Why Vistaar?

One of the most common questions I am faced with as I travel across the country, in pretty much every home is why vistaar? Its one of those questions that I can’t really give a straight forward answer to, despite it being a straight forward question but hopefully I’ll make some of you understand the mindset behind such a decision.

Over the last few years, a lot of people have sensed a change in myself in terms of attitude and behaviour.  This transformation is without doubt down to a number of external factors but amongst those factors is the rock that is Sangh Shakha. Therefore, this year is for Shakha, the organisation that has moulded me into the man that I am today, the organisation that has taken me through both the good and the bad times, the organisation that has made me what I am – a swayamsevak.

Recently, we’ve seen the terrible situation in Pakistan and closer to home there is a constant reminder of how people are struggling to deal with the lack of jobs and other opportunities. Yesterday, I spoke to a guy who had been unemployed for more than a year. He was a clever, well qualified man who now suffered from depression. Yet its amazing how devoting some time and spreading some warmth to others can have an instant effect on some. I suppose the message is we can make a change only if we are willing to do so.

Finally, how often do we really get a chance to take a step out of this phenomenon we term the rat race? As I sit in the cafe writing this post, there is talk of business deals, mortgages, bills and all the usual financial issues. This is an opportunity for me to look at life from a different perspective, to look at the way people live, work and play.  I sometimes get the impression that we live our lives as sophisticatedly programmed robots trained and engineered to do our jobs well. Let’s not forget that there is a lot more substance to this life, there is a lot more to it than simply making as much money as possible. Yes, we need money to survive in some senses but what is the real purpose of our existence? What is the meaning of our life? What is the goal?

After all, we are people not programmed devices...