When Surgical Knives Develop Boils

Those on the social pedestal, in constant view of all, do not have the luxury of common mistakes. A sage has said that impetuous behavior is a privilege of youth. Shakespeare has said “When beggars die there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes”. Leaders cannot set aside the honour citizens repose in them and still expect their loyalty. They need to develop the ability to see around corners.

“Analysis paralysis” is a situation in which logical thinking in analyzing issues goes into overdrive and becomes unproductive. “Bloated ego” is about situations where assertive behavior and actions deteriorate into disastrous autocratic approaches to solving problems. “Demons dare to go where angels fear to tread” is another teaching from the sages. Some displays of courage are akin to exploits of daredevils which end up in unpleasant circumstances. “Habits die hard” paints a picture in which we keep to known and familiar ways and paths and are unable to see and appreciate new ways of doing things. “No condition is permanent” is often seen on tro-tro vehicles and taxi cabs reminding us that nothing lasts forever with us in this world. “Power corrupts” need not be extended to “absolute power corrupts absolutely” before we see its problem in high office holders and ourselves. Observations along these lines have brought up the idiomatic expressions alluding to conditions in life where the surgical knife itself develops boils and retires from active service.

Our political landscape has cases in which senior judges arrogate state power to themselves and do not see anything wrong with muddying the waters for personal and sectional interests and becoming objects of ridicule. They readily set aside selfless principles and pursue selfish interests. Political leaders become so power-drunk and short-sighted that they will even dare to go to court to claim public property as their personal bona fide belongings. Religious leaders become swollen headed and lure the wives of other people into situations that offend sensibilities and undermine their faiths. Chiefs, clan heads, heads of organizations and heads of families feel they can push members around with impunity and risk being deposed, disowned or shunned. Beauty queens and actresses could be overtaken by their sense of self-worth; they would wish to buy husbands for a month, without commitments, because natural affinity for children still persists in their make-up. Experiments in biology show frogs boiled to death in open water containers with burners regulated to produce heat below their sensory feeling threshold levels. People relax in bathtubs with warm water, sleep and later freeze to death in winter as the water cools off too slowly.

All of us are subject to these situations of power and comfort, one way or the other, and the inherent impermanence in them should sound words of caution to us. Due to lack of sufficiently extended awareness, we do not connect the dots early enough and suffer the consequences when the tides change. Knowledge provides an early warning and guidance system to help us navigate life with its hidden obstacles. The effect of the “hard knocks of life” on us during the time we must suffer the consequences of our actions is reduced or eliminated because of the knowledge we have. If we were fortunate or humble enough to have listened to somebody, we could have avoided the problem causing situation. Luck, knowledge and humility would seem to be moving together as helpers but we are better off removing “luck” from the equation. We can learn to be humble, we can study to be knowledgeable, but “luck” is a complex proposition that can be stubbornly remote from our efforts. Leaders are expected to have acquired sufficient knowledge and awareness to help the general populace.

The great sages would direct us to look at “Life”, “Light” and “Love” as very important elements or principles in our existence and reflect thoroughly on them. They consider “Love” as the thread of “Light” that runs through the whole fabric of “Life”. “Light” grants the ability to see with our physical eyes and understand with our minds. Our soul is said to be a part of God which is all-Love, all-Light, all-Consciousness and everlasting. The more we direct our attention towards “loving” behavior the more we become “enlightened” in our activities.

“Law” and “Logic” are very important tools for our enlightenment through the agency of our minds. Our minds are however said to be at a level below our souls and operate in a realm of duality, impermanence and illusion. “Law” and “Logic” are therefore defective in their basic make-up and fall short as ultimate tools. “Love” passing through the soul as “unconditional love”, “selfless love” or “respectful love” improves the deductions of “Law” and “Logic” and helps us to achieve greater success and satisfaction.

“Emotions” and “Intuition” form a part of our feeling nature and play major roles in what we think, say or do. We may feel emotions of love, fear, attraction, repulsion etc., towards things, places or people and our thoughts, words and actions are guided as dictated by these pulses, flashes or waves of emotion. What we do that is based on emotions could turn out to be right or they could prove to be wrong or disastrous. We could feel attracted towards somebody and the relation can be mutually beneficial or it could be the greatest error of our lives. “Love at first sight” could be a dance with the devil. “Intuitions” are flashes of truth or insights into situations that would seem to bypass our reason as pleasant gifts or solutions to puzzles we may be wondering about. They seem to be God-sent from realms beyond normal awareness. Intuitions descend into our awareness and we feel them as insights. Emotional drives can be confused and taken as flashes of intuition and not be subjected to proper logical analysis.

Whenever we operate from positions of power, influence or authority we should be conscious of the fact that we could be seeing only one edge of a very sharp, double-edged sword which can cut both ways; our very own selves not excluded. We could very easily bring serious embarrassments on ourselves. Those holding public offices are expected to serve public interests. When selfish interests are substituted for the public interest, the compensating effect is public disgrace. The time of the compensation is at the discretion of the ever vigilant supervising agents who never miss any thought, word or deed. The surgical knives, called leaders, that Mother Nature has put in charge of affairs to make incisions in the social fabric to remove the ills of society must not risk becoming the ills of the social fabric. Selfless and respectful service is ennobling and prevents boils on the surgical knives of leadership. The motto of Legon Hall, University of Ghana is “cui multum datum est multum quaeretur ab eo, to whom much is given, much is expected”.

Victor Awayevoo.