'Edifying Liberation'

“How do you distinguish between being well read and extreme paranoia? Well! I have one answer. One leads to precaution and the other to precariousness. Being well-read makes you believe there is a virus and you need to take precautions. Being paranoid makes you believe that virus is out there to just kill you and will certainly infect you because of a personal vendetta.” The speaker takes out his glasses and uses the handkerchief lying on the podium to clean it, while the auditorium is filled with laughter of his young audience. 

 

“If you find this funny, you certainly would find my obsession with the words starting with the letter ‘p’ more fascinating.” He lets out a laugh and a few snickers from the audience can be heard as well.

 

The speaker puts back his glasses and continues, “I have a friend who has read everything about the possible symptoms and precautions that one needs to take to stay protected. He had read various news articles, health department reports and government reports from across the globe. I believe, if given a chance, he could write a compilation.” He pauses to smile and with almost enough pause, he continues again, “But what sets him apart is believing that it is out there just to get him. He has lost his sleep. He believes taking any medicine is a hoax and unless you are panting for breath, medicine is your enemy.”

 

He then continues, “You have got to control your fear. Living under a constant fear of things because you are well-read, is like fearing to take a voyage having watched Leonardo’s publicly anticipated award-winning performance in the movie Titanic. Although we all know that against our anticipations, he waited too long to be acknowledged with the award.”

 

He smiles but the audience laughs. 

 

He says, “That takes me to the next example. We all know that our hard-work will be rewarded. We have books, Mofussil stories and Nobel Prize winners to prove it all. We know the struggle of Marie Currie to not just make a scientific advancement but also her struggle as a woman. She could win Nobel Prize being a woman because of the strong grit her husband presented. But does that mean every person works for a Nobel Prize? What if we have peers, or we know of scientists, who despite being outstanding in their fields, haven’t won the Nobel Prize? Will that diminish our spirits from achieving our maximum potential?”

 

He pauses and has a sip of water from the bottle lying in front of him. He then continues, “I can think of one particular person here- Dr.Stephan Hawkins. A protege. My personal inspiration. He didn’t win a Nobel Prize but does anyone shy from acknowledging his contributions? I certainly don’t think so. Winning an award or achieving something is not a paradigm to measure your contributions or scaling your intelligence. In the same way, after having read a catena of material about a deadly virus or inevitability of death shouldn’t make you lose on the essence of life. Just like winning an award is not what drives you, fear of death should not make your life a drag. I am talking about freedom here. Living liberated doesn’t mean living in your own house on your terms; living liberated means living with a mind that is free from fear. You are liberated when you can sleep at night believing that every breath you take, every moment you spend on your bed and every muscle on your body is free. That is true liberation. Death, diseases, failures and losses are inevitable. They will surround you but you take precautions instead of fearing them. For example, I know drinking dirty water might cause me typhoid. What do I do to avoid it? Do I stop drinking water or do I just take measures to ensure that I have a source that purifies my drinking water? Believing that human body is 70% water, and that we are all humans, I think the latter is the only option.” He laughs and says, “I cannot spend time thinking that every sip of my water carries the potential of causing illness or fatality. That thing that makes me calm when I have a big glass of water after a strenuous workout, that is liberation. We need liberation and not fear. When you read some news, believing the articles to be authentic, you are supposed to prepare your own arsenal. That arsenal is supposed to create precautions to deal with the new symptom or disease. It is not supposed to bog you down.”

 

He stops to look at his watch and then the audience. He has been speaking for almost thirty minutes now but he has held everybody’s attention. He tries to play coy and says, “This all the knowledge that I had. I know you people are going to leave this place soon. The world is going to hold multiple opportunities for you- so many so that it would be an embarrassment of riches. With the amount of sources you have had here, I am sure you all are well-read. But are you paranoid?” The audience is silent but confusion is writ large on their faces. He continues, “At the end, I would genuinely urge you to go back to your rooms and think of the various aspects of life that raises every hair on your body. It maybe failing professionally, losing a loved one or maybe even death. It could be anything. After you have done that, ask yourself- Once I leave this place, do I really need to live fearful or liberated? Can’t I just take precautions and lead a free life? Can I not just take charge of my life with this second chance?- If you get answer to these questions, I think you have succeeded. The first step of conquering your problems is to acknowledge you have them. The next is to know that it isn’t worth the pain. The last is when you decide to let go of it by adopting liberation over fear. If you fail at any of the latter two stages, don’t think you are alone. Seek help. Join support groups. Trust me whatever your problem is, however magnanimous or puerile it seems, there are people out there just like you. Our organisation is going to help you. Once you leave this Centre, feel free to contact 'Edifying Liberation' and we shall assist you. All that I just shared with you is what the organisation stands for. If you feel you could share our vision and mission, do not hesitate. Just walk ahead and collect the brochures. That is all! And with this I would like to take your leave!”

 

There is a long silence. Not a sound could be heard in the auditorium. Everyone was waiting for him to share his classic story. They didn’t believe it’s the end. They didn’t clap or smile. He forcefully smiles and says, “Well I wanted to say thank you and leave but I believe I can’t prevaricate around you”. He laughs. Some nervous laughs from the audience follow. 

 

Mr. George was called to speak before the youngsters at the Police Rehabilitation Centre because his organisation helped youth from such centres to recuperate and build themselves a better life after being released. This bunch mainly comprised of drug addicts, kleptomaniacs and children who lost their way over time. The Rehabilitation Centres ensured these children got second chances and Mr. George’s organisation cinched to give them direction. His story was seminal in steering him to start this organisation and when he almost ended the session without his notorious piece, the audience couldn’t believe it.

 

“So you want to hear the classic story of my son. Well! Here it is! He was 19years old when we discovered his egregious behaviour. Being naive and new to the parenting of a 19 year old, my wife and I had so much trouble understanding things. He was missing his classes. He lost his appetite. He started looking pale. We couldn’t comprehend what forced his frolic spirit to transform into a sullen spirit. We thought he might be sick. We got various tests done. All tests came negative. We started forcing him to come out and socialise but he just didn’t budge. I contacted a few psychiatrists and took their opinion. They told me about a few support groups and possible problems. He refused to visit the doctor and I was afraid that forcing him might push him to the brink. We went through a plethora of research articles. All the articles pointed out to one thing- sitting and talking. Having nothing but desperation, my wife and I decided to sit down with him for an hour almost every day. We talked about our day and for days he just listened. One day, my wife shared about her day, but I didn’t. I remained quiet. My wife knew why I was silent but my son didn’t. As we got up to leave, he said, “Why didn’t you share, Dad?” 

 

I simply smiled and said, “Something bad happened today. I don’t know any right words to share how I feel.”

 

He said, “I know how you feel.”

 

We had a long silence. My wife had tears on hearing words from my son after days. My son finally said, “Dad, I know I have worried you and mom for quite some time now. My best friend died of a venereal disease. He was as pure as a saint. We have no idea what happened. I was wondering how someone so young could die of such a disease. I researched online. One thing led to another. The more I read, the more things became dark. I read about depression. I read about teenage deaths. It was all downhill from there. Now I am so afraid death might come anytime now.”

 

I smiled and said, “Son, I gave up hope, too. My friend’s son died of depression today. I thought you are heading the same path. I felt helpless. I thought you were never going to talk to us. But you know what I have realised? Life is full of uncertainties. These past few days, your mom and I have died of anticipation. We lived in fear just like you. Was it really worth it? Uncertainties don’t have to stop us from loving each other or living life liberated. If we live as a slave to the thought of death, addiction or even with an obsession of success, we will never live to realise what we could achieve while being free. These past few days made us realise that freedom is often trivialised, when in fact it should be aggrandized.”

 

My son is 26 years old now. He found a way to cope with his fear and so did we. We feel liberated now. You all can have that too. We started ‘Edifying Liberation’ a few years back to help people like my son and you. We provide support you need and we closely check you adhere to a healthy life after you are released. Being at this Centre, I know you must have thought and read about life after here. Some of you must have even become like my friend who could write a book about diseases. I know it can be scary out there. Most of you must be dreading about the uncertainties but I am asking you to do a simple exercise. Ask those questions to yourselves. I will repeat them for you- Once I leave this place, do I really need to live fearful or liberated? Can’t I just take precautions and lead a free life? Can I not just take charge of my life with this second chance? My dear children, I am asking you not to walk out of this place with shame. I want you to take the strides of pride as free men and women when you leave.”

 

The auditorium is now filled with applause.