retirement

RETIREMENT is like the view of Chuck Palahnluk –‘If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character… would you slow down Or Speed up? ‘-
By Dr. G. Balakrishnan

William Ross said ‘Every man dies – not every man really lives,’ meaning thereby every retiring man when he chooses to spend retired life really qualifies under category ‘not every man really lives’. This view of Ross is reflected by the thought of Palahnluk.

Oscar Wilde’s statement – ‘a thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it’ meaning normal working life is just myopic satisfaction and in fact but he chooses to die for such life of real death’.
Winston Churchill said,’ I am ready meet my Maker(God) whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter’, here Churchill makes it clear, ‘that Maker’ has just duped me by myopia of world, but Brian Williams thought, ’A person starts dying when they(he) stop dreaming’.

Ernest Hemingway thoughtfully said, ‘the world (myopic world – a mirage) is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.’ And in this line of thought Palahnluk said, ‘We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will’, Voltaire added his thought,’ he was humanitarian, a great patriot, a loyal friend – provided of course, that he really is dead.’
When the above thoughts, are compared to people, like Amitabh Bachchan, a film world celebrity, on retirement, said,’ I’ll work till I’m 80, when he turned 67 recently, meaning thereby if he sits idle he will very soon kick the bucket and he does not want to, that is the ‘creative force’ driving him to accept Ernest Hemingway’s thought. Hence he chose to host a popular television realty show, ‘will walk the Ramp for a fashion show’ and thus confirms that he cannot retire actively from active world and he made clear that he is happy to follow the footsteps of Ashok Kumar , evergreen Hero of 50’s on till he died, a former Bolly-wood celebrity, acted in his 80s.
Similar views are held by several diplomats retired now actively involved in Electronic Media interviews or writing for print media, as they do not want to die a day so soon, as they want to put their debut, so too eminent Octogenarian lawyers, like Soli Sorabjee, Jethmalani, to name a few.



In the similar vein, people like corporate czar Lakshmi Mittal(58), late GD Birla,(Birla empire), JRD Tata,(Tatas) LK Advani of BJP, to name a few. They never wanted retirement benefits and idle away like thousands of men; but thousands of government retirees, wanting heavy pensions, free hospitalization benefits, and what not!, at the cost of the tax payers’, due to their love to eat like ‘white ants’, in a gluttonous way, the crucial ‘essential commodities’, without contributing to the nation, any worthwhile work, at their retired state too, and if they do, then for them, the world is a fine place to live!. Will they work as there is a great demand for retired people to work even not at the cost of young workforce, available today as the world needs a lot of working hands and certainly not wasting people at the cost of the National Wealth?
I know all those retirees today will soon have to rethink to contribute in this recession ridden world, as the current recession ridden world needs working force day by day and the really self respecting people would write to the governments that they do not need pensions, and free benefits, as the country needs to conserve hard earned finances, and their worthless inactive lives are making them to run to hospitals now and then, just to extend their lives, as uselessly as they can. Will they do? Indeed a million dollar question?

Pay Commissions are chivalrous in granting gratuitous salaries, without real ‘contributions by the public servants of sorts’ though these men also thrive on ‘bribes of all proportions’ in their active service life; and after they get shameless ‘pensions and facilities’, at the cost of taxpayers.

These men should have soul searching in them when they really can be really meaningful people, even after retirement they can work but really deadly useless can be given some pensions to sustain their lives; and not lavish living.

Yes, I know it is a view of several hard working people of all categories, from different walks of life, after all these will be painful thoughts for such worthies to digest this view, hear the governments sooner or later will not be able to pay pensions, as the moneys for pensions have to come from tax payers by way of revenues.





Social Security is possible provided the people working pay social security taxes themselves; and when that is not there in India, pensions are extravagance on the part of government.

It is alright to pay to military services, as they are ‘mercenaries’ and they join military services knowing fully well that they cannot be sure of their life, in the tumultuous world. Qualified pensioners can be from military and like services.

May be this will be painful for other pensioners to read but facts cannot be forgotten.

Even US Social Security is not a guarantee when your credit in the account is down and you will be disqualified if you do not secure some kind of jobs within six months, in case of young men too; and very infirm is just taken care of by government. That kind is a viable situation. India is really not very rich country as ‘have not’s are nothing less than 70% to 80% of Indian population.
When one work is over, you change your costume to play another role sir and come back as a character not very slowly but too sooner, like a military retired-men become watchmen. That donning is of new role.
In fact no thing is real and everything dies and takes some other shape, sooner but unfortunately people think that they are very important players of truth. In fact ever man in fact dies, as soon as one role is over like from childhood to adulthood and so on. Everything perishes. So God will not personally meet you because you will question Him! You become something of greatness or otherwise when you die. So continuer to dream new and newer roles and play enjoy a healthy life. Then you will never think of dying after all this world is fine for you, like it dawned on HANUMAN, WHEN HE WAS ASKED TO COME TO HEAVEN HE SAID ‘I’m happy to be on earth and serve Ram’s people. So Hanuman never went to heavens according to Shastras’. It is said at his ripe old age he still serves people who trust him. Liker Hanuman every retiree should think and definitely people endow you with a lot ‘Vada-malas’ (Ends)