HUMAN BEINGS - THE CREATORS

This morning sitting at the Streatham Rookery, looking out at the vast expanse of greenery spread out in front of me, I was reflecting on the beauty of nature. Then it struck me that it wasn't nature that was beautiful. It was the way the garden, the trees, the forested areas were laid out, which made the impact of the layout, so very attractive. The view was green - a huge variety of green. The grass, the trees and hedges, and a whole vista of designed layout added to the attraction.

We take things so much for granted, that often it does not strike us that nothing is really as simple as it looks. We marvel at the beauty of nature. We are thankful for the bounty of nature. However, it is actually the work, designing, pruning, planning done by a human being which actually makes most natural objects develop into marvels, or an object of beauty and grandeur.

An uncut diamond becomes a gem and is able to shine in its total glory only after it is cut. Gold and silver have to be mined and turned into objects to shine and be useful. Marble is cut and polished and made into Taj Mahal. A forest left to grow on its own, is not as attractive as a properly laid out garden. A rose also is pruned, a lot of grafting is done to get various colours and shades of the flowers. Almost all natural flowers are developed and pruned to get the best blossoms. A variety of grass is cultivated to obtain rice-the staple diet of almost the entire population of the world. Human beings domesticate and use a number of animals for making their own lives more comfortable. The horse, cow, buffalo, bullock, dog, donkey, camel are a few animals which come to my mind readily and immediately. Human beings use various products available naturally to improve their own life and living conditions. The minerals, gases, oil, available under the surface of the earth and in the sea are extensively used as fuel. The vegetables, fruits, roots, nuts, grains available abundantly are used for food. There is more value added to all of these, with a few exceptions, which provide us with all the nutrients, and substance to enable us to live.

The importance of the human hand, the ingenuity of the human mind, is seldom given its due recognition. How often have we thanked God for all that we have received? The bounty of nature given to us by- again - God-Another man made creation!!! Has a thought been given to this?

Is it really possible for one - "something"..or "someone" to manage, plan, observe, punish and reward each and every person living on this earth? All the organisations, offices, factories, need people to work, supervisors, managers, directors, investors, share holders, controllers to actually make the organisation work, succeed and become profitable ventures. In every household there is usually one person who manages the house, makes sure that each person gets enough food to eat . That person nurtures, takes care, and makes sure that the family stays together, healthy and happy.That person usually is called "mother", and in some cases "father". In a family this management becomes possible as the number of members is small. A government also requires a system of administration to govern. How then is it possible for one omnipresent to control the lives of crores of living entities? It is not only humans whose lives are controlled - it is also all the different species of birds, bees, animals and every living thing who is supposed to be his subject. Amazing-isn't it??

We are always very ready with our gratitude. Our success is due to the grace of God. A calamity is the will of God. A person who succeeds in adverse circumstances had it in his destiny. A failure in spite of best efforts "of others" is suffering due to the effects of the sins of a past life. There is a never ending list of things which are attributable to this man made creation.

Recently I read that Rupees 23 crores were found in the house of a VHP( Vishwa Hindu Parishad) person. How does a person acquire that much of money, which he keeps in his house as bundles of notes? He belongs to a religious group, steeped in politics. They play with the sentiments of simple people. God fearing people, who do not think. People who like sheep blindly follow their leaders. It is their hard earned money, which they give to religious foundations in some guise of charity or for building temples or carrying out some religious rituals. Some people wonder at the way all this ill begotten wealth is misused. People wonder if there is no fear of God, in the minds of those who collect this money and then use it for their selfish ends? I am surprised at the questioning multitude. Is it not very obvious that these people who ask in the name of God, are actually those who know that there is no such thing as a God, who is watching and can actually punish. The only sad part is that they have no morals. They are too materialistic. They do not think about right and wrong. They are happy to be immensely practical and immoral. Stealing, misguiding and misusing ill begotten wealth from innocent people does not hurt them. Yet, most people still venerate godmen and religious leaders.

Let us sometimes stop to think of our own actions. Our thankfulness to the bounty of and grace of God. Let us ponder over the thought whether there can be a superior being who can control, direct and run the lives of each and every being on this earth. We meditate, pray, fast, follow a lot of rituals for fulfilment of certain desires. To achieve our goals, we seek the favour of the entity that we call God. Do we simply perform all this and sleep tight? No, we do not sleep and allow the God to fulfil our desire. We work hard to achieve our goal. We plan, strive, work to succeed. Then why do we not thank our own selves for our hard work? Why can we not accept that we succeeded as we worked for it. Why do we want to share that achievement with another? When we pray, are we not actually working on our innermost strength of our own self? Are we not awakening our own conscious? Our own wisdom and knowledge that we have acquired over a number of years? We awaken our own self and yet give the credit to someone else.

Shall we try to reason sometime? Try to be rational and practical. At least raise a doubt in our mind?!?!

EDINBURGH, THEO AND ALDYTH

I recently visited Edinburgh for two days in August. It is indeed the best time to visit this ancient city, as this is the time of their annual "Festival". Summer is glorious and, the flowers are a riot of colours. We had actually gone there to visit friends - Theo and Aldyth. I was introduced to them about 13 years back.

Edinburgh is a place which is very easy to fall in love with. The old world architecture, its streets, The Royal Mile, the castle looking over the city, the Old town and the New town are well laid out and appear to be planned. Looking in any direction, one can only see beauty. It is either the sea, or church spires or steeples or the Scott Memorial. It is a small city, which is quiet ancient and still retains its old world charm. The Royal Mile, which starts from the Castle and ends at the Holyrood Palace is actually a little more than a mile long. The road is full of history and historical buildings. The Royal Mile is at a height on a hilltop and therefore almost all the openings between two buildings lead downhill to more buildings and passages. These passages are called "Close". One can see the Advocates Close, Fishmonger close and so on and so forth. The famous tollbooth is also situated on this road. This was the place where toll had to be paid, before entering Edinburgh. The Tollbooth was the administrative focus, the tax-collection point, the council chamber, the court and the jail for the burgh of Canongate, which lay outside Edinburgh at that time.

The house of John Knox is also situated on this road. Knox was the person of whom Mary Queen of Scots had said, "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe." He lived at the time Mary was Queen of Scots. Knox was known to have no respect for women.
In the late I770s, Deacon Brodie, who also lived on the Royal Mile, was a respected town councillor by day, and believe it or not, it is a fact which is stranger than fiction, but he was a criminal by night - he was a thief. Something about his outer veneer of polished respectability and his inner delight in dodging the law has made him a local hero. He was the model for Stevenson's "Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".

Other famous residents of Edinburgh were the English novelist Daniel Defoe, Adam Smith, poet Robert Fergusson , Robert Burns, George Drummond, six times Lord Provost, and the driving force behind the New Town, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, George Thomas De Quincey, and John Napier, cursed by many a schoolchild as the inventor of logarithms, Alexander Graham Bell, and Sean Connery.

A well known figure of this city is Greyfriars Bobby( photo on top), the most famous Skye terrier in the world. His master, John Gray, a farmer from Midlothian, died one Wednesday market day in 1858 and for 14 long years the ever-loyal little dog refused to leave his graveside in Greyfriars' Kirkyard. Bobby was looked after until his death by the local people, who gave him a collar. Bobby could not be buried next to his master when he died. He was quietly laid to rest in a different part of the graveyard, in a patch of unconsecrated ground. There is a statue of the terrier near the graveyard.

The Royal College of Physicians which gives the MRCP degree is located in this city. It also has the Edinburgh and Napier University. There are Banks and Financial institutions galore almost all on the St. Andrews Square.

There is a beautiful hotel The Balmoral on Princes street which was originally a Railways hotel. Their clock was always kept advanced by 3 minutes, so that no one would miss their train.

We all have read about King Robert Bruce and the spider. He was the King who tried and tried again and regained his kingdom after 7 attempts, after being inspired by a spider weaving his web.

Tartans, kilts, Scotch whisky, haggis, black pudding, there are a lot of things about Edinburgh which one could write about. More of that some other time.

Right now, I want to talk of my two dear friends, Theo and Aldyth ,who live in this enchanting historical city. Theo is in his nineties and Aldyth is in her eighties. They are teachers by profession - Theo studied at Oxford, taught there, later at Wales and then at Edinburgh university. He was a professor of Ancient History-Roman and Greek, to be precise. Aldyth taught Russian at Edinburgh, and she continues to do the same, to this day. Now of course the students come to her house and it is all gratis.

They are real teachers, they teach by example - "the art of living". I haven't seen a better teacher than them. Theo is hard of hearing - he needs a hearing aid. His memory however is exceptionally sharp. He can recall names, incidents, anecdotes and has an immense memory bank, which he dips into often. Time spent with him is a very happy and educative time. The way he can talk on any subject and keep the interest alive is stupendous and amazing. He is a "Guru" in the true sense of the word. He is a very loving person, and is an excellent host.

He has difficulty in walking. That does not deter him - ever.... He travels to Oxford once a year to visit his sister, then travels to London to visit his friends. He travels by train and tube and is ever ready to walk to his destination. He smiles, never complains, never appears helpless..... simply because, he never is.

Aldyth is a very graceful, cheerful and loving lady, who always makes one feel very welcome. She is a very happy, bubbly, and energetic person. She is full of life and optimism. Aldyth too has difficulty in walking. She too uses a walking stick. She loves to travel and there would be few places in the world which she has desired to see and not seen. She goes to Greece, Egypt, Poland, Turkey, Russia as often as she can. She recently visited Iceland. Last year she was in India travelling in the backwaters of Kerala - all by herself!! Never one to look for company or help-she is an example to follow. Her cheer will not let you see the distress she is facing as Theo is in hospital, having recently suffered a stroke. I marvel at her strength and fortitude.

They have a big house and the kitchen is on the lower floor, while their living room is upstairs. They continue to walk up and down the stairs. They maintain their style, and there is no compromise at all, for their age. They give themselves no concessions. Aldyth uses the computer and wants to learn to use the Internet even more adeptly. Who says age is a deterrent? Learning can be done at any age and stage. Only the will has to be present.
Meeting them both at Edinburgh was enlightening. It was a lesson to me to carry on happily, in the face of any adversity in life. When we were walking towards Theo's room in the hospital, we could hear loud singing - that was Theo. He had a book by his bedside, about the First war of Independence of India of 1857. It was great to see him. He was cheerful, interested in all that was happening, not complaining at all about anything. I could think of all the various things about which both Theo and Aldyth could have complained, but no - all that they could talk of, was us and our trip to Edinburgh. I thought they were such a perfect couple, thinking only of others. Thinking of ways to be happy, comfortable, accepting their problems so stoically. They knew that their problems were their own, and they were happy to deal with them alone. Not once did the smile go from their face, not once did I see despair, sadness or anything but bon homie and cheer. Aldyth is on her way to Poland again for a week, and Theo said to her, "Be sure to get home safe". I was very touched by his care, concern and devotion to Aldyth.

I kept thinking of their attitude towards life and thought to myself that life teaches us so much. One only has to observe and absorb. There are some messages that come to us, which teach us so much about life and how to live. The need is for us to read the message and try to make our own lives happier. It was so lovely meeting them. My trip to Edinburgh left me with very happy thoughts.