All win-win

It is Dassehra today, signaling the victory of Lord Rama and his re-entry into his kingdom, the defeat of Ravana, the classic triumph of good over evil. Many battles have been fought on that premise, that the good guys always come first, but life, real life, doesn’t always work that way. Take the zillions of wars that have been won by the wrong people – be they on a huge and international scale or in relatively insignificant personal levels. But, at some stage, at some time in your life, if you are good, and you have done all that your duty is said to be, you do come out the winner…or so goes the Indian way of thought.

In the past few months that I have been working on the section of the newspaper that I call ‘home’, I have been looking for and often finding just this sort of sentiment for the spirituality column that we publish. Most of it is connected to some scripture or the other, some has been written by a guru of some note. But I find interesting bits and pieces that come from odd places that I cannot explain but do understand. The extracts I use are perfectly in context, wonderfully timed and just what I need for that moment, from Mark Twain on criminal justice to Margaret Noble (also known as Sister Nivedita) on Durga puja. Neither is a ‘spiritual’ writer, but both talk of a philosophy so necessary in today’s rather disturbed and disturbing world.

For me, triumph comes from persistence, from inner strength, from determination not to let go of values learned young and stuck to, no matter what the temptation. It is about looking yourself in the eye (in a mirror or metaphorically) and knowing that you can, without blushing or feeling furtive in some way. Do right, do wrong, do dubiousness, but do it in a way that you respect, is what I was taught and what I live by. But my version, linked to my so-called ‘career’ is more simple – it is my byline on the piece. Can I read it without flinching?

That is a question I often wonder about. Whether I am involved in editing a book I do not wholly support, or whether I am credited with saying something that I would never have if I wasn’t pushed (by someone, by emotion, by mood of the moment) into it, I rarely deny the fact that it is my signature at the bottom. In most cases, almost all, I can gaze at my own face and claim ownership. And, for me, that is what triumph is all about.