Black and White: So Grey

"I can't go on a vacation with my boyfriend, I cannot break my parents trust", the dilemma in her voice was evident of the fact that she wanted to go but just couldn't go due to shackles of trust and emotions that had chained her for decades."But, you did break their trust by falling in love, when you were sent her to study", I argued. We are not confused; we are driven mad by our mind that has attached degrees to everything. According to the mind, it is okay to love but not to kiss. It is okay to sit together in a cozy position, but not sleep. I am not sure who told us that we can break rules, as long as we stay in the boundary. But, whoever did, was not aware that whether in or out, rules broken are broken. Whether I copy one answer, or copy the entire answer sheet, the quantum of punishment is the same. We need to be courageous enough to break rules, and also, not measure the degree by which we violated the rule. The Indian parents are okay with their little ones finding their own partners, as long as they are taken for consent and the partner fits in their SRS (Spouse Specification Requirements). We are okay with copying in exams from neighbors but not buying a leaked question paper? We don't mind paying 20 rupees extra at the hostel entrance to enter post curfew time. It is okay to pay Rs.5, 000 for a quick passport? My friends think there is no liability in falling in love and breaking hearts, as long as they didn't "do it". This an upshot of the conditioning that we have been undergoing since ages. Even our mythology says that it is okay to lie, if it is for the benefit of someone. Now, who decided the beneficiary? Beneficiary will depend on the side of the fence you stand on. If I were to go find that a thief is stealing to pay hospital bills, will the theft become philanthropic? The fact that we reason behind an action to justify its rightness, is the root of all troubles. Spot fixing, be it out of pressure from the king-pin or to buy designer denims for your girl friend, is equally bad. The reason does not make up for the action. The reaction is the same either ways. A man who cheats on his wife in a drunken stupor, or in complete senses amounts to infidelity either ways. We cannot live in the root-analysis phase, where we try to see each action from the perspective of the doer, to give him due doubt benefit. When Rama tried Sita, was the doubt of whether Ravana forced himself on her considered? She was treated without any surrounding noise, no echo of circumstances. Let not perspectives and situations creep through the crevices of our actions, blotting the black or white, turning them into grey. A lot of people speak of severity of the situation, impact of the action and everything that helps in confusing the picture, by robbing the canvas of its original primary colors. How does the severity matter? We are not dealing with a software bug tracker, where the degree of urgency and severity are of utmost importance. In life, actions cannot be classified in the continuum of shades; you hurt someone by hitting them, whether you slap them or hit them. A few bright minds would counter argue saying that the "consequence" is not as significant when I slap someone. Once again, we have successfully divided the consequences in varying degrees of impact. It is all about levels and degrees. In reality, life is all about actions and reactions. “Black O White”, a lovely song. Why did the two colors unite to create the most mysterious shade, the shade that leads to all uncertainties, the shade that is devoid of all the properties its base colors have, courage, crime, peace, assurance and no grey!!