Time to make a new beginning

By Rebati Mohan Sinha

This morning, while returning home from morning walk, I happened to meet a group of Muslim brethren of our housing society, who were coming out of the lift , wearing smile in their faces, wishing me 'Eid Mubarak', which I immediately reciprocated and asked myself, is it a spiritual socialisation? They would exchange gifts, met their neighbours and eat and drink together. These interactive activities continue the whole day.

What is the purpose of this interaction? The purpose is to share one's thoughts with others, to share  the wisdom gained during the festive days. These activities, or spiritual socialisation, are not meant to last just for a day. This culture must be continued for the full year, only to be renewed during the next festival; but how far it is possible ? We are just trying to safeguard our social custom and traditions. We have sent satellites into space and achieved a global presence in the field of IT. Despite this , our mindset remains anchored in social prejudices and superstitions more in keeping with the 12th century than 21 century.

The way of living, eating, wearing, singing, dancing and talking is all part of a culture. The culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a human being as a member of a society. The culture is not inherited biologically; but learnt socially by a human. And it is not an inborn tendency. It doesn't exist in isolation, neither it is an individual phenomenon. It is a product of society. It originates and develops through social interaction. It is shared by the society. No one can acquire culture without association with other human beings.

Today, our society stagnates under the dark shadows of thousand fingers pointing at one another, shouting about what should be done, how it should be done and who should do it? We don't want any more finger-pointers. We have enough. We just need  a few who will put up their hands and say, 'I will'. Our aim should be at doing away with blame games and getting into action instead. Having said that,  why shouldn't we  follow it in a good spirit?

Circumstances change with the time. Today is different from yesterday, and tomorrow also will not be the same. What our children imbibe as values, depends on what we demonstrate as role models. Despite information overload  and peer pressure, children still look up to parents as their role models.