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| Henri Frederic Amiel |
Man being a social animal has to be the part and
parcel of his surroundings and inhabitants.In order to ensure a peaceful co-
existence with his fellow being, man has to curtail some of his personal liberties.
Many a times, too much of individual liberty leads to social anarchy. In the
hustle bustle of the new life style, he fails to satiate the needs of his heart
but only the head. He is in the pursuit of materialistic pleasures and amassing
wealth. Man lost the ability to think of his inner self as his urge leads him
to fulfill mundane comforts. The dictum of Swiss Philosopher, Poet and Critic
Henri Frederic Amiel deserves mention in this regard. He opines that a man who
lacks the inner self is literally a slave to his surroundings just like the
barometer that acts as an obedient servant of air at rest. When we are devoid
of a mighty power or oracle to control or make us aware of the right and wrong
in our doings, we become mechanical and our deeds will be to satisfy others.
Modern man in the tech savvy world is in a race to gather whatever that gives
him physical pleasures. His head and heart are in different paths and there
occurs disharmonies to lead his life with rejoice. He forgets the fact that he
has a life of his own and it should not be a mere surrender to others comforts.
While he dashes to devour the external happiness of life, man really becomes a part
apart from his own self. Unless we realize our mental desires and contentment,
nothing else can substitute the essence of our entity. It is the dire need of
the hour to get rid of the mere approval of worldly luxuries. We must give due
importance to our feelings and emotions so as to have a proper balance of
intelligence and information.
Dr.S. Radhakrishnan, the former President of India
has rightly said long back that humanities and science should hand in hand and
they are neither inferior or superior to each other. Similarly, in our real
life also, we should not discard the great reality that our self must be given
due significance. A life like a slave of others can never have a worth of its own.
Even if we lack wealth or money or if we are not that affluent also, we can put
up with those circumstances. Freedom and self expression transcend many aspects
of life. A caged bird or a domestic animal craves for freedom than anything in
life. We should have free thinking and our own dreams and aspirations. It
should never be an obligation to a second person’s interests. We must be bold
enough to follow what is right and what is our aim. If we lack the competence to
know what is good for us, People will make us a mere slave to dance according
to their tones. We will then have a life to please and praise others.
Henri
Frederic exhorts us to lead a life of our own and create some “fresh woods and
pastures new” .As we all are created by the Almighty, all of us have us equal
rights to have a life of our own in this planet where diversity of multitudes
co exists.
