A newspaper item read thus: A business partner of the iconic store in south Mumbai killed himself on Tuesday allegedly over a property dispute with his brother.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines
brother as a boy or man
who has one or both of the same parents as you. A brother is one of the closest
relatives a person can have and a person he has grown up with since birth.
Best friends refer each other as brothers.
It is really a tragedy where one brother holds the other accountable for the extreme action he has taken in his suicide note. One has lost his life, but several lives are impacted, there is a grieving widow, a young girl does not have a father, perhaps a confused mother and the surviving brother and his family the cynosure of legal and police investigations. It would take a long time to get healing in this case, perhaps even a lifetime may not be enough.
The newspapers reported that this was a culmination of years of disputes and irritations on some property matters. Perhaps no member of the family guessed what was happening in the mind of the late brother. Suicides have that element of suspense. Our own self-centredness prevents us from perceiving how fragile the emotions of a loved one are.
Were all those fights really worth it after all? A verse in
the book of Proverbs reads... A brother wronged is more
unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of a
citadel. Proverbs 18:19. In these kind of disputes between
family members, one does not know who is wronged more, but all
parties feel equally wronged and their positions become very adamant.
A family is expected to be a place where there is love and
affection. Disputes only lead to rigid stances and these are manifest at
work, school, play and leisure.
In my view the essentials are quite simple for a happy family
life... they are Values, Respect and Dialogue. The values we
cherish are the foundation of our lives. Having
shared values as a family makes for a very strong family.
Lack of respect is easily perceived,
and respect to each other in a family does help in understanding our
differences and find ways to blend. Fathers are responsible to ensure that
there is dialogue between members.
