Love Without Duty

INTRODUCTION

A gentle breeze is the other side of a violent storm; an oasis is born amidst dry sand dunes; the lotus finds its nourishment from a slushy pond and transfigures into the most exquisite presence! A society driven by narcissism and self-indulgence is shouldered by the strong arms of love and service by those benignant spirits who have organised themselves as Social Workers, more so for viable purposes than for the need for any acclamation.

After all, we are sentient human beings who are ourselves an ineluctable part of the roller coaster ride through the peaks and valleys of life. And who else can be perfect whistle-blowers to all the social evils, if not for us, for each one of us along with the larger ecosystem are inextricably connected by the threads of materialism and spiritualism, even if we deny or look the other way from this fact. Yet there are only a few amongst us who have acted from the seat of our being, true to our conscience.

The asperities of a harsh and divided society aren’t new topics. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure in the scene of today’s economy. People have written monographs on different societal issues and expatiated at length from podiums. However, Social Workers who aren’t dime a dozen in their field; musters their knowledge, skills, intelligence, courage and more than all these, the Love of their hearts to heal, to provide, to empower and to enliven others.

They are the true seers who see the hidden beauty in the apparent ugliness of all the ills and emerge cheery with a bunch of others along with them. They are revolutionists, but not extremists. They don’t offer ideologies, but offer themselves.

This course for the Social Workers, is aptly named, ‘Love Without Duty’, for it is only love that responds to the plaintive cries of the zillions; not as an obligation, but as an opportunity; not with a sense of doership, but with a sense of kinship; not even for the sake of giving, but for sharing – sharing as much as the woes as possible and turning them into wonders that rightfully belongs to its heirs.

We tip our hats to all the Social Workers and offer this course to remind the world about the glory of this unsung profession, to rejuvenate the spirit of Social Work, to act as an inspiration for budding Social Workers, to spice up the ones who are otherwise plodding through the tracks that are filled with dire challenges, and to rekindle the silent flame of altruism that is softly burning in the heart of humanity at large.