Stewards of the Lamp
Imagine you lived in the long lost past. Imagine you have a lamp in your family. You have forgotten the number of generations that this object has been in your family; only that you know the past 7 generations have carried it with them. You can even name them, past 7 generations. You are told that this lamp is timeless, which is to say no one really remembers when it came in the care of your family. All they know is that it takes a great deal of hard work and sacrifice, generation after generation, to keep this lamp burning. You forefathers have kept this lamp burning on the top of a hill — giving light to all surroundings. The lamp burns bright as day, but it takes a lot to keep it burning. You see your family working hard, every day, polishing it — keeping it clean, pouring oil in it and making sure everyone sees the light.
Your forefathers went around, lighting similar lamps all over. And creating families of caretakers who would care the same way lighting the lamp — making sure the light never goes out. Such is the work for keeping the lamp aflame, that your forefathers never had time to pursue other goals: accumulating wealth, accumulating power. What they earned, was respect from the society for their efforts in propagating and perpetuating that lamp. The respect was accorded because your forefathers knew they were merely stewards of the lamp — not owners. It was theirs to care, cherish and propagate — not to own.
Your parents told you that you have to do the same sacrifices, put in the same hard work, to be worthy of its presence in the care of your family. They never abandoned it in distress nor in opulence. They expected you to do the same. They expected you to care for it, and use it for greater good. Demanding duties, both. You took it upon yourself — given the demands of other pursuits, to deliver on these duties as best as you can.
Sometimes, as best as you can wasn’t enough. Somewhere along the line, certain lines blurred. Somewhere along your family line, someone mistook caring for the lamp, as owning it. Instead of lighting that brilliant lamp on the top of a hill and making sure it burns bright night after night, someone decided that it is sufficient if it lights just their village. From there, human nature took over. One generation it was the village that benefited; next it was the street. Then it was an extended family, but now — it is just a few people in each family. As the circle of people who cared for it shrunk, the sense of caring went down. It was instead replaced by a sense of possession. What was once a light to entire humanity, is now deemed to be family heirloom. You made it so, and the society acknowledged it — first with awe, next with jealousy, and then with ridicule. You claimed that you are in possession of a lamp that can light the entire world, but it couldn’t even spread its light even in your own family.
We, the stewards, have brought disrepute to the lamp; and brought ridicule on those who have made it their duty to keep the lamp burning. As to whether they do the duty out of a sense of duty, or out of a sense of despondency and destitution doesn’t matter.
What was worse, caring for and propagating the lamp became a gentlemanly pursuit of leisure. The society, bereft of the light the lamp provided, now refused to support those who cared for it. It fell upon those who held the lamp, to generate resources to meet its demands. And those who could muster the resources to care for the lamp by themselves, became more convinced of their ownership. Thus started a vicious cycle of disuse and ownership.
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Moreover, those who did care for the lamp out of their own destitution, were shrouded by ignorance about its value. They knew they had something of value — but they couldn’t fathom it. Those who could fathom it were stopped from spreading the good news, because the society had stopped listening to them.
Amidst all this drama, the lamp — the ageless, timeless, boundless source of light — finally started to falter.
There is a real chance that we will lose this lamp, and its light for ever. Buried in the sands of time, lost to us forever, only to be rediscovered by another society which would cherish stewardship of the lamp over its ownership; but with no credits to us. We will be erased from the pages of history, just as words on sand are wiped clean by the winds of time. Both the stewards (now self proclaimed owners) and the society, will be the ultimate losers.
But, all is not lost. The lamp can be rekindled. For that however, the sense of stewardship needs to be strengthened. Those who carry the lamp need to learn humility. They need to acknowledge that a steward can come from anywhere. There will be diamonds in the rough. There will be gold in the sand. It is the job of the current crop of stewards to identify the next generation and groom them.
The society on its part needs to realize that any aspiring steward needs to undergo rigorous training to keep the lamp alive. The lamp gives, but it also demands. Caring for this lamp should not be a part of the political games. The lamp is timeless; its light is transcendental — and its stewardship is not a matter of temporal politics and social norms.
A steward needs to understand that the patrons and defenders will form a very small part of the society. Most of the society will be happy relishing the light, while ridiculing the steward, his/her perseverance, and the hard work. A steward needs the equanimity of mind to take both the support and the ridicule in their stride. For their duty is towards the lamp and the lamp only.
For, only when the lamp burns bright, the steward can claim “तमसोमा ज्योतिर्गमय” ।
ॐ शांति ।
