It really is funny how the simplest of things can trigger the most unusual and amazing thoughts!
I was watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S the other day, and there is this episode where Joey, in all his wisdom, keeps telling Phoebe that there is no such thing as a purely selfless act, and she goes about doing anything she can to prove him wrong. The episode, as always, was truly hilarious, with Joey in his usual oh-so-charming style, and it sure did bring loads of laughter!! But this also brought another new thought, or an enigma as I put it. For once, I felt that here was something Joey said, which actually makes quite some sense!
Is there really something like a purely selfless act? An act which is done without any selfish motive behind it whatsoever? Well, this really got me thinking. I wanted to find something to convince me that such a thing does exist. That we are not just humans, but really can be humane beings.
1) How about a doctor, who sacrifices his time, sleep and energy to help save people he actually does not know?
Naah, I'm sure most of you will say that this definitely cannot be considered selfless. He is just doing his job, his duty as a part of the society. Yes, he does feel really good and satisfied at the end of the day, after having saved a patient, but the happiness got out of one's profession is more out of pride of having a job well done, and definitely not because he considers his work as something selfless.
Well then, forget professionals.
2) How about a person who spends his time and money in doing social activities, helping the poor and uplifting the lesser fortunate?
This is a bit tough, but I think I still will go with a No. This is not because I am thinking of the front-page headliners about what our noble politicians do. The fact is that only the financially stable people are the ones who can afford to do this. And frankly, in quite a few cases, this is just a trade, where they give money for more fame. And in all others, the reason people do this is to make them feel happy, give them the satisfaction of having done something good. And this is certainly a noble thing, but not something that can be considered a selfless act.
Okay then. Let’s take something that happens a lot more frequently.
3) How about a person who spends his time and energy to keep his special someone or his friends happy?
Nope. Definitely not something done out of selflessness. It always is "I want to be with you coz you make me happy and I want to try making you this happy". Yes, he does try this earnestly, but the very reason he tries that is so the other person in turn stays with him, laughs and cries with him, and in general make his life a lot more fun. If we remove all this from friendship or a relation, if he realizes that the other person cannot make him happy, all that will be left is a couple of people with broken hearts, tears and goodbyes. So yeah, every relationship is created with some selfish motive behind it, and strangely this actually does not look wrong here.
In that case, let’s take the most mundane stuff that happens.
4) You find a wallet lying around, and you take pains in finding the person who lost it and delivering it to him. Could this really not be selfless?
Ohh No. Let’s consider that you don’t be 'selfless', and that you decide to keep the wallet to yourself. But now, you fear that this sin committed will have you cast into hell once your time is done, where you will suffer endless torments for time uncountable. Or if you aren’t someone who believes in the concept of heaven and hell, you atleast have a conscience, which keeps poking at you every time you look at that wallet in your hand, telling you it’s not yours and that you are doing something wrong. So, the very act of giving the wallet back to the person who lost it, is because you do not want any of these pains and guilt hanging over your head. Still not selfless!!
So, how can we do something that is so purely selfless, something that we do without expecting or getting anything in return?
The answer, I found, was as simple as it can ever be. A line from a song in the movie The Sound of Music came to my mind -
"Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could..."
Of course, it’s only when u quite literally do nothing, that you can get nothing in return!
Any investment made, whether it be in the form of time, money, energy or anything else, always yields a just and equal outcome!
Doing nothing? Sounds weird? Well, it’s not really that you have to sit and do nothing. It’s just that we have to do something which costs us nothing. Now we are on the right track, I guess.
Let’s slightly change the 4 questions I've had previously.
1) How about a doctor, who greets his patients with a bright "Good morning", and an assurance that everything will be ok, even those he actually does not know?
2) How about a social activist who holds the hands of the poor and the lesser fortunate, and promises them that there are people alongside them who can help them?
3) How about a person who pats his friend on his back every time his friend is low, and assures him that they will remain the best of friends forever? How about a person who looks into the eyes of his love and tells her that he cares about her?
4) How about handing the lost wallet to the respective person, with a gentle smile, and wishing him a good day?
Your life will go just fine if these small things aren’t done, and the act of doing these gives you nothing in return, but these still end up brightening peoples’ lives. It is these seemingly small and insignificant actions that make peoples’ lives that much more relaxed, happy and fulfilling, and these small gestures that make the world a much better place to live in harmony with.
And now I need to ask myself. Is the very act of spending these 2 to 3 hours writing this blog a selfish one - hoping to get my thoughts out so others can read it, or is it one that is selfless - making a small change, bringing a small thought into your own mind which might end up in something good? This is something which I think I ought not to answer. :)
Signing off with a smile, a wink and a bow.
Enigmatically yours,
VAH
