United We Stand, Divided We Fall

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Everyone is familiar with the phrase “united we stand divided we fall”. It is a simple phrase, as a counter to Divide and Conquer mantra. This phrase was used by Patrick Henry in his last public speech in 1799. This phrase proved to be so pragmatic to be doubted upon.

 When there is oneness there is likely to be more strength in opinion, more strength in action, and more strength in character. This is a very simple and obvious fact that, if one person tries his hands on some job, he will manage much less than what a group effort will achieve. This, in all simplicity what unity is all about. But over the last few decades, it seems that the importance has been long forgotten in the gluttony of high lifestyles, fancy cars and big TV’s. We have unknowingly been socially organized into different groups, with different mindsets. This has created a divide which is rowing strong and even hateful in some cases.

 If we peep into different spheres of our existence and we can adjudge the truth of this statement. Conquest of happiness has meant different facets to different generations. Our forefathers took pride in scholarship, a spirit of sacrifice and solicitude for the welfare of others. Gone are those days. Today, we only are for ourselves. We are jealous of the advancement of our neighbours. We end up tense and unhappy.

The structural framework of our forefathers' families was different from ours. They lived in a cohesive joint family structure where they were happier than us. They cared for each other. The siblings grew up with their cousins. The siblings that grew in a joint family know the importance of sharing, love, respect, tolerance, responsibility and integrity. But today we have nuclear families. The bond of love could not be easily found among nuclear families. Cousins do not recognise each other when they happen to meet after long time. Life has become very self-centred. Disputes in the family may lead to divisions. This finally destroys the family psyche. Today to satisfy his demands, man can sacrifice his integrity and sense of sincerity in this manner, he may be materially "happy", but his guilty mind always pricks his conscience.

From this smallest unit, we go to the bigger horizon of society. Where is our society today? It is broken into fragments, and each segment, that is, an individual family just looking after itself, as if we sternly believe in the adage, “everyone for himself, and God for all.“ This has become the motto of the society at large. This has lead to the loosening of the ties of the society and this is the cause of the growth of so many social evils. When there is no strong bond in different segments of a society, it is bound to break into factions, and thus lose its strength, both moral and social. 

Everyone must have heard the story of farmers and his four sons in very childhood days. Farmer taught his sons a lesson of unity with a pile of sticks, which did not break when together. We should take lesson from that saga. Even animals know the importance of unity. Small fishes always travel in groups to protect themselves from predators. Even predators prefer to attack prey in groups.

From the society, let us move on to the position of the country. This is the saddest side of our appearance, a complete lack of unity in the country, thereby the creeping in of evils in the very fabric of the system. The country is, to day seen crumbling under its weight of separatism, each state is desirous of a new younger cousin, so instead of getting together, we are continuously moving on the path of disintegration and thus weakening our system.               

The best example of unity that India has ever portrayed has been during its struggle for independence. Even though the struggle lasted for almost a century, the Indians clung together as one single unit unmoved and what happened to the great British Empire is for all of us to see. British Empire knew that people can’t be ruled if they are united, so they opted for “divide and rule.” But gradually and slowly Indians realised importance of unity and ousted out British and freed their country from colonisers.  This is all what unity is about, and this is the magic that unity can play on a country. I am sure that, if India had not depicted its great unity in this war, our History would have been different. India has undoubtedly got an inbuilt strength of unity, which it shows off and on. Then why can it not always stand as one entity, and become a power to reckon with.

The spirit of unity is now-a-days manifested in different forms. We find trade union congress, teacher’s federation, Mill owner’s association, NATO and SEATO etc. this are all the different expressions of unity. Different countries join hands together and form associations. They raise mutual funds, sign agreements and promise each other to help in the hour of need.

So unity is the password which heals all bruises big and small. It is this that helps us enjoy few happy moments of life. In the good moments of a marriage, in the sad moments of sickness and death, it is the unity of the well wishers that makes the pleasure great and despair less. This is the unique power of unity. A lone individual or community can achieve nothing and neither can they enjoy the fruits of any achievement. The secret power of unity is strength, which is built up by mutual trust and faith and love for each other, and the oneness of a single well formulated goal.

To achieve or even to destroy, we need unity, for example, if the terrorists had no unity even they would not have been able to cause as much destruction as they have succeeded in achieving. From Kashmir, lakhs of people have migrated just because the terrorists have their unity in action, thought and spirit and so they are able to destroy as per their target. Thus in order to make any significant achievement, the most necessary ingredient is unity. Your targets may be good or bad, but success is assured if you have a united consolidated group to work up to the goal.

Time And Tide Wait For None

Time And Tide Wait For None

To know the value of one year, ask the student who failed.

To know the value of one month, ask the mother of a premature baby.

To know the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly.

To know the value of one day, ask the daily wage worker.

To know the value of one minute, ask the passenger who missed the train.

To know the value of one second, ask the person who escaped an accident.

 “Time and tide wait for no man.” The essence of the proverb is that opportunities do not wait for anyone. No one can command or foretell their occurrence or recurrence. One should be alert and cautious because they occur without any notice. Time and tide are natural phenomena. Like other agents of nature, they too have no consideration and regard for any individual.

In ancient times there were no steamships. There were huge boats equipped with sails, called ships. Their launching in the sea was a difficult affair, which depended on the tide. The sailors had to wait for long time, because their ships could not sail without the help of a tide. As soon as the tide came, they sailed their ships away with it. If they missed the chance, they had to wait for the next tide about which there could be no certainty. A tide never waits for any sailor. This is a lesson to all of us. It lays emphasis on the desirability of our preparedness to make the best use of an opportu­nity that presents itself to us. We should, therefore, remain vigilant, because even the slightest carelessness on our part may result in missing a great opportunity in life resulting in colossal loss. It also implies that opportunities are rare. No one can create them. They come of their own. Those who are ready are able to take advantage of them, but indolent people let them slip.

How many times in our life have we desired that time was something we could capture in our hands and never let go. When we look back into our past, we gather a lot of memorable moments which we never want to get over, especially, those cheerful childhood days where we were pampered by one and all in our families. Those were the golden days of our lives. In the school days, we thought homework and exams were the hardest things one can ever face. Little did we know that with time, more hardships are bound to come.

In college days deciding on a career was another Herculean task. Advices came when they are hardly required. Everybody had a say on our decision making process and they got the better of us. Then we took a plunge into the vast ocean called career. For some of us, there will be a phase when we want to change that one decision. Alas! The realization will sink in deep that it’s too late to change our decision. We will realize that there is no rewind option in the life’s clock. 

One of the many weaknesses of which man must be warned is procrastination or putting off things that can be done today till a later date. There is some natural inertia in man which makes him lethargic. He knows he must work but he doesn't want to unless he is goaded, very often leaves things where they are. If it doesn't affect him personally he doesn't act immediately. He would rather bask in idleness. To make him work and act many incentives are offered. Thus we see in business, what is called an incentive bonus. In regular services they are offered increments.

In olden days there were no watches and people used to do their working following the direction of the Sun, even though people were sincere and punctual at those days. But today even after innumerable inventions and a lot developments people used to complain that they don't have time. Is it that the time in olden days was long and today it is short? Then where is the problem? Actually problem exists in time management. As time wasted never returns and today people are wasting a lot of time wandering they are experiencing the time short, so the complaint. For instance when the students have the time, they waste it in unnecessary discussions, love and student politics etc. but when examination comes nearer they start studying and complain for time short as they could not use the time left in a proper manner. Here a saying comes to mind, "Time is short, not for rest, think your aim and do your best"

Man knows that putting off till tomorrow what one can do today is bad. So there are many maxims like 'time and tide wait for no man', 'Take time by the forelock', 'Make hay while the sun shines' and many more. These idioms go to show how society realizes the value of time and doing thing in time. For time lost is a loss forever and it cannot be brought back. Hence we rightly say 'procrastination is a thief of time.'

 Missing an oppor­tunity means missing the chance for ever, because one does not know whether the opportunity will recur or not. No amount of repentance would compensate the loss caused by such a failure. Nature is impersonal. It does not matter to it if a certain indi­vidual fails to make use of an opportunity offered by it. It is because of this aspect of the matter that wise men are always prepared to act with full vigour when time comes. They never postpone things.

There is another aspect of the matter. Time and tide are immune to sentiments of loss or gain to individuals, communities and nations. In total disregard of loss or gain to individuals they follow their schedules. There can be no appeal against them.

In every field time has its own importance. If a farmer had not sown the seeds in proper season he would not get the paddy as thought. Similarly, the game of football one extra minute may also make a difference as during that one minute a player could score a goal against the opponent tem and the game would be over with a 1:0 score in spite of simple draw. To add another example, if a doctor would not reach at the right time the patient’s life will not be saved. Thus, time is very important for every work to be completed as required.

Time is a factor which is very important, the more so nowadays. In the jet-age or the 'Supersonic-age' everything takes place at a speed which the ancients would never have dreamed of. In order to keep pace with the speed with which things move, man also must know how to act quickly. A delay of even five minutes in any program could lead to a lot of chain reactions. Suppose a man fails to turn up at the hour he has fixed for an engagement he would not only lose his face but it may also tell on his future with which his whole life is tied up. Work falls in arrears, means he has to work harder and even faster the next day. The more complex and technological the society grows; the value of time grows equally acute.

There is a sense of fulfilment for those people who are punctual and regular in their work. They enjoy a guilt-free conscience. When one is regular and punctual it adds to his dignity and brings him peace at heart.

It requires principles, discipline and will power to do one's duty on hand at once. If only one were to keep a record of idle hours it would be astounding to see the sum total of the time. One must develop the philosophy of life quoted in the 'Village Blacksmith', 'Something attempted, something done, earned him a night's repose'.

One should realize the importance of taking the right decision at the right time. In that way, one will never regret any decision that we make in life. Procrastination will not help anyone to achieve the best things in life. So wake up before it is too late. Time might keep dodging us, but one should not get intimidated by it. All we need to do is, become excellent time managers. Be more organized in life and most importantly, be time-bound. Lead your life is such a way that you run in pace with time. Success will follow suit.