The pandemic brought us on our knees. In the name of growth, development and progress, mankind has gotten itself to a juncture where we are made to ponder – Are we chasing a golden deer? A few words about the legendary golden deer shall be in place.
Fulfilling the wish of Kaikeyi, King Dashrath sent Ram to forest exile for 14 years. Travelling through the woods, Ram, accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Laxman, reached the banks of the river Godavari and built an ashram there.
Ravana, to fulfil the wish of his sister Surpanakha who wanted Sita to be abducted to avenge the humiliation of her nose being cut off, was ready to do as desired by her. He requested Maricha, his uncle, to turn into a golden deer and graze around Ram’s ashram. Reluctantly, Maricha agreed to disguise himself and turn into a golden deer. As the golden deer grazed near Ram’s ashram, Sita noticed the enchanting beauty of the deer. The ‘Aranyakanda’ from Valmiki’s Ramayana describes the deer thus:
‘A beautiful golden deer with silver spots.
A deer that glowed as it moved with the sparkle of a hundred gems.
Sapphires, moonstones, black jets and amethysts,
studded on its lithe, golden body’.
Lured by its beauty, Sita insisted on having the deer and convinced Ram to chase it and bring it to her. Much against the wishes of Laxman, Ram chased the deer. After a long chase away from the ashram, Ram shot the deer, at which point of time it took the original form of Maricha and cried out for help in Ram’s voice. The rest of the narrative is history. However, for the purpose of the present contemplation I think we as professionals need to do some soul-searching in answer to this question at an individual level.
Our endeavour or life-long pursuit is seeking a state of everlasting happiness for ourselves and our near and dear ones. In this pursuit, we set out to achieve our degrees, get ourselves on a career path, slog our backs out without respite from dawn to dusk, making huge sacrifices in the process, bring up our families though finding it difficult to spend time with them, make money (the limits of which are never set) – but by the time we start feeling that we have ‘arrived’, it is time to ‘depart’!
The following lines are deeply entrenched in my mind’s eye right from the days when I commenced my career as a Chartered Accountant –
‘You’re counted among the best in your profession.
Because you’ve got talent, you’ve used it.
But have you been using yourself up in the process?
You slogged and made sacrifices –
Remember all those late nights at the office
And those hectic afternoons when you almost went mad with the tension?
Those skipped lunches, those fried snacks,
Those endless cups of coffee to keep the adrenalin flowing? Cigarettes? Booze?
Success has its price. You’ve paid it.
That’s why you are where you are.
Fair enough. But what lies ahead?
A long roll downhill? Hypertension? Heart disease? Ulcers? Diabetes?
A fragile old age, brought about prematurely’?
Does it sound like a rollercoaster ride bereft of all thrills, leaving you tired and exhausted? Do you think you have been successful but have no sense of accomplishment? Is it a futile attempt to reach the horizon?
What are you consumed by in your daily grind?
Is there a sense of accomplishment in what you do?
What gives meaning to what you do?
Does your success bring you fulfilment?
Are your goals aligned to a higher purpose?
At whatever stage of life you may be at, it’s never too late to answer the question, Are You Chasing The Golden Deer? because an unexamined life is not worth living.
