454. Think Independently!

"Follow any religion or creed. Subscribe to any political philosophy or support any political party. But, think independently. Don't blindly accept what someone says."

It was this statement of Ravindranath that made Ramkumar take an interest in Ravindranath's 'Thought is Wealth' organization. Eventually, Ramkumar became a member of the organization.

"If making people think independently is the goal, why do they have an organization, membership etc. These kinds of organizations want to enslave people, by brainwashing them" said Ramkumar's friend Santosh.

"This organization is different from others of its kind. These people don't impose any creed on the members. They only say that we should not blindly accept the preachings of religious leaders, philosophers, politicians etc, but that we should think and come to our own conclusions. It is only for inculcating this thinking among the people, they enroll members and train them. I suggest that you also become a member of this organization" said Ramkumar.

"Leave me out of this. I don't like to strain my brain, by giving it arduous tasks like thinking!" said Santosh, laughing. 

"You had been following the practice of going to the temple on Sundays. But you don't do it nowadays. Have you thought independently and come to the conclusion that there is no God?" asked Santosh, teasingly.

"On Sundays, there are meetings for propagating the ideals of 'Thought is Wealth.' I am going to those meetings, as a volunteer. So, I don't have the time to go to the temple" explained Ramkumar.

"Think about it, Ramkumar. There was a time, when you had made going to temple on Sundays a rigorous routine. If I asked you to accompany me to some place or an event on a Sunday, you would decline my invitation, citing the reason that going to the temple on Sundays was an indispensable activity for you. Now, these people have brainwashed you into believing that it is more important to be present in their meetings as a volunteer than going to the temple. Volunteering means doing something at your own will. But you have been forced to go to their meetings as a volunteer, driven by a moral compulsion."

"It is not like that. They didn't force me in any manner. They only asked me to decide whether it was more important for me to go to the temple every Sunday and worship God or to serve as a volunteer in the meetings and help in making more and more people think independently. It was me who decided that going to the meetings as a volunteer was more important than going to the temple" said Ramkumar.

Santhosh laughed and said, "I am reminded of a joke. A man told his friends, 'I am the boss in my house, and I have my wife's permission to say this!' Your claim is similar to that. Not only that you have surrendered your independent thinking at the altar of the very organization that claims to have the mission of making people think independently, but have also accepted the ideas of the organization, as your own ideas. It is a pity that you have not realized this!"

 Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 46
Shunning the Company of Mean People

Verse 454 (in Tamil):

manaththu uLadhu pOlak kAtti oruvRku
inaththu uLadhAgum aRivu.

Meaning:

It may appear that one's wisdom stems from his mind, but it is shaped by people around that person.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'suya sindhanai' by the same author.)

Verse 455
Verse 453