Perspective Based Values

Near a small hill, labourers were cutting stones. A passer-by stopped near one of them and asked, “What are you doing, my friend?” The worker looked up and said, “Why do you ask? Don’t you see? I am struggling in the hot sun with these stones. See my hands, how they got hurt.” The traveller left him and as he approached another worker asked the same question, “My friend, what are you doing?” This man looked up and said, “I am cutting stones. We have to struggle to keep from starving and feed the family. Isn’t it?” The traveller nodded and passed on. He met another worker and put the same question, “What are you doing, my friend?” This man looked up from his work and said, “Do you see the hill there? A temple is being built on it. It is an abode for God. I am contributing my bit to build a house for the deity.”

There is a lesson for all of us in this story. Everybody does some job for a living. But once a job is found he becomes a money-earning machine labouring only to meet the needs of himself and his family. His attitude becomes narrow, contracted, self-centered. He is like a  mercenary who works only for the money he gets. Mercenaries of some countries give full returns for the money they are paid. But our people do not put up even an honest day’s work for the wages they get. Still, “I want more pay” is the common cry of every worker in our country. This is the situation in every department today. Their loyalty is only to themselves and to their family, caste or religion but not to the institution they serve or the country they live in. This is a reflection of the very poor state of our thinking.

Whether one is an engineer or a doctor, a clerk or a lawyer, a minister or a house-wife when he/she feels this is my country, I belong to it, he/she converts his/her work to a service of the country and will be glad to contribute his/her might to the development of the nation. There is a fulfillment in the work. This is the enlightenment what Krishna calls ‘Buddhi Yoga’ in Bhagavadgita.

We usually think that we can motivate people by increasing their wages. Money is a very poor motivator as has been proved many times. Dedication to the task and the cause is a more powerful motivator. If we think that we are only an employee or employer we function in one way. If we change our attitude and develop a citizenship awareness our functioning becomes different. In this respect, the Japanese are said to be very dedicated to their country. Workers go on strike there also for bettering their working conditions or for solving their problems. But they do not allow production to suffer or the country’s interests damaged.

We are less patriotic. We are more attached to our caste, family or community and function as a person belonging to a particular sect than as a citizen of a sovereign democratic republic with different castes, communities, religions, languages and cultures harmoniously blended and living together. If there is the awareness that I am not a mere salaried employee but I am a citizen of a free country whose prosperity is in my hands, I become responsible and contribute for its development. I become a participator in the nation-building programme. The organic individuality must be transformed into a conscious personality for social participation. The genetic individuality is a product of the ego, the normal driving force in life. But when this ego expands beyond the genetic limitations to a personality, the field of operation includes the welfare of others in thought and function. Then the demands for individual freedom and conveniences give place to social responsibility with co-operation, team-work and a national outlook. The great jurist, Nani Palkhivala once remarked, “The greatest enemy of India is not Pakistan or China but Indians themselves.”

Our country is plagued by serious problems like dismal poverty and wardness, illiteracy and the divisive caste, community and language loyalties. These are weakening our democracy so much that even after sixty years of becoming politically independent we are not able to pass on the benefits of freedom to the common man. Our constitution guarantees to eradicate all these draw-s so that we can shape the destiny of India according to our own ideals and ideas. There is a social responsibility on every individual to make an effort to eradicate this cancer from our society. What is needed today is an attitudinal change in our mindset. I am not a mere worker doing the work for the money I get paid, but I am a citizen of free India contributing to its development and prosperity. We find this consciousness in all the advanced countries in the world.

When this change comes in the mind, all work is sublimated to worship of God. There is no small work or big work. Small or big is only with reference to the time, skill and energy needed for the work. Every work is equally important and is necessary for the country’s prosperity. We have to break the shackles of caste, community, language and religion which are crippling our nation. A feeling of brotherhood and national outlook are very much needed today in our country.

Even the service activities undertaken by the individual, organizational and governmental agencies are not free from these faults. Most of the activities are undertaken to satisfy the ego, or for fame and name, or for publicity with an eye on future benefits to self. How far has this project helped to improve the living conditions of the people for whom it is intended should be the touchstone. “The best way of serving God is to serve man,” said Raja Rammohun Roy. Most of the activities are aimed at providing some help in life to the recipients like providing scholarships, medical help or other comforts. They do not touch the fringe of the country’s problem or tackle the root cause of poverty, wardness or illiteracy. There is an old Chinese adage, “If you give man a fish he will eat for one day. He will ask again the next day. If you teach him how to fish he will eat for life and feed others as well.” Service activities designed to improve the earning capacity of the recipient are far better and give permanent relief to the person while contributing to the prosperity of the country. Each area has its own needs and problems and the activities have to be designed to target the specific needs of the people of that area. Adopting a village for achieving 100% literacy, 100% health care and 100% economic betterment, say in a span of five years, gives immense satisfaction and contributes to the country’s advancement.

Another glaring defect with us is in craving for outside help to solve our problems or to improve our condition. Even at the Government level, looking to other countries or the world Bank for help and agreeing to all their conditions is not thought of as demeaning to self-respect. Mobilising our own resources and putting in more hard work to increase production, while accepting voluntary restrictions to curb expenditure and wastage is a better viable and self-respecting alternative. Every person should feel the responsibility to play his part in the enterprise of developing our country.

There is a marvellous story of man who stood before God, his heart bleeding with anguish at the pain and injustice in the world. “Dear God,” he cried, “look at all the suffering, misery and distress in the world. Why don’t you send help?” God responded, “My son, I did send help. I sent you!”

Our country’s future is in our hands. As Pratap Chandra Muzumdar, the great Bengal reformer exhorted, “Today is ours, Tomorrow, we don’t know.” What we do today determines our tomorrow.