Dear God/Jesus/Allah

I am writing this to you amidst profound mental discomfort. I have no specific problems, as such, but the following questions keep plaguing me, on and off. So I thought it better to make a clean breast of myself; and to whom other than you!

I am one of the millions of the ordinary individuals, supposed to have come into this

World-courtesy you, other than, of course, my parents’ carnal desires. I have had a decent upbringing, reasonable education, am gainfully employed, socially well respected and am comfortably placed in life.My conservative and religious upbringing is helping me to keep my spiritual pursuits and value-system, firmly in place. I have a wife to support me and a daughter to carry on my legacy. Yet this disease of purposelessness, rears its ugly head every now and then. You have been described as the very essence of compassion and eulogies on your coming to your devotees’ rescue abound in all religions. See if my plight touches you can do something about it-

PROFESSIONAL PLACE

As mentioned earlier. I am gainfully employed. But as in most corporate set-ups, world over, hard work and sincerity are seldom rewarded. Is it too much to expect rewards? Are we to toe the “Gita line’ Work for Work’s sake and not with an eye on the result. But then is it not a law of nature, that good deeds should be rewarded (timely) just as bad ones are to be punished? Or am I to accept the oft quoted but not fully convincing theory, that certain bad deeds of the past are blocking me from reaping the benefits of my deeds? Just how do you take things when shirkers are your colleagues and opportunistic, unreasonable persons are your bosses? When your best efforts are ignored while even the smallest slip-up is blown out of proportion?

FAMILY FRONT

One has a dutiful and caring wife and a smart child and yet one feels that something is amiss. What is that I am looking for? I am not too sure, that I (and most others like me) have an answer. The goodness of a shady place is felt only when you are in the hot sun. Likewise, when you do not have them around (like when they are away at Granny’s place during the vacation) you realize their importance. Why is it that, you do not appreciate their presence, on a daily basis? Even as we look for changes, we are change-resistant and would give our right arm to maintain status quo. How does one explain this paradox? There is the compatibility problem. Wives do not always measure up to the Husband’s expectations and vice-versa. Walking out of the marriage in the Western World is common but in the Indian context it is no solution. How do you learn to live with differences? All this does not mean that is a great deal of differences amongst us. It is the standard ones- one unable to cope up with the other’s demand. Is perfect understanding just a mirage? Invented to keep the institution of marriage ticking?

SOCIAL SCENE

I am, like any other individual, with my own thoughts for the well being of the society. I understand that the family is the basic unit of the social fabric. A happy family results in a happy neighborhood leading to a happy village, town/city and ultimately to a happy nation. I realize that every citizen has his shares of duties and responsibilities towards the community and to the nation at large. In my earlier setup, when I was in a metropolis, I had a spiritual association to take care of my community service needs. But the present small town-ship offers no scope for this, leading to a kind of mental unrest. Am I to reconcile to the fact or am I to look for a change of place, just for this reason? I have tried out the few options available, but it is of no avail. The officers’ club has no activities and my efforts to develop it into a recreational hub, have received a cold response. Am I to confine myself to the house-workplace-and back to house- routine? Taking a typical fatalistic attitude towards life, that we are powerless to make situations change. Or should I take a dynamic and pro-active stance, believing in human endeavor and hope to make things happen? I am constantly torn between by this dilemma.

CONCLUSION

While my above piece might sound autobiographical, I dare say that it is the same for the vast majority of the humanity. Things are not working out particularly well, at the same time there is nothing much to complain about. The ordinary business of life is well taken care. But where does this lead us? If we accept, that we are merely playing our pre-destined roles, in the drama of life, okay. What if you feel that you have the power to change the script? No definite clues and clear answers and the game of guessing goes on!