush” as he acted in sync with the duties imparted to him without ever questioning them. He was such a great king that he chose to ask Devi Sita to leave his kingdom when her purity was doubted by the dwellers of Ayodha. Such great was his sense of duty as a King that he completely forgot his responsibility and love towards his Wife. This is an epitome of “Duty”, however have we ever though what would have we done if we were in his place? Would we have chosen the duty of king over the love for wife or would we have done the other way?

A little thought over this would enable us to understand that the question is actually a lot deeper and requires a lot more working on grey cells. They say our life is nothing but what we have deliberately chosen, it is a consequence of our choice and many a times we need to make a choice between duty and happiness. Is it always the case that we need to sacrifice our happiness and the smile on our loved ones for the sake of Duty?? No I do not mean being greedy and ignoring the duty and just working for oneself. But I am simply questioning the belief that we need to choose Duty over anything else.

For a soldier his duty towards his country is more important than anything else. Such great is he and his family that they do not give priority to anything else but their duty. Well if this was not the case and the soldiers only joined the defenceforces for the livelihood than many countries would have lost their independence . Here it is obvious that the sense of duty is very important to be present among the soldiers. If only the same “sense of duty” was there among our politicians and citizens who “elect” them, our present would have been completely different. NGO's are organizations built to help the needy, to provide happiness to those who have been deprived of the same from ages. Imagine if such organizations also start functioning to make money and they lose their sense of duty then what would happen to the millions who are deprived of a lot many things which many of us take for granted, although there are exceptions to the above examples yet in the majority the sense of duty prevails.

Now let us look at personal duties, the duty of a child to his/her parents, the duty towards husband/wife etc. Here too epics teach us that we should not question our duty, but we should do all we can do to fulfil these duties. Let us look from the perspective from those children who are subjected to cruelty by their own parents. How can we expect them to fulfil their sense of duty towards those who instead of bringing a smile on their face ignore the tears that flow from their eyes?
If we keep ourselves in their place, we would know the agony they face, would we be able to fulfil our duties of a child towards parents when they themselves fail miserably to fulfil the responsibilities of a parent. The same thought process can be applied to all relationships, be it that of a husband-wife, siblings or professional.

I think the choice to do ones duty depends on the “cause” . For the soldier the sacrifice made is for the country to protect million others, the entire nation depends on him , every little sacrifice he makes to do his duty ensures that million others have all the reason to smile. However can a child whose childhood was spent fighting life, seeking a reason to live, can we expect them to forget their dark childhood and to fulfil their duty as a child?

But if we say that duty is to be done for one and not to be done by another isn't it like changing the definition of a word as per our choice? And who would judge if the meaning identified with the word is correct and not chosen as per convenience. Or is it all situational, meaning of many words change with respect to situations, the meaning of good and bad itself are not definite but depends on the context used !

The answer to this question, I think is very individual specific, for example, for every soldier it is the duty which is above everything for him, and then again for a person who has had a dark childhood, whose parents did not provide him the care and love he required chooses to ignore his duty and live a life independent of his parents.

16 comments:

Pallav said...

Again a very thoughtful n wonderful post by u..

what to say..
Everybdy should ask this question to them self..
very well written mate

Long time.. where were u.. hopeur summer training is going fine...

Pallav

Arnav said...

@Pallav

Thanks dude :)

Well I was busy with my internship, now back @ home..

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

Arnav,

A very sensible topic you chose.

When someone does follows, they treat them as some mahatma and leave the topic there it self.

There are hundred of things we can learn from people around us, but who cares for them..?

its more like listening from one ear and leaving it away from other.

It takes a lot to make one realise about their duty and i dont see that happening in near future at least..

Welcome back... :-)

Good to know that your internship is over..

Cheers

Mahesh Sindbandge said...

BTW template is nice..woody woody kind.. :-)

Jagjit said...

very nice post dude and very nicely written too.

i think the issue u have raised demands everyone to think about it and ask questions.

anyway, take care and keep writing.

- Jagjit.

Arnav said...

@Mahesh

Thanks for the visit ...
:)
am glad that intetnship is over and am back home for a month :)

Arnav said...

@Jagdit

Thanks :)

We make choices all our life, and thats what defines us, duty or sense of happiness we chose it ...

keep smiling

Keshi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Keshi said...

Thoughtful post here.

Duty is not always the most imp thing in the world...it's a case of common sense when it comes to what is more imp in life. IMO, I dun do anything out of DUTY. I do it out of LOVE. if I dun love something, I cant do it for any other reason at all.


Keshi.

aprajitha said...

yeah true its entirely upto individuals

Anonymous said...

wonderful.. so plain and straight from heart.. liked the way you put it

Arnav said...

@Apra
Thanks for the visit..

Arnav said...

@Keshi
Thanks for the visit.

Its d same with me personally I too cannot do anything just for the sake of duty , it has to come from within...

But there are so many around me , who do things the way everyone else expected them to do it....

Keep smiling

Arnav said...

@Chriz

Thanks for the visit dude , lad that you liked it ..
Keep visiting ..

Keep smiling

sri said...

Hey
I like your posts but i think u can change the background image its making me skew my eyes to read your posts :)

gone! said...

I would rather keep a balance :) It's much realistic and easier.

Hoping you are having a great Monsoon :)

Keep writing.