By Raj Kumar Bhatia
There was a pious soul, who knew no self-interest and was full of social motivation. It was ever ready to accept any social work that fell on its shoulders. Since the soul was pious it never bothered to make discrimination between more and less important work or more and less deserving beneficiaries of its benevolence. It was as easily amenable to self-seekers and cunning people as it was to selfless and straightforward persons. It was very generous towards people around it.
Once it so happened that members of its community felt that an organisation needed to be floated to safeguard the community’s interests and work for its welfare. The pious soul took up the responsibility and established an organisation. Very soon a few more such souls joined it. Together they ran the organisation and did a lot of social work. Since social work was their main motivation and organisation came afterwards, the former always got precedence over the latter. The organisation did not get as much attention from them as it needed. Also, since discriminating among persons was not in their nature, as it mostly happens, the self-seekers outnumbered the selfless in the organisation. The organisation could not make a healthy start. Nearly a decade rolled by like this.
Apart from its main community, the pious soul was also associated with another community. The latter felt that the soul was quite suitable to become its leader. The soul did not disappoint it. It was not in its nature. Since the soul was comfortably placed because of the other such souls in the first organisation, the organisation’s business went on. Poor attention to it by the souls and its exploitation by the self-seekers did not allow the organisation to grow properly. Another decade rolled by in this way.
Yet another community got attracted towards the pious soul and wanted to benefit from its leadership. The soul did not disappoint it too. The only difference it made was that now the soul had no time left for the first organisation, the burden of running which fell squarely on the other good souls. But these souls also were not very different from the first one. So, no qualitative change took place in the functioning of the organisation. More decades rolled by.
The organisation ever remained of secondary importance to the leading souls and good pasture for self-seekers. Even after several years of its founding, the organisation remained where it was.
Moral: Being a pious soul does not suffice in a social organisation.
