A hypocrite, a saint, or an everyday entity?
Let's shoot off with a quick peak at what or who an hypocrite is.
1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she doesn't possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions or statements belie his or her public statement.
So, where exactly is this going?
Let me lay down all the facts for you.
I, as a kid, "hesitated" to help others. The reason? Absolutely none, if there has to be one, then it maybe my shyness as a kid. This one time, I saw a blind man trying to cross the street and for some unknown reason, I stood there, watching, waiting for someone to take hold of his hand, become his light and help him out. I noticed, how his clothes were torn at places and how he desperately tried to cover his modesty. He stood there with a frail body, his hands shaking while desperately tried to hold onto his bamboo stick that helped him walk through obstacles as well as helped him barely stand straight. I vividly recall, half an hour, a total of half an hour went by asI stood there waiting for somebody to help him out. Right then, a woman, who was selling tobacco out of a bamboo sewn basket next to me, gave a shout-out, "kabse dek kya rha, ja k madad krna be". It roughly translates to, "What are you staring at?! GO and help him". And when ordered, I did the same. Went over to him, held his hand, I could feel his grip tightening, it felt good. As if he was trying to relay a message, of how he has put his faith in me. It felt good. Its a bit a tough to explain this state of emotion. It made me realize how the problems I faced were nothing and how my existence wasn't utterly pointless and that I wasn't just hogging up space. Not only did I help him cross the street after that, I even gathered the courage to cough out these mere words, "Where do you want to go?" And with a delicate and struggling smile, he asked me if I could walk him to the bus stop and after we got there, I informed him bout the same and he let go of my hand and thanked me and told me how many people don't bother to help people like him. It was wasn't a mammoth task, all I did was help a blind man cross the street but for some reason, this particular memory won't fade away. Maybe 'cuz it was the first time I did something out of which I could reap no gain.
And sadly, with passing time, I grew up, learned how the "adult world" works. You strive ONLY for yourself. I carved it down on my soul, though, I didn't stop doing small helps, like the other day, these four 6 year olds were playing in our apartment's parking lot and I saw this other kid who looked like a five or six year old kid too, sitting in a corner, playing with his plastic push around helicopter by himself. In our apartment,the underground rooms have been rented out to a tailoring unit. This kid was the son of one of those workers. In India, there's a "FINE LINE" drawn between the working classes, quite similar to the caste system. The other kids owed me a bit, as I helped them numerous times when they got on the bad side of the residents. So, I walked over to 'em and asked 'em if they could take in the little guy and without any hesitation or second thought, they took him in and before you know it, they're the best of pals. On a serious note, kids' minds are pretty much like mirrors. They reflect what is shined upon them.
So, coming back to the hypocrite thing, I felt happy only when I helped out the blind man cross the street and never again and yet, I kept helping the needy ones I came across.
So the thing is, even though I realize that what I'm doing is the right thing according to common logic, I don't do it because I wish to help others but only because its the right thing to do.
So, the thought that has been lingering in my mind for a while now is, am I a hypocrite?
Because according to the definition of hypocrite, I'm just faking my righteousness by helping others without any concrete empathetic reason.
And I may as well not be one because instead of just feigning the help, I'm actually contributing my part.
This is what stumped me.
hypocrite- [hip-uh-krit]
(noun)1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she doesn't possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions or statements belie his or her public statement.
So, where exactly is this going?
Let me lay down all the facts for you.
I, as a kid, "hesitated" to help others. The reason? Absolutely none, if there has to be one, then it maybe my shyness as a kid. This one time, I saw a blind man trying to cross the street and for some unknown reason, I stood there, watching, waiting for someone to take hold of his hand, become his light and help him out. I noticed, how his clothes were torn at places and how he desperately tried to cover his modesty. He stood there with a frail body, his hands shaking while desperately tried to hold onto his bamboo stick that helped him walk through obstacles as well as helped him barely stand straight. I vividly recall, half an hour, a total of half an hour went by asI stood there waiting for somebody to help him out. Right then, a woman, who was selling tobacco out of a bamboo sewn basket next to me, gave a shout-out, "kabse dek kya rha, ja k madad krna be". It roughly translates to, "What are you staring at?! GO and help him". And when ordered, I did the same. Went over to him, held his hand, I could feel his grip tightening, it felt good. As if he was trying to relay a message, of how he has put his faith in me. It felt good. Its a bit a tough to explain this state of emotion. It made me realize how the problems I faced were nothing and how my existence wasn't utterly pointless and that I wasn't just hogging up space. Not only did I help him cross the street after that, I even gathered the courage to cough out these mere words, "Where do you want to go?" And with a delicate and struggling smile, he asked me if I could walk him to the bus stop and after we got there, I informed him bout the same and he let go of my hand and thanked me and told me how many people don't bother to help people like him. It was wasn't a mammoth task, all I did was help a blind man cross the street but for some reason, this particular memory won't fade away. Maybe 'cuz it was the first time I did something out of which I could reap no gain.
And sadly, with passing time, I grew up, learned how the "adult world" works. You strive ONLY for yourself. I carved it down on my soul, though, I didn't stop doing small helps, like the other day, these four 6 year olds were playing in our apartment's parking lot and I saw this other kid who looked like a five or six year old kid too, sitting in a corner, playing with his plastic push around helicopter by himself. In our apartment,the underground rooms have been rented out to a tailoring unit. This kid was the son of one of those workers. In India, there's a "FINE LINE" drawn between the working classes, quite similar to the caste system. The other kids owed me a bit, as I helped them numerous times when they got on the bad side of the residents. So, I walked over to 'em and asked 'em if they could take in the little guy and without any hesitation or second thought, they took him in and before you know it, they're the best of pals. On a serious note, kids' minds are pretty much like mirrors. They reflect what is shined upon them.
So, coming back to the hypocrite thing, I felt happy only when I helped out the blind man cross the street and never again and yet, I kept helping the needy ones I came across.
So the thing is, even though I realize that what I'm doing is the right thing according to common logic, I don't do it because I wish to help others but only because its the right thing to do.
So, the thought that has been lingering in my mind for a while now is, am I a hypocrite?
Because according to the definition of hypocrite, I'm just faking my righteousness by helping others without any concrete empathetic reason.
And I may as well not be one because instead of just feigning the help, I'm actually contributing my part.
This is what stumped me.
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