Zaira Wasim quits Bollywood: Exploring the power of renunciation

Zaira Wasim quits Bollywood: Exploring the power of renunciation

SHILLPI A SINGH explores the real gains of giving it all up

Shillpi A SinghUpdated: Saturday, July 06, 2019, 11:36 AM IST
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On June 26, 2019, Zaira Wasim quoted George Orwell and tweeted, “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Taking a cue from this quote, three days later, the 18-year-old, two film-old actor from Srinagar put a lengthy post on her social media handles calling it quits from the world of showbiz.

“5 years ago I made a decision that changed my life, and today I’m making another one that’ll change my life again and this time for the better Insha’Allah! :)." (sic) Her decision was revolutionary in itself, and it drew sharp reactions from one and all across the board, from the big and small names in the film industry to politicians, everyone had something or the other to say.

While some hailed her decision to renounce her acting career, calling it a personal choice, many others denounced the idea that she chose to drag religion to back out of films.

Renowned film critic Murtaza Ali Khan agrees that Wasim's decision to quit acting may be a personal one but her long letter posted on social media citing religion as the driving force obfuscates all logic.

He cites how there have been instances in the past when those associated with the world of showbiz chose to distance themselves from worldly responsibilities in search of spiritual pursuits but none of them chose to make an event out of their decisions. The celebrities did what they deemed fit for their inner self, and rightly so. Even commoners aren't far from it.

Giving it up

Renunciation comes from the Pali word found in the sutras meaning "to go forth", a letting go of whatever binds us to ignorance and suffering. Master Spirit Life Coach Jaswinder Grewal explains,

“It is a positive and liberating act, not a punishment. As a layman, we are not expected to give up our homes and sleep under the trees, as the monks do. Instead, we practice non-attachment.”

She argues that there is a monk or a nun within us and if we reflect and speak to that part of us, it is not necessarily something that involves having a shaved head or wearing a robe.

“It is an attitude, a way of life, which essentially boils down to giving up seeking our fulfilment from the experiences of our life, and giving our energy instead to understanding experience itself,” she adds. 

Easier said than done

An affluent Jain couple from Madhya Pradesh - Sumit Rathore, 35, a businessman, and his wife Anamika, 34, - hit the headlines in September 2017 when they embraced monkhood after renouncing property worth Rs.100 crore and leaving their toddler daughter in the care of her grandparents.

Last year, a Surat-based diamond merchant and his family embraced monkhood. Embarking on a journey of salvation leaving everything else behind isn't easy. It is not difficult either.

“When it is about one's spiritual growth, nothing else matters,” says Ahmedabad-based Yoga guru Dheeraj Vashishth, who gave up his flourishing career in media 10 years ago to get into yoga. “As a journalist, I spent my days and nights chasing news for media organisations to earn my bread and butter.

It was a mad rush to outdo others, and I was ignoring myself; the 24x7 work culture was taking a toll on my mental, physical, and spiritual well-being,” he recounts. One day, he left it all in a jiffy to embark on a spiritual journey.

He enrolled himself in a yoga course, and later visited Rishikesh, Haridwar, Mysore, Bihar, and other holy places to learn the ancient yogic art. He went on to launch Vashistha Yoga Foundation in Ahmedabad on July 4, 2011, and through it,

he aims to make each life a celebration through yoga. In his view, renouncement is a highly misunderstood word. “It doesn't mean giving up something but achieving a state of higher consciousness where one feels the same way for what one has or what doesn't have.”

Peace matters

Holistic Life Coach and Parenting Coach Payal Sharma couldn't agree more with him. Sharma shares how she completed her MCA and joined an organisation as a software engineer.

“It was like a dream come true. IT was the most happening thing in 1999. Yet I chose to leave my IT career after being in it for eight long years. In those eight years, I changed three organisations and in every organisation, I took a different role, and yet the feeling of not belonging to the IT industry lingered on.

I felt like a misfit and a deep sense of dissatisfaction started growing within me and finally, one day, I felt like that I couldn’t take it any longer. It didn’t take me even a minute to write my resignation letter.”

She reminisces how this one small step helped her reach out to her inner self. “It felt so right and since then I started my path of self-exploration and self-discovery.

It was a totally uncharted terrain and I didn’t know where it was going to lead me, but in these 12 years, I have not once doubted my decision. Although this path also had its share of lows and highs, all of it felt so right, it always felt that I am moving on a path and the Universe is guiding me to reach where I am supposed to go," says Sharma, adding that is perhaps the reason why anybody chooses to renounce and move on with greater vigour.

Summing up, Grewal adds, “We can see that renunciation is not a matter of doing something or having to create something or getting rid of something. It's about moving towards a sense of rest, peace and relaxation.

Simply not constantly trying to manipulate and control life. We simply open our hearts in a fearless way and relax into the experience of the moment, whatever its quality may be, open to receive life as it is.”

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