MSG and LEAD

MSG and Lead, these two words are taking rounds on all the TV channels and newspapers in India these days. The Noodle controversy is far from over. Instead of getting into this controversy I am seeking some learning as an Individual. Bad days can come for any one, whether it is an organisation or an Individual. Bad days can come due to the reaction of some current ‘Karma’ we have done or it may come due to some past ‘Karmas’ as explained in the Hindu system of belief.

Since childhood, we are fed with the doctrine of ‘Karma’ in the form of explaining various consequences of actions we perform. Study more; else you will fail. Respect others; else you will never get respect from others. Get up early; else you will lose your health. Always tell truth; else people will never trust you. Hundreds of such sentences we keep hearing every day. Most of them are in a way eternal truth, but we are still reminded of them very often. The episode of MSG and lead in Noodles, I would classify as one such reminder for its makers. The whole lesson is related to our reaction towards such reminders. Many of us have become so self-styled, that “Reaction Reminders” we just ignore and finally one day the dooms day becomes a reality. Dooms day became a reality for Idi Amin at Uganda, Saddam Hussein at Iraq, Osama Bin Laden at Pakistan, Gaddafi at Libya and hundreds of such other example we can find in our times itself. Some people who took such reminders in the right spirit became the kinds of Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Malala Yusuf Jai, Oprah Winfrey, J K Rowling, Walt Disney, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jesse Owens, Sudha Chandran and our very own beloved Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I know you can quote many more names here. Still, I shall request my readers to revise the biographies of all these people to remind you about how these people came out of odd times by reacting in a right manner.

I would leave it to you to decide whether the makers of these noodles are reacting in a right manner, but I will definitely take it as a reminder to learn to react rightly, especially when circumstances are not in your favour. So friends, keep distance from MSG and Lead, until you get the right response.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg