Essays

If we eat too much, we are liable to grow fat thus becoming vulnerable to so many diseases just waiting to do their dirty job on us. If we do not eat enough, then we will suffer the consequences of malnutrition. Overeating and not eating enough are extremes, they don't help us to live life fully. Either way we pay the price of living in extremes. The only sane and healthy way is to eat moderately, enough to sustain our bodies but not too much to cause problems.

There are some people who are fanatically religious. They become blind to other things besides what they think religion demands of them. As a result they live out of touch with reality and cause numerous problems to the rest of us. Their over-righteous attitude to life makes them see things only in two ways—right or wrong. They make for themselves a prison of their beliefs and damn the rest of us who do not agree with them.

Right on the opposite end are godless people without a strand of conscience in their hearts. They are more like animals who give way to all their lusts and desires. They say and do things that show no respect or concern for other people. All they want is the satisfaction of their desires, regardless of the consequences. Religious fanaticism or godlessness are extremes that will only bring grief to those involved with them. Both require taking of one side and complete avoidance of the other The result is an imbalance that can only bring disaster.

A person who wishes to remain clear-headed will not indulge in any of these extremes. He does not blind his eyes with religious fury. nor does he inflame his heart with uncontrolled passion. He is a moderate person who lives his life gently, and lets his conscience to guide him. His life then proceeds along smoothly and calmly.

Everything in this world has its opposites. This is an unavoidable fact of life. We know something is hot only in relation to something cold. A person is tall only when compared to a shorter person. We are rich only when compared to a poorer person, Freedom is only meaningful when we experience the shackles of restrictions. We value our health because we know that we are capable of falling ill.

Society has a penchant for youthfulness. So in its extreme, everybody tries to remain young. Cosmetics sell in huge quantities. Boys and girls dress in all kinds of dresses that they think make them young and desirable. Middle-aged men and women too indulge in the same game. But nature has its way. People grow older moment by moment. Old codgers fight a losing battle with time. Finally when old age sets in they sit mournfully alone in old folk's homes or stately mansions with nobody around but a servant. The desirable extreme of trying to remain young* forever results in the unhappy extreme of feeling sad. If in the first place, we are moderate with our lives, not identifying with youth or old-age, then it will not matter at all whenever we are old. We can live peacefully with ourselves and let nature run its course painlessly, gently.

So it is with other areas of life- A super rich person is afraid of losing his wealth. His riches keeps him anxious- He is a prisoner of wealth. A person living in abject poverty is anxious about where his next meal will come from. He is a prisoner of fate. A moderate person who simply works for his living has no fear of losing his wealth and no worries about his next meal. Moderation carries him along without any problems. 

Those who over-exercise burn themselves out. Those who sit sedately all day suffer from atrophy. A boy who studies all the time has no friends. Another who only makes friends fails in his examinations. Staying too long under the sun can result in heatstroke and sunburn. Not going out at all makes the skin pale and pallid. Riding too fast on a motorcycle means you may lose balance. Not moving at all takes you nowhere. Sharpening a knife too often will wear the blade away quickly. Not sharpening at all will render the knife useless. Being extreme is always the cause of pain.

Moderation, then, is the key to life. It is the way to live our lives as it is meant to be lived.