‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ Recognise this saying???? Well, its origin is believed to be China and it was spread to Japan by a Buddhist monk. Contrary to this saying is a new thought, that is……..’the problem with the world today is that, there are so many ‘good’ people, who refrain from speaking up, though they can understand and identify the wrongs with the world today.’

In the workplace, for example, when things go wrong and due to the sensitivity of the issue, many refrain from opening up when they see or hear things that are not right. One of the many factors that pulls a person back from revealing the facts is the fear of crossing swords with a colleague or getting on the wrong side of the superior or the boss. The main reason however, is to ‘maintain one’s image and let the other person do the dirty job,’ by upholding one’s policy, ‘let the truth die along with me for it hurts no one when I see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ Thus, the ‘good’ people at the workplace hang on to their jobs with their dear lives out of fear. Little do they realise that they have just sold their souls to the devil, for they are unaware that the devil itself can appear in the garb of an angel.

If one goes through the dailies, one would come across news about incest, rape or physical abuse of women and children. Many readers wonder how the situation had escalated to a critical state before help is sought or truth is revealed. The fault lies with the ‘good’ neighbours, who, though suspecting things going wrong in the neighbourhood, refrain from taking the right course of action because they follow the policy of ’see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’. By the time they come with the truth, the situation would be beyond control or it would be too late for help of any kind.

There are also those who adopt a policy of non-involvement and non-intervention in a direct manner when they witness some actions or conditions which are unacceptable. Soon word would be circulating about the incident in the form of gossips and rumours and probably this may help to save the day. Many such gossips and rumours have come in handy especially in solving criminal cases which otherwise would have gone unsolved!!!!

Gossips and rumours have also come in handy and have prevented situations from escalating into chaos. Gossips and rumours within the socio-political circles have exposed the wrong doings of politicians and administrators. This has ultimately brought justice, fairplay and a level playing field within the socio-political system. Just imagine the disaster that would have resulted, if the corrupted socio-political climate was allowed to remain unchallenged. Thanks to rumour mongering and gossips, some change could take place.

In conclusion, I would like to say that there are healthy gossips and rumours and malicious ones. Healthy ones should be encouraged and should be verified before any form of action is taken or conclusion is made. Caution must be exercised before an action or conclusion is made otherwise it might lead to irreparable damage.