Emotions are actually twisted when they come under the gaze of thought. A thought is an iron-trap in which an emotion is framed                                            

The world is an ordered chaos, and we need a surface make-over so that it looks better to the eye.   There are two sides of a man’s personality. Same is true of the world. One aspect of it is: how it looks from outside, and the other, how it actually is. The exterior of our body is pleasurable and presentable. But, if you see its interior, you won’t stand the sight of blood vessels and veins, kidneys and the heart. Things which are so beautiful to talk of, are so uncomfortable when we see them in front of us. Therefore the exterior is made presentable, and decorated and we use deos too, so that the person sitting beside us is spared our odours.

Image courtesy: Art Zolo

When we talk of the inside of man, it is not limited to the physical body parts. The inside of man actually belongs to his mind, his thinking, his philosophy, and his dreams. It is only when one says something, or acts, or writes something, that we get some sort of an access to his inner being. But generally speaking, even words are a smoke screen. A man is always endeavoring to hide behind his words. It means what he says is only tip of the iceberg that he is. Moreover, we should not forget that wisdom is the tailored script which cuts naturalness, rashness and folly off.  Man’s mind is full of smells, odours, abuses, and his obsession with himself. If you enter a man’s mind, it is like entering the pantry of a good hotel. There are fires and fumes, things are boiling, and the hands that are handling the material too, are not clean. It is a mansion in which no one likes to go, and no one wants anybody to enter his. This is the inside of man, which man wants to save from public view. That is why, the emotions that find their way into the heart of man, are given a hairdo, and a make-over, and presented to the civilized society, only after all their ‘internalities’ are dressed up properly, and they are declared ‘safe’ for public consumption.  “We murder to dissect” said William Wordsworth. Dissection means we are entering the interior of a mind, which can be a dangerous enterprise.

Faces

What I am driving at is that a man has several faces. And he presents a face which is needed at a particular moment. In fact, a face is a façade. A mask. Each of us carries hundreds of masks to match as many occasions and as many people. The frowns, the smiles, the squint, and the cut lips, – everything is a part of a language which describes us at a particular moment. The question is: if these are masks, where is the ‘original’ face hidden behind these masks which is intrinsic to man’s inner self, his consciousness, his being which is different from the face that he presents to the world?

When men of the world tamper their emotions, they create hell on earth with their duplicity, fraud, power and wealth creation with means unfair and foul.

It is not possible for a man to wear his heart on his sleeve. There is a genuine emotion of happiness, pain, anguish, or fear, and there is also a ‘cultured emotion’, which is world-oriented, and presentable. For example, our ‘joy’ at the news of a neighbor’s son getting into IAS is a contrived emotion, more a façade which hides our genuine feeling of ‘shock and surprise’ at his success. Thus, praises are engineered, and smiles too are ‘fafekut’ [contrived]. The reason is simple. What would happen if people just expressed their genuine emotions? There would be chaos. Can this ordered chaos stand more chaos now?

Hairdo of Emotions

The world does not value genuine feelings. Rather, people who come from rural background, are more forthright in expressing their feelings without the hairdo. If they love, they express it, and if they hate, it is open. But, it is not so in the sophisticated environs of a city, which is the center of culture. Here, you have to maintain relationships, and for this, a lot of sophistication is required. The worst men in society are at the best of positions. The darkest characters wear brightest smiles. This is how we have to twist emotions and put them to torture.

A Saint versus a Businessman

Have you looked into the eyes of a saint and a businessman? The eyes of the saint are transparent, and inspire peace, while the eyes of a businessman are a graveyard of genuine emotions. People who run straight in their lives, and carry genuine emotions of love and hatred, without any ‘culturization’, are the happiest of all. Emotions run straight. The cunning people who twist them think they are masters of the game, but this devious mechanism imparts their personalities a demonic dimension. If you wear smiles only on your sleeve, if they are engineered, and do not go beyond your lips, this may be worldly wisdom, but it is not supported by the tenets of goodness.

Emotions are actually twisted when they come under the gaze of thought. A thought is an iron-trap in which an emotion is framed. Things when remain at their normal and natural place, exude peace, serenity, love and compassion. But if you disturb the natural setting, whether it is art, or a calculated play with the natural order, the natural joy turns an aesthetic issue. Now, you are an artist who tries to enhance the normal taste of a thing. On the worse side, when men of the world tamper their emotions, they create hell on earth with their duplicity, fraud, power and wealth creation with means unfair and foul.

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Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"