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Of Prying
Manjit Handa, PhD
Inquisitiveness rests on the fundamental human (even animal) urge to know. What kind of knowledge interests you, distinguishes you as the kind of person you are.
Which car is my neighbor going to buy, what is cooking in his house, what happens in her bedroom, her future plans and how much wealth he has accumulated, are the questions that will interest most of us. Even animals pry into the neighbors’ dens when opportunity avails.
The next is the unending interest in the personal world of celebrities—movie stars, singers, sportsmen, writers—although we do not know them in person, yet their ritzy lives fascinate us no end. Depending on our likes or dislikes we even secretly wish good or bad for them respectively.
The next is the incessant world of education, which is thrust upon us (the lucky ones) quite early in life and if circumstances are sunny, we carry on until we earn a respectable education, a white collared job and the blissful status quo until the end of life. The curiosity of things here is part forced and part the result of the pushiness.
Often times we let pass an essential nosiness, which is the knowledge of the “self”. From beginning to end we define ourselves by our name; our relationship with others—mother, brother, sister, daughter, wife, husband; the health card number, sin card, driving license, you know.
The inevitable questions—Who am I? Why am I here? What purpose does my presence serve in the world? Possibly dreary topics for reflection, all the same the ideal matter for prying. If only…
Inquisitively Yours,
Manjit
Published on December 1, 2006 08:31 PM
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