Sunday, December 21, 2008

Survival Theory - Another Perspective!

With the constant evolution in everything over last hundreds and thousands of years, the pattern of choices has changed dramatically. Today the dilemma of our decisions is mostly related to the incremental aspect. What matters to you and me is what would make our lives better and happier, in our own ways and for our own reasons. But have you ever imagined what choices did our ancestors have? During thousands of years of uncertainly, they played this game everyday and perhaps every moment. There were no statistical models or probability tools, yet all they wanted to do was be more confident in handling this question – will I survive?

Contrary to its literal meaning, survival theory (mostly known as Survival of the Fittest) actually means that people or systems who are even ‘Fit enough’ will also survive. In order to survive in long run, the living being has to genetically evolve for adapting as per the environment and learn to apply newer skills and knowledge for dealing with any unfavorable circumstance.

The matter of fact is that there is a race for survival at every stage of life or evolution. Only those who can come closer to the finishing line are eligible to participate in the next bigger race. The evolution of human being and societies also reflects this pattern very well. There are plenty of examples that prove this point such as – education system, job and responsibilities, companies and their market share, relationships and their depth, and politics; all of these are progressive in nature and each of them presents a unique survival challenge at every successive higher level. Thus if one can not prove his fitness – in any manner whatsoever – to successfully survive at the existing level, he wouldn’t be considered for next level, next challenge.

We invite trouble when we start to become complacent about our existence and forget the principles of survival. The scenarios change quickly and one fine day we find ourselves exposed to the vagaries of external stimuli. No matter we still live in a world that is considered civilized, yet the fundamentals of jungle rule still apply in one or the other form. Being bigger, powerful and successful today is no guarantee that one will exist tomorrow. The history is replete with many examples of great people, companies or nations going bust during tough times that possibly resulted from wrong choices – that went against the very survival tactics – made by them during their glorious times.

Be it about managing day to day affairs, dealing with crisis or enhancing the welfare, the principles of survival can be appropriately applied to any situation or place. We must remember that survival is not just a goal but also a conscious choice that we make everyday. No matter what we do, the most important principle of survival is that all our choices should be consistent with it.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Love of the Departed

The love of the departed is about the love of two people, who are no more together. It is about many phases of love, say – from the eternally beautiful feelings of true love to the pains of being alone, from the times spent together to the timelessness of the memories, from the hope of doing everything together to the desperation of doing everything alone, from the sense of being the one to the sense of being the departed.

The definition of love may differ from people to people; but one thing is certain that true love is like experiencing ecstasy. The decisions made for the sake of love may sometimes far outweigh any rational decision.

It is needless to mention that true love is one of the strongest emotions in this world. It is like an ocean in itself, mostly overflowing in the form of other emotions. It may be hard to realize the true value of love, till one is into a relationship; because along with all other things, love is also governed by matters of – expectations, intimacy, individual preferences, insecurity, ego, and the impulse to be together. The realization takes its own time, when one can view everything in a linear world, and that linear view usually comes after being departed.

Immediately after the breakup we may feel hatred; but hatred for what – What we got or what we didn’t? Although love does come with its own set of lifelong experiences, however it is the departure, which brings lifelong wisdom. Such is the power of true love that it may motivate one to challenge the reasons of his existence. And for some people, once love is over, the relentless pursuit of happiness marks the pursuit of happiness lost!

The love of the departed is sometimes much pure than any other form of love. It has forgiveness and respect, which reflect true signs of love. The love of departed doesn’t have any expectations from anybody, and it is irrespective of the people being together. It transcends all the physical, mental and emotional barriers.

No doubt that the love of the departed comes at its own costs and agony, but it does bring the wisdom, patience and willpower. If the love of the departed is the pain, then it is the healing as well. It shouldn’t be propagated that the love of the departed is the truest or the best form of love, however, certainly people who experience it, do understand much deeper meanings of love than others.

A lot of people experience the energy that love possesses. This energy could perhaps be diverted towards any creative or constructive purpose. For quite many of us, the beginning of the love of the departed can embark the beginning of a new beginning, where there is an urge to excel, in anything or everything.

And last but not least, the love of the departed is about the evolution of a person from being the departed to being the creator of a new destiny, for there is always something more to do.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Promoting benign Selfishness!

A young boy is traveling in a metro-train and an old lady is intensely looking at this guy, as if she wants to ask for something. Before this lady could utter any word, the boy notices the unease on her face and stands up to offer his seat. The old lady impliedly accepts the offer by sitting. It seemed as if she wanted to say ‘Thank you’, but her eyes have already expressed the gratitude to him.

People might term the act of this gentleman as a selfless act, inspired by moral duties; however this act is no different than any other act, except the perceptual differences!

Why do people fulfill moral or ethical obligations? What motivates them to do so? How could any act be really selfless? So many questions, but let’s look at them in the context of one of the most natural laws of all time, the Law of Equilibrium. This law also dictates the terms of barter, and hence the sacrifices – either short term or long term – are traded for any benefit, either real or perceptual. Though perfect equilibrium may be usually unattainable, but the participants do try to achieve at least some sort of balance. In the case at hand, the gentleman must have achieved some sort of self-satisfaction, which is a good barter for offering a seat!

Now, there are two most important arguments – firstly every human action originates out of selfishness, and secondly selfishness should be promoted than condemned. Let’s verify both of them one by one.

As already stated by the example of the gentleman offering seat, there is always an equation of sacrifice and self-satisfaction behind every (so-called) selfless act. Self satisfaction in-principal is nothing but the mirror image of inner happiness. It is the quest for inner happiness, which guides people to chase any goal, either personal or collective. Moreover, it would not be wrong to assert that inner happiness is one of the most intense fuels behind every human activity, once the human being has secured at least his existence.

Eventually every act – either (so-called) selfless or selfish – aims to achieve the same thing i.e. inner happiness. Also, terming an act as selfish and another as not is a misleading notion, since apparently there is no difference between the two. Otherwise, one interesting observation is that one’s selflessness is actually another’s self interest; so while promoting the ethical principles and selflessness, the society at large is acting as selfish!

In any case, if there always is some kind of exchange, then it would be sensible to say that every act is selfish.

From a general perspective, selfishness is considered undesirable, and sometimes even detrimental. This viewpoint is further confirmed upon referring to any thesaurus. However the prevailing viewpoint is specious since selfishness has been more constructive than destructive.

Can you imagine that the educational systems are teaching the values of selfishness to their pupils? There are innumerous examples that prove beyond doubt that selfishness in its benign form has been equally beneficial to others.

To appreciate the benign form of selfishness, one needs to respect others’ well-being. Unless the actions, reaction and behavior of anybody are negatively affecting the physical, spiritual and mental interests of another person(s), others’ well-being isn’t compromised. Further, the larger benefits should always be preferred to smaller benefits. For example, by choosing one deserving candidate for a responsible job and rejecting rest others, the society may be acting for larger benefit, though rest other candidates may have to sacrifice the potential benefits. Thus, anything beyond the above-mentioned concepts can be suitably termed as malign selfishness, which undeniably is objectionable.

The question is why we should think of promoting selfishness. To understand this, let’s take the example of a ship wandering in an ocean, with no port to go. The ship is doing what it can best do, but no objective is being served! Similarly, a person without selfishness has no clear directions, no goals, since he doesn’t know what to expect from himself. Selfishness makes people aware of their self-interest and gives them the ability to judge good or bad for them. In addition, selfishness teaches one of the biggest principles of life i.e. exchange. The world is full of examples that highlight the importance of exchange. Out of the topics such as – Negotiation, World Politics, Aid & Loan Diplomacies, Friendships & Relationships, and Business & Commerce – one will find that they are all related to the principles of selfishness, in one or the other way.

An interesting observation comes out once we view the patterns of development across the world. The cultures, which have encouraged selfishness, such as American culture, have been more developed than others. Moreover, we can find resemblances in the capitalism and selfishness. So we now find evidence suggesting that selfish people may be good for economy too!

Over longer run, a selfish person learns to take most favorable decisions for himself. Selfishness may also assist in the transition of a person from being independent to being interdependent, the superior form of independency. This transition takes place because of the value of beneficial exchanges that people realize. Further, who he knows what is in his best interest can also decide the good for others! This might even suggest us that we need the politicians who are truly selfish for the larger interest of the India, the upcoming India.

Have you ever thought that the God is also selfish, since we are expected to behave as per certain rules & codes; otherwise we wouldn’t enjoy the maximum bliss of the God! It seems as if God also realizes the importance of exchange!

To conclude, whenever somebody tells you that are selfish, then you need not defend yourself by saying that you are a Jelly-Fish! Go ahead and target your selfish energies to overall good.

‘Green Notice’ happens only in India!

The world is going green – green buildings, green energy, green vegetables, and many more. In fact there is one not-so-new group of green proponent, which may not be even aware of this green concept after all!

The spiraling traffic jams caused by vehicles getting broken down on busy roads of Delhi aren’t something unusual, but there surely is something bizarre about the way of communicating a vehicle’s unfitness. Ever wondered to find such a vehicle with green notice? This noble way of communicating is not so new after all. The vehicle’s owner or vehicle’s driver, upon finding that his vehicle is unfit to move any further, parks it there and then only (no wonder how busy the road may be), and modestly uses some parts of a tree, such as leaves or branches, and attaches them to his sick vehicle so that the such green objects are prominently visible to any vehicle from a near distance.

Perhaps somebody might even want to thank this so called group of green proponents for their gracious act of at least informing the public, but then there is one curious person, who is intrigued to know more about this green way of communicating. Drilling in the depths, there are numerous explanations haunting his mind, perhaps some highly logical and some equally weird.

May be these people want to show that the vehicle is now lifeless in the similar way as is the green object hanging on to it. What was a few minutes before full of life, is now static, be it vehicle or be it the cut-apart tree.

May be these people use green to signify the inability to move! One might wonder why only green, when green means moving! But do we have red colored tress? Of course not! Hence our fraternity of these drivers might not only be justified but also appreciated for using easily available natural resource i.e. green trees, green leaves and green branches.

May be these people are protesting against “Global Warming”! Unplanned development and lack of foresightedness are resulting more in sustainable global warming than sustainable development and environment. So may be they want to confess and empathize with environment by using green on the same vehicles, which emit harmful gases. What a green way of protesting!

May be our drivers’ community is so impressed by art of war and guerrilla tactics that it is using the same green color that our armed forces use in the war fields to show the oneness with the nature. It is likely that they are so innocent that they believe that using green is going to disguise their vehicles and hence protect such vehicles against collisions!

Whatever may be the origin of this green notice, and how intelligent this green way of communicating may be, but it can never be smarter than an Indian, who can easily decipher such cryptic codes of communication. Further, no less interesting is the way India is, since unique things such as ‘Green Notice’ happen only in India.