"An idle mind is a dirty devil's house."

I have heard this from the elderly at my home many times. What does it even mean? I fail to understand. Whenever, I complain about getting bored, sit at a particular place- thinking and getting lost in my thoughts, I'm forced to get up and find some work that keeps me occupied. I wonder sometimes whether doing something will keep me away from evils or is it just a worn-out concept made by our ancestors?

I have seen boards, banners and little cards displaying:

"Fight pollution. Finish pollution. Keep your country clean."

Some questions pop up in my mind:

Is it just the surroundings that we need to keep clean... Our house, our neighbourhood and our country?

What about ourselves?

Our souls, hearts and minds?

What can we do to stop our minds from getting polluted? How can we stop ourselves from becoming dirty devils and what is the term 'mind pollution' all about?

Mind pollution as the name indicates is the filth and dirt that resides in a person's mind. It includes misunderstandings, misjudging, stereotyping and our rigidity towards a certain controversial subject- taking it to the heights of misconception.

How does a mind get polluted?

The answer to this question is really simple. Our brain is like a sponge. It absorbs different happenings from the environment, just like a sponge absorbs water. These happenings are later on recalled in our minds, leaving a positive or negative impact on people's lives and later these impacts become our acts.

The nourishment of minds and souls starts as soon as we step into the world. Infants and toddlers are taught something fruitful on daily basis. Their parents spend time carving a righteous path for them so that they can grow up and be respectable members of the society. As the children grow up, there are always some do's and don'ts that they are carefully emphasized about. A boundary line is drawn which is never meant to be crossed. This is where the training gets examined, this is where strong-mind exercise comes into action. It is the game of mind, conscience and soul together to make up a 'clean' human being. By clean, it doesn't mean a neat physical appearance alone. Cleanliness includes a pure, sinless, conflict-less and truthful mind. But, on the other hand I always think:

How can I call someone a dirty devil?

How can I be courageous enough to use this offensive term to point out someone?

No one is a dirty devil from the beginning, neither you, nor am I. It is little seeds that start this process. Some weird thoughts, some filthy things that we've witnessed or some lame conversations that we've heard... that is when a little seed gets planted in our minds. This is the seed of mind pollution. This seed grows up, nourishes well as we continue to grasp different dirty content from our surroundings, planting more and more seeds in our minds. After a short period of time, we're the owners of big jungles of dirt, without even knowing.

Mind pollution comes in various forms starting from things like eve-teasing, depression, anxiety and going to extreme levels like terrorism, hatred and destruction. A dirty devil nourishes with these nutrients.

Eve teasing for instance is a great problem for women all around the globe. Many dirty devils satisfy themselves and get entertained by irritating women. Unwanted smiles, lame jokes, embarrassing stares, filthy songs, sly whistles and all similar cheap gestures come under this category. I question myself silently, whenever I see a dirty devil around:

Have you ever thought about being in that girl's shoes?

Have you ever thought about your mother , sister or wife being treated this way?

The answer is obviously no.

I mean why would he even care to think like that.

Why would he even place himself in situations like these:

A girl with a veil, covered from head to toe is going out to buy vegetables for her family. She is the only earner of the family, an orphan and her mother is a cancer patient. On her way, she gets examined , pairs of eyes start following her, goggling her, x-raying her as if she is a prey walking towards a predator.

The height of cheapness is when a girl goes out to buy clothes, bangles or shoes and the devil in front tries to by extra nice. The purpose behind putting a bangle in girl's hands or making her try a new pair of shoes is only evident to the girls who get to experience this filth. The eye contact, the smile and the unwanted touch is something the girl receives in reward for her 'sin' to get out of her home and buy belongings for herself.

Another cheap example is 'rishta-scene'. There can be nothing more torturous than this. Making a girl look like a decorative display piece and making her appear in-front of every person for the sake of getting examined is just awful. I wonder who gives the right to dirty devils (men and women both) to look at a girl, inspect her like an object and decide her fate- applying rejection or approval's stamp on her face. Marriage proposals like this seriously make me sick. (I think girls of the sub-continent can relate with this to some extent)

There are some other dirty devils too, devils who believe in jealousy, destruction, hatred and inequality.

Destruction doesn't need to be on a large scale. You can simply break someone's heart and cause damage.

Jealousy is also deeply rooted in a dirty devil's mind. A little example regarding it can be:

A teacher appreciates any bright student in the class. She makes her appear as a role model for everyone. Apparently, all the girls in class are okay with it but whenever they go out and have conversations with one another, they show clear hatred and jealousy against the poor person who has just sinned to work hard and keep her grades high.

You see, this is how our minds are. Jealous, dirty and unable to appreciate and accept goodness around us.

Depression and anxiety is something that captures all victims after getting attacked by dirty devils. Many attempt suicide, feel inferior and start questioning their existence in the world.

The severity of this issue is that:

Dirty devils don't even let the transgender live. They are a complete subject for their laughter and fun. Many of them are targeted when roaming in the streets; hoots, claps and songs from all over are bombed on the poor species.

I have had a chance to witness an incident like this too.

Once, I was coming back to home after a tiring day at university. I saw a huge crowd dancing, clapping and some 'item-songs' were being played too. When I looked closely, I identified a poor soul dressed up in golden glittered clothes, looking disgusted and hurt, dancing with the song's beat. There stood dirty devils of every age- little boys below ten, teenagers, adults and surprisingly even oldies. The thing that bewildered me was a man who enjoyed his little son's mimicry and how he continuously kept calling names, looking at the dancer in a humiliating way.

How can you expect a child to grow up and respect every one if the parent himself is a dirty devil?

According to psychiatrists, there are certain factors that contribute to a person's transformation into a dirty devil. Some of these factors include problems during a woman's pregnancy, conflicts between the husband and wife and lack of proper child training. It is surprising for me to know that some problems regarding brain nourishment can also cause problems like 'mind pollution'. On the other hand, it is quite obvious that a child who goes through a bad childhood, sees violence at home and faces other heartbreaking experiences is likely to grow up and be a messed-up individual. Parents, especially mothers, need to look closely at their children's activities providing them a calculated amount of freedom. Too much freedom can lead to serious problems later on. They need to check them once in a while, keep their activities on social and electronic media in notice to secure their futures. Children should be taught about respect, care and equality. They should be taught to differentiate between right and wrong. They should be taught about gender equality. This is how this social issue can be resolved, world can be cleaned and dirty devils can be turned into inspiring angels.

Let us all take the responsibility to turn this world in to a beautiful place by teaching our dirty devils about truthfulness and love.

Fight against mind pollution.

Stand up against inequality.

Be an inspiring angel.

Bring beauty, bring revolution.

Now is our turn to stand up and fight for our world. So are you with me?

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Author's note: This is a part of my social media's final project for this semester. I'll be eagerly waiting for your feedback because it is my first serious attempt at writing a blog and i have no idea whether I've written finely or not.

Also, I'd really be thankful if you guys leave your feedback in the comments section, telling what are your views about mind pollution and who are dirty devils?

I'd like to thank 1137xyz  for her piece of writing 'Audio-visual rape' in 'The woman in me'. I found it really helpful. Thank you, my dear friend.  :)