“All that glitters is not gold” is a common adage we have been conversant with since time immemorial. Equally, on the contrary, we cannot ignore the quote of famous Leacock’s interpretation that “All is Gold which glitters”. Gold is the only metal that all humans have craved for centuries long. Presently currencies across the world are being determined in terms of the Gold reserve the concerned country possesses in its repository. Even when we tend to appreciate one’s prodigy, we address him or her as “Gold”.
Only in the early nineteenth century, we are conversant with the rhyme, “Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, like a Diamond in the sky”! Thus our mind is engulfed with our intense admiration for Diamond! A sea change in our vision and admiration! Eventually, we started to praise one for his or her unique quality compared to Diamond. But surprisingly Diamond still cannot surpass the fancy we express for Gold.
The Sun is the only star in the solar system we are dwelling. We exist in a satellite called “Earth” and are largely influenced by the Sun, which is the only source of energy for us to survive and sustain. Even when we are marooned by an individual or a collective contribution for facilitating us to energize and even entertained, we tend to rate him or her as a “Star”! It bears the testimony that one’s prodigy is an axiom and we offer our utmost appreciation by addressing him or her as a ‘star’. Sometimes when we are overwhelmed by one’s quality, we may offer him or her ‘five stars’ to acknowledge their prodigies, despite knowing that “Star” is not accessible to us. Even when we feel sad for the bereavement of our closest we find solace that the concerned person might have his or her entity in the sky as a star. We tend to look up at the sky to soothe our souls. “Stars” do play a significant role in the human spectrum and are the only determining constituent for the Earth’s pole in the absence of the Sun in the dark deep night. But its influence can make a human so arrogant that he may consider himself as the ‘pole star’ and eventually pave the way for his ruin! Hardly have we humans pondered how ‘stars’ emerge with their constituents and what their fate is. What constituents does it possess and how does it enable our configuration? “Star” infatuates us still now and the moment we are impressed with someone’s ability beyond average; we tend to address him or her as “Star” to date! This is how we may alienate one from the mass, but can we ignore how Gold continuously eclipses us with its enigmatic appeal?
I believe that “Gold” requires the highest amount of labor to extract from mines and is even not available abundantly. It is a nonnative element, like Iron, silver, and copper, but its availability is meager. Accordingly, it is the only metal being treated as the determiner for the currencies across the world. Even centuries long in Indian mythology, we noticed that females have alacrity for Gold. Their fancy for Gold exists centuries-long across the world! Now, in the present world, there is a craving for diamonds, perhaps for new currencies being introduced virtually, such as Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. I wonder, are they the true contender of “Gold”? There is still no match out of its conductivity and thus considered the most precious metal. When women became pregnant in the early stage of human civilization and could not accompany their male counterparts to gather food, precisely when they were wanderers, not settlers, they first noticed how seedlings took place and eventually unearthed the process of cultivation to enable humans to become settlers. They perhaps are having an inherent capacity to envisage the potentiality of an element on nature’s floor. Still, the majority of women are not subscribing their fancy with diamonds. They are the true precursor of human civilization to accelerate with due momentum. They only can give birth to a baby, as well play a crucial role in invigorating a nation to strive and thrive.
We poor native souls on Earth are continuously striving to garner wealth and our hankering after wealth makes us self-centered and not even bother that after our demise we will not be able to take any wealth we amassed. We will too just become a “Star”! We will be treated as mere ‘Bodies’ the moment we die. I just wonder why we cry for mundane wealth ignore people and look down on those who lack wealth. How do we enjoy being alienated from the masses? Will our status of “Star” give any added advantage to our extension of survival on nature’s floor?
When we garland a dead body we offer our tribute to the dead and the writhe contains numerous flowers which convey the very essence that united we stand and divided we fall. Our grace lies with our association, not isolation. Because it is the majority who will uphold our stature when we longer alive on Earth. So when we look up at the dark deep sky in the naked eye, we observe innumerable stars that resemble the majority among whom we are living. Alas! How ignorant we are that when we are living, we hardly bother our physical state and focus on celestial objects that are beyond our capacity to fathom and communicate!
Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron are truly precious to augment the pace of civilization. But some other elements exist to obliterate our existence from nature’s floor out of our own innovation and induce us to make incendiary to obliterate many as few crave only to survive by depriving the majority and enjoying the lucidity of lives. Poor creatures hardly comprehend that their existence depends on the conditions of the majority’s appreciation and accolades. If there are no myriad colors to bloom, who will enjoy the beauty of appreciation for few and allow them to gloom? They will never be treated as neither Gold, nor Diamond, or other precious metals. Poor few even have no capacity to script their obituary! They will too just obliterate in accordance to time as space, just like the primates having no trace!
I am nowadays observing a number of Management Gurus and they give lectures to cause only ruckus with an aim to confuse the majority and ensure profits for the minority. They too belong to a minority and are not aware of what is the future in their store. Wealth may bring ephemeral pleasure and satisfaction, but in the long run, they too have their place in the museum of history for their unrestrained greed and foolery! Despite they too possess all metals and minerals in their body, after their demise, we cannot get those elements in metallic order at least to serve humanity! Whether they are being termed as “Gold”, “Star”, or ‘Diamond”, we cannot extract those elements in metallic form from their dead bodies! They too perhaps resort to the sky, high and high, having no effect to the mundane world where we just sustain to sigh!