Weeding is an important aspect of office working. There are rules and regulations on the subject and every office is supposed to follow them. The purpose is to weed our unnecessary/obsolete papers at definite intervals so that the office remains tidy and works with greater efficiency. I take special interest in this area. During my inspection of any office I pay great attention towards cleanliness and check whether timely weeding has been carried out or not. I am of the view that those who pay attention to this aspect of office working, are also efficient in other areas. In fact, whenever I join a new office, I personally carry out this exercise in my own office. This not only helps me in my working but also motivates my colleagues to do the same.
Weeding is equally important in plant life. In order to get a healthy crop, one has to ensure that weeds are removed in time. I remember when I was posted as District Collector, the then Agricultural Secretary had launched a special weeding drive for the wheat crop. That year the problem of a particular weed in the crop of wheat had been very acute. The Secretary’s motivated call for the weeding programme drew a healthy response from all concerned. As a result, the average yield of wheat in the state went up substantially and the Central Government gave a special award to the state for this achievement.
Extending the above logic further, I want to establish that weeding is equally important for a healthy human life. We all know that life is a process of change and if one does not outgrow the past continuously, one will neither be able to enjoy the present nor think of the future. I had an occasion to think about this subject once when I was preparing my new-year’s diary. I am going to share my thoughts in this write-up.
While making notes from the previous year’s diary, I came across several references and addresses which appeared to be very relevant and close at the time of writing but were now totally irrelevant. For a moment there was a temptation to note them also. Previously I had a tendency to be overcautious and used to note down everything in the hope of their distant utility. However, such an eventuality was rare and such notes only proved to be a burden on the mind. That year I decided that if a reference or address had not been used for the past 2-3 years, there was no point in carrying it over any longer. As a result of this criterion, many references and addresses were weeded out and my new year’s diary became much more manageable. Not only this, the load on the mental span decreased and the focus on the present and the future improved.
Some philosophical thoughts also came to mind in this process. For a moment I thought whether weeding is a positive phenomenon or a negative one. My contemplation established that it is a positive phenomenon from every point of view. Even in worldly life we find that life is a process of quitting and getting. When one gets a promotion, one quits the lower post. When a student is promoted to a higher class, he quits the lower one. When one constructs a house in a bigger town, one quits the smaller one. When one buys a car, one quits the lower mode of transport. There may be innumerable examples of such kind. Do we call such quitting a negative action ? No, by all means they are positive actions provided the ego is not there. Here I am talking of a natural phenomenon happening in one’s life. Therefore, we must use the word ‘transcending’ in place of ‘quitting’. From this point of view every process of weeding is a transcending process.
Looking from another point of view, it is also a fact that if we don’t leave things, things will leave us. In that case the process may be painful. After all, in this transitory world, how can we expect things to remain with us forever ? If so, the wisdom lies in quitting them before they quit us. If we do so, we save ourselves from the agony of separation. Not only this, we are left with more energy for rising higher and higher.
Thus we find that constant weeding is essential for moving on to a higher path in life. It is true in the field of materials, in the field of plants and equally in the field of human life. Those who understand and follow this, enjoy a healthy and purposeful life. For such people, the whole life becomes a process of weeding and they do not get perturbed when the time for the weeding of the body itself arrives.
