BROMANCE? BY RUSEN KUMAR

We ought to have very good relationship with our brother. Anything less will be a shame, meaningless and worthless. The relationship between brothers is based on love, affection and cooperation. We should not look for, or highlight each other’s’ faults.

Because of our blood relation, there is no difference in our bodies, his body is extension of my body, though we have independent minds. Our opinion may vary, we may disagree on different issues, but there are no serious differences. Brother deserves our love, has right over our affection, but not disdain or hatred. Our love for him is natural, with no grudges whatsoever.

It is sad, how and what prompts us to look for follies in our own brother? There are no vices in anyone, including our brother. It is only our perspective, and when we change our perspective, there will be a new scenario. If we look for differences, flaws, there will be a natural resistance and opposition. Our perspective is responsible for what and how we see situation and people. If we look for faults, we will find everyone at fault, to the extent that we will start finding faults, even where, there are none.

Love binds us. The trait of love is to bring people together. On the contrary disdain naturally spoils relationships, it divides people, takes them apart, creates differences. Contempt kills love, and love kills contempt. Selfishness is the root cause. Self-centeredness results in nullifying the feelings of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the essence of love. There is a natural affection between brothers and this love and affection needs to be nurtured. We need to observe as to what makes us grow fonder of our brother, and then to practice taking these steps to grow our mutual fondness. 

Self-interest negates the feeling of sacrifice. Once we are self-centered, everything is misconstrued, there is competition between brothers, they tend to fight, hide things from each other. This is not at all desirable. How do differences arise between brothers? Alienation may lead to disaffection.

Brothers cannot be treated like strangers. The true love between brothers can always overshadow however big the self-interest may be. Therefore, we need to be careful in not paying much attention to small issues.

In order to have a long-lasting affectionate relationship, both brothers need to play their part. They should never have any thoughts to be detached or separated from each other. In the event of any difference arising, one should quickly resolve it, in the spirit of ‘forgive and forget.’ We should never cheat and deprive our brother of what is rightfully his. Our endeavor should be to give more to our brother and also wish that he receives more. If our brother is humiliated, this reflects poorly on our brotherly relationship. We need to always wish the best for our brother, which will strengthen our bromance.

The elder brother is expected to have special affection for his younger sibling, likewise the younger brother is expected to have utmost respect and love for his elder sibling. Never hesitate to love your brother. The elder brother needs to establish his humbleness and younger one needs to be always polite and respectful to his elder brother. This is the basic premise upon which relationship are build and this is also in line with our values and Indian culture. 

The relationship between brothers in not based on doing a favour or that of charity. We need to grow mature enough to be able to forgive our brother for his mistakes. We need to love him from the bottom of our heart. If we continue to be sincere, loving and kind-hearted in our behavior, this will lead to a change of heart on the other side, as well. His sentiments will also be approving and encouraging. We need to pray for our brother’s well-being. However high we may rise, never let go of brotherhood. Let’s always continue to have strong mutual relationship with our brother that is based on love, and affection and mutual trust.

ENGLISH ADAPTATION: ARUN ARORA

The article is authored by Rusen Kumar. The article was first published in Hindi.

English adaptation by Arun Arora, a renowned communication professional, who is fond of reading, writing, and learning, all the time.