The Fused Bulb Concept

 Most of us adorn all that we are not , little do we realise how temporary all our costumes are !

A senior executive retired and shifted from his palatial official quarters to the housing society, where he owned a flat. He considered himself big and never talked to anyone. Even while walking in the society park every evening, he ignored others, looking at them with contempt. One day, it somehow transpired that an elderly person sitting beside him started a conversation, and they continued to meet. Every conversation was mostly a monologue with the retired executive harping on his pet topic, “Nobody can imagine the big post and high position I held before retirement; I came here due to compulsions”; and so on, and the other elderly person used to listen to him quietly. After many days, when the retired executive was inquisitive about others, the elderly listener opened his mouth and said, “After retirement, we are all like fused bulbs. It does not matter what a bulb’s wattage was, how much light or glitter it gave, after it gets fused.” He continued, “I have been living in this society for the last 5 years and have not told anyone that I was a Member of the Parliament for two terms. On your right, over there is Vermaji, who retired as General Manager in Indian Railways. Over there is Singh Saheb, who was a Major General in the Army. That person sitting on the bench in spotless white dress is Mehraji, who was the chief of ISRO before retirement. He hasn’t revealed it to anyone, not even to me, but I know." “All fused bulbs are now the same – whatever itsb wattage was – 0, 10, 40, 60, 100 watts – it doesn’t matter now. Neither does it matter what type of bulb it was before it got fused – LED, CFL, Halogen, Incandescent, fluorescent, or decorative. And that, my friend, applies to you too. The day you understand this, you will find peace and tranquillity even in this housing society.” "The rising sun as well as the setting sun are both beautiful and adorable. But, in reality, the rising sun gets more importance and adoration, and is even worshipped , whereas the setting sun is not given the same reverence. It is better to understand this sooner than later”. Our current designation, title and power are not permanent. Keeping lot of emotions with these things only complicate our life when we lose this one day. Be humble..be nice. Throw away the arrogance. After all people will remember you and not your designation. People do not make friends with Retd IAS, OAS, but how good a person you are. Remember that when the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.!