Not the Best

Ever since I came to my senses, I remember myself choosing the lesser known or the second bests in any field. This is not an intended one, but I somehow end up choosing something which is not the best.

Tridiv Sinha

People generally look up to those icons that have excelled in their fields, the perfect picture and successful ones. This happens because everyone wants a perfect life, not a life filled with tragedy. No one in this world would respect a person who is unsuccessful. People sing the glories of heroes and leaders. So, everyone wants to be successful in this rat race. There are few people who do not care about success, and are called idiots or losers. No one wants to know what makes the person ignore success when everyone else is following. If we understand the feelings of that person, we might know the answer to a lot of questions regarding life. Is there any person who is successful and has fulfilled his/her dreams at the same time? Ask yourselves whether or not you have sacrificed something or the other which was very dear to you on the path of becoming successful? Every person has to pay for his success and there are no exceptions. I’m not asking to leave the path to success and pursue that of your dream. There’s much more in a ordinary person than a successful one. Perhaps he/she wasn’t ready to sacrifice what was very dear to him/her and he/she preferred to remain the same.

We respect sacrifices made by great people, but what about a common man? Have you ever thought that a normal freedom fighter might have gone to jail many times more than Gandhi? We don’t know whether some other ‘Satyagrahi’ had suffered the punishments much more than Gandhi. One should worship common people instead worshipping of some leaders, because it’s the common people who make the Leaders, at least they attempt to make a difference whether or not it has an overall effect.

On this account, I want to take the reference of ‘The Simoquin Prophecies’ By Samit Basu. The book can’t be considered an appreciable one, but the concept is somewhat original/ unique. We have read stories about the fight between good and evil, one of the greatest dualities of our world. But, there is another interpretation to this duality. There is no good or evil in this world. Everyone wants to increase their influence over others. This isn’t evil, but a normal trait or an instinct that humans have in human beings. This is the thing that makes a man successful. History is always written by the winner. A loser’s point of view is never mentioned or considered. The winner publicizes himself as the ‘Good’, whereas the loser is termed ‘Evil’. Just because you lost, you are termed as Evil. Winners have always done this grave injustice to the losers.

It should be noted that history has produced great leaders but very few cared to know about their second in command. These persons who stand by the side of the leaders, have greater character strength than the leaders themselves. They are the perfect examples of loyalty and sacrifice. Just think of a situation where your subordinate is planning your demise and wants to take control of your progress. Can you succeed? NO. It’s the selflessness of these people which takes successful people up the ladder. These ordinary and inferior ones should be given the respect they deserve. So, instead of saying ‘Behind every successful man, there is a woman’, we should say ‘Behind every successful man, there are other men/women.’