Ambition and Comparison - a Short Story
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. ~Oscar Wilde
In the city of Mumbai, there was once a rare bird, called Bugun Liocichla. This bird was one of an endangered species, with the only known population estimated to consist of 14 individuals in Mumbai. This bird had two sons who were growing up and had started asking him questions - on life, on conduct, on work, and on wisdom. The bird was reputed for his wisdom among all the birds of Mumbai. He had the reputation of being an ascetic who was not concerned with material riches and was content with whatever little came his way.
One day his two sons, who were about to finish their education, asked him what profession they should choose. They told him about the popular professions that were being pursued by other birds at the time. Of all the professions being pursued by the birds of Mumbai, the professions of crow or pigeon were the most popular. Everybody wanted to become either a crow or a pigeon since it is always safer and comfortable to do what many people are doing.
The father, the rare bird, listened to them patiently and said these words, "Are you an ambitious bird? Do you know what ambition is? It is the desire to become somebody, is it not? And do you know what it does? It causes us to be against one another. Everybody is struggling to be rich, to have fame, to be more clever. You want to be greater than the other person and he wants you to be greater than you. So ambition really means trying to be something you are not. And which is important? To be what you are or try to be something you are not? You must first look at yourselves and begin to understand what you are. And then perhaps you'll never ask what you should do.
"Do not compare with what other birds are doing. Don't try to become like them, even if everybody else becomes like them. It is hard for you because comparison is the basis of our so-called education, and of our whole culture. Comparison is the most destructive thing in the world. If you compare yourselves with others then how can you find out what you are interested in, what your capacities are? Don't imitate, don't try to become like anybody else, no matter how great. It is you who are important, not somebody else. Find out who you are."
The two boys understood what their father said. No more did they want to be a crow or a pigeon. No more did they want to become like others. No more did they want to become common. They said to themselves, it is better to be a rare bird than to be a well known crow or a pigeon; it is better to be an unknown than a known poisonous creature; it is better to remain obscure than to shine with artificial light.
Related Tags: moral, comparision, ambition
Ashutosh Ghildiyal is a salaried professional based in Mumbai, India. He was born in Lucknow in 1984, where he completed his schooling. He completed his graduate studies in New Delhi and his post-graduate education in Mumbai. He is the author of "To Think or Not to Think and Other stories" (Book), blogs, various articles, and short stories.
Email: ashutoshghildiyal@hotmail.com
Blog: http://ashutosh-ghildiyal.blogspot.com
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