To Be… Or Not To Be

Why is it that a person who dies young, an unnatural or self inflicted death, but lived and enjoyed life till it lasted becomes a “tragic” figure in the eyes of the rest of the world? What is a tragedy any ways? Is having a stable life with a secure job promising a cheerful bank balance and a family to catch you whenever you fall, the only way of living? Apparently, any person who dies without any of the three most sought after things in the world (i.e. Money, Family and Security) ends up being pitied and looked down upon by the rest who might be suffering equally even after having them. Marilyn Monroe is the first name that comes to my mind when it comes to interpreting these so called “Tragic Figures”. Trust me; if someone could get her feedback after she died… she would hate to be a part of that list. She was probably not a mess as people thought her to be and this article is not about defending her ways of living either. This article is about how each individual is likely to be judged for every act in their walk of life and there’s no escaping it!

Surprisingly, there will be many out there who will claim to live life on their own terms and proudly declare that it barely bothers them what others think of what they do. Somehow, I find it hard to believe that they are human if it doesn’t. Or they are plain ignorant of their deeds! Gautam Buddha might have charted out an eight fold path to end the suffering in the world, but I doubt if he really ever attained Moksha himself. I’m not trying to hurt any religious sentiments here, but my doubts about the right way of living are pretty strong and won’t be sufficed without a proof! Gandhi may be a Mahatma and I respect him for his ideals and principles, but I find it hard to follow a person who turns a deaf ear to the basic human needs especially towards his own dear ones. The righteousness of Gandhi is as debatable as that of Lord Rama. It may be easy for a King to practice his principles religiously but the case is not the same for a beggar. So are we here to decide what is right or wrong or live life with what it gives us? Why is it that the mistakes of “Mahatmas” are forgiven or rather ignored with greater ease than a regular person’s? Social norms and boundaries vary from culture to culture and so do the problems. Then how can a single way of living life be a solution to the problems of the whole world?

Out of all the legends and idols in the world, not many will advice their fans to follow them. Imagine the pressure of being an example for a huge population when you yourself are figuring out life like the rest of them. Maybe being happy is not the sole purpose of life. Maybe it’s the suffering that relieves you. Who knows? Who cares? Kurt Cobain once said,

“If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got.”

Some might say he was messed up. Some might say he was depressed. And there might be a huge chunk of population that might consider his followers just a bunch of losers! But honestly, we all have a loser hidden somewhere inside us whom we are scared to show because of a single fact that we hate being judged! No one wants to look like a tragedy. Maybe the day people stop bothering about what they “Don’t” want to be and stop being scared of being judged and under the constant scrutiny of the outside world, (since that will never end!) they might end up being their own role models and will finally learn to forgive.