Moral ReArmament Camp

Strange as it may sound, I dedicate this piece to the sun, the clouds, the trees, the hills and foremost to the sunshine in my life.


Moral Rearmament Camp. Sounds as far from me as a star would be from the earth. Honestly, given a choice, I would have never gone for such a camp. I am not much of a believer of switching off from the world in order to go on a journey of self-exploration. For me, self-actualization comes in any form, in any way, anytime you are ready for it. The minute I am making a deliberate attempt to shut down my brains from a particular thing, I can be assured that I shall not be successful in my endeavor. However, my college authorities never agreed with my intellectual insights and so I set for Panchgani on a cold, Saturday morning, thoroughly deprived off sleep and cribbing about it at length.

Panchgani is located at roughly four and a half thousand metres above the sea level in the rain shadow area of the Krishna valley. Without any exaggeration, the valley is amongst the most beautiful places I have ever set my eyes upon, second only to Patratu valley of Jharkhand. It is quiet, serene, laidback and despite being used to a much faster and hectic lifestyle, I could not but appreciate what it stood for.

The place is quiet, almost eerie in night. You will find just a few buildings in more than 60 acres of space in the Asia Plateau and big jungles elsewhere. Small pathways meander through different landscapes, some on plains while other over heights and all of them are enriched with various species of flora and fauna. When it comes down to it, it gets very dangerous and I still cannot forget the sight of that baby snake I spotted on the first afternoon of my four-day trip. The icing on the cake, however, is the sight of the table-land guarding the Asia Plateau. It is the second largest table-land in Asia and the sight up there is one to behold.

Coming back to the purpose of the trip, which by the way was not merely sight-seeing, we had various sessions on moral-building, teamwork, effective leadership etc. but there are two I specially want to mention, ones that actually touched my soul. The first one was a session taken by Mr. Deepak Mullick, a successful corporate by all means. His story, one where he overcame medical and moral obstacles of his life, is one that effortlessly inspires you. It is not possible to pen down every bit of his one hour long session but I would like to share a lyrical piece with you all that was written to Mr. Mullick by a Baramati farmer friend of his when he was almost down and out. It goes as follows:

Look beyond


Until you feel better


Be patient and wait


For patience is truly


A wonderful trait


For most of life’s battles


Are won beyond the field


Fight it out, don’t turn away


Problems are fickle, you will find a way


When the sun comes out


And the clouds float away

Simple, beautiful lines which say a lot even when they apparently say nothing at all. The second session was even better, one on human relationships. In our race towards the oasis of success and achievement, we forget that our life is enriched by the people who are a part of us and not by the amount of wealth we accumulate or the fan following we manage to acquire. Our relationships take a backseat giving a way to our ambitions. Sadly, by the time we realize where we went wrong, it is too late to go back. I am not going to be philosophical but in all sincerity, I would urge each one of you to get a hold of your personal life before it is too late. It is never too late to do the right thing.

I learnt a valuable lesson, one which I should have learnt ages back. For me, the USP of the camp was the session on human relationships and with it, the purpose of the camp was justified. I stood corrected at the end of the camp; it was not futile after all! I only wish I had realized it back then what I did after this camp.