Whatever happens to me and
is beyond my control is my destiny. Natural
calamities like earthquakes are beyond my control. If I happen to be in a place where the
terrorists have planted a bomb, that’s my destiny. Accidents, diseases or other chance
occurrences can alter my destiny in ways I could not have foreseen. The stars that shine in the firmament above me
are as much part of my destiny as is the darkness that descends ineluctably into
the nooks and crannies along the way.
What I am is my
destiny. What I am is not entirely beyond
my control, I know. Except my genes and
hormones. Except the environment that
brought me up and certain impacts of that upbringing. “I am the sum total of everything that went
before me...,” as Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Child says, “of everything
done-to-me.” I am a product of the
history that went before me as much as the one that is unfolding around
me. The martyrdom of two Prime Ministers
of my country is part of my destiny as much the stratagems of the reigning
one. A lot of people came and went, and
still come and go, leaving their marks on my destiny.
I try to produce art out of
the marks. Scars refuse to change
shapes. Scars are beyond my
control. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be
scars.
There is an invisible pied
piper playing his tune to which the cosmos dances. The planets move round prospective black
holes. Meteors collide. Even the microscopic bacteria sway to that
music.
In spite of all, in spite
of all, there’s much that’s within my control.
I choose certain steps of
my existential dance. However, inelegant
they may turn out to be. I have some
choice, after all.
In spite of the
inelegance.
Many times, when the steps
are inelegant I find my way. My way. Such discoveries are not miraculous
epiphanies. Those are the ways in which
I create myself. Ways in which I alter
my destiny.
Beautifully written. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen you write so wonderfully even that is not completely because of your destiny. It is made possible by some tiny-big carefully chosen steps and the decision to learn and work hard.
Of course, Namrata, quite a few things are under our control - apparently, at least.
DeleteImpressive writing :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. One usefulness of unpleasantness is the poetry it can produce. :)
DeleteYou have a good choice of words here...I can alter my own destiny; likewise, I can have an impact on somebody else's...but then that could be a part of their destiny already. So, i think it is difficult to put everything in black and white.
ReplyDeleteHa, there are no clear cut demarcations in life.
DeleteNice post.
ReplyDeleteYes, one's life can not be a mathematical model but the efforts to make it one provides a living to astrologers and the likes.
We are product of the times and we influence outcomes of future too. Continuation from Rushdie's novel says '"I am anything that happens after I'm gone which would not have happened if I had not come".
That is because we altered our destinies!
And those of others too. If we realise the full import of that probably we would be less insensitive.
DeleteVery thoughtful blog which would pass my mind several times since my teenage, but would lack so beautiful an expression like this. I still feel that even that could be the thing which is with in my control. I'd soon find an expression. I'm on the way. I'm the maker of my own destiny. In my own way... My Way. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteIt's a relentless struggle, I guess, between my way and that piper's music. The struggle makes life worthwhile, perhaps.
DeleteAs I see, it is just a matter of individual's perspective. I too wrote a post on "Free Will or Fatalism" here: http://successfulbeing.blogspot.in/2013/09/free-will-or-fatalism.html
ReplyDeleteI read your blog on the topic. You have tried to be philosophical. Mine is more of a poetic attempt to look at the topic.
DeleteThoughtful indeed. It makes one sit and think over our choices too since what we do may change someone else's destiny. Loved the entire read. Good day!
ReplyDeleteI also love what Mr. Amitabh Bachchan once mentioned in his blogs..."Fate is funny. It overshadows us in all departs". These lines are from Mr. Bachchan. Source- http://srbachchan.tumblr.com/post/101016434946
Thanks for sharing Mr Bachchan's view. There's no escape from fate, I suppose. Einstein was of that opinion. For him, however, fate meant the unbreakable laws that govern everything from the grass to the stars.
DeleteThat was an amazing piece of writing. The language and choice of words powerful and apt! superb! I would have a very similar perspective on Destiny!
ReplyDeleteLife takes to some crossroads occasionally and forces us to stare ahead ... and poetry takes weird shapes. That's what happened here.
DeleteI began my morning reading posts, and i'm glad i came across your's.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that was my destiny.
Liked your view.
There are just a few things we have a control on.
We often give extra attention to things which are beyond our control.
If we stopped doing that (giving extra attention to those which are beyond our control) and started taking charge of things within control, life would be quite easy an affair :)
Delete