Periods of Transition
Monday November 8 2004 08:57 IST
By Karmayogi
Periods of transition
are full of stress. There are transitions for the better. Other transitions are
for the worse. A war effort is one such. The whole population must sacrifice
several conveniences to fight the war. Each family has to risk a life too.
When a nation is overwhelmed by waves of prosperity, the population that is
overjoyed by that transition will also find it difficult to adjust to the new
affluence. That too can generate a stress which is usually unseen or
unperceived. It is nothing new for understanding, but we generally miss it.
Addressing a convocation is a rare honour for anyone. One who has risen to a
higher position for the first time will find delivering a convocation address
frightening, as he may not have yet risen psychologically to the inner status
of the new higher post. India is witnessing a small wave of
prosperity, especially in the big cities. This new wave is capable of that
stress.
Newspapers are frequently reporting cases of suicide. It alarms the public,
especially the politicians. In changed circumstances, the press has a way of
highlighting routine phenomenon as if they have newly cropped up.
So, when I checked the figures of suicide, actually there was an increase. It
made me think. Anyone who desires to know the truth of this new trend will do
better to study periods of transition in history from this point of view. That
will supply actual historical FACTS that throw enough light on this aspect of
national life.
Periods of transition for the worse, such as uprooting of the population, are
known to bring to the surface characteristics that were unseen in anyone. People
exclaim, ‘‘I never imagined that this old man was capable of this
heinous crime. I have known him all his life as a man of soft
sweetness.''
A change, especially a serious change, brings to the surface the hidden good as
well as bad in us. First, the new prosperity requires a higher cultural behaviour
to fit into the society.
Most people adjust. Some who are unable or unwilling to adjust feel the stress
on their nerves. Often the nerves give way. There is a slightly different
version of it also. When prosperity enters a community, the hidden talents of
many emerge and they all quickly rise. Those who are not talented and
consequently are unable to keep up with the general rise in status are stung by
jealousy.
They are driven to extremes. A symptom can tell us a message. It is for us to
get the message straight. A good development can indicate a good consequence,
or occasionally, the opposite. A bad development can well be a symptom of a
good consequence in future.