NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST

‘The Road Not Taken’ is the most famous poem by American poet Robert Frost. It is a composition that derives its theme from the poet’s personal life in which he encounters a dilemma regarding his aspirations as a writer or opting for a settled and secure life in the future living the ‘American Dream’. Frost chose to embark on the road less travelled thus deciding to wander for years until finally getting his writings published. He knew that his path would be unpredictable, however, he realized that if he kept his conscience he wouldn’t be lost.

Frost’s life is a reflection of the fact that a well-informed decision to ‘go with the flow’ doesn’t necessarily lead to losing track of one’s path. ‘For it is the path that will guide you through the woods’- Lao Tzu’s philosophy of Taoism corroborates this observation. Ancient Civilization of China followed the Taoit principle of ‘Wu Wei’- moving forward considering the path to be your master.

‘Wandering’ is an act of pursuit. It is a deed that requires the minimum required apparatus. A ‘traveller’s soul’ is at the core of the philosophy of life. Once you step out of the shelter you are bound to encounter boundless possibilities. These possibilities are tests of characters, avenues for learning, opportunities for gaining experience, and moments of course correction.

Once we perceive the act of wandering in such a way, we come to realize that our preconceived notions about the idea of ‘wandering’ and that of ‘getting lost’ are open to scrutiny. Socrates in his ‘Dialogues’ with Plato remarks that the ‘cosmic order’ follows natural law and no living being is beyond this law. Therefore, no particle of matter is ever ‘lost’ when it wanders within this realm.

Our understanding of wandering as a deliberate and conviction-based process of surrendering oneself to the ways of life must be analyzed. The basis of all religions the Apostles in Christianity, the Prophets in Islam, and the rishis-munis of Hinduism - have been the concept of wandering in order to lose their materialistic being but find their spiritual selves.

‘The nature of truth-seeking has always been ingrained in wanderlust’. Humanities' greatest explorers were driven by the courage to face calamities and the ambition to find the truth. For example, Ferdinand Magellan set out to circumnavigate the earth to discover whether it was flat or round. It took him years to return to his homeland. But at the end - though most of his sailor crew had died or quit- he accomplished the aim of his ‘wandering. Thus, all his men were lost but he knew he wouldn’t be.

Examples of early man’s discovery of fire and wheel, his trysts with food gathering, animal domestication, and eventually food production are also epitomes of man’s inherent ‘hunter-gatherer’ instincts that make him wander without being lost since time immemorial.

‘Who is lost then?’ One might ask. Upanishads provide insights in that case. “One who is lost is the one either forgot to find himself or the one who never wanted to”, points out Yajnavolkya to Gargi in Chandogya Upanishad Rudyard Kipling in his verse ‘if’ says “if you can keep your head when all others around you are losing theirs…. Yours is the earth and everything that is inside it”.

Therefore, there are pointers and guiding principles of virtue that instill self-composure, confidence, sure-footedness, and foresight in a wanderer in order to keep him/her on track. Today’s generation faces such issues in cases of drug abuse, peer pressure, social media, and even career opportunities. They fail to keep cognizance of the guiding principles and as a result, are lost even without wandering.

The Ajivika sect’s doctrine of ‘Niyativada’ says that destiny is pre-ordained and one must leave everything to fate. Jaina doctrine of ‘Anekantavada’ - the truth is always relative and may manifest in several forms and the Buddhist doctrine of ‘Ashtanya marga’ attempts to reform the pervasiveness of fate. Buddha even says that it is possible to get lost even on a straight path, thus it is wise to be in the middle - the balance point. Balance is key to achieving maximum output from wandering without going astray.

In today’s capitalist and consumerist society, we sometimes lose our basic instincts of virtue, empathy, compassion, and prudence. We get lost in urban jungles and yet consider ourselves to be leading settled, comfortable lives in metropolises. This ultimately leads to stagnation and degeneration.

You only grow if you can see an endless curing path. A ship in deep waters looks forward to witnessing what is beyond the horizon. Thus. wandering is the process of synthesizing optimism with realism. The invasion of the Alexander and Yu Chei Tribe of Central Asia which later came to be called Kushangs or Kushanas in India was a result of a clear ambition of political conquest along with years to wander and face all difficulties along the way.

Harry Potter and Frodo the Hobbit are inspirations for young children: not because they were brave young heroes but because they were gritty enough to successively lose themselves and find their objectives in life along the way. And on the path, they met friends and foes alike who faced ups and downs through all this wandering. They had pure intentions and hearts of gold that never led them away.

Wandering is also a period of experimentation. Great inventors, innovators, and now entrepreneurs have been wanderers before helming most profitable businesses. Steve Jobs traveled to India in the early 1970s just to roam around and observe the country’s spirituality - he ended up learning lifelong lessons and establishing Apple which became the first trillion-dollar company. Sunder Pichai and Satya Nadella - both from small towns in India - were inclined to do civil engineering and civil services respectively. But life had something else in store for them making them CEOs of Google and Microsoft respectively.

‘If Plan A fails - remember that there are 25 other letters in the alphabet’. Wandering can make us lose several action plans but it gives us the flexibility to try out other initiatives and optimally allocate resources to get back on track.

The nation of Cuba is another example of wandering but not getting lost. Being only 70 miles away from the Capitalist Haven of the United States, Cuba could benefit immensely by joining hands with it. But it decided to pursue socialism and developed the most cost-effective health and education system in the world after exploring several models under Fidel Castro - that too in the middle of the cold war.

Fields of music, art, and literature are primarily based on attempting to wander by rejecting the primary, secondary and tertiary sector jobs. Shankar Mahadevan was a computer engineer before quitting his job to pursue singing and went on to become one of the foremost composers of India.

Our struggle for independence is a definitive case study of wandering for a century but not getting lost. After the Revolt of 1857, the colonial power was consolidated under the British who now believed that giving ricemeal reforms and ‘carrots’ of self-government to the Indian population would repress anti-imperial attitudes and make them lose the path to freedom.

However, the ‘wanderers of destiny’ and the ‘lovers of liberty’ that our leaders were - kept the movement alive through Swadeshi, Non-cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and spontaneous ‘ ‘do or die’ endeavors. This ultimately proved that in 1947 the wanderers had come home victorious and had not lost the core objectives of their journey.

The essence of education is enlightening the senses and developing character. Those who wander - know that what they expect from life cannot be gained through conventional means or following the ‘hard mentality’. They want to learn what the road of life has to teach them. They aren’t afraid of losing the way but are proactive in bouncing back on the journey that leads them to ‘themselves’. ‘It is a quest of self-discovery’ says Bhagat Singh in ‘why I am an Atheist’ and so does Sahir ludhianur’s lyrics ‘ main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya’.