One of Rudyard’s most famous poems, it stands out with the message in every line, every word. It tells us that we control our own lives, with the choices we make. It speaks of the ideal being, the MAN.
In a letter ‘If’, he paints a portrait of the traits of the ideal person, and how that ideal person views his life, how he faces Life and how he makes his choices.
He exemplifies how time is important, and to employ it duly. It subtly unveils the Highest Truth of Life, giving us with Noble qualities to imbibe. Life is there, but it runs out with Time. The marble covers us at Death, but our Deeds form an armor to being a slave to Oblivion, rendering us Immortal and adorning our souls with the crown of Victory over Life’s tryst with our inevitable mortal destiny.
The poem has an element of Gandhian Philosophy in it. He also voices the Gita, to treat Triumph and Disaster alike, which are two faces of the same Coin of Life. We are the coins, and how we take it— is a measure of our inner happiness in our heart, and, what qualities we enact through our actions, they form the value of that picture on the coin in the hearts of other men.
The Ideal Man is the one who is not perfect, neither does everything perfect, but does everything dutifully. He is the one who has the courage to take a step ahead in the Right Direction. He is the one who is revered by all in their hearts, and looked up to, for serving the mankind and being a man, in true spirits. Kipling, in his legendary poem, has unfurled this portrait remarkably in front of us, through his immortal lines.
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thanks for dropping by and leaving a note... really appreciate it :)
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