The Vanity
of Human Wishes
If a man cannot bear being hurt by so much as a pebble today, how will he be able to bear a mountain of suffering tomorrow?
Dr Uttam Parkash, head of the Department of Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, excelled in his field and was awarded the coveted title of Padma Bhushan.
This distinction, however, was not enough to satisfy his ambitions. On the 17th of February 1982, he was to preside over an international Congress on Surgery, the success of which would give an even greater impetus to his career. He took special pains with all of the arrangements, even managing to persuade President Sanjiva Reddy to inaugurate the function. However, when he was congratulating himself that the arrangements were finally perfect, at the eleventh hour, a message came from the Rashtrapati Bhavan Secretariat saying that the President could grace the occasion only if the Health Minister were also present. It was a matter of strict protocol. The situation became highly awkward because the Health Minister had not been initially included, and his name did not appear on any of the programmes. However, it now being essential to invite him, Dr Parkash began to make herculean efforts to ensure that he would not decline the invitation out of pique. However, it was all to no avail.
Indeed, the minister considered it beneath his dignity to accept an invitation sent to him at the very last minute, and he refused to participate in the function. It was a great shock to Dr Parkash and more than he could bear, for three days before the inauguration, on the 14th of February, he succumbed to a massive heart attack. He was just 54 years of age. A Hindustan Times reporter very aptly described him as “the most worried man in town before taking the long road.” (Hindustan Times, February 1, 1982)
Today, people find it difficult to deal with even the slightest indignity. However, what will their fate be in the next world when they are hungry and thirsty, and there is no food to allay hunger and no water to slake their thirst? What will they do in the blazing heat when there is no shade to take a retreat? How will they endure God’s terrible, engulfing wrath when no one can save them? If a man cannot bear being hurt by so much as a pebble today, how will he be able to bear a mountain of suffering tomorrow?
