1. Listen to Heart - Blindness not a medical disease ……

1. Listen to Heart - Blindness not a medical disease ……

 

He is Blind….. He is Blind…… He is Blind….. This is a very common 3 words sentence. When one hears this he turns towards the blind person to observe his physical activities & so as I do.

 

I was travelling to my village. I boarded the passenger train. There was lot of rush so I had to stand & travel. I could hear vendors selling Pea nuts, Samosa, etc.  I was enjoying the travel as I was getting closer to my birth place. After few station crossed, I happened to manage a seat. I was relaxed.  As usual we ( all co-passengers ) started chatting, happened to meet a young boy from my village. I could not recognize as he was a kid when I used to stay. Now the travel was becoming more interesting as could relate myself with the sweet memories. I was enquiring about all ( Dadajis, Dadijis, Chachajis , Chachijis, Bhaeyas, Bhabhis, & all who ever I could remember ). I heard a voice toffee, toffee,….  I turned myself & could recognize the vendor who had been selling toffee for years in the same train. I was excited. I asked him the price ( Bhaeya  kitne ke toffee hain ) ? He said 5 for Rs 5 ( Panch ke Panch ). I paid him & took 2 packets. He moved on selling. An elderly person called him asked him how more packets he had left with by now. The reply was 12. He paid him for all & said Thank You ( Dhanyawad ) for your service.

 

The young boy asked me if I was interested to taste Peanuts & I replied him in positive. With Penuts & Green Chille combination the journeys was enjoyable one. A group of young students were also enjoying in their group of 6-7. They asked the vendor to serve them peanuts & as expected he was asked to leave without taking money. The poor vendor moved on. By seeing this I was feeling bad but I kept quiet. I thought why should I get into it & invite trouble for myself. We all co-passengers were looking at each other. The eyes were saying something is going wrong but all were like dumb. In the mean time we saw the vendor who was selling the toffee stood up and requested on behalf of peanut vendor for the payment. He was continuously requesting.  Then I observed that another person also joined to pressurize to give the payment and so on others & even myself joined. Finally they paid.

 

I was feeling bad & then realized I am a weak person with having everything the God  has given me. I was weaker than the vendor who was selling toffee. Weaker may not be financially but yes weaker by mind, by heart, by humanity, … & I felt & realized that I was blind by all means mentioned where as the hero who made it happen  was basically blind physically. Still the question comes to my mind that, is blindness a medical decease or a mindset.  This reminds me of general incidences in our country happening day in and day out.

 

I reached my village & met my friends. Ramesh is colleague of mine who just bought a tractor to start his living. He got an order to deliver sugarcane of 5 tons from village to the town. He was happy about it. He placed his vehicle at field. The labours placed it well in the trailer of the tractor. It was placed along the length. It was tied up with a rope made in the field itself. It was weighed & a slip was handed over to the driver. He had bought this tractor on loan so he was happy when the order was confirmed. He started the journey. He was singing different songs on the drive so that the time passes away. He travelled about 40 kms then he stopped for a cup of tea & by 3.00 pm reached the destination. He handed over the slip. The vehicle got emptied. Sugarcanes were weighed. The store incharge asked him “ so 4.5 tons? “ . The driver said “ no it is 5 Tons ” . It was re-weighed but it was found 4.5 tons. The poor fellow was shocked. He said I have brought all which was loaded & have not left the vehicle alone. He was paid for 4.5 tons only.  The money was deducted from the agreed price. He was in pain. The days passed & he got the same order again of sugarcanes. He was careful this time. Fortunately his friend was accompanying him in this trip. He delivered the same quantity & got the full payment. He learnt in the process that people used to try to pull the canes from the trailer. Finally he kept a helper with him to ensure no one pulled on the way. He started enjoying his work and was able to earn well. This went on & on.  This again forces me to think, Is this not Blindness. We take others’ property without asking as if it is our birth right. This happens everywhere & we also do it & if not at least we never say “ Don’t Do “ to others. Having eyes we are doing wrong. , is blindness a medical disease or a mindset?

 

I happen to attend an Orchestra. I don’t remember the organization & the brand. I reached the auditorium. It was full. You could find all age of people ; Old, Middle aged, young & even the kids. It was a family gathering for all. We bought Popcorns, cold drinks, etc. The curtain was removed after the announcement. We were excited. This programme became special for me. I am not a music maniac guy but could observe the coordination of all the section at the stage. We were told at the end that this group has even represented at International level. The most astonishing & touching was that the whole group consisted of people who had lost their seeing ability physically i.e. they were blind by birth. They never let the audience feel that the group was special. , is blindness a medical disease or a mindset?

 

I was reading an article of Bhagavad-Gita. Dhritarashtra was blind. He asked Sanjay to explain him about everything taking place at Kurushetra. He knew that Duryodana was doing wrong with Pandavas to fulfill his needs but still Dhritarashtra was quiet. Was it because he was blind physically? He could have stopped the Mahabhartha but due to his blindness for the lust of material attachment & blindness for his son he could not see anything. He wanted to achieve the unachievable. He could not see the inevitable. He could not realize Krishna on the other hand. So his blindness went deeper into his thoughts & actions. We all know that Krishna spoke to Arjuna at Kurushetra  when Arjuna asked him to move the chariot at the center where Arjuna refused to fight & on the other  hand same was delivered to Dhritarashtra by Sanjay. Then why was Arjuna able to understand & was ready to perform his duty. But Dhritarashtra could not understand & was not able to perform his duty i.e. to stop the war & do justice to both Pandavas & Kauravas. It was basically his blindness had gone to the level of his mind. He realized his mistakes when it was too late. He lost all his hundred sons & his dignity.

We face similar situations in our day to day life. We move towards the same fate due to our blindness caused due to false material attachment, false dignity, false ego,…. A person should always try to practice humanity & the rest will fall in line. The question still remains open; for you to decide -  Is blindness a medical disease or a mindset?

Gita teaches us the way of Life. Dhritarashtra’s blindness is more of symbolic than actual. Infact it is believed that “ What did not happen in Maha ( Bharat ), does not happen in Bharat ( India ) “.

 

Courtesy : Bhagavad-Gita As It Is (by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) ,  Srimad Bhagavad-Gita ( by A. Parthasarathy  & www.gitadaily.com ) Chapter 1 : Text 1