Too many people lead fake lives and hence the world is
a sad place. Our pursuits are fake, borrowed from others. We hanker after
wealth because everybody seems to do just that. It can be power or glamour or
something similar that catches our fancy. We dedicate our entire life to the
pursuit of fanciful goals. Even our religion is a fancy item.
If wealth could give us happiness,
the wealthiest people on the earth would be the happiest too. You can replace
wealth with power or glamour or any such thing and the statement will remain
valid with the necessary modifications.
The classical Russian writer, Leo
Tolstoy, dramatized the futility of our common pursuits in the story of Ivan
Ilyich. Ivan led a very inauthentic life. His pursuits were superficial.
Ivan is a successful person by
worldly standards. He has money and influence. He is the pride of his family.
What he has done all his life is to follow the example of the successful
people. He imitated their manners and accepted their views as his own. He
became a magistrate and then a prosecutor. He aspired to be the presiding judge
but did not get that position. But he got a coveted position in the ministry
with a high salary.
Ivan lives a luxurious life. He has
money. He shows off his affluence too with “damasks, ebony, flowers, carpets
and bronzes.” Exactly like the other affluent people. All the affluent people
have similar lifestyles, views and creeds. Affluence is a kind of religion with
its own rites and rituals. The problem with that religion, however, is that it
does not touch the heart. It remains at the most superficial levels of human
activities. Hence it can never bring deep contentment. It can never give anyone
any sense of personal fulfilment.
Consequently, it tends to make people
disgruntled. People begin to feel the pinch of inner hollowness sooner or
later. Ivan too is haunted by that hollowness. There is no love in his heart
for anyone. He is estranged from his own wife and daughter. Unhappiness leads
to a fatal illness. When he is dying, his wife feels happy. She thinks she will
be saved from his self-aggrandizing ways. But then she realises with horror
that the family will be deprived of the huge salary he has been bringing in.
Even his death cannot save her, she realises with a pang. Even that pang is
superficial. She is yet another of the millions of superficial people on the
earth.
Gerasim, on the other hand, is a
genuinely happy person because he lives an authentic life. He is Ivan’s nurse.
Character-wise, he is everything that Ivan is not. He is compassionate. Empathy
motivates his actions. He makes meaningful bonds with fellow humans around him.
He has no issues with putting Ivan’s legs on his shoulders in order to reduce
the dying man’s pain. Gerasim is a man who follows his heart.
Following your heart is the most
fundamental key to authentic existence. Most human pursuits take people away
from their own hearts. Even their religions do nowadays.
Have you ever tried to listen to your
heart? Have you ever sat on the bank of a river or on the sands of a beach all
alone looking into the core of your own heart? A rock on a mountain or a tree
in your backyard may perform the same miracle, if you care.
Gerasim, in Tolstoy’s story, is not a
rich man. But he is a happy man. Contentment belongs to your own heart. It’s
only a matter of discovering it there. That discovery, however, requires
authenticity. Authenticity is the most fundamental condition for happiness.
PS. This post is the beginning of my #BlogchatterA2Z 2023
Leo Tolstoy, salt of the earth.
ReplyDeleteYes, Tolstoy was a very spiritual writer. Salt of the earth, Light of the world...
DeleteVery true. Be authentic and everything else will follow
ReplyDeleteSomething that our politicians must realise.
DeleteIvan reminded me of Dorian Gray. We seem to be always running away from something. I wonder why we fear slowing down so much.
ReplyDeleteDiscontentment, I suppose. Never satisfied with anything.
DeleteFood for thought. true, superficiality thrives today.
ReplyDeleteProbably it thrived all the time. People are like that. Some mutation has to happen.
DeleteNo wonder they say happiness comes from within. You are absolutely correct in saying we all live artificial lives. For example I chased engineering and the IIT's because of the glamour attached to them.
ReplyDeleteYou are one of the finest individuals I have come across, Jai. And you are not fake at all.
Deletevery nice article, the message you give from it is very nice. so always follow your heart and be happy from bottom of your heart. very nice, thank you.
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I haven't read Ivan Ilyich so it was quite a treat to read this post.
ReplyDeleteThat story is available free online.
DeleteContentment belongs to your own heart... A beautifully penned post. Will look forward for more. All the best
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deepika. Your presence is appreciated.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDelete"A"pproriate start to your month of alphabets! YAM xx
Let me hope that the month will go fine. And thanks to you for being with me regularly. You have made a positive difference in my attitude towards writing.
Delete🙏
DeleteSo true
ReplyDeleteWelcome to this space
DeleteAuthenticity is lost in the world of Jumlas sadly.
ReplyDeleteThe worst is that jumla is accepted as dharma in Kurukshetra.
DeleteA lovely read ! People like Gerasim are miniscule in today's world which is filled with greed.
ReplyDeleteGerasim is wise. That's what makes him rare.
DeleteContentment belongs to your own heart! Truer words were never spoken. Tolstoy had so many maxims that ring true. Better to be a Gerasim than an Ivan!
ReplyDeleteTolstoy had God's signature in his heart, so to say.
DeleteIt is so true that once you embrace your own true self, nothing else matters. You don't have to pretend to be something that you do not like.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the vital lessons of life.
DeleteHow very very true Sir...authenticity is rare to find these days...
ReplyDeleteMasks are inevitable! The king has too many of them!
DeleteYou have rightfully pointed out the holloweness of putting up a facade
ReplyDeleteBut we keep encountering facades again and again.
DeleteAuthenticity is akin to conscience as well. Listen to it and you will never be unhappy.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that.
DeleteContentment belongs to your own heart. It’s only a matter of discovering it there.
ReplyDeleteSo rightly put 👏🏻
Haven't read this story. Will be checking it out now
Tolstoy is worth checking out.
Delete