NO HOLDS BARRED & THE AGE OF GLORIFIED EXCESS
Dr. Jernail S. Anand
Anand posits restraint as the cornerstone of existence, both in the natural world and in human endeavours. This idea resonates with ancient philosophies like Aristotle’s *Golden Mean* or the Buddhist *Middle Path*, where balance is essential for harmony. In art, restraint manifests in the careful modulation of voice into song or words into meaningful sentences, illustrating how discipline transforms raw potential into beauty. The essay suggests that restraint is not merely a limitation but a creative force.
The essay concludes with a lament for a civilization “bred on excess”—excess of ambition, provision, and imagination. Anand critiques modern education for failing to teach humility or respect for human limits, resulting in a society that prioritizes achievement over humanity. This echoes critiques of modernity by thinkers like Thoreau or Gandhi, who warned against the dehumanizing effects of unchecked progress. The call to be “gentle to the elements” and “respectful to gods” is a plea for ecological and spiritual harmony. It suggests that happiness lies not in transcending limits but in embracing them with grace. [XAI]
Restraint and Discipline
Restraint and discipline when come from an understanding of the facts of life, help take life forward and, thus, retain their artistic value. However, when they are imposed by external agencies, it is good only to an extent, but under maverick dispensations, they take the shape of repression also, which scuttles human will, disorients the idea of self-discipline and restraint, and leads to suppression, followed by extreme discontent, rebellion, civil war and revolution.
Restraint is the essential fact of life, as well as the soul of all art. When we make a medicine, we add so many items but what is more important is its proportion. Life, too, is made of chemicals, which blend with the laws of physics and mathematics. When these chemicals are altered, we get different formations. Restraint thus dominates the creative process, and dictates what will be what. It is the magic of this restraint which turns the voice issuing forth from our voice box into a cry or a song When people sing, a single simple breath can be altered in a thousand ways, to create as many ‘ragas’. Words are bound into sentences to mean certain things. Behind all this, there is the element of restraint which works to control variations and bring out a meaning we want to create.
Limits
While ‘restraint’ appears to be an intrinsic phenomenon, limits appear to be the outer garment of these restraints. How far a man can grow. How high a ball can go. How long you can live. Then there are limits on our faculties also. How high you can listen. And how low a voice you can pick up? How loud you can speak. Everything has a limit. Everything is restrained by an invisible force.
Limits are a natural supplement. We inherently know what to speak, how high to speak, what not to speak, to whom to speak, – these are restraints which define our conduct as good or bad. If we let go this restraint, it can bring chaos in human life. If we lose restraint in eating and drinking, we immediately fall ill. It is a minor issue. But, if the cosmic forces lose their restraint, there are calamities and catastrophes.
Universe: A Perfect System
The fact is that this Universe is a perfect system, and anything that violates the discipline is burnt up in the space. Men too, who do not observe discipline and respect limits of their being, soon meet a devastating end. In regard to personal freedom, a quote is quite popular: “Your liberty ends where my nose begins”. Liberty and restraint define civilized human relationships. Not respecting limits shows forth in personal life too. The rich people who go on amassing wealth, never eat their dinner with peace. Their mind is a burning grave-yard in which joys commit suicide. They bring misery to the lives of other people and the greatest sufferers are their own loved ones, their wives, their sons and their daughters, who are directly affected by this pathological madness.
The Crime World: Going Overboard
In society too, crime lords arrogate to themselves the powers of judgement, and gods are never comfortable with them. It is a strange paradox that dacoits are often considered great disciples of gods and goddesses, who they worship before they embark on any [mis]adventure. These are falsities perpetuated by men to cover up their foolish deeds. No god can bless a person who holds a gun in his hand and is planning to plunder homes of innocent people. These artificially powered people have only one destination. They end with a bullet in their back.
Are Gods manufactures of Pain & Misfortune?
Loss of discipline and failure to observe restraint coupled with utter lack of understanding are responsible for the pain and misery which society faces on a large scale. We think it was gods who gave this bitter gift to mankind. But the fact is gods carry only blessings for mankind. You will see all the pains and miseries are manufactured in a foundry called human mind. You are the manufacturer of the pains, misfortunes and miseries scattered around you. It does no good to you to ascribe these pains to God’s Will and then say, you accept all with resignation.
We err grievously if we think this misery and pain come to us from gods whereas they come to us from our own provision store. Gods have only one role in it. They have to deliver you the items you have ordered. We try to be smart with gods too. But, smartness does not pay. Gods make you leave your mind, your intellect, and your smartness in the cloak room while you check into the holy empire.
Leading a Happy Life
Gods are very unhappy with human beings and are sad too, to think that men, in their extreme wisdom, resort to smartness and try to befool godly systems. The facts however stand on the other side. In order to lead a happy life, we need to be gentle to the elements, and respectful to gods. It is better if we realize our limits as human beings. But, it is a pity, our education does not teach anything about these limits. They do not teach us to remain human. This is the tragic conclusion of a civilization which is bred on excess, excess of ambition, excess of provision, and excess of imagination.
Author:
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, considered “the greatest poet among philosophers and greatest philosopher among poets” is a towering literary figure whose work embodies a rare fusion of creativity, intellect, and moral vision. Laureate of Seneca, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky awards with an opus of 180 books, his name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. He is the founder of International Academy of Ethics. If Tagore is the serene sage of a colonial past, Anand is the fiery prophet of a chaotic present with a voice that resonates globally while remaining fiercely Indian.
[Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com]
[ethicsacademy.co.in]