GOOD HUMOUR
Laugh with people rather than at them. Belittling or making fun of others is not humour. It’s human nature to derive pleasure by putting others down. We see evidence of this at personal, family, community, national and international level. Bad jokes are often insults disguised as humour.
Examples – past and present
Root cause of Mahabharata, many believe, was Draupadi laughing at Daryjodhan and making fun of him as the son of a blind father, when visiting the Pandavs. Daryjodhan later seeks revenge by attempting, unsuccessfully, to disrobe her on winning her in a game of dice.
The shameless Dushashan (Daryjodhan’s brother) drags the helpless Draupadi by her hair into the gambling arena in front of the apathetic, impassive, all-male assembly. The Pandavs just sat with their heads bowed unable to match Draupdi’s pleading eyes. It is believed Krishna answered the call of the damsel in distress and rescued her from her humiliating ordeal.
We have many examples of this in contemporary times. The current foreign secretary of United Kingdom, Boris Johnson has, in the past, insulted and made fun of world leaders, no less than the US president Barack Obama. Many are anxious this may backfire and cost Britain dearly in future foreign trade and other negotiations. He is currently having a torrid time in press conferences. Hopefully being a popular man and a bit of a character, he will override this and do some good and constructive work for his country.
Stress and Humour
No doubt there is too much stress in life. So there IS some room for humour, but, hopefully, good humour. The problem is that such relief is only temporary. We are losing sight of balance in our lives. There is too much cheap humour and banter on the internet, WhatsApp and other social media.
Such means do provide a temporary respite from stress, but before we know it the stress is back. This lifestyle and quick doses of stress-relief expedients affect our relationships. The old art of conversation, giving relationships their due weightings and reverence have gone. These days in social gathering all we see is cheap talk, cheap humour and mockery – no wonder we are in such a mess. There is little respect for age or wisdom. Senseless adherence to rituals, outdated protocols is causing discontent in society and little surprise, mistrust and tensions are creeping up in our relationships.
Reflect and Learn
It is easy to offend people and they do not forgive easily. A word out of the mouth is like a bullet from a gun which cannot be retracted. Therefore, think before you speak.
Occasionally, we must stop and reflect on what life is! Why are we here? Where are we going? We must take stock of our lives, or else we will just sink deeper and deeper into the mire of disdain and despondency. For a Sikh, there is no better place to look than the Living Light, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
‘arshi’ July 2016