Random Thoughts on Random Words - Day 7 Greatness

We are now standing before an upper primary Government school in a small town in India. Yes, it has a deserted look even now as only the schools for higher secondary students  situated a little way across the street has reopened after  the pandemic. But if we were to  imagine that we are visiting the school in the times prior to the pandemic, we would see enthusiastic kids running out from the class rooms on hearing the bell for the lunch break. Taking a cue from today's topic"Greatness", If we were to ask them about what and whom they would like to become  when they grow up,  they would confidently answer  "Doctor", "Engineer". "Teacher", "Pilot" and so on. The minds of these children are yet to be robbed of  its innocence and the spirit of possibility.  If you were to cross over the street and ask the older children, they may not sound as confident. 

But surely "Greatness" is a lot more than acquiring a profession or position that the society deems as important?  Yes, it is not just about managing to get into a profession. it involves   " a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. It is  attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than all others. This is why you are not called great by getting into the Indian cricket team (an achievement in itself, no doubt) but only when you exhibit that superiority in that area as in the case of  Sachin Tendulkar , Kapil Dev or Dhoni. We can think of different people in different areas whether it is statesmen, scientists, artists, healers,  soldiers, industrialists, professionals who can be called great.  The word is usually reserved for the best of the best, battle tested heroes.  

This brings us to the question "Is greatness the prerogative only of the 'superior' people capable of being 'better than all others' Do the children from the Government schools that we discussed in the beginning of this post stand any chance of becoming great? American Rapper Common outlined  three steps to 'Greatness' while addressing students of Mont Clair State University namely (1) Find your path (2) Believe in your path and (3) Live your path. Here finding your path involves having an end goal, believing in the path is all about not doubting your decision which will ruin your confidence and living your path by having persistence and not giving up.    

Now let us examine the popular quote of William Shakespeare on 'Greatness' :-  

" Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them" 

My initial understanding of the quote was faulty. I believed that the quote meant that the  first two categories  of people deserved to be called great and that the third 'some' in the quote referred to those who occupied glorious positions or obtained coveted awards through manipulative moves. However, I now understand that the third "Some" in the quote refers to those who did not aspire for greatness but were caught in difficult  circumstances which they handled bravely and effectively  resulting in their greatness. 

In the award winning 1969  Hindi film "Saat Hindustani"  in which Amitabh Bachan made his debut, he was one of seven people from various walks of life who volunteered to participate in an operation to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial  rule . Amitabh's character at the beginning of the film is the weakest link, a person with lot of self doubts about his own courage and ability. However, at the end with others not available, he is compelled to take initiative exhibit  extraordinary bravery to achieve greatness.  

According to American civil rights activist,  Dorothy Height "Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach the goals."  Perceived in this manner,  where would  we  place  cricketer Eknath Solkar Visvis  the Nawab of Pataudi, his team mate and Captain of the Indian team?  Solkar  started off as the ball picker during practice sessions, to become an expert fieldsman in close catching positions responsible for the success of our famed spin quartet.  Would the journey to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan  be seen as  the same for K.R.Narayanan and Abdul J,Kalam on the one side and Sanjeeva Reddy and R. Venkatraman on the other. The former two made it to where they did from impoverished backgrounds.

My random thoughts motivate me to suggest that "Greatness" is perhaps far  beyond the scope of how we have known it traditionally. We all have different and unique circumstances. How far ahead a person has traveled from the initial position  would reflect his/her  greatness or otherwise. Here, other things remaining equal,  women  combat a lot more tough obstacles than a man and to that extent  her claim to greatness is a lot more.

In the first company that I started my career,  VISL Bhadravati we had a gentleman by name Venkatesh working in our office. The steel plant was huge situated on acres of land and the departments/plants were  situated at a  distance from each other.    Venkatesh's  job was to deliver correspondence cycling his way far and wide come rain or hot sun!  At times, he would have just come back sweating and tired from a long  ride and be told to go and deliver another 'tapal' that is urgent. You never heard Venkatesh making even a feeble protest. He just was too committed to his vocation to notice the inconveniences. Now, wouldn't such a man find a place in our list of great people? There are so many people whom we hardly notice being seen as 'ordinary' people. They could be  great in their own way. 

There are many other thoughts distinct from the traditional view of greatness. As for example "You are on the path of greatness if you are getting better day by day, not in comparison to others but to yourself."  Another quote goes like this  "Your greatness is not what you have. It's what you give."  Russian author,   Leo Tolstoy says "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth."  Then we have the tongue in cheek quote so apt for our present times given by American Hisorian  Daniel.J.Boorstin  by tweaking the popular quote of Shakespeare that we discussed earlier: "  Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some hire public relations officers".  

I would like to end this post by sharing with readers this video "What's your definition of Greatness?" that contains some diverse thoughts on  the subject". Have a great day and aspire to be great! After all, it is all about becoming a better and better version of ourselves...

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