Hope..

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things....and a good thing never dies.."

This line from The Shawshank Redemption, the immortal film, sums up both the essence of the film and the essence of life. In fact, the very last line of the movie is "I Hope...", which comes from a person who has lost hope, rather, lost the idea of having hope. That is the beauty of the movie, and the beauty of life...

Everything in a man's life - his hopes, dreams, ambitions, values, conduct - is ultimately based on hope. Even those who commit wrongs do it on the basis of the hope of deriving some happiness/advantage out of money or fame or power. Those who do good are inspired by the hope of having good in lieu of doing good. Hope is what drives a man to do the seemingly impossible, hope is what directs him in taking up things that seem way beyond his capacity....and this hope, when combined with man's will, becomes the most potent thing in the world. Of course, after that, it depends on man's conscience whether he wants to use it for progress or destruction.

But a common mistake is to lace Hope with Ambition, and there is a very fine line between ambition and over-ambition - just like there is a fine line between self-respect and ego, or self-confidence and overconfidence. Ambition can turn a man wicked and ruthless. It can drive him to destroy everything, even something he considered to be a goal once. That is why, the most important thing is to back hope up by morals and values, and to remember that everything is transitory and nothing is permanent.

As we see around us, we find the situation in utter despair. Corrupt system, incompetent and coward leaders, money ruling the world, crime, moral degradation through media or any other way, ruthless power struggles...and no concern whatsoever for the planet or mankind. This is what philosophers predicted as Kalyug. Seeing what we are turning into leads the mind into believing that we are in a vicious cycle, perhaps doomed forever! We question the utility of it all, utility of even trying to change things, because we know that man will always return to his original nature of vanity and carelessness. We do not know how much more the good will be able to take in this world ruled by the bad. We do not even know whether at the end of it, we will survive or not...

...And that is where Hope comes. It is the last refuge and the absolute last means. It may be false sometimes, but it is good to hold on to. When a person has lost everything, the only thing through which he continues living is hope. Similarly, when nations have lost their senses and people have started worshipping the bad, the only thing good can cling onto is hope. Yes, everyone has to work towards making that hope come true, but most important of all is not to lose that hope, at any cost.

I hope too, about things to come. I hope that one day man will find it in himself to solve every one of his problems substantially, even if they do not go away permanently and keep coming back; I hope that one day good will rise again and establish itself overwhlemingly; I hope that man will be able to salvage himself and his planet from the deluge of money, power and ambition that he has created. I hope that my motherland takes its rightful place in the world, and becomes the bearer of the most conscientious, virtuous and powerful people in the world. And I hope that I keep working tirelessly towards achieving that, and never become cynical enough, nor lose courage ever.

I hope...