Love versus Love

A sentence read nearly a decade ago echoes in mind as I think along these lines-

"Vaiyyaktik prem se Rashtriya Prem mahaan hota hai"

Translated, it becomes-

"Love for the Nation is greater than Love for the Individual"

Several examples for and against the statement comes to mind...examples from sources as diverse as History, Mythology and Fiction..

Akbar forcing Anarkali out of his kingdom and begging her not to return, even though he knew full well she was happiness personified for his beloved son..

Lord Ram ousting his dear wife to continue holding his claim to the tag of 'Maryada Puroshttam'...

Kunti never acknowledging Karna as her son for fear of discredit and disgrace...

Nehru and Lady Mountbatten never acknowledging their affair..

And in direct contrast we have the great King of England who gave up his throne to marry his sweetheart..


How does one analyse these?

Which betwixt the two is greater? Which is braver?

The regent who kills his inner self to show the world the face of a brave monarch?

Or the royalty that accepts the blows of society and his fall from honour to fulfill his heart's one desire?

The answer to this perhaps lies in the secret of what makes a leader..

To present one side of the coin, everyone cannot be a leader. A few have what it takes, only a few amongst these elite recognize their rare ability and still fewer wield this mighty sword correctly..these one-amongst-billions are, needless to say, the need of the day..the staple diet on which a nation, a community or a society feeds...for such a person to give up their position of responsibility for their personal needs will perhaps be seen as destructive..


Come to the other side of the coin...


Being a leader means possessing power...popularity..many a time, affluency...it is quite reasonable to suppose that not the thorns (read responsibilities) but the roses of 'Position' distracts a lover from his path of love...


Which side wins? Am I back to sqaure one? I wonder indeed!

Some pertinent questions that raise their heads...How can a dissatisfied and unhappy leader keep the people he leads happy? Everything said and done about the rarity of leaders, is it impossible to fill an empty social post? Isn't it more impossible to replace the object of love instead?

As I said, I wonder indeed!