Societal Stature

 The pivotal points of the stature of a human society are a) gain b) achievement and c) success. Individuals have created a society by grouping themselves together for purposes of gain, but this did not bring any gain whatsoever in terms of real unity. We create a society to which we ultimately become slaves. A clear understanding of the values liberates us from the social, religious machine and its conventional working systems.  We, as Individuals, are born in perfect freedom with Creative Intelligence. Fear or any other sort of illusion need not deter us from the fundamental action. To understand truth we must become capable of Standing Alone.

Unfortunately, having led conventional lives for ages, the human mind has become lazy, lethargic and too crystallized. It has been dulled by authority, shaped-controlled-conditioned in wrong grooves. Any suggestion that "It must stand all by Itself" is initially resisted and rejected. But "To stand By Oneself" - is the only way to understand Truth.  It cannot be understood by following any particular path. Instead of conditioning the mind or shaping the heart in a particular fashion, we must be moving towards a constant fulfillment, a fulfillment in action. In this endeavor, even the parochial feelings such as sub-nationalism and nationalism too become hindrances. A universal brotherhood of humanity without any distinction whatsoever must be the signpost of action.

Men and women living in a particular village or town will not form into an 'association' but they live together without any reservations or mental equivocations. It is only the common self-interest, a projection of self-importance, that makes them form into such associations, groups, cliques etc. as they deem necessary to fulfil their particular wants. If we look to the history of man in a broader sense the world over we shall see this as the fact. Self-interest, however common it be, clashes sometime or other. The rivalries and quarrels/war start. Basically it is the self-interest of a person that makes him/her move towards others and make others move towards him/herself. Self-interest is a) to be happy b) to be enlightened and c) to be important. The interests in all these branches again formulate into many more and different classes. Thus occur innumerable groups among those who ought to be One in Mind and Heart. Divisions bring on sub and even sub-sub divisions while the need is a Unified Whole.

Human society is again a compendium of very many associations of men and women, formulated by them for purposes of self-protection, self-development, self-enlightenment and the like. It is again the "self" - Interest that is individualistic or common or both - that rules and guides them. We have federations of people and the need for confederation emerges. Special-interest-groups, though they merge into a larger society and adopt a wider perspective, in the matters of common causes they struggle to maintain their 'individuality' or 'uniqueness of mark' in the collective being. The streams get into a main stream and yet color it with the trait they invariably bring with them. What exactly is the mainstream of humanity will again become a frequently asked question with no answer as such. To illustrate, the naxalites and similar social criminals are too often advised to come into the main stream of human society. That they have drifted from the main stream for reasons to be thoroughly examined is the factor that is conveniently forgotten here. A Role Model Society and its standing up right is all the time attempted but not achieved. The reason may perhaps be that the desire to form such society is only backed by a  self-interest and not the intent in public welfare.  Accomplishment becomes impossible so long we resist/refuse to think from others' point of view, thrust our own ideas upon them and even in doing that do not accommodate congenial means/ways. 

Pitting Individual against the Society and vice-versa is another point for consideration. Interdependence and interrelationship of the two elements is to be focussed. The vexed question of rights and duties/responsibilities going together can also be remembered here. That humanity along with other beings, both sentient and non-sentient, is an integral part of an interpenetrating complex net work or a 'conjoint energy field' should not be lost sight of. Fundamental action which we have been considering must stem out of this 'fact in nature', and this fact is also imbibed upon the human heart latently. What is latent has only to become patent.

Formation of Human Associations and Organizations, however redundant they seem to be, is a must in a Society. There is no running away from this argument. But what could be heeded in the matter of governance of the associations/ organizations is 'a constant awareness as to the disabilities of an organization' and a sincere endeavor not to allow them enter into or when unavoidably they creep in - an exercise to overcome them graciously. Without Unitary Perception this step remains a mere theory. That makes for the urgency of this total perception. 

                                                                                                                                     Dr N C Ramanujachary