What is life? Observing my father, a retired Indian Police Service officer and the Distinguished Service Citation awardee from the President of India, I feel that life is what you lived. Ambitions, greed, passion, and many more, when all start subsiding the real human being emerges. I find these days my father’s face more peaceful, more contended, twinkle in the eyes, childlike enthusiasm, the ability to question, the fearlessness to admit not knowing the answer and the treasure of memories – these are some qualities that may attempt to summarize him today.
His friends, parents, relations, better half, one son and many more acquaintances who grew up with him and shared their life, along with their life they also shared their sweet and bitter reminiscences are dropping out of his sight one by one…slowly, day by day. We do not generally observe – but a not a single day passes without us being informed of at least one known person has concluded his life’s race. We ran for property, wealth, name and fame and may more races for the society. Or shall I say we were intoxicated / hypnotised? Looking at my father’s serene face, I can only say ‘what a life he is living’!
My father has 4 sons. One of them died recently. We observe across the globe, the complaints children may have towards their parents – such as – how much property will I get? What am I inheriting? …lots more. He asked me what property would I expect from him. Added with a lot of regret – I couldn’t give you much. With a smile I replied ‘I am the only son who were given everything in life. My choicest education, my choicest life partner and my choicest way of living. What more can I ask for? All these were possible only due to him – my father. All the more important – he taught me – to earn money the world is your stage. A capable, qualified person can earn his money anywhere in the world. He cannot have any limitations. He will never have. That person, he said, is the creative man.
Creative man? Yes! He replied confidently. A creative man is not different from others and yet he is different. A creative man is he who does his work with passion. For example, a person who cleans the house. Observing at the cleanliness of the house, we can easily understand how creative he is. We can observe his creativity through the cleanliness. Thus, in every work that we do, we must strive to be creative. That man will leave a better world behind him.
Further, it is not a necessary that a creative man to be a wealthy man. He need not be. He can never be. Usually, a creative man is neither popular, nor rich, nor gets the due recognition. The Jesus, the most creative man – when alive, he never got his recognition. The world did not know he existed but for the work of his four disciples. His creativity was recognised much later. Similarly, Yogi Vemana of Andhra Pradesh – creative in his poems and other writings– but got the due recognition hundreds of years later; and Jesus’ thousands of years later; Van Gogh, hundreds of years later. A creative man therefore is that person who leaves his footprints for a better world.
Listening to this definition of creative man, I regretted why I did not understand him fully earlier. Had I understood these words of creativity earlier, I would not have run behind those useless things all these years. My father is a man par excellence with a very open-mind. He saw the entire world. I would say he has 22nd century’s brain. I am glad and thankful to all existence for making me his son.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
