Ignorance is bliss

It was 10th of March, 2009. We were on our way from Gangtok to Lachung. It was late in the evening and the sun had already set in. The road was passing through the hills with rocks on one side and valley on other. There were six of us in that Tata Sumo and i was there at the back with all 4 seats to myself. Other 7 friends were in the other Sumo. Things outside could only be viewed with the help of the headlight. Otherwise the visibility was very poor. Normally when I am travelling through such a terrain, I am very apprehensive, the valley being the cause of my apprehension. What if the driver take a turn at very high speed and the car gets uncontrolled and we all fall down? Why is the driver using only one hand to steer the car? Why is he talking on his cellphone? But at that time, there was no such trepidation just because I could not see anything outside from my back seat. All I could see was the road and some plantations on its border. The fact that we were travelling through a valley was there in my mind but it didn't surface as if I was subconsciously trying to ignore it. When we were returning back, it was afternoon and I could see the deep valley which I could not that evening. All my apprehensions surrounded me again.

Ignorance can really be bliss especially when one doesn't have control over the situation. I observe the same thing after the exams also. I am one among those who really hate discussion after the exams. I mean, once you have given the paper there isn't much that you can do. So why to spoil the fun by knowing your mistakes. In any case, one gets to know about it sooner or later when the answer sheets are shown.

I don't say that I always prefer to remain ignorant. Sometimes, some things may go out of control if suitable actions are not taken at suitable time. But sometimes, I do like to defer or delay things, face them only when it becomes inevitable to avoid them. And till that time comes, I prefer to be ignorant.

Sometimes, ignorance is a veil which corners you from the sufferings of the world outside. With so much of grief in the world - wailing of a child on a street, helplessness of an elderly beggar, powerlessness of a patient in a hospital, sorrow of an indebted farmer, pain of a mutilated person- the fact that we manage a good night sleep is possible only because we prefer to remain ignorant to these worldly things which prevail in abundance. At some point of time one must have seen people shivering on roads on countless winter nights, one must have seen people who are in want of treatment but cant afford it, people who are so much consumed in their present that they cant afford to contemplate their future, people who vanish the very next moment you see them. In these times when one feels completely helpless, ignorance is everything that you have to maintain peace of your mind.