A Crisis Puts Things in Perspective
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
9 September
2022
Har Saaz Se Hoti Nahin Ye Dhun Paida
Hota Hai Bade Jatan Se Ye Gun Paida
Meezan-E-Nishaato-Gham Mein Sadiyon Tul Kar
Hota Hai Hayaat Mein Tavazun Paida
Raghupati
Sahay ' Firaq ' Gorakhpuri
(Every instrument doesn't elicit this rare tune/This comes only after
great endeavours/Tottering on the anvil of joys and sorrows for centuries/Life
develops the quality of a perfect balance)
The great
French lay Catholic philosopher, scientist and mathematician Rene Descartes
(1596-1650), who gave the famous dictum, 'cogito ergo sum' (I think, therefore,
I'm), observed very minutely, 'Human beings explore and re-explore certain
people and episodes in their lives only after setbacks and crises. Love either
vanishes or it gets strengthened; a bond either peters out or it gets
rejuvenated. Any relationship in life needs to be jolted to judge its
durability.' Very true. Gold becomes sterling (pure gold, Kundan or Akseer
in Arabic) when it passes through fourteen very tough and stringent tests of
examining its purity. A crisis of any kind puts things in perspective. We're
never sure of someone's fidelity or friendship until a crisis crops up.
Likewise,
we're never clear about the utility or futility of something until a crisis
reveals its true nature. Behavioural psychologists are of the view that every
relationship in life must face a barrage of crises to come out scathed or
unscathed. A person's true character can be judged only when something untoward
happens to him/her. What we see is just a part of a bigger and happier reality
in life. It's not real. We call people our friends and boon companions but
their companionship can only be tested when a situation arises. We're all more
or less situational beings.
We tend to
act according to the situations and circumstances. We hardly know how we'll
react until the real situation presents itself before us. I've seen the
so-called 'very nice people' act in a manner which is unbecoming of their
ostensible character and external appearance. Their spontaneous reactions of
raw nature belied all their apparent sophistication. Yours truly too has acted
in an utterly irresponsible manner when he ought to have been much more
mellowed and level-headed. We're all slaves to situations, circumstances and
crises. And only those, who are on the anvil of crises and emerge unaffected
are pure gold. Urdu poet Jagannath Azad aptly said, ' Woh Zarf Ka Aala Hai
/Jo Har Mushkil Se Oopar Aaya Hai ' (He has amply proven the fabric of his
character and is numero uno / Who has come out of the cauldron of trials and
tribulations in life. Asghar Hussain Gondvi's couplet articulates this further:
Chala Jaata Hoon Hansta-Khelta Mauj-E-Havadis Se/Agar Aasaniyan Hon, Zindagi
Dushvaar Ho Jaaye. It can be looked at from a bigger perspective.
India was thoroughly vanquished in the
Indo-Sino war in 1962 and so many loopholes in the defence and political system
transpired. But the same India decisively defeated Pakistan just three years
after the Indo-China debacle. The then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri learnt a lesson
from that crisis and in 1965 war, India left behind the nightmarish memories of
1962 and out-battled Pakistan.
Only the
very best can use a crisis to their benefit and they're like that nonchalant
Buddhist monk, who broke the coconut and drank its water and smilingly said
'thank you very much' to the mischievous monkey who hit him with a coconut! So,
be ready for all crises. They teach you life's virtues and vices. And humans
are forever on test.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages
including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/crisis-perspective-psychologists/d/127910
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