A disciplined life is coveted indeed!

[This was published in Dhaka Courier on 21 June 2013]

Everybody is after finding and leading a life based on a certain set of principles, guides, norms and values that grow out of a person’s overall environments, conforming or contrasting, and near or remote. A disciplined life is coveted for all but what makes a life disciplined is still a matter of debates and discords that varies from person to person, culture to culture, geography to geography and even religion to religion. One may make attempts to draw a pen picture of a disciplined life applying his intelligence and prudence with all sorts of aptness and delicateness. Be sure that shall immediately be refuted by other(s) with his/their logic, mathematics and literature and the process shall continue sine die. Some might even declare that it is only possible in few cases exceptionally of course. Mr. Farhad Hossain, a Professor of English in a reputed university, has been behind such searching for a long. He sometimes gets dog-tired and uptight while at times rays of hope having a touch of reality take him to such assertion that model of this kind is possible to devise and follow at large. He used to initiate dialogue with his closest colleagues t but nobody is in a position to understand his line and margin of thought since everybody takes it easy a thing in life. Everybody claims from his/her respective standpoint that hardly there is a human being who is outside the exercise of leading a disciplined life and those who stay outside this domain their percentage is  extremely much negligible.

Ratan Kumar Gosh, Prof. of Social Welfare, asked Mr. Farhad to define and explain what he means by ‘disciplined life.’ ‘Very relevant asking indeed it is’ answered Mr. Farhad adding ‘In simple terms disciplined life denotes a life that follows a set of principles, beliefs, norms and values not only in words but in actions also without allowing any  irregularity and lapse . He is punctual, committed, trustworthy, honest, transparent, responsive and responsible to the best of his/her capability and capacity under the circumstances, favorable or not’. Then you are equating disciplined life with an ideal brand of life’ responded Habibur Rahman Mujumdar, Prof. of Bengal Literature. ‘Not exactly so, because there are marked differences between the two say (a) one is ideally graded very high while other may not be ideally so (b) one is model for other(s) and the other may not be so readily and (c) one is free from all vices and black practices while the other may fall within such fold necessarily’ said Mr. Farhad.  ‘Aren’t you contradicting your definition and explanation of disciplined life? roared Shahajadi Begum, Prof. of Economics. ‘Apparently it is so but in the final analysis it is the reverse’ replied Mr. Farhad self-assuredly with a mysterious smile. ‘Would you please tell the truth in plain language so that we may understand, digest and carry comfortably to pass as and when required’ insisted impatiently Ferdousi Begum, Prof. of Geography.

‘Dear friends, bear in mind that even a ruffian or corrupt official or dishonest religious guru may lead a disciplined life from his/her standpoints. Should we call it disciplined life?’ Discipline does not mean merely following certain principles, norms and values which are all together not inspiring and sparkling morally and ethically. Discipline is a positive word and, therefore, it must be tagged with positive marching forward’. ‘Is it a kind of accountancy?  posed Abdullah Al- Mamun Mussulli, Prof. of Accountancy, in an impenetrable temper. ‘Why are you not making it clear in plain terms as being requested by us all?  shouted Nilufur Begum, Prof. of Zoology. ‘I think you are suffering from some sorts of ambiguities, although you have reasonable intention to define it unambiguously’ sounded politely Asma Akter, Prof. of Biology. ‘No, to me it’s a trap to make us befuddled about the common understanding of disciplined life’ retorted Krishna Dulal Gosh, Prof. of Marketing. ‘You people please, remain tight-lipped and let Prof. Farhad Hassain speak out and narrate what he has in mind’ suggested Dr, Mohammad Waliullah, Prof. of Physics. ‘Yes, Prof. Farhad should immediately come out of his self-created befooling lingo, which is really pains-giving to us all’ aired robustly Golam Mohammed Sufi, Prof. of English literature. ‘Should I then say that Prof. Farhad is just making fun of us having taken us to a world of highly philosophical periphery?  aggressively remarked Adnan Munjoor, Prof. of Pscycology. ‘I understand that Prof. Farhad is yet to take a decision on the topic he is critically dealing with’ told Dr. Abdur Rob, Prof. of Chemistry. Mr. Kazi Humayun kabir, Prof. of Mathematics who forever and a day seem to be stick enough to stay away from such time-consuming matter asked all not to be hefty about the subject. He is an introvert and he finds a great pleasure to see everything mathematically. Philosophy, art and literature and so forth hardly act as a major source of inspiration for him. To him world is almost a mathematics. Everything rotates here mathematically and people living on earth are very much fond of thinking mathematically even their way of life, disciplined or not, are modeled after/on that very numerical foundation.

‘I fact, so many things have been uttered and passed regarding my understanding of disciplined life. I am now really flooded with queries after queries. Is it true that I am dealing with a subject, which is totally unknown to us? Definitely, it is not at all. I believe that each and everybody of you has a kind of definition and explanation, which are, if taken individually or collectively, more or less akin to each other or one as a whole in the final anatomy. There is nobody here who is not leading a disciplined life excepting me’. Excepting you?  voiced and wondered all in a body. ‘Yes, I think so’ held tranquilly Prof. Farhad. Mr. Jamir, Prof. of Law, who has been listening to everybody, now opened his mouth placing a question pointedly to Prof. Farhad ‘Would you allow us all to leave the room having a sense of satisfaction or consolation at least by putting an end to your explanation?

When all these were going on, there appeared civil society leader Shamim Ashan. He was, if truth be told, a coveted person for all since he has a tradition to play a good role in finding a working solution under the grave circumstances like the present one. Learning details from all he just put an asking to Prof. Farhad ‘Please let us be apprised of, in a nutshell, what is your stand on the theme of disciplined life? ‘Thanks a lot to you all, dear friends. I am happy to see Mr. Shamim Ashan amidst us at this very juncture of our discussions. I repeat that disciplined life is a life which is not undisciplined on all counts. A person who is in a position to lead a disciplined life he is an wealth for all surrounding him say family, society, state, regional and global atmospheres. Discipline is a self-control system that includes all the positive qualities of a human being at the same time paving way for the smooth way out of negative qualities. Here a person is punctual, transparent, committed, responsive and responsible under all the circumstances. He is not coward, indecent and evasive. His life is almost filled with harmony, symmetry and symphony. He is not profligate but he does not lag behind to take care of others duly with all sorts of sophistication and delicacies. A disciplined life is duly tailored on the theme of cut your coat according to the clothes’ summarized Prof. Farhad.

Shamim Ashan with good grace grasped the meaning and inherent truth of the definition and explanation of disciplined life understood and passed by Prof. Farhad. After having a cup of coffee he took few minutes to overhaul the theme within himself. A kind of pin-drop silence started prevailing there. Everybody was curious about listening something positive from Mr. Shamim who also became confident and relaxed enough readily to come with a befitting and convincing solution. ‘Yes, there is, in fact, no ambiguity in Prof. Farhad’s understanding, definition and explanation of a disciplined life. He made a broad-based line of focus on the issue. To him disciplined life is free from vices and nastiness. A person can lead such life being faithful to honesty, fairness and dedication. What he does is always supported by rhythms and positive feedbacks. He knows the art of taking breakfast, meal and dinner. He is apt in going to and leaving bed almost as per schedule regularly. He is sincere and sweet to the members of the family including the wife. He speaks less and works more. He is sincere and devoted to his assigned responsibilities and duties. He is pious in his line of religion. He hates corruption in all its forms and expressions. Hence, he is neither a bribe-taker nor a bribe-giver nor even an instigator. He is a good citizen, good husband, good son/daughter, good brother/.sister, good friend/associate and come what may not. In simple terms, a disciplined life absorbs and sustains discipline in all respects, starting from micro to macro levels’ concluded Mr. Shamim Ashan.