Wall Fall

It is November 11th. Isn’t the 9th. I would have preferred it if I had written on the 9th. But, I am too full of myself to write about a happening, which is not remotely mine. Bu today, its me; the wall plays the sidekick.

The fall of Berlin wall, in popular history, is viewed as the ultimate symbol of the triumph of human freedom and brotherhood. The story goes like this – East Germany vs West Germany; Capitalists vs Communists; Economic crisis in East Germany; Rise of moderates in Russia and the East German Side; and the wall ceases to exist. Also, missed the (in) famous declaration made on the previous night by a governing member of the East German order.

Zoom in; during the wall days, people from East Germany had attempted to sneak into the other side for better jobs, soap operas and so on. Some managed, some didn’t. The ones who didn’t make it faced the ‘game over’, from the guards in the most innovative ways.

And then one day, the gate ceased to exist. Symbolically, on November 9th and a few more days to make it a physical reality. To think of it, what did it result in? The cold war ended and the world order changed. That’s big. But on the day, no blood and no sweat; just a peaceful walk to the other side with huge relaxed smiles everywhere. Now that’s unusually interesting!

What if the guards had fired a shot or two at the gate crashers; naively believing that they could be scared away. Just a few more ‘game overs’ as dutiful guards. Why didn’t they do it? Probably they thought it was inevitable and they acknowledged their helplessness. Probably they were keen to catch the evening show on the other side. Or probably they believed it was their ‘right’ thing to do. Whatever the reason, the guards, on that fateful day, decided to call the shots, regardless of the context they were surrounded with and in the absence of orders from the higher order. And the context; imposing it was; political ideology & military prowess at stake. Instead of being the ones who would have started the fire, they let the people pass. As if they were masters of the wall. In the process, making the process bloodshed free and smooth.

Now, this is not the whole triumph thing of dharma over Karma. What I take out of it is purely actionable.

When the human decides to act independent of the context, the end result is the most desirable. For me, this is what the wall fall signifies.