Where We Differ?

Last Friday when I was returning back to home from my office it was raining incessantly. I did not get any auto and at last I got a rickshaw. The driver was about 12 years old boy covering his head by a towel. I avoided him and started waiting for another one to come. Suddenly the boy asked, ”Sir, Will you go?”. I found no way and decided to go. The sour was bathing us in 45 degree angle and it was tough to drive the rickshaw. The boy said, “Sir, you have to give 5 rupees more than the normal rate”. I replied positively. Suddenly the power went and it became too much dark. By the sound of cats and dogs I started wondering in my memory lanes. It was when I was at 12. I used to travel with my parents in the rickshaw. I used to go to school for studying in 6th standard. I got toys, chocolates, sports-equipments and lots of object of enjoyment unasked. But never thought of drive a rickshaw at this age. I thought ‘where we differ?’ – ‘why there is a huge difference between our boyhood?’. Money makes the difference! But it is the time when it had been decided that who is going to drive and who is going to ride… and that time is birth time.



All on a sudden, the boy loudly said, ”it’s your destination Sir.” I got down from the rickshaw and gave him the fair. He went on. But left the question “Why we differ?”. On the way to my door I had to walk another 5 minutes as the road was blocked by water. It made me think again and again which thing forced him to take birth in a poor family where he did not get any opportunity to study, play and have a sweet childhood, what seized him from everything to only become a rickshaw-driver? Is it only birth which makes 2 child having 2 different fate? Or something else. I used to listen from many people about the fate. Few says, “Man creates his own luck”. Few says, ”it is destiny, we are the dolls of it.”. Few says, “We should wear 10 rings in our 10 fingers to be a millionaire from a thousandaire”. Our Hindu scriptures say that it is the work of our past lives(births) which is the deciding factor of our present birth. I was thinking all these and getting confused. What ever the factor is, it is the deciding factor why we all are different. The Gene can control our nature, brain, physique, mind etc but not our economy, fate, destiny and all those parameters which are not in our hand. And also Genetics do not answer all such questions. If so, then the under 5 generations and above 5 generations of Albert Einstein can rich to some extent of genius. Same is true for a Tendulkar, a Maradona, a Tagore, a Mozart, a Chaurasiya … So on and So forth. But we found little resemble with gene. Here comes talent. But do the talent and ecstasy only build their future? Or there is something related to their past-births, related to fate, destiny and luck!!! If only talent and perseverance can do this then Karna and Ekolovya could be an Arjuna. But they couldn’t. God knows. But after all such logics and anti-logics truth remains truth – I enjoyed my boyhood with something which that 12 year rickshaw driver could not be able to get in this life.