When I was a kid, I was told to be responsible. I used to think as a kid & even in college that doing well in studies and scoring high grades/marks is all that is to responsibilities. Then came job followed by marriage and kids of my own. Last decade flew by so swiftly that I never had time to think about the 'word' until recently. But I think I am closer to understanding it than ever before.
We grow and experience the world around us through success and failures of ourselves and those around us, just so that we might be ready to take care of the same world as a grown up. We as individuals are committed to take care of our children, parents, spouse, society and more than anything, trying to securing what we enjoyed as kids for the generations ahead.
All of us have made decisions. Very often we encounter cross ways in our life, every time the decision (if you think ethics and moral values) would be in binary -
right and
wrong. It takes guts for the individual to make the right choice time and again. The more the people who make the right decisions, the more they are being committed to the world around them even if no one knows or notices.
In ancient India people were divided into castes that defined and categorized people to certain duties and responsibilities. A kshatriya (warrior) is meant to protect and serve the people, a brahmin (those who understand karma & dharma) is meant to teach and provide knowledge to all, a vaishya (business man) is meant to make things available to all and a shudra (one who works with hands) is meant to create things for others existence. The people of all castes were equal and meant to be the same. Children born in one caste having skills in another could take up alternate ways of living. This way one generation would always surpass the next.
But generations later, some of the caste forgot their responsibilities and wanted to claim glory and riches for themselves, Ego, power and greed changed history to what it is now. These three caused people to forget their responsibilities.
When you look at American history, Abraham Lincoln showed the power and capability to execute his responsibilities, decades later, we still remember him as the best President of all times. And civil rights is what it is now in US because he chose to be responsible.
Though a simple term, it holds the power to change history to good or bad. This writeup would remain incomplete unless I quote a dialogue from the movie Spiderman -
"With great powers comes great responsibilities"
