When you are no more, you are measured by the vacuum you have left behind. – Anand
‘To err is human’ states a fundamental truth of human life. That it is born out of a grave mistake which our ancestors committed. The disobedience of tasting the fruit of knowledge was followed by divine punishment. The lengthening shadows of that punishment are still clouding the destiny of mankind. The more we try to engage in polemics and try to justify ourselves, things are going amiss and the end result is: today we find a visible decline in man, and his divine stuff.
The fall of a man not a personal affair. How he conducts himself in society, and with other beings of nature shows us his true character. The ideas of goodness, kindness, love and compassion put together, form an ethical code for mankind by which they must act, to remain above board so far as their conduct viz a viz gods is concerned. If we find the entire world suffering today, it is because of the original error [knowledge] which has multiplied over centuries.
Human Intelligence Vs Nature’s Original Sensibility
If man is very smart, intelligent and wise, can we conclude that animals and birds who do not attend any school or college lack wisdom, or are foolish in the conduct of their daily affairs? I am rather tempted to think that they learn existential wisdom by mother-wit, whereas human beings who appear to be mentally retarded, need external supports – teachers, schools, universities – to gain bare minimum lessons in existential ethics. Surprisingly, the opposite happens. Education alienates them from the basics of life, and as a consequence, they violate the General Will and disturb the Harmony of the Universe, and come to grief.
Knowledge Vs Human Perception
As a result of excess of knowledge, man has lost many faculties of perception. He should have been armed with a high sense of right and wrong, but the sense of right and wrong has receded from the view. We are operating in a system in which “the fair is foul and the foul is fair” The system of morality has been turned upside down, and today we are faced with a grave crisis of values and ethics.
The family, the school and the temple – these three institutions were the traditional bulwarks of moral and ethical training. With all these institutions in a shambles, we find our society in the throes of a moral chaos, where people have just excused themselves from the ideas of goodness, ethics, and honesty. We have folded all these ideals, stored them in books and locked them in the libraries. Let no moral scruples distract our march into the future.
The speed of the civilization has increased manifold. Wealth is multiplying and concentrating in the hands of a few people. The algebra is simple. Nobody is left with time to stop and think. You will be lost if you do not keep running the race. To stop and think, is to stoop to [professional] folly, and to think of what is right and wrong is to dote on disaster in this breathless race towards higher packages and wealth creation.
The Rotten Era Syndrome
What is expected from an ordinary citizen of this world? Not this rush for the more. Not this hazy ambition which makes a Macbeth of you. Let us bring some sense to this non-sensical drift into nothingness. The passions and the dreams that we carry, and the superfast culture that has engulfed us point to a rotten era syndrome. We are fast running ourselves out.
The true measure of greatness is not how much wealth you have created. When you are no more, you are measured by the vacuum you have left behind. This world, however rotten it might be, still loves and admires its lovers. People who lived beyond themselves and spared a thought for the needy. And it remembers people who loved the idea of goodness, honesty and integrity. The history books are full of the stories of great men, who stood apart from the rest of the society, and did something special which helped mankind in one way or the other. These corporates and political magnates who are destroying the ethical systems of the world will be mentioned in history books as villains who spearhead the fall of the human civilization and heralded the Rotten Era.
The Ethical Code and Minimum Standards
It is not possible to adhere to an ethical code of conduct because ethics makes it difficult for man to navigate in dirty waters. The great men mentioned in history books were not all men of ethics and high morality. Yet we remember them for certain values they stood for. There is no limit for a man to rise higher and higher in his life. But there should be a point below which one cannot fall. This is possible only if we have men of character.
If we look at even worst specimens of history, we shall find they too believed in certain standards of conduct. Aurangzeb was a cruel ruler, who ordered the beheading of Guru Tegh Bahadur at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk yet, he is admired for his simple life style. He used to make caps to be sold for building his ‘Maqbra’[grave] which is the simplest one, only a slab of stone. And he showed humanity in responding positively to Zafarnama, an epistle of victory sent to him by the Tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh. What shall we call it? The man believed in certain standards of human conduct. This example shows that we have men of mixed values, and from them, we should expect no more than certain standards of conduct, even if they fail to measure up to a style of living which could be clinically described as ethical.
Dr. Jernail S. Anand, described as ‘the fiery prophet of the chaotic present’ has authored 180 books and won the Seneca Award, Charter of Morava, Franz Kafka and Maxim Gorky awards. His name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia.
