Bonds of bondage

"He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief." - Francis Bacon

Any thing that binds, anything that confines, an obligation or constraint, affinity, attachments, connections, links, relations, ties, union, are all bonds. They fasten fetters upon us; prevent the activity of free action; restrain freedom; and is anything but joy; except perhaps, for tiny moments of pleasure interspersed during our lifetime.

Yet, without any more than a thought; we seek to be held in bondage, and endeavour to cultivate and court, more and more bonds. Conceivably, life without bonds may be inconceivable.

From the moment of our birth, we are bound to boundless bonds; yearn for ties; aim, aspire, attempt, endeavour, strive, in all earnestness, to entangle our life with more links; and, at the end of it all, at almost the dawn of death, realise the folly and the futility of it all.

Desires and bonds bring happiness, when attained; but also turn out to be the cause of pain and suffering. However, it is also true that pain and joy does not reflect equally, weigh equally, and therefore is beyond comparison.

In fact, joyful memories tend to, and can, out last the pain. The pain fades. It is an essential trait of life.

Some family bonds, which are supposed to represent ties of closeness and tenderness; turn out to be nothing but chains of bondage. These bonds can be frustrating and they preclude people from trying out new experiences, which might lead them to live a richer life.

In fact, we struggle against ourselves for the preservation of these values that are devoid of any luster. However, we are born into the captivity of family ties, and therefore become conditioned into accepting them. Life necessitates attachments; and in a sense, life is about attachments and detachments. This process is the inevitability of existence.

May be that, the purpose of life is to find the equilibrium whereby we are able to separate the duties inherent to life, and perform them dutifully, without attachment, and pass on; or it may be that there is a greater design to life which remains to be discovered by individual seekers.

Whatsoever it may be; or with bonds or with bond but without bondage; human beings are indispensably social animals. We tend to live in, and as, societies. As such, a society dictates, and considers as essential, bonds of bondage.

The system of community life, in which individuals, ordinarily in a territorial establishment, form a continuous and regulatory association for their mutual benefit and protection; the body of persons composing such a community; are considered as a society. Living in a society imposes obligation on individuals who form a part of that society. Obligation is a liability, and a responsibility.

Though it creates bonds of bondage, we are bound by it. When we live in a society, we need to learn lessons about mutual obligations. If not, society will not function smoothly. When bonds of necessity in a society are broken; trust abused and lost; then, the most pressing question we need to face is who and where we are leading to as a society.

I quote from a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury: Delivering his Christmas Day sermon from Canterbury Cathedral, Rowan Williams asked the congregation to learn lessons about "mutual obligation" from the events of the past year (this is after the riots in Britain). "The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society.

Whether it is an urban rioter mindlessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate cost for his acquisitive adventures in the virtual reality of today's financial world, the picture is of atoms spinning apart in the dark," he said.

The Sri Lankan society, after three decades of disruptive events, is currently at crossroads. If we are to proceed from here as an orderly and cultured society; the lack of which are impediments to growth and progress and the absence of which will lead us all into penury; then we need to build on broken bonds; re-establish damaged trust; recover lost confidence.

There has to be honesty of purpose in our actions. We need to create exceptional men and women of boldness, who in consequence of their adhesion to ideals of fidelity, integrity, loyalty; and despite the prevalence of the state of decomposition; in spite of men in spite; notwithstanding the corrupt, the plunderers, thieves, thugs, and thuggee; will stand up and say enough is enough.

The world over, from time immemorial, human progress had been achieved by and because of the valour of such men of courage and conviction.

If a society is devoid of such persons; is made up of infirm and servile people who have naught; people who condone ills, intolerance, intrigue, and invectives; whose confines exceed not the limits of depravity; whose scruples are questionable; such a people are bound to degenerate, to become the scum of the peoples of the world.

If the word 'Sri Lankan', and I do not mean our tottering national carrier, is not to be used as a term of obloquy by the world; if we are not to excite aversion as a people; if, as a people, we are to command respect; we need to regain our values.

We have gained honour through vanquishing the virus of terror, which many mighty nations are still struggling to do.

It is now up to us to regain, recover, and rediscover all else that we had lost - our dignity, ethics, integrity, morality, principles, and mostly, our conscience.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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