See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil: The three-monkey-principle that every one of us has come across. Our school had its own version of the principle; be good, do good. The motto of the school, although it sounds good, isn’t practical.

The same principle has been preached in various languages and various formats. What they have failed to encompass is the truth that just because you choose to close your eyes doesn’t mean the inherent evil in this world will just dissipate. Closing your eyes doesn’t transform night into day.

One shouldn’t assume that just because one cuts off oneself from hearing any spoken evil, the world ceases to express the evil it beholds. Similarly, when one refrains from speaking any evil about others, one should always be prepared to accept the possibility of being spoken about in negative connotations. For the world is ruled not by the good ones but those who cross the gray line and yet disguise themselves as one of the good ones.

They say maturity isn’t synonymous to age. One can age with the springs lived. Maturity comes not with the springs passed but the winters endured. Maturity is when one accepts perfection in imperfections, and realises that the world is far from perfect and borders on the edge of imperfections. It is when one can let go of the core beliefs one holds close to their life and is willing to adapt oneself to the blowing wind.

But therein lies the problem. If one were to mature in truest sense of the word, he’d no longer be his old self. Thus, one must be willing to forego any notion of being perfect and accept the imperfections rooted within perfection.

One can either be a king in life and face a miniscule chance of being crucified by the history or lead a saint’s life and face impossible odds of being championed after your demise. Everyone is judged by the people based upon their actions, if not in-the-face then inevitably behind their backs. But keep in mind, no ill is spoken at the time of demise. Even the greatest villains find word of praise from their harshest critique in their death bed.

So you have to decide what you like: A guarantee of greatness while you are alive or a difficult odd of surmounting the legacy to praise in the afterlife. Whatever you choose, one must keep in mind that history does judge us all but history is framed often by the victors, with losers cornered in the pages of history torn, burnt, forgotten from the books

Byanjankar is a student at IoE, Pulchowk