Be like Kalpoos for Divali

THE EDITOR: It was a learning experience for me watching Navin Kalpoo and his brother in the news dismissing the idea of being heroes as some would want to describe them and, instead speaking, obviously from the heart, about seeing his fellow citizens in distress in a way never experienced before and simply responding to their call.

It was such a noble gesture in the traditional sense of the word, simply doing good without the hope of reward! For me this was unique, for trying to understand the deep philosophy of the Bhagavadgita – the Hindu holy book – and coming to terms with its central idea that action should be “disinterested,” to mean that it must never be motivated by reward in any form.

My scepticism that such is only achievable by the yogis and holy people of that ilk retreated somewhat on seeing the Kalpoos and their simple, unpretentious action of simply helping people in distress with no hope of reward; not even for the money that was offered to them.

It appears that the practice of Sankhayoga – the “practice of Yoga by disinterested action” as articulated in the Bhagavadgita – often regarded as the province of the holy and the elect, seemed manifest in two ordinary human beings and I tried to understand how that was possible. Which made me reflect on the Wordsworthian idea of the “child is the father of the man” to mean that the child having recently emerged from the Godhead is still possessed of those “divine” qualities which gradually become eroded once immersed in the manipulation and corruption of adult life.

That threw light on the Kalpoos, for in their state of “innocence” as simple people, the thought of using this situation or exploiting it to their advantage never crossed their minds as perhaps may have been the case with others versed in using situations such as the floods for their own advantage.

Perhaps this “disinterested action” of the Kalpoos is an excellent lesson for Divali. That we must first free ourselves of all the hype and ostentation and self-interest that often lie beneath the beauty of the lights and do good for its own sake. That would be the Bhagavadgita truly coming alive in all of us.

Dr Errol Benjamin via e-mail