Triple Stream

TRIPLE STREAM
Editorial

CULTURE INVERSIONS AND VANISHING VALUES

If we ask any young man/woman what is the national animal, he or she will readily answer that it is ‘the tiger’. If they are asked about the national bird, pat comes the answer - ‘peacock’. If we put the question ‘What are our national ideals or values?’ We get no ready answer. It is not their fault. Ideals and values have not been mentioned either in the school curriculum or in the constitution. Teachers avoided reference to them as they feared being branded as unsecular. Our leaders had neither time nor inclination to think beyond the words ‘Democracy’, ‘Secularism’ and ‘Socialism’ which have since become mere catch words and empty slogans having already lost their sheen.

It was Swamy Vivekananda who identified and defined them for our benefit. According to him, our national ideals are (1) Man-making, (2) Character building, (3) Service-mindedness and (4) Renunciation (Unselfishness). The banner-bearers of Indian Culture are not multi-millionaries or military heroes or matinee idols, and certainly not power-seeking politicians who glitter temporarily in authority. Our cultural and spiritual leaders are wise and selfless men like Gautama Buddha, Sankara, Ramanuja, Sri Rama Krishna, Swamy Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Ramana Maharshi and Mahatma Gandhi. Their message may be as old as the hills but it remains today as fresh as the dew-drop on the lotus flower. Our modern saints taught us to practice “better worldliness” – enlightened selfishness. We need not go as far as “unworldliness or other worldliness”. Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi said that everyone should have money to satisfy one’s need but not to satisfy one’s greed. They preached that the different religions of the world are but different routes that wind and wind towards the simple goal of being kind. Vivekananda said “As long as a single person is found starving, I hold every man a traitor”. These are not the populist utterances of a demogogue but the feeling words coming from his illuminated consciousness.

Swamy Vivekananda further said: “What is intellect? It is nothing. It goes a few steps and, stops. All noble thoughts have their rise from the heart. The heart opens the most impossible gates”. Mahatma Gandhi said the same thing, “I am not intellectually sharp. I know my limitations. Intellect has its limits but the heart has none”. On another occasion when an American press person interviewed him, he said “The hardness of the heart of the educated persons often annoys me”. We know on experience, what is happening in our country today as the nation is taken for a ride by politicians and bureaucrats. Rabindranath Tagore too said “If intellect alone were sufficient, Bacon would have been honest and Napolean just”.

Jiddu Krishna Murthy, the eminent educationist defined ‘intellect’, ‘intelligence’ and ‘intuition’; Intellect is reason or logic. Intelligence is reason plus love and emotion. Intuition is the highest of all these because it includes divine assistance and creative imagination. According to psychologists the human brain consists of two parts ­the right cerebral hemisphere and the left cerebral hemisphere. The former is the seat of imagination, creativity and intuitive wisdom, and the latter stands for logic and articulation. A balanced development of the two is possible if one practices meditation or yoga.

What are the values that are indispensable for the effective functioning of India which is the largest democracy in the world with a population second only to that of China? Hard work, selflessness, honesty, respect for truth, teamwork and patriotism are absolutely necessary for our country to regain its lost prestige in the comity of nations. However, values cannot be taught, they are caught. One can develop values either by reading scriptures and other standard works of intrinsic merit or by emulating the shining example of heroes and men of character who should serve as role models in social life.

At present our country is going through an unprecedented crisis in values. Everywhere we find decline in standards, debasement of values, violation of ethics, corruption in public life and bribery in high places. It is a shame for our country that with all the wealth of our natural resources, manpower, capital and scientific knowledge and technology, we are lagging behind other countries including most of the developing countries. It is a pity that we receive aid from all available sources, not only from international money-lending agencies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) but also from small countries like South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Even countries with War­-ravaged economy like Japan and Germany rehabilitated themselves, within no time and today are in a position to compete with an industrial giant like United States of America. What is the secret of their success and affluence, and what is responsible for our miserable plight? The answer is not far to seek. They are hard-working people and disciplined with patriotism to utilise their services for their own profit as well as the economic development of their countries. On the other hand, we must admit, we are lacking in discipline, respect for hard-work and concern for society and the larger interests of the country. Therefore it is essential for us to revive the values and standards of our ancient India when our forefathers set our country on top of the world.

Values are culture in action. India could boast of the most ancient culture and civilisation which commanded respect of the people of the whole world. Culture may be defined as pursuit of truth, respect for hard work, cultivation of a sense of beauty and practice of virtue. India’s culture is catholic. Tolerance and understanding are its essential features. It is an integrating and ever-evolving culture which seeks to bring harmony between the people of different races, religions, castes and political persuasions. What we need is harmony not unity. Unity is a totalitarian concept. It involves the imposition of a single system on others of adoption of one way of life by all others. Harmony is democratic. It means co-existence or living together while pursuing different ways of life and social practices. It is possible for two or three people to keep their heads on the same pillow while sleeping and yet have different dreams!

Our true culture was based on ‘simple living and clear thinking, avoiding vulgar ostentation and luxury’.

This culture unfortunately has now given place to what is called the culture of unchecked consumerism for which five-star hotel culture is another name. Everybody is interested in making a fast buck and amassing vast wealth, by hook or crook without scruple or sentiment. When self is in, sense is out. As a result we have yielded to the lure of materialism and unprincipled opportunism. The worst culprit in this respect is politics. Public life has become contaminated and our democracy has a false facade but not firm foundation because 70% of our people are illiterate. We have universal franchise without universal literacy. It is the duty of every citizen in the interests of our survival as a nation to promote and practice the values which are now on the vanishing list like the valuable specimens of our wild life which have at least a sanctuary here and a game park there to prevent them from becoming extinct. But we have no such mechanism to protect and preserve values and culture. Let us rededicate ourselves to serve the nation and resurrect the old values of life at this time when India is on the threshold of celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Independence. Earlier we celebrated the 125th Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the architect of Indian independence and the Birth Centenary of Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Their example should motivate all of us to reverse the present trends of value inversions.