The title is not meant for any comparison as there can be none. A marauder and messiah can't be treated on the same plane. The whole idea to bring them inside the same text box is for a discussion on their motives. Ghazini attacked India seventeen times. It was his 'ambition' to plunder. Terming it an 'ambition' would be a huge understatement. Whether he saw a mission in attacking a foreign land and looting riches is unknown and hardly debated. Afghanistan was a barren land and he probably thought it in his kingdom's best interest to attack. Mission,interleaved between ideas of ambition,is not visible to the naked eye. And the same can be said the other way. When the missionaries first arrived in the west coast of India to 'alleviate the pain and suffering of the masses', a mission statement, their ambition of a mass conversion wasnt' understood by many and the states of Kerala and Goa stand testimony to it. Nevertheless, the states have the highest literacy rates in the country.
What prompted me to write this,is a recent report about the youngest PhD in the country. He made clear his ambition to win the coveted Nobel Prize. He is a student of life sciences. If the Nobel committee were to decide that the prize be awarded to the most minimal of works, this chap would have been content receiving the award. There seems to be a lack of mission in his ambition- a mission to eradicate the world of the deadliest parasites; to rid human races of genetic anomalies. Ambition sounds good.It gives the necessary propulsion to better OUR lives. But it takes a vision of a mission to better the lives of species around us.In cricketing parlance, when Laxman, Dravid or Steve Waugh bats, it is a clear case of a mission--to steer the team clear of follow ons and embarrassments. When its Sehwag or Yuvaraj, it's a case of ambition--to notch up as many sixes and enjoy the hits. While it is purely entertaining to watch them bat, their fancies may cost the team of bigger glories.
When the Mahatma entered freedom struggle, it was his mission of not just independence from the Goras but also from the clutches of casteism, fundamentalism and other social evils. His mission took him much farther than he would have imagined and touched lives to stir up a similar storm in the minds of the masses. His was no ambition to rule India or be a President; his was no ambition to win the Bharat Ratna or the Nobel Peace prize. This thought stems from the fact he roamed the streets of Pakistan on Aug 15th,pacifying people when the nation was split into better and battered halves. At the same time Nehru stopped at India's independence. Yes, he did have a mission later;of industrialisation and modernisation that have been foundations of the present India. And thus began loot by a family that would rule the country in family successions.
We are now a country of ambitious people. To be a CEO by 35, to start a company, to buy atleast 10 acres of land by end of the year etc.,are current occupations of our mind.The real kick of achieving an ambition is when there are multiple souls benefiting.Infosys is one such success story in that league. Another is the missionaries of charity and the Bill-Melinda Gates foundation. Do we lack a mission in our ambition? For the better, it is time to boost our ambitions with a dash of mission.
P.S: I am neither ambitious nor successful.You are free to dismiss this post as utter trash but I would like to see it in the comments section. It is my mission to improve upon my thoughts.
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