Mountains of Gold

Today I am contributing my 100^th writeup to this prestigious daily newspaper having the largest readership base across J&K and beyond.  It feels like celebrating a golden jubilee. Through the medium of Greater Kashmir I have been able to reach out to a huge number of people of all age groups and from diverse arenas of life. The cycle of feed and feedback has been a constant source of reinforcement, replenishment and an everlasting joy.

I choose to talk about gold for this golden jubilee and begin by the story titled “Give them mountains of Gold.” In the midst of an ancient Indian epic, the famed warrior Arjuna once questioned his divine charioteer Krishna about who was the noblest giver in the land. Without giving a second thought, Krishna instantly named Karna as the finest example of generosity in the kingdom. This answer did not go well down the throat of Arjuna, for Karna was his greatest rival on the battlefield. However, he remained quiet, though Krishna noticed the competitive gleam in his eyes.

A few days later, as they were riding together, Krishna pointed out two distant mountains to Arjuna which began to shimmer and reflect the light, turning into solid gold. Then Krishna told Arjuna to distribute these two mountains of gold among the poor villagers who live in the foothills and let him know when he gives away every last pebble of it.

Eager to prove his generosity, Arjuna summoned all the villagers together and grandly announced that he would be distributing the two glorious mountains of gold among them. The villagers were awestruck, and songs of praise for Arjuna filled the air. Energized by the admiration,  Arjuna began shoveling gold from the mountain, determined to give it all away.

For two straight days and nights, Arjuna worked tirelessly, without even stopping for food, water, rest or sleep. But to his utter dismay, the mountains of gold remained as immense as ever. The more he shoveled, the more gold there seemed to be. Exhausted and baffled, Arjuna sought Krishna out and confessed that he needed rest before he could continue.

In response, Krishna summoned Karna and presented him with the same task. Without a moment’s hesitation, Karna called out to two villagers who happened to be passing by and told them that those two mountains of gold are yours to do with as you please. After this Karna walked away with a smile as bright as the sunrise, bowed to Krishna and did not look back.

Arjuna was left dumbfounded by Karna’s effortless and swift act of giving. Seeing Arjuna’s astonishment, Krishna turned to him, and said “in your mind, the gold occupied a place of high value, and you were subconsciously attracted to it. Your approach to giving was muddied by calculations and the desire to strategize, deciding who was most deserving of the gift. But these petty calculations tired your spirit, and over time, you realized that the mountains’ abundance was far beyond the capacity of your individual head, heart, and hands.” Arjuna absorbed the truth of Krishna’s words, realizing the flaws in his approach.

On the other hand, the gold did not mean much to Karna. He had no calculations to make, nor was he seeking anything in return—no acknowledgment, no praise. He offered everything with a clear heart and a pure mind, and after having given it all, he immediately moved on to meet the next moment in life which is the true sign of a person on the path of Awakening. Moreover, generosity is not just about giving but also not taking back what is given away in the name of befriending and binding, caring and sharing at different instances in life. In that context, it is once again a beautiful coincidence that the same phrase “mountains of gold” has also been used by the glorious Quran in the verse 29 of chapter 19. Men are told that it is not appropriate for them to take back gifts, even if they have given stacks of gold to the women who they may now intend to divorce for any reason. In general, whether one's gift is a material item, cold cash, an experience or a supportive service, the motivation for giving it matters.

In the words of Jon Wesley, "Do all the good you can,  by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can,  to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." Perhaps I have consumed more words to explain generosity though I know it is practised in great abundance today than ever before. However, my point is that it is more in terms of statistics and show than in terms of sense and spirit.  People from the generation of our forefathers did not have much means, yet they did significantly better than us in terms of giving, forgiving, forbearing, foregoing and all sorts of generosity. They made significant contributions with long term impacts on the society and cared least for the photo-shoot.  Some of the visionaries who passed away recently like Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. Manmohan Singh can be the choicest examples to quote in this context.  In this era of relentless individual marketing and self projection, they stood distinctly out.

Photography was also not in great vogue during the times of Einstein and sometimes people would mistakenly identify his driver as the great scientist.  It is interesting to know that by the time Einstein would get ready, his driver would amuse the audience. He had got well versed with the answers to some commonly asked questions to Einstein and would do better at it if asked. What is our degree of asistance to our assistants at office or at home. How much do they learn and grow in our company or do they get carried away by our pomp and show manifestations.  Let us reserve the share of praises for those who are volunteering for public service without being any government servants.

We are rather getting paid for it and are obliged to do what we do.  Whatever we gain through self promotion will have to be sustained through self promotion only. In todays world, showing off has literally driven the guys crazy. Though competition is healthy but show off is ugly.  Guys need to understand that the actual branding does not happen overnight. It is rather a life term commitment.

In this world of semi-permanent google records, curiously, the true heroes tend to be anonymous.

Dr. Qudsia Gani, Head Dept. of Physics, Govt. Degree College, Pattan, Baramulla