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Dishtowels outside restrooms? Hand towels hanging inside the restrooms?
Why did the people not tear down the defamatory posters? The answers to
all these questions could be derived from Gandhi's saying, "You must be
the change you want to see in the world". Over 150 AID volunteers had
come from all over the US and India for the annual conference at the
University of Minnesota. AID strives for a just world with enough for
everyone's need and the volunteers were practicing the principles of
reducing waste, of tolerance and having conviction in their beliefs.
This was a minimum waste conference where the volunteers brought their
dishes and cups which were to be washed in the restroom sinks and hence
the need for dishtowels. It felt as if my maturity (always in question)
received a boost in the two days of the conference - not just by
listening to speakers and senior volunteers but also by talking to
volunteers who I initially thought were not convinced of the basic
philosophy of AID. I was humbled by talking to volunteers I had
categorized as "inactive".
I began to see that by not giving a patient hearing to someone who
disagreed with some accepted principles, I was myself violating a basic
principle that I have nurtured within AID. I was proved wrong about
labeling someone inactive when by talking to her I found that AID was
very much, actively present in her heart, mind and soul. AID was
present in the changes that she had sought in her life. I realized that
mere CSH presence should not make a volunteer active or inactive. I
began to evaluate my own adherence to AID's fundamental principles. Was
I tolerant enough? Was I patient enough? Did I listen to the voices
which were not propped by good oratory? Did I listen to the voices
within me which were less glamorous? It was a tiny faltering step taken
towards the kind of unlearning that Dr. Devy alluded to, in his keynote
speech.
The purpose of my going to the conference was to learn about the
functioning of AID, to understand the treasury system, to know about
the campaigns - in essence to gather external knowledge besides getting
to know other volunteers, and yet I walked away knowing myself and my
worldview better.
The conference also accorded me with a better understanding of the
potential of AID. I realized that a few hundred volunteers across the
world have come together on a shared platform and this was no mean
feat. AID indeed was a force to reckon with and that too a positive
one. I had known the numerical figures all along - 50 chapters in the
US, 7 in India, 2 in Europe, 2 in Canada and 1 in Australia. But it was
only after the conference that I began to feel how all of us were held
together at a deeper level and not through a structured hierarchy. The
numbers metamorphosed in my mind to form a human chain encircling the
earth - perhaps, this was the difference between information and
knowledge. I bore in my heart Dr. Bhagat's words - knowledge takes
years while wisdom takes centuries.
I have begun of think of AID as a social movement of different kind and
this realization has increased my respect for its founders and their
vision many folds.
Impatiently, I feel the need to inculcate more patience in my life.
Realizing that change does not happen overnight, I will have to be
patient with the world around me and with myself. I will have to make
an effort to hear all the voices, specially the weak and muffled.
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