Man Who Turned a Cosmic Liability by Dr. Jernail S. Anand

Man is the smallest unit of life, who compulsively forms a larger unit with his family, which is his comfort zone. It is, in fact, in the nature of a fort, with emotional and physical support, from which one can deal with the outside world, and make his/her contribution to the larger unit called the cosmic family. All depends on the training one receives in the family regarding universal conduct of man.  Just getting born, and then, education, marriage, children, and then, growing old and dying - can the gods be so foolish as to award us such a mean package and not expect anything beyond it? The question is what is special that is expected of men? And are men aware of their higher calling? In the absence of precise understanding of their role in the divine schemata, they are becoming a cosmic liability.

FAMILY AS A FORT

I have talked of the family as a fort, and its being strong is very essential. Man should be strong as a human being, and also as a family man. Unfortunately, in the emerging times, family has lost its relevance, and men find it a stumbling block in the graph of their progress. As a result, our education is limited only to jobs. Get a job, and then, get married. Settle down in life. What more is expected of us? The young menask.

Lack of focus on the family is a contemporary value which has liberated young men from their societal responsibilities, but this freedom has, at the same time, also caused a moral vacuum in the social setup. Family is the first bastion on the landscape of life where human life learns the arts of collective living. Life is a value- based phenomenon. It is not mere survival as with animals. It is an opportunity for self-realization, self-fulfilment and finally, liberation. This voyage into self-discovery starts from the family. A fort, which stands corroded and is falling apart.

THE ALIENATED MAN

Today, our youth are self-oriented, self-centred, and promote their ‘self’. This is the reason behind an alienated man who now defines humanity. Everywhere, we find people who have no roots, no love, no affection, no attachments, and the circle is complete when they become addicts. Now, they steal for drugs, and often kill their mothers and grandmothers when they resist. The alienation of the scholarly stuff can be attributed to the fact that our young men get exposed to ill-digested ideas of philosophers whom they study in isolation of their hostel rooms. Kant, Nietzsche, Camus – they were good people, but a skewed understanding of their philosophy turns the young men into sceptics, and out of their frustrations, develop suicidal tendencies. Individualism and liberalism are the movements which have further aggravated the self-orientation of the youth, giving it a nihilistic turn.

COSMIC LIABILITY

Behind this disintegration of the society, and break down of man, lies the collapse of the fort called ‘family’. On growing up, a  young man, armed with dry academic degrees,  leaps straight into the heart of the hostile crowds, where, he turns into a cosmic liability because he lacks in social graces which were to come from a strong family tradition. If we want better human beings, we have to teach them the arts of raising a family. The greatest art that goes into it is ‘love’ and ‘sacrifice’. They should discard jobs which stand in the way of their humanities. If the boss says: no pregnancy, the woman must assert her right to be a mother. Right to Family should be made a fundamental right.  In fact, it is not the young men and women who need training, rather, it is the commanding bodies of corporates who need to cultivate a family-centric vision.

THE TWISTED WORK ENVIRONMENT

Career couples are the worst sufferers of this twisted work environment. Modern business houses believe in ‘projects’ and ‘targets’. Humanity, marriage, family, kids, parents – find themselves on the reject list. You can rise on the ladder of success only if you forget you are a human being. If you are married, you must forget you have a wife, and kids. Who can dare to think of parents in such conditions? I feel great pity for the young men and women, who are suffering under these inhuman conditions. The International Academy of Ethics is going to start a special course for the Entrepreneurs in Social Sensitivity focusing on how to deal with young couples, with humanity and grace, so that their family life is respected, not disrupted.

Family is under great stress not only from the business establishment, but also from the senior members of the family. Another course that the Academy is going to introduce is for the Parents-in-Law, who love their son, but do not give any space to the daughter-in-law, particularly, if there is an unwed sister [fufi] at home. Time has come to realize that parents should support their daughters-in-law in keeping their families together, because rearing the children while they are serving and then keep the family peace is a challenging task. Young men should marry for love, young brides need courses in the Art of Home Making, so that their passion for success does not scatter the family peace. The elders need lessons in how not to disturb and interfere in the life of the young people.  If we do not make special efforts, family is already on the way out. And on the way out are also the virtues that held the society together. If we want a value-based society, which has faith in goodness, honesty, love and understanding, we need to supplement our dry educational policies with special training courses in social conduct and personal responsibility.

[Dr.Jernail Singh Anand is President of the International Academy of Ethics. Author of 161 books, Dr. Anand was recently awarded the Charter of Morava award by the Serbian Writers Association. His name adorns the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. ]

Link: ethicsacademy.co.in

Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com