Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Act of Stealing..

Well, this might end up being like the confession of a crime topper, but yeah, I don't mind being called one such person though I guess I no longer am the same..

I remember, once upon a time, after I got back home from college one day, I was talking to this friend of mine with whom I used to talk quite regularly.. She asked me

"how was your day..?"
to which I answered

"One awesome day, and you know what.. I helped the college incur a loss of Rs.50.."
and she asked me

"how..??"
.. to which I shamelessly replied..

"I just took out stuff from the canteen when they weren't noticing, some talent to do that..!"
..

And I really got slaughtered by her that day..

"You stole huh..?.. Thats not a great thing..! Its probably the worst thing ever.."


..and I tried justifying my act of insanity, projecting this villain as the Robin Hood who was performing the act of 'stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor'.. (I considered myself poor in this very case).. But she persisted.. saying..

"I dunno, but its not right.. I don't feel good when you do all this.."
.. and this dragged on to set shape to an argument which lead to a fight..

Days went by, and so did the months.. And now, I realize that she was indeed very correct in what she said.. 'Stealing was and is an act of immorality..'.. Its probably the worst sin ever in this world..

I just finished the book 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini, and at a particular instant in the book, the story brushes upon the definition of sins and stealing.. 'Amir' asks his father about sins to which his father replies..

"When you kill a man, you steal a life.. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father.. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.. There is no act more wretched than stealing.. A man who takes what is not his to take has supposedly committed a sin, one which can never be forgiven.."

I am not trying to preach values over here, I merely am talking about something which I very recently realized.. And I am sure I will never commit the same mistake again.. Even an attractive Parker pen which lies unclaimed on my desk will not attract my attention, owing to the fact that it rightfully does not belong to me..

I had been thinking about this all day long, which is the reason for this post.. I have now understood the mistake that my friend was trying to point out to me long ago..

To my friend who bestowed upon me this bit of sense..

"Thanks..! I owe it all to you.."

5 comments:

Shriram said...

I guess, yeah it is immoral... Point driven home...But you know what?... LETTIN People steal from us, the way they do it, bandit-style, in our coll, is even more insane...

Shriram said...

We're being subjected to that.. Need a way out...!

barry said...

yeah.. right.. but we chose our fate.. and we got to PAY for that i guess..

CkisgoD said...

so wat did u steal 4m the canteen anyway...?? v hav a hard time trying to digest the shit they give us in OUR canteen, calling it food...

barry said...

Loads, its been a habit from the PSBB days.. 'Canteen Burglars', we were.. Right from small Polos.. to Ice Creams to Lays, looted em all..