Untangling the rationality behind human choices has always been an intriguing field. Adding my personal reflections to this theory I would like to focus on choices made instinctively in particular .
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Maximization of Self Interest - A philosophical outlook.
Maximization of self interest -
This idea of maximization has been widely endorsed by utilitarians and criticized by Amartya sen in his political philosophy of capability and development and not maximization of interests as the indicator of freedom. What I propose is a different perception of "interest" itself and not restricting it to only material objects. An idea of interest would be all encompassing , ranging from materialistic greed to altruistic philanthropy. Very certainly men have reason to do acts of such moral worth that may not necessarily reflect materialistic gains , but other non tangible objects , such as contentment , joy of giving , pride of superiority , gaining worth in glory . In championing the idea I would like to clarify that it's certainly not a new idea to flow across human community. Human interest has ranged from satisfaction of ego, satisfaction of physical wants , glory , material wants, fulfillment of duty, knowing the secrets of the world, fighting against the injustices of world, and so on. It is to be noted here that although with the increase in the faculty if human knowledge , new ideas may evolve which would render this idea useless, nevertheless. , the idea doesn't falter in it's essence , even in adopting to a different faculty of knowledge , they are adopting only better prospect or rather furthering their own interest.
This idea of maximization has been widely endorsed by utilitarians and criticized by Amartya sen in his political philosophy of capability and development and not maximization of interests as the indicator of freedom. What I propose is a different perception of "interest" itself and not restricting it to only material objects. An idea of interest would be all encompassing , ranging from materialistic greed to altruistic philanthropy. Very certainly men have reason to do acts of such moral worth that may not necessarily reflect materialistic gains , but other non tangible objects , such as contentment , joy of giving , pride of superiority , gaining worth in glory . In championing the idea I would like to clarify that it's certainly not a new idea to flow across human community. Human interest has ranged from satisfaction of ego, satisfaction of physical wants , glory , material wants, fulfillment of duty, knowing the secrets of the world, fighting against the injustices of world, and so on. It is to be noted here that although with the increase in the faculty if human knowledge , new ideas may evolve which would render this idea useless, nevertheless. , the idea doesn't falter in it's essence , even in adopting to a different faculty of knowledge , they are adopting only better prospect or rather furthering their own interest.
Vested Interests
Vested interests - means a set of rights of enjoyment , or , a group seeking a social system for their personal good. In psychology , vested interests is a method to index the consistency of choices among different groups that represent respectively , high , low and medium vested interests groups.
Balcony
A balcony - it is one of the most important part in a house. Why ? From a balcony you can sit tight or stand casually and watch the world go around you . It moves around you and gives you the philosophical sense of being the master of everything around you . You can watch them and muse over the rightness and wrongness of passerby's acts . They are in so much of hurry, they are in so much of tension . And while you watch them , you can gloat yourself at being beyond those petty worried humans or may be lesser humans as well.
YMI (Yeh Mera India)
Yeh Mera India , is an honest attempt to film a microcosm , of country, of everything that has been at the heart of an Indian . The movie had a similar voice to , Bable, another great flick that showed how different cultures and races are clamoring for a confused set of idea, none too sure . But it's here, that YMI fails. It gets didactic , preachy, opinionated. And , of course , ending is far too much abrupt, unrealistic.
Rightness of Wrong
Rightness of wrongs - for every right step/act/method there are numerous wrongs, at least in popular perception. While eulogizing democracy we never fail to add the caveat that " rights of minorities " have to be taken special care of, shouldn't we then by the same analogy infer that,being in minority is no measure of being inferior,especially if we adhere to the idea of universal justice. That a "right" act bears sweeter fruit shall be no measure of bias against wrong.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Rationality - What and Why
Does reasoning and thinking provide the rightful solution ? Is rationality absolute ? Can we depend upon rationality to guide our morals and ethics and out motivations? To gain an insight into the matter we need to define rationality first and distinguish it from reasonableness.
Intellectuals
And the question of intellect versus non-intellect surfaced again. Should a non-intellect consider itself to be at a lower level than an intellect? Intellects identify solution to the problems and make the world a better place to live by the use of their faculty of reasoning and thinking. It considerably affects the lives and actions of non-intellects, yet of what use is the "discovery" of an intellect of there are no "non-intellects". Both an Intellect and a non-Intellect need each other, they are both dependent upon each others existence.
Where and why does the comparison come into the picture over here?
Where and why does the comparison come into the picture over here?
Friday, 4 September 2009
Moments that Change lives.
In claiming that Mahatma Gandhi was the one that got us freedom we undermine the efforts of millions of other nationalistic workers. One can very easily attribute the cause of an effect to the event that occurred last in the long chain of events that constituted the cause like demolition of mighty British empire. A common analogy proposed for my argument goes somewhat this way: when a laborer strikes the rock and its sundered apart in multiple pieces, its not the last blow which alone did it, it was the series of blows which made fine dents into the structure of rock and ultimately led to rock being split into pieces.
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Destined path
What I write is an imperfect,incoherent,abstract piece. Nevertheless, writing gives me the comfort of the fact that there is a certain chain of thoughts in my mind. The prime influence on me is of Bhagat Singh and of Ayn Rand, who both said, that reading a lot and writing a lot helped them clarify their thoughts. Their individual achievement of clarity in thoughts is an embodiment of their suggestion. The capacity of sticking by their thought, idea, once formed has been never better manifested for me.
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Golden Mean
As a kid, I used to wonder, why do film music have to have so many songs based on "love"? While , at this stage of life, the question appears to be too stupid. But I am sure, many still don't understand , perhaps the ones who haven't had a whiff of love.
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Who works the hardest?
Who works hardest? Businessman, researcher,bureaucrat,politician,daily wage labor,office workers. Who does ? How do you characterize hard work? I recall over here , Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and his painting of fence, where he posits, "Work consists of whatever one is obliged to do and play consists of whatever one isn't ". For determining comparative "hard" nature of the work, we should only compare "work "only, which is one that one is obliged to do. Considering this, I am sure we can keep out some obvious hard working group members, like say, Pete Sampras,Federer,Sachin,Michael Jackson,Amartya Sen,George Bush and many many more such people.
They don't work , they play , rest work and among them the fight is on for the class of hardest working. In order to do that , first we have to separate means from its ends, as we are concerned over here with the excruciating nature of the process and not the benefits accrued by the ends. However, each of these latter group of workers, work with a focus or aim, which is wide apart of the immediate work they are doing.In other words, their main aim doesn't relate directly to their work, but rather to something outside it. Hence in order to identify the gruesomeness of the process we will have to compensate with the relevance and quality of the end product to some extent . But lets look at t the process first.
Broadly , there are three class of workers, based on what they use the more, physical or mental capacity.
I think thus,I have the answer. Its the first group people who work the hardest,and this result is further corroborated by the fact that the poorest countries of the world, work hardest, to acquire at least the bare minimum returns for survival.
They don't work , they play , rest work and among them the fight is on for the class of hardest working. In order to do that , first we have to separate means from its ends, as we are concerned over here with the excruciating nature of the process and not the benefits accrued by the ends. However, each of these latter group of workers, work with a focus or aim, which is wide apart of the immediate work they are doing.In other words, their main aim doesn't relate directly to their work, but rather to something outside it. Hence in order to identify the gruesomeness of the process we will have to compensate with the relevance and quality of the end product to some extent . But lets look at t the process first.
Broadly , there are three class of workers, based on what they use the more, physical or mental capacity.
- Physical capacity workers -consists of daily wage laborer, peddlers, hawkers, newspaper vendor, etc. They claim reimbursement mainly for their manual effort employed in the work.
- Mental Capacity workers- consists primarily of academicians,researchers,writers,business analysts,software engineers and almost all blue-collared jobs.
- Physico-mental Capacity- consists mainly of businessmen, agents,Engineers (civil and mechanical) and all such people whose basic task is to get things working, in whichever way possible.
I think thus,I have the answer. Its the first group people who work the hardest,and this result is further corroborated by the fact that the poorest countries of the world, work hardest, to acquire at least the bare minimum returns for survival.
Indian Frustration.
I was going through a bunch of pics sent by my friend in Canada. Velvety roads, smoother than a damsel's cheeks, bastions created over riversides. How I wish to live at such a place! But here I languish In India. A land that will never provide me with those serenic beauty , maintained with utmost care. Howsoever, I long , I know , I wont get it.
The obvious question for me is to create it, but I ask myself, whether I will be ever able to create that. Haven't there been so many lucky one's born in affluence who will never have to worry about that question of creation, they own it , by virtue of birth and chromosomal luck. I belong to this land , over here, which I don't know for sure is, how much mine. Haven's I heard that phrase , "Ask not what your country could do for you, but what you could do for your country", but how can I do anything If I don't know what benefit is to accrue out of that effort.
However, at any level of thought, I am Indian. I have born Indian and never ever thought myself separate from it. My country, this country, is moving on path of rapid progress, taking giant strides, but I will never get that world. I know that for sure.
The obvious question for me is to create it, but I ask myself, whether I will be ever able to create that. Haven't there been so many lucky one's born in affluence who will never have to worry about that question of creation, they own it , by virtue of birth and chromosomal luck. I belong to this land , over here, which I don't know for sure is, how much mine. Haven's I heard that phrase , "Ask not what your country could do for you, but what you could do for your country", but how can I do anything If I don't know what benefit is to accrue out of that effort.
However, at any level of thought, I am Indian. I have born Indian and never ever thought myself separate from it. My country, this country, is moving on path of rapid progress, taking giant strides, but I will never get that world. I know that for sure.
Friday, 14 August 2009
A Farewell of its kind
"I'm leaving alone for the journey. Babu, will board me on the way at his station , and I'll leave from there.", My Grandpa declared. How can you go alone? You aren't strong enough to travel alone to such places. Moreover one of us could come with you to assist you . Once the medical checkup is done , you'll be in better condition. Though they pleaded, my grandpa was adamant on his decision. He wanted to leave alone. I knew for sure , if he leaves he is not coming back, and I guess all of us knew. Good riddance , many thought.
Monday, 10 August 2009
NEW
I love new things. New dress, New friends,New place,New books,New work, you name it. There is something unique about new things. When my day starts with a new cloth on, I feel the joy of a newborn. When I meet new friends the intrigue of knowing him/her is just too exciting. A new place offers an excitement of discovery at each step,and new books promise the manifestation of an another truth , perhaps another tactile truth.
However, in order to experience the joy of new , I need to get bored of old. Thankfully, I don't have to make too much effort for that . Its easy to get bored. Just take things at their face value, a value, attributed by conventional wisdom, by defaults , and boredom follows.
My shirt, prim and starched, looses its vigor, and then it no longer entices me. My friends, get too trite with time , for they have nothing different to talk about,a visited place exhausts its surprises. And then its nothing more than , just an another piece of land.A book once read, looses the charisma of promise hidden within to considerable extent. I no longer get lured by it and look for something else.
What is the period during which that thing is neither new nor old. Neither too dear nor too abhorrent. And what is the point at which it ceases to be tolerable any more. Boredom gives vigor to newness and newness paves way for boredom. They both work together.
However, in order to experience the joy of new , I need to get bored of old. Thankfully, I don't have to make too much effort for that . Its easy to get bored. Just take things at their face value, a value, attributed by conventional wisdom, by defaults , and boredom follows.
My shirt, prim and starched, looses its vigor, and then it no longer entices me. My friends, get too trite with time , for they have nothing different to talk about,a visited place exhausts its surprises. And then its nothing more than , just an another piece of land.A book once read, looses the charisma of promise hidden within to considerable extent. I no longer get lured by it and look for something else.
What is the period during which that thing is neither new nor old. Neither too dear nor too abhorrent. And what is the point at which it ceases to be tolerable any more. Boredom gives vigor to newness and newness paves way for boredom. They both work together.
Friday, 7 August 2009
The free things
Best things in life are free.This cliched phrase seems to reinvent itself in different ways at different paths and thus constantly reaffirming its pertinence. Just when I was bored of everything that I wanted, I thought of a free thing. Ah! water was one , although its not free in Bangalore, and next was music. Classical music.
I zeroed on you tube's collection of classical music and found a rich repository of classical blends. Jugalbandi of tabla and bansuri, tabla solo,bansuri solo,ghazal and so on . It was just awesome or rather awe inspiring. Come and discover it, its free.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNMS3O3xDFc
I zeroed on you tube's collection of classical music and found a rich repository of classical blends. Jugalbandi of tabla and bansuri, tabla solo,bansuri solo,ghazal and so on . It was just awesome or rather awe inspiring. Come and discover it, its free.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNMS3O3xDFc
Monday, 3 August 2009
When I met Hitler
When sleep overtakes, mind comes into action, of altogether different kind and under some spell of its own creation. Ideas, hope, joy, sorrow all start rushing through incoherently. But the dust settles soon and contrived plot begins to unfold. Who created that for me ? They all seem to foster their own creation, their own growth.
I am in Berlin now, working with my friends, in the field. Its harvest time and I have managed to get a bumper crop this year, which would be followed by bumper cash in no time. There have been several plans chalked out for the coming harvest period. Buying a new house, new clothes for everyone, jeweleries for mother, which she had to sell out last year due to drought. There were hardships nevertheless at present, torn clothes, leaking roof, yet as we were together, it didn't smite us strongly enough. My brother was lying in the arms of my mother, he was just too beautiful a baby. Large bubbly eyes, dark eyelashes, lanky fingers. While I was lost in the prospect of a beautiful future, heavy roar raised in the near distance. Jeeps filled with armed men came screeching towards us. Dust engulfed the entire scene, but darker was the fear raised within our hearts. We trembled.
In no time, three corpulent man, unloaded off the jeep and rushed towards me, shouting commands at the top of their voice. "Lie down! Put your hands back!", they shouted. I fell prostrate on the ground confused of the events. They came to me and picked me up, tied my hands and dragged me , "What's the matter ? What have I done? Who are you ?", I fired questions out of confusion. But they seemed to be in no mood to answer. I struggled to get free , when all of a sudden the man with baton in his hand, flashed it at me and said, "No questions for now, just know that you have been sought by Hitler".
Hitler! did I hear it right? He has long been dead, where am I , I was resident of India and there had been no Hitler here, I closed my eyes and reopened, I was in India, they were Indian police men around me. I thought I was in Berlin. In any case, who is this Hitler?
But the policemen had changed , they were much less corpulent and bulky now. My field was no longer around me, instead a roof top filled with technical gadgets laid around. I rushed towards the edge, freeing myself of the police men arms. It was too high, a deep bay laid on the edge. Turning sideways my eyes locked with the friends looking into that deep bay . They too were filled with the same questions, when all of a sudden a tall , burly man appeared behind him with a sharp razor in his hand. "Jump! " I retorted. He did jump , however ,only after his throat was slit.
I cowered with fear, petrified, I fell back on the floor. And then I heard the sound of the boots bashing on the floor. I raised my head, a short stout man stood in front." Who are you ?" I whined. Why are you killing us? What the hell is your authority ? Dont you fear law or god?
He smirked and bent down to my face. "I am Hitler. No, don't be surprised. If you seem to think that with death of a Nazi Hitler, idea of HITLER could be killed, then you are wrong . You can kill the man , but not the idea. Our idea was always stronger, always desirable. In the pursuit of betterment of civilization , some people have to exhumed at the cost of others, and this is what I do, this is what Hitler has been . I am powered by nature to exterminate the undesirable weeds of filthy human beings born out of trash. One race has to always decimate the other one, to maintain their pride.Lines of division may change , but it will always be "us" against "them". Unfortunately you belong to "them", the feeble , weaker, filthier category. Turn around your thought and look with clear eyes, all the shouts of freedom are nothing more than an extended pursuit of the vested interests. I do not carry that sham. I have been only fighting for my race, the race of rich and intelligent. It is us who are supposed to be at the helm always, you laborers deserve to be crushed at best. You have few minutes to death, take a good look at me , and wish that you were reborn to our race , the race of superior beings of rich and intellectual, else, this cycle would always have short term. Hitler never died, and it will never die, you and your ilk will".
I could see the end now, very soon all of my ilk would be abolished, I would just leave earlier. This fault lay not with my "labor" capacity, but with my incapacity to be rich or intelligent. This Hitler stood in front of me , now in this life who I hate so much now,he didn't seem to be wrong however, as I ruminated over those invidious words. I dont want to be born poor or unintellectual. However, before I could think for long, I was pushed over to death.
I woke up , saw around me , I was in Bangalore, sighing, I got up , to accomplish what my master has commanded us individuals to. Which master ? Hitler , of course.
I am in Berlin now, working with my friends, in the field. Its harvest time and I have managed to get a bumper crop this year, which would be followed by bumper cash in no time. There have been several plans chalked out for the coming harvest period. Buying a new house, new clothes for everyone, jeweleries for mother, which she had to sell out last year due to drought. There were hardships nevertheless at present, torn clothes, leaking roof, yet as we were together, it didn't smite us strongly enough. My brother was lying in the arms of my mother, he was just too beautiful a baby. Large bubbly eyes, dark eyelashes, lanky fingers. While I was lost in the prospect of a beautiful future, heavy roar raised in the near distance. Jeeps filled with armed men came screeching towards us. Dust engulfed the entire scene, but darker was the fear raised within our hearts. We trembled.
In no time, three corpulent man, unloaded off the jeep and rushed towards me, shouting commands at the top of their voice. "Lie down! Put your hands back!", they shouted. I fell prostrate on the ground confused of the events. They came to me and picked me up, tied my hands and dragged me , "What's the matter ? What have I done? Who are you ?", I fired questions out of confusion. But they seemed to be in no mood to answer. I struggled to get free , when all of a sudden the man with baton in his hand, flashed it at me and said, "No questions for now, just know that you have been sought by Hitler".
Hitler! did I hear it right? He has long been dead, where am I , I was resident of India and there had been no Hitler here, I closed my eyes and reopened, I was in India, they were Indian police men around me. I thought I was in Berlin. In any case, who is this Hitler?
But the policemen had changed , they were much less corpulent and bulky now. My field was no longer around me, instead a roof top filled with technical gadgets laid around. I rushed towards the edge, freeing myself of the police men arms. It was too high, a deep bay laid on the edge. Turning sideways my eyes locked with the friends looking into that deep bay . They too were filled with the same questions, when all of a sudden a tall , burly man appeared behind him with a sharp razor in his hand. "Jump! " I retorted. He did jump , however ,only after his throat was slit.
I cowered with fear, petrified, I fell back on the floor. And then I heard the sound of the boots bashing on the floor. I raised my head, a short stout man stood in front." Who are you ?" I whined. Why are you killing us? What the hell is your authority ? Dont you fear law or god?
He smirked and bent down to my face. "I am Hitler. No, don't be surprised. If you seem to think that with death of a Nazi Hitler, idea of HITLER could be killed, then you are wrong . You can kill the man , but not the idea. Our idea was always stronger, always desirable. In the pursuit of betterment of civilization , some people have to exhumed at the cost of others, and this is what I do, this is what Hitler has been . I am powered by nature to exterminate the undesirable weeds of filthy human beings born out of trash. One race has to always decimate the other one, to maintain their pride.Lines of division may change , but it will always be "us" against "them". Unfortunately you belong to "them", the feeble , weaker, filthier category. Turn around your thought and look with clear eyes, all the shouts of freedom are nothing more than an extended pursuit of the vested interests. I do not carry that sham. I have been only fighting for my race, the race of rich and intelligent. It is us who are supposed to be at the helm always, you laborers deserve to be crushed at best. You have few minutes to death, take a good look at me , and wish that you were reborn to our race , the race of superior beings of rich and intellectual, else, this cycle would always have short term. Hitler never died, and it will never die, you and your ilk will".
I could see the end now, very soon all of my ilk would be abolished, I would just leave earlier. This fault lay not with my "labor" capacity, but with my incapacity to be rich or intelligent. This Hitler stood in front of me , now in this life who I hate so much now,he didn't seem to be wrong however, as I ruminated over those invidious words. I dont want to be born poor or unintellectual. However, before I could think for long, I was pushed over to death.
I woke up , saw around me , I was in Bangalore, sighing, I got up , to accomplish what my master has commanded us individuals to. Which master ? Hitler , of course.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Choices and Environment
As a person I am naturally smug of my thought process, which I and for that matter we all believe is ours solely. Notion of our mind being played by others could be intriguing as well as frustrating and for the same reason never acknowledged with open arms. Decision making process is attributed to be the prerogative of one's intellect and one's intellect only, wrongly however.
My personal observation of decision making process seems to conclude that it is heavily dependent on immediate surrounding in which the person is, and in particular on the opinion of person around you when the situation at hand is to be one to which your acquaintance happens to be relatively new. Take for instance the decision of choosing your drink when in a group, its going to be substantially affected the group's choice of drink , unless you are too sure of what you want to have. Its strange to find that , your immediate surrounding could even trump your personal choice ( a vague idea, may be ). And when the decision has been made and you look at it from a different vantage point you wonder why you made that choice, or whether you would have had really made that choice , under the situation when different set of people were around you.
It leads me to a more generic conclusion; unless we are too sure of what we want to do, at any general moment, which most of us generally aren't , we are going to be considerably affected by the person around us. Every moment is a new one , laden with sudden events and unexpected ones , and in this moment the decision making gets heavily influenced. Its for this same reason that our parents enforce upon us the need for a good friend ( with their personal notion of goodness), and its for the same reason that we zero in on an institution where we could find superior quality intellectuals around us, which would considerably influence our choices made and motivate us to direct greater part of our force towards bettering ourselves in the qualities of our surrounding.
Looked at philosophically, it all ends at the point where things are differentiated by what lies within and what lies without. Its true that our mind is capable of making decisions , choosing the best course for itself, but its only in full command when you "know" what you want , and not when you have a fuzzy notion of your want. In the latter case it will always be a slave of fortuitous circumstances around us. How do we decide or for that matter know what we want to do? This is the hard part, nevertheless, I would suggest , "think" and yeah preferably in solitude .
My personal observation of decision making process seems to conclude that it is heavily dependent on immediate surrounding in which the person is, and in particular on the opinion of person around you when the situation at hand is to be one to which your acquaintance happens to be relatively new. Take for instance the decision of choosing your drink when in a group, its going to be substantially affected the group's choice of drink , unless you are too sure of what you want to have. Its strange to find that , your immediate surrounding could even trump your personal choice ( a vague idea, may be ). And when the decision has been made and you look at it from a different vantage point you wonder why you made that choice, or whether you would have had really made that choice , under the situation when different set of people were around you.
It leads me to a more generic conclusion; unless we are too sure of what we want to do, at any general moment, which most of us generally aren't , we are going to be considerably affected by the person around us. Every moment is a new one , laden with sudden events and unexpected ones , and in this moment the decision making gets heavily influenced. Its for this same reason that our parents enforce upon us the need for a good friend ( with their personal notion of goodness), and its for the same reason that we zero in on an institution where we could find superior quality intellectuals around us, which would considerably influence our choices made and motivate us to direct greater part of our force towards bettering ourselves in the qualities of our surrounding.
Looked at philosophically, it all ends at the point where things are differentiated by what lies within and what lies without. Its true that our mind is capable of making decisions , choosing the best course for itself, but its only in full command when you "know" what you want , and not when you have a fuzzy notion of your want. In the latter case it will always be a slave of fortuitous circumstances around us. How do we decide or for that matter know what we want to do? This is the hard part, nevertheless, I would suggest , "think" and yeah preferably in solitude .
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
This aimless day moves on ...
As the day passes, silence overgrows the pace and chaos around. I feel the eyelids to be a lot heavier, yet not willing to get lost in sleep. In the pursuit of the meaning and aim , I find none , and the more I try to define , the more it undefines itself. An ever simmering desire to excel in what I do , smolders within, however, never hot enough to lead me.
What I see around me, is a sense of compliance with mediocrity, the kind which people have surrendered their whole life to. I am put into this cauldron of mediocrity and wish for excellence. What is the aim of a middle class working person like me ? To marry, to earn, to reproduce, all the while , never understanding what they mean. Earn . Earn what? What does earning mean? Marry . For what ? What is the purpose of marriage , besides trying to enforce a social order? A default is always at hand , never necessitating the involvement of one's mind.Middle class of a nation decides the prosperity gradient of a country, certainly it does, but only in terms of economy, where is the thought process? Its too conspicuously absent. A mere growth in terms of cash doesn't provide a meaning to life, it starts from an individual, his growth , but that is never discussed.
If instead of asking these questions, I could serve to make this realization possible , wouldn't that be a credible achievement beyond immediate material and kind gains? Where does one start from , and what is his goal? Too difficult to substantiate the claims , but this isn't too good an excuse for the same. Do what you like, but how do you do, when the the whole world seems to have contrived to not let you do it. Probably the cinders have turned too cold to warrant any action, too desire less to work.
Just the other day , a friend of mine remarked with utter sincerity. " One should know his/her limits of achievement,If he is a mediocre, he should chose those ways and go on."
At the first sight , he seemed to me to be a practical person, doling out a practical advise, the advise which works, which could be substantiated.However , I took another look at his words. "Limits of achievement"; its too simplifying a statement. How could the limit of achievement be stated, its the basic premise on which life moves, and moves a person. Achievement lies not completely in being at specified places, but in being what you though you would be. One can never underachieve, he will achieve what his worth is, how he views it and how others respect it , decides its social worth. Nevertheless, what one does with sincere devotion to what he is doing , cant go unnoticed by the society , which panders to such images of greatness and parasitically tries to gain from it. What are we ? A parasite ? or a doer? Our actions defines what we are and what we have been.
As I write this my eyes get puffed up with tiredness, but why am I tired? Not because I overdid my work, but because I am not my work.The day I find the work , where my work and me are the same , I will never be tired. Till then , nothing else seems worthy , except the silent snores of a peaceful overnight journey of dreams.
What I see around me, is a sense of compliance with mediocrity, the kind which people have surrendered their whole life to. I am put into this cauldron of mediocrity and wish for excellence. What is the aim of a middle class working person like me ? To marry, to earn, to reproduce, all the while , never understanding what they mean. Earn . Earn what? What does earning mean? Marry . For what ? What is the purpose of marriage , besides trying to enforce a social order? A default is always at hand , never necessitating the involvement of one's mind.Middle class of a nation decides the prosperity gradient of a country, certainly it does, but only in terms of economy, where is the thought process? Its too conspicuously absent. A mere growth in terms of cash doesn't provide a meaning to life, it starts from an individual, his growth , but that is never discussed.
If instead of asking these questions, I could serve to make this realization possible , wouldn't that be a credible achievement beyond immediate material and kind gains? Where does one start from , and what is his goal? Too difficult to substantiate the claims , but this isn't too good an excuse for the same. Do what you like, but how do you do, when the the whole world seems to have contrived to not let you do it. Probably the cinders have turned too cold to warrant any action, too desire less to work.
Just the other day , a friend of mine remarked with utter sincerity. " One should know his/her limits of achievement,If he is a mediocre, he should chose those ways and go on."
At the first sight , he seemed to me to be a practical person, doling out a practical advise, the advise which works, which could be substantiated.However , I took another look at his words. "Limits of achievement"; its too simplifying a statement. How could the limit of achievement be stated, its the basic premise on which life moves, and moves a person. Achievement lies not completely in being at specified places, but in being what you though you would be. One can never underachieve, he will achieve what his worth is, how he views it and how others respect it , decides its social worth. Nevertheless, what one does with sincere devotion to what he is doing , cant go unnoticed by the society , which panders to such images of greatness and parasitically tries to gain from it. What are we ? A parasite ? or a doer? Our actions defines what we are and what we have been.
As I write this my eyes get puffed up with tiredness, but why am I tired? Not because I overdid my work, but because I am not my work.The day I find the work , where my work and me are the same , I will never be tired. Till then , nothing else seems worthy , except the silent snores of a peaceful overnight journey of dreams.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Child Birth in China & India
Recently , Chinese government expressed concern over their aging population, largely , as a result of their "One child policy" adopted since 1970's. The officials are planning now to encourage people to have more than one children in some parts of the country, however, it seems now that the populace has gotten so used to the economical structure of having only one children that the prospect of second child appeals to few. By an official estimate, Chinese have prevented 300 million childbirth since 70s. By no means a small number; it certainly has helped china in economical development .
In India too around the same time ( in 1975 , to be precise), Sanjay Gandhi championed the idea of population control through forced vasectomy. It didn't meet considerable success, nevertheless it throws a intriguing question in the ring. If I were to be born in China, I wouldn't have had my sister or brother, but being in India too could have led to the same case , had my father been the victim of the forced vasectomy operation. The question that it brings forth is , can humans can control human life , which in a sense seems recursive, we being the master of life. What it suggests to me ,is that in a proper philosophical sense life is not the end in itself, nor is death. If this thinking is to lead me to something , let it not be hampered by the belief that the "life's" supreme. What I suggest as the watchword for searching truth is "it doesn't matter"
However, coming back to the corporeal aspects. In an article published off late, author appeals to the Health ministry of India to focus on maternal care aspects , rather than on the population control measures directly. She ridicules the veneration of Malthusian idea of attacking the problem through numbers rather than by the improvement in care system. Population control, she suggests would be taken care by nature itself, the fertility rate of Indian population, she remarks , has gone down to 3.7. Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, it is higher in the non prosperous states, while lower in the prosperous states. No prizes for guessing that it is high in Bihar, 4, higher than most other states, but an another statistics ranks high in Bihar, female mortality rate, pregnancy deaths, 321 out of 10,000, while the national average hovers around 250 odd. These findings in a way express the balance that the nature expresses to make. In order to keep their line alive , one factor's loss is compensated by the growth in another. However, its no matter of pride that Bihar leads in both these statistics and very certainly the factors that reduce one will help reduce other as well. Bihar has since long been the most deprived state of the Indian nation, a sort of live model for everything wrong with India. Poverty, illiteracy, casteism, floods, drought, and every other such thing, which a nation would like to avoid in the process of its development. Over here, it could serve as an example / testboard for what could be done to prevent the "volcano from erupting"
Child birth and thus population control is a serious and sensitive issue , which nation has to take with seriousness. Indian government could take the initiative by preventing deaths during child birth by heavily investing in the corresponding programs. Once the insurity of life decreases, the sense to control it would take deeper root, for now its the only source of insurance for the poor lot.
In India too around the same time ( in 1975 , to be precise), Sanjay Gandhi championed the idea of population control through forced vasectomy. It didn't meet considerable success, nevertheless it throws a intriguing question in the ring. If I were to be born in China, I wouldn't have had my sister or brother, but being in India too could have led to the same case , had my father been the victim of the forced vasectomy operation. The question that it brings forth is , can humans can control human life , which in a sense seems recursive, we being the master of life. What it suggests to me ,is that in a proper philosophical sense life is not the end in itself, nor is death. If this thinking is to lead me to something , let it not be hampered by the belief that the "life's" supreme. What I suggest as the watchword for searching truth is "it doesn't matter"
However, coming back to the corporeal aspects. In an article published off late, author appeals to the Health ministry of India to focus on maternal care aspects , rather than on the population control measures directly. She ridicules the veneration of Malthusian idea of attacking the problem through numbers rather than by the improvement in care system. Population control, she suggests would be taken care by nature itself, the fertility rate of Indian population, she remarks , has gone down to 3.7. Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, it is higher in the non prosperous states, while lower in the prosperous states. No prizes for guessing that it is high in Bihar, 4, higher than most other states, but an another statistics ranks high in Bihar, female mortality rate, pregnancy deaths, 321 out of 10,000, while the national average hovers around 250 odd. These findings in a way express the balance that the nature expresses to make. In order to keep their line alive , one factor's loss is compensated by the growth in another. However, its no matter of pride that Bihar leads in both these statistics and very certainly the factors that reduce one will help reduce other as well. Bihar has since long been the most deprived state of the Indian nation, a sort of live model for everything wrong with India. Poverty, illiteracy, casteism, floods, drought, and every other such thing, which a nation would like to avoid in the process of its development. Over here, it could serve as an example / testboard for what could be done to prevent the "volcano from erupting"
Child birth and thus population control is a serious and sensitive issue , which nation has to take with seriousness. Indian government could take the initiative by preventing deaths during child birth by heavily investing in the corresponding programs. Once the insurity of life decreases, the sense to control it would take deeper root, for now its the only source of insurance for the poor lot.
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