Rakesh asked me a question today which made me think a lot. Rakesh has this habit of of asking very probing questions. The question was this :
"Given a chance, name three people whom you would like to bring back from history."
I usually think of myself well versed with history. But this question gave me a rude shock. I could hardly remember anybody from UK, Egypt, China, or Mesopotamia who would be relevant even today. Not that I knew people from other countries/civilizations, but I could at least think of someone important from these lands.
So I could zero in on three names.
1. Mahatma Gandhi
I think Gandhi is a man for all seasons and will be relevant for all generations to come. No one, at least not in recent times has revolutionized the way we think and act as much as Gandhi.
2. Muhammad
I would like to bring him back so that people (and most importantly muslims) across the world could actually see and understand what he meant; if he is really the prophet many people believe him to be or was just a warlord who influenced humanity in a big way. Maybe, by seeing his reality, the world would be a saner place.
3. Gautam Buddha
It was tough to pick between Jesus and Buddha. But then, I think the teachings of Buddha are far more relevant in today's world than Jesus'. Moreover, Buddha didn't claim any divinity nor was there any talk about him being the son/prophet of god. He was a teacher/philosopher who preached peace.
Please note that I picked three people who would be relevant today, not the top three people I believe have influenced history. Also, as I went through the list by Time magazine, what I found startling was that politicians and scientists have influenced history far more than anybody else, including the scientists.
However, more than anything, I realized how woefully limited my knowledge of history is. The first thing I did in the morning was to check up the list of 100 most influential people in the history. There were plenty whom I didn't even consider and then there were many whose name I didn't know.
I have to read more.
"Given a chance, name three people whom you would like to bring back from history."
I usually think of myself well versed with history. But this question gave me a rude shock. I could hardly remember anybody from UK, Egypt, China, or Mesopotamia who would be relevant even today. Not that I knew people from other countries/civilizations, but I could at least think of someone important from these lands.
So I could zero in on three names.
1. Mahatma Gandhi
I think Gandhi is a man for all seasons and will be relevant for all generations to come. No one, at least not in recent times has revolutionized the way we think and act as much as Gandhi.
2. Muhammad
I would like to bring him back so that people (and most importantly muslims) across the world could actually see and understand what he meant; if he is really the prophet many people believe him to be or was just a warlord who influenced humanity in a big way. Maybe, by seeing his reality, the world would be a saner place.
3. Gautam Buddha
It was tough to pick between Jesus and Buddha. But then, I think the teachings of Buddha are far more relevant in today's world than Jesus'. Moreover, Buddha didn't claim any divinity nor was there any talk about him being the son/prophet of god. He was a teacher/philosopher who preached peace.
Please note that I picked three people who would be relevant today, not the top three people I believe have influenced history. Also, as I went through the list by Time magazine, what I found startling was that politicians and scientists have influenced history far more than anybody else, including the scientists.
However, more than anything, I realized how woefully limited my knowledge of history is. The first thing I did in the morning was to check up the list of 100 most influential people in the history. There were plenty whom I didn't even consider and then there were many whose name I didn't know.
I have to read more.
No comments:
Post a Comment