What are we becoming?

Swami Gulagulaananda heard:
"Ethics is how you are as a person, when nobody is looking"

Imagine that life is a video that is constantly playing... For a moment pick up your remote control, and hit the pause button. Then, float out of your body, turn around and look at your frozen body stuck in the same position, reading this post... Now let's begin floating and looking around. Oh, and also, leave your ideas, opinions, prejudice and such behind.

We, as people, have evolved over a period of time. I am not talking about the biological evolution and loss of tail. I am talking about society. Just today, one of my uncles had come over and was talking about his grandfather's grandfather who walked all the way to Tirupathi from some town close to Mangalore, and back. He said, "Those were the days of 'Athiti Devo Bhava' and it was customary for people to stay in other people's houses, mind you, not relatives, and partake food as well, which would be gladly served." Today, do you think you would welcome some stranger into your house? Let alone spending the night, you probably wouldn't even consider allowing him to loiter in your compound. Food, probably you may give him, but you would ask him to be on his way... Why? Is it that we are bad people now? Not really. It's because the world today has become one where people take advantage of other people's kindness. Have a look at how seemingly poor hapless pregnant women or those with children are conning you.

Alright, let that go. Let's float to some traffic junction and hit the play button the remote control... See how many people flout traffic rules. What kind of traffic rules? Well, one type is  - two wheelers riding on the pavement at signals. Second, jumping red signals. Third, continuing to ride/drive in spite of the signal transitioning from green to red. There are more, but let's just see what's common in this three? Urgency, rather, impatience - I don't want to wait.

Why do you reckon this happens? It is most likely that the population has increased to such a great extent that you are going to be infinitely delayed if you keep following every single rule. Is that true? No. The reason is that there are several other cities in the world which are greatly populated, more so than any Indian city, and yet the traffic violations are certainly not like this. Why then? Is it that traffic rules are not stringent enough? No, they are. Just the other day, I was waiting at a red signal at a busy crossroad junction. A guy riding an Activa with a pillion rider came and stopped next to me. The girl had a vacant expression. The guy then asked her to get off, and to check if there was a traffic policeman around the corner. After she checked and confirmed the absence of one, he zoomed away. I read a very interesting quote the other day "Ethics is how you are as a person, when nobody is looking" and this was what I remembered at that moment.

You may become a very wealthy man. You may be popular among your friends. You could be anything. But if you are not a person with ethics, you are nothing. I really hope there is Yama and Chitragupta recording everything that's happening and storing it. When the time is right, Chitragupta will fire an SQL query and let Yama pass the judgement.

No, think about it. What motivates a person to be unethical? Forget big-time scams. Look at the small ones, like traffic violations. You may be a nice guy. But then you look around and you see people cheating. You will think that they are bad people, and that you should be good. The people who cheated didn't get caught - but heck, what just happened? He succeeded in doing what you have been struggling to do for such a long time. Maybe you studied all night for a whole week, while the guy next to you brought chits to the exam. And he copied and got more marks than you. You were the good guy, but he got that seat you had had your eye on. What went wrong? Or maybe he passed an interview and got the job, while you couldn't clear the written round in spite of being better than him. You feel this is all unfair. The guy who jumped the signal must, by now, have cleared the next two signals while you are still rotting there in the heat, breathing the hot fumes of the truck next to you. Hell, I should have followed that guy, you think. The next time YOU do it. You don't get caught, and you realise that there is a thrill. Meanwhile, another loser is thinking that he should have just jumped the signal... Notice, he is you, just behind by delta t. The vicious cycle has now been established.

Ok, enough of traffic violations. Let's look at the food we eat. Indians have always been the community to eat wholesome food every morning. But now, people are moving towards cornflakes. Incidentally, corn flakes are not even good - but wait, what's that? In India, they are awfully expensive. In reality, they should cost nothing, very similar to soft drinks. And corn is much cheaper compared to rice or wheat. And still people buy cornflakes. Why? More often than not, you are eating corn flakes because it sounds awesome when you tell others "I had corn flakes". Think about it honestly. Do you really enjoy eating corn flakes? Or would you prefer hot Idli Vada, Masala Dosa or Upma? Before you jump to "Who's going to make it for me in the morning?" answer that question. Don't you enjoy that as against corn flakes? But you rather eat it because it makes you feel awesome, cool... in sync with America. And don't give me the "Who's going to make it for me in the morning?" because there are hundreds of restaurants every where around you. If there is no restaurant which serves good breakfast around your place, let me know - I will start one there, because it is an awesome business opportunity :-) You see what I am saying here, don't you?

Very often, we don't think of what we are doing. We don't worry about repercussions. In many ways, the old customs and beliefs such "If you do bad, Karma will ensure you will get bad, if not in this birth, then the next" or "God is watching what you are doing" or "Santa is going to give you coal for being naughty this year" are great because you would have some fear before venturing out to do something bad. But in today's so called "science era" where most people are agnostic or atheists, they don't have the fear of repercussions except that of law (which is not so efficient) and thus we are becoming what we are becoming. Don't forget, every action of yours might influence somebody else. If you are not ruining an impressionable child's mindset, you are screwing that guy who was left breathing fumes of that lorry or eating your dust... YOU are the one who is setting examples, and YOU ought to be the one who cleans up his act. Ok, go back to your body and hit the play button, but remember, "Ethics is how you are as a person, when nobody is looking"

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Yes we can... Or can we?

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Anish Bhandarkar:

cantt do much for those already grown up with such ideas.. but there is hope 4 the current gen kids..
a tried n tested option is C Rajagopalachari's RAMAYANA N MAHABHARATA.