Free Will

It is enough of itself, with religion being the greatest promoter of the concept of free will, to be suspicious that this hypothesis is not as clear-cut as it may superficially appear to be.
The survival of religion depends largely on humanity having total free will choice when it comes to the dual notion of good and evil. However, have we?
The extreme examples portrayed in existing cultural differences throughout the world show very conclusively that free will parallels the norms, mores and laws of any particular place. Location plays a very large role in adult outcomes. If the people that flew the planes into the Twin Towers were brought up in a country with less extreme religious doctrines maybe they would end up being accountants or whatever. This also works in reverse.
It therefore is irrefutably conclusive that free will is not an absolute quality.
If we then go into one culture, especially our own, we can immediately recognise how diverse and at odds different groups are. Certain groups can hold exactly opposite views to others. Some glaring examples are on abortion, Voluntary Euthanasia, the role of women, the death penalty and such like. Neither side can change to the other in the short term and do not really have a choice in the matter. Both sides are very lucky in that they used free will in choosing the correct ideological side. Both cannot be right.
It has to be accepted that parental situation, religion, ethnicity, schooling, peer group intensity, wealth or lack thereof, intelligence, health, appearance, education, genes, area and so on and so forth, has huge statistical bias effect on the end product, an adult. Other circumstances sometimes allow a few to break from their traditions, leaving the majority thinking that they are making free will decisions in not doing so. They may only be following situational pre-determined routs. It could be argued that they think they are using free will in making important choices in life.
By calling a certain stance in life a 'free will choice', is not proof that it is. It is the sum of endless pre determiners, manufactured from within and externally. These can often be faulty in critical areas of thinking. Where is the free will if you end up thinking the same as your group demands? Many groups on the planet are obviously wrong. They are human, we are human, and we are all equal in a broad biological sense. The incontrovertible conclusion is that we then are also capable of being wrong without recognising it.
Free will is not as simple and absolute as it has been represented by the religious. We may possess a good deal of free will or we could have none. The truth may fall between those two extremes.
It has also to be seriously considered that along with every other life form; we owe our present position to evolutionary forces. Evolution is not the result of deterministic or random happening. It is the survival of the fittest. Even the way we think is the result of evolution and it therefore follows that free will choices are produced by the survival of the fittest idea at an individual level. At any given moment, our thinking is controlled by genetic make-up and outside influences working together in unison for the best outcome for personal survival.
With our genes dictating how we think and our immediate environment influencing those thoughts, it is not too difficult to comprehend that free will choices may indeed be an illusion created by evolution alone.
In any event, the crux of the matter is that it is a form of manipulative control to promote the idea that one can profit or lose, in this life and/or the next, depending only on the free will choices of good over evil. The choice is seldom clear-cut and is dependent on an assessment of the particular situation.
The very idea of free will carries with it the added weight of wisdom in conforming to a set of supernaturally originated ideals that are irrefutably correct. To offer the "choice", of follow-the-line, or suffer eternal consequences, is not providing an alternative; instead, it is a dastardly threat. It is the greatest threat that can be levied against an ignorant and fearful society.
Once the above is recognised as the true position, we can choose between a world controlled by fixed rules (and therefore choiceless), or one which allows reason to decide. History has endlessly shown that old rules have a habit of creating mayhem in societies whereas reason has only ever produced greater safety and equality.
The complexities of thinking about free will expand exponentially the more it is considered until a point is reached where the confusion finally wins. It may never be totally unravelled. The course of action with the most promise for a successful civilisation is not to blindly follow our perceived "free will" choices, but to make sure they are based on the solid foundations of reason and not just culture and circumstance.
It is more than interesting, and somewhat ironic, that those suffering under the certainty of a god-given free will capacity are the most likely to be unable to utilise it.
.
..
...
Sameer Hussaini...!!!

A Letter To God

Dear God,

I know how busy you must be with a whole universe to worry about. That's why it occurred to me that you probably don't have time to read our papers and your TV reception might not be good. So I thought I'd drop you a note about how things are going here.

Well, things couldn't be going any better, at least as far as your image is concerned. You wouldn't believe how well loved you are on this planet today and how much is being done in your name. There's so much going on that I hardly know where to start.

The Irish Protestants are so devoted to you that they do everything possible to make life miserable for the Irish Catholics because they don't think the Irish Catholics have the right approach towards worshipping you. And, for essentially the same reasons, the Irish Catholics do what they can to make life miserable for the Irish Protestants. In their great love for you they shoot at one another, bomb one another, set one another afire, kill little children bystanders, cops, soldiers, old ladies and some are now committing suicide by starvation.

Then each side buries its dead, goes to Church and gives fervent thanks to you for being on its side. It is very touching. And one thing about these people: their devotion to you is unshakable. They've been doing this for about 400 years. So it's a good thing that you have an entire universe at your disposal because I don't know where else you could find room to accommodate the souls of all the people who have died there in your name.

You're also highly regarded in a country called Lebanon where just about everyone believes in you, although they don't agree on what you should be called. In that country there are Muslims and Christians and they've created different sets of rules for worshipping. Naturally, they both say you have sent the rules down to them. I don't know if that's true or not but if I may make a suggestion: If it is true that you gave them the word, it would really simplify things if there was only one set of rules. It would cause less hard feelings.

However, such details aside, they are expressing their devotion to you by killing each other by the hundreds. I guess they figure that if one side can wipe out the other side it will prove that their way of worshipping you is correct and you'll be pleased with them. So every day they lob shells at one another and blow up the usual men, women, children, bystanders, old ladies and stray dogs. And every day they take a few moments out to thank you for your support and to promise that they'll continue their efforts on your behalf.

Now, not far from Lebanon, are countries called Iraq and Iran. The Muslims in these countries basically agree on what to call you but they disagree on some details concerning how best to worship you. So they're also killing one another. It's more than a little confusing, though, because in Iran there are people who call themselves Baha'i and they too have their own way of showing respect for you. Unfortunately for the Baha'i their way doesn't include killing others who don't share their point of view. So that makes them patsies and the Muslims in Iran, in their love for you, have been kicking the Baha'i around pretty good.

Just a short missile ride away there's much religious action going on between a country called Israel and almost everyone else in that neighbourhood. For worshipping you the people in Israel also have their own set of rules which they say you passed on to them. They claim that you look more favourably upon them than on anyone else. This has always caused hard feelings because many other groups figure that THEY'RE your favourites. (I can see it must be difficult being a father figure.) The claim of the Israelis that they are No 1 has also caused some people to wonder this - If the Jews, after all they've been through over the centuries are really your chosen people, what do you do to somebody you DON'T like?

Anyway, the Jews and their Muslim neighbours - both of whom claim your complete support - have been going at each other for about 30 years. But I don't think they'll ever equal Ireland's record because they'll all eventually have nuclear bombs. Boy, when they start throwing those around, will you have a crowd showing up!

Oh, and I can't forget to mention this final item. Somebody shot the Pope. As you know, he's the leader of one of your largest group of followers here. A very peaceful, non-violent man, by the way, although his followers have been known to shed a few million gallons of blood when their tempers were up. Anyway, the man who shot him apparently did it because of HIS devotion to you. It's not completely clear but this fellow seems to think that the Pope was in some way responsible for somebody invading the sacred mosque of his religion in a place called Mecca. That, of course, was an insult to you, so on your behalf he got even by shooting the Pope.

Well, I know you're busy so that's all for now.

Yours sincerely,
Sameer Hussaini...!!!

PS - I never believed any of those stories going around a few years ago that GOD IS DEAD. How could you be? We don't have any weapon which can shoot that far....

A Day in My Mind...!!!

In the morning, when consciousness is struggling to begin facing the day, the habit of having a coffee kicks the neurons into gear. The mind stirs and is suddenly alive and aware that it is facing a new adventure. No death in sleep this time. One night though, but then again I wouldn't know, would I?

The sun casts a golden glow in the east. No illusions as to thoughts of supernatural origins begetting this nuclear furnace for the most of history, for me. Pondering how the ancients considered the Earth as the centre of everything, with the Sun revolving around it, has me thanking my lucky stars for the scientific knowledge existent today.

Heading out for my early morning stroll in the chill winter air with a thick fog encompassing all before me, gladdens the feeling that I am entering the realm of nature in the raw. No need to fear mysterious and ghostly creatures suddenly appearing out of the mist or indeed, the "Devil" arriving to take my 'soul', or any other such nonsensical happening.

The excess moisture dripping from the gum leaves and branches reminds me of the interdependence and interplay of chemicals and structures of them, and how the immensity of time has moulded all things to be as they now are in my presence.

A disappearing rabbit, a jackal in the distance, the first call of a Raven with the ensuing warble of awakening magpies heralds the new day. Life, as it has been in a multitude of shapes and sizes since time immemorial prepares to live once again, to feed, to become strong, all for the purpose of eventual reproduction. My mind can hardly appreciate the thousands upon thousands of times the circle of life, for each animal I pass, has taken place.

Reality of the harshness of nature is brought home with a pile of feathers strewn at the base of a Wattle. To live, some must die and a mockery of "god is love" passes through my thoughts. How many creatures were torn asunder last night? This is not creative love - this is sadism by an all-powerful monster. I move away from these thoughts before despondency of the foolishness of a god fearing humanity sets in.

The fog gives way to the rising heat of the Sun and in the distance the mosaic patterns known so well, re-establish themselves, with my amazement as new, as though it were the first sighting. How full of wonder it is to be alive.

Breakfast is accompanied by the radio telling of all the new horrors that have taken place locally and internationally. As each item is reported, the count for religious responsibility rises and I marvel why the connection is not mainstream. My heart is saddened for those thus suffering, and in opposition, my joy in having rejected superstition somewhat ameliorates the feelings of guilt that the religious should have but do not.

Today is Sunday, and whilst billions of other people will be mumbling to their god, I will be shopping for food. I contemplate for a moment what I would think, were I a god and what effect a few billion or so whining, whinging and crawling servants would have on me. They do not even know if I really exist, yet, that does not stop them. What a sad and frightened lot is my creation. Too brainwashed to think for themselves. Back to reality land and I am oh so happy that I am not one of them.

The shopping centre is a hive of activity. A collection of humanity busily pushing and rushing and mostly looking unhappy. The cupboard was bare and now the trolley is overfull. I do not thank a god for this harvest but I do consider the effect my living has on the planet. I buy with this in mind, looking for ingredients and packaging that have the least effect on precious earthly resources. It is very noticeable that not many of my fellow purchasers are similarly discerning and I ponder if the "god will provide" philosophy is at fault. To some extent, this would have to be correct.

The car takes me away from the crowded shops. The millions-of-years-aged petrol pollutes the atmosphere as I go, leaving me reinstating promises of being thrifty as possible with its use. There is some consolation, in that of the religious people I know, most are more concerned with the actual monetary cost of fuel and it is reinforced with me that such a philosophy is flawed at the basic level.

Passing the ample supply of churches, I notice that some are full and some are not. A profound happiness enters my consciousness at having escaped the cultural absurdities of worshipping a pretend god. My luck in this can only be described as beyond belief. To be born is winning the lottery, to live for an average span is another, but to be able to think any thought without guilt or compromise, is the lottery of all lotteries.

The rest of the day is amused with natural process, and away from the ever-present reminders of godly things, such thoughts are not even entertained. The pleasure of a quiet dinner with a couple of wines, of writing to a few friends via E-Mail, of another attempt at fixing a broken gate, of phoning a family member and just contemplating the joy of living, leaves the mind in a state of comfort and serenity.

The night has arrived, it is a few hours old, and the rain is softly pelting on the eastern windows. The television has transformed from the entertaining to the banal and it is time to retire for this day.

As I lay in bed before sleep envelopes my Universe, I contemplate today's events. My very last thoughts, before I am unconscious once again, revolve around my incredible luck of arriving at a position of actually seeing life as life really is. The induced phantoms of a ubiquitously taught unreality lay slain, and exist no more.

I drift off into the land of Nod, and I am complete. Goodnight.

.

..

...

Sameer Hussaini

War and Peace

Man, according to Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), is born selfish in nature thus displays this characteristic of his nature everywhere. The stronger habitually uses his power and authority against poor and dominates, deprives, exploits or even kills them. Thus men are said to be naturally at war with each other. It has been millions of years that the human life is existent on earth and numerous wars have been fought among individuals, groups and nations on several issues. One of these wars is the Afghan war that is now being fought for more than two decades.

The war initially started between the pro-Soviet Afghan government and its opponents Muslim fundamentalist groups in 1978. The Soviet troops invaded the country to help the regime. The United States of America sensed the severity of the situation and considered it as part of the communist desires of expansionism. To maintain the balance of power situation in the area and to safeguard its own interest, the US government intervened in the situation. Pakistan, the time-tested ally of the US, was once again made to act as a US base in the Central Asian conflict. The US government in the first place lifted the sanctions against Pakistan and provided them with economic and military aid. Secondly, training facilities and heavy supplies of arms and ammunition to Afghan warring fractions was also provided. The war continued for a decade and ended with the dismemberment of the USSR. The civil war in Afghanistan continued even after the withdrawal of the Soviet army. After the September 11, 2001 incident, the US government again targeted the Afghan land and people in their “ war against terrorism”. The operation continued till the US-backed government came in power in Afghanistan. The war is not finished yet. The repercussions of the war and the painful ramification are still there to be borne by the entire Afghan nation. The innocent people of the nation that have been victims of atrocities, carnage and massacre need centuries to recover from the wounds they had received during the years in war. Millions have been punished for reason either unknown or for the selfish motives of a few. The entire generation that has been born and raised during these years is a living proof of the ruthless and shameful exercise that has been conducted by some in the name of ‘international politics’ while others called it ‘religious war’. The children who had been orphaned, the women widowed, millions disabled and the rest have been subjected to physical, mental and psychological illnesses are the remnants of the war. The artists born during the war period paint only ruined cities and the poets write about deaths and destruction. I must ask the humanity “Is this fair?” Please think about it and answer your own conscience.

.

..

...

Sameer Hussaini

The Greatest Asset

Lord William Wintock, British governor-general in India from 1828 to 1835, has the dubious distinction of being remembered as the man who ordered the destruction of the Taj Mahal in Agra – an order which, happily, he was never able to have carried out. This was revealed at the turn of the century by the then viceroy, Lord Curzon. The East India Company had been going through hard times, Lord Curzon explained, and it was suggested to Lord Wintock that a sale of the Taj would fetch Rs. 100,000 – enough to extricate the company from its financial crisis. News of the Company’s intentions circulated, and there was stiff opposition to such a move. This infuriated Lord Wintock, who now went one step further and gave orders for the total destruction of the Taj. Opposition to the imperial command stepped up, with both Hindus and Muslims joining in one massive voice of protest. The danger that full-scale rebellion would ensue if the Taj was destroyed prompted the governor-general’s advisers to persuade Lord Wintock to withdraw the order.
Contemporary comment had it that “the people did not save the Taj Mahal, it was saved by its own beauty. If the Taj Mahal had not been beautiful, it would not have won such overwhelming support; Hindus and Muslims would not have united behind it to foil the British government’s designs.” Had the constructors of the Taj Mahal been able to reproduce in themselves the beauty which they produced so perfectly in their work of construction, they too would have been protected by their own quality. Just as virtue in a thing wins support for its cause, so virtue in humans has the same effect. It wins one friends from the enemy camp, appreciation even from strangers. A virtuous nature is the greatest asset a person can have, for with it comes support from all quarters.
The Taj Mahal’s virtue lies in its beauty, while man’s beauty lies in a virtuous nature. But man’s beauty should not be like that of a snake-a beautiful appearance marred by a venomous sting. How do men” sting”? By presenting a challenge to people’s political and economic interests; by repeatedly resorting to violence in their dealings with others; by constantly alienating people with senseless, impulsive actions.
Any virtue that one might have is cancelled out by such a “sting”, and prevents one from winning people’s affection.
It is the Taj Mahal’s silent beauty that has won people’s hearts. Who would have time for it if, in all its beauty, it tormented those who looked upon it?

Art Therapy

Art has the potential to change lives and often in profound ways.  When words are not enough, we turn to images and symbols to tell our stories.  And in telling our stories through art, we can find a path to health and wellness, emotional reparation, recovery and ultimately transformation.

Art Therapy is the deliberate use of art-making to address psychological and emotional needs.  Art Therapy uses art media and the creative process to help in areas such as, but not limited to:  fostering self-expression, enhancing coping skills, managing stress, and strengthening a sense of self. 

The Art Therapy Alliance

 Art speaks of originality, individuality, a creative process, graphic materials, colors, textures, spontaneity, risk, alternatives and imagination, (while) therapy implies taking care of, waiting, listening, healing, moving toward wholeness, growth provoking, medicine, human exchange, sympathetic understanding.

Art Therapy helps the individual in two ways.  The first is the process of creating art.  Scientific studies have demonstrated that art heals by altering the patient’s physiology, autonomic nervous system, hormonal balance and neurotransmitters.  Neurophysiologists believe that art making works much like mediation and prayer, activities that are all associated with similar brain activity.

The second is through the perception of the completed work.  It has been suggested that  “ Pictures are messages from ourselves to ourselves”.  Psychological healing is a creative process.  It requires time and the desire to achieve a new level of awareness, an active search for knowledge and problem solving skills.  Metaphor is a vital component of creativity because it allows familiar circumstances to be seen in new ways, it enhances understanding and presents opportunities for change.

Art Therapy assists in the integration and meeting of left and right brain hemispheres.  The art and the creative process is feminine, it is receptive.  The feminine is in surrender and deep trust.  The right hemisphere is intuitive, illogical, irrational, poetic, imaginative, romantic, mythical and religious.  The left-brain is logical, rational, mathematical, scientific and calculative.  The right hemisphere has a language that is expressed, released and revealed through art making, music and poetry.  The right brain has much to offer in assisting individuals move to health.

Recently, workshops were conducted in Hotel Paradise, Boulevard, Srinagar and Kashmir University by Dena Lawrence, an Australian Art Therapist. I, myself was a participant in both the events...

.

..

...

Sameer Hussaini.

Peak Performer

A book published in America in 1986; entitled Peak Performers, makes study of the lives of a number of individuals in modern America who have played a heroic role in life. One point, which the writer especially emphasizes, is that a great mission can beget in a man the powerful urge to superior effort, which ultimately leads him to exceptional achievement.

America sent its first manned spacecraft to land on the moon in 1967. The launching of the rocket had been the result of the combined efforts of a large number of experts, who had been engaged to work for this mission. One of this team, a computer programmer, said that something extraordinary began to happen as the work got under way. The thousands of ordinary men and women, who had been working to make the space programme materialize, had all of a sudden been transformed into super-achievers. They had started performing with an efficiency that they had never in their whole lives been able to muster.

Within the short period of 18 months, all of the work had been accomplished with exceptional rapidity.

“Want to know why we’re doing so well?” our manager asked me. He pointed to the pale moon barely visible in the eastern sky. “People have been dreaming about going there for thousands of years. And we’re going to do it.”

“Want to know why we’re doing so well?” our manager asked me. He pointed to the pale moon barely visible in the eastern sky. “People have been dreaming about going there for thousands of years. And we’re going to do it.” It is understandable that what inspires a man more than anything is to have a great mission before him. That is what arouses a man’s hidden potential and makes him capable of all manner of sacrifices. It makes him, in short, a peak performer.

.

..

...

Sameer Hussaini

THE WORLD AS I SEE IT

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...
"I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.
"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude..."
"My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and reverence from my fellow-beings, through no fault, and no merit, of my own. The cause of this may well be the desire, unattainable for many, to understand the few ideas to which I have with my feeble powers attained through ceaseless struggle. I am quite aware that for any organization to reach its goals, one man must do the thinking and directing and generally bear the responsibility. But the led must not be coerced, they must be able to choose their leader. In my opinion, an autocratic system of coercion soon degenerates; force attracts men of low morality... The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.

"This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence -- as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature."
.
..
...
Albert Einstein

Revolution in the Human Being

All the great conquerors in human history have nothing but political victories to their credit. They changed governments, but they failed to change human beings. All the successes in history are instances of a change of government, rather than a change brought about in human beings. In the Indian scenario, a ‘Mahatma’ apparently succeeded in bringing about a change in the system. Still, the Indian example is not very different either. The government changed hands in 1947. Foreign rule was replaced by home rule. But so far as human beings were concerned, no real change was effected.

This is the main reason why change in the government does not become synonymous with a change of circumstances. On the contrary, in most cases the new system ushered in the wake of the change in the government is worse than the previous one. As the saying goes: ‘A revolution is a successful effort to get rid of a bad government and set up a worse. Throughout human history, the only exception to this rule is that of the Prophet Muhammad, The revolution, brought about by the Prophet changed not only the government but also the human beings under it.

The basic reason for this difference can be traced to the difference between the method of the Prophet and that of the political leader, who always takes up political and economic issues. He achieves his goal by inciting people to rise against the ruler of the time. On the other hand, the Prophet takes up issues concerning the life Hereafter. He invites people to think critically of their ownselves. While a leader launches his movement on the basis of arriving at a reckoning with others, the Prophet’s movement is based on one’s own self-appraisal. It is these different approaches which lead to different consequences in the two types of movements.

The Prophet’s way and the experience of history show us that striving for the fall of a government is not a worthwhile goal. Change the human being and then the system of the government will change on its own.

.

..

...

Sameer Hussaini

Secret of Success

“I have reached my present position by climbing a ladder and not by coming up to it in a lift.” This observation was made by a tailor who had started with nothing but his own two hands and the will to work, and who had become eminently successful in his line of business. “Making a good coat is not child’s play. The whole process is so complicated that without detailed information as to how to proceed, long experience and a high degree of skill, it is almost impossible to accomplish. It is only after a lifetime of hard work that I have succeeded in running a prosperous shop in the city.”

The tailor went on to explain how he had served his apprenticeship under the guidance of an expert tailor. Just learning the art of cutting and sewing had taken him five long years. When he opened his own little shop, he discovered that he had difficulty in giving his customers a good fitting. This was because during his apprenticeship he had never really grasped the fact that people could be of such different shapes and sizes. He therefore set himself to the task of studying human anatomy, but it was only after many years of effort that he could make a coat with an absolutely perfect fitting. He eventually became so expert in this that he could even give perfect fittings to those who unfortunately suffered from deformities-such as hunchbacks. “In any type of work, there are many things which one has to learn on one’s own. Often one cannot foresee these things at the outset, and each obstacle has to be overcome by hard work and ingenuity.”

The tailor talked of many things of this nature concerning his skills, and it seemed to me as though I were listening to a lecture on the building of the nation by some very experienced person.

In truth, the only way to solve our economic and social problems is to follow the example of the tailor. After this initial apprenticeship, he had gone ahead and done things on his own. He had gone up by the stairs and not by the lift. There are no buttons, which you can just push and then automatically reach your goals. You can only make progress step by step. Progress can seldom be made by leaps and bounds. By means of the ladder you can progress even to the stage of owning the lift, but you cannot make a success of your life by starting with the lift and expecting it to do everything for you.

Looking forward to your comments...

Human Personality

If from a vessel containing water a single drop is found to be brackish, it means that all of the liquid is undrinkable. We need sample only of one drop to know with certainty what the rest will be like. Much the same is true of the human personality. It is like an over brimming vessel which keeps on shedding drops for other people to savour, to find sweet or brackish as the case may be. Small instances of an individual’s behaviour and quite short interludes in his company are generally sufficient to tell us what his overall personality is like. A thoughtless remark, an unfair manoeuvre, a failure to give much-needed sympathy or support, a devious transaction—all these are the plain indicators, like those brackish drops of water from the larger vessel, which indicate the lack of integrity or callousness of the person you are dealing with.

The human personality has the same homogeneity as water. A single human weakness cannot therefore be considered in isolation, as if it were an exception. It has to be looked upon as being representative of the entire personality. If an individual proves unreliable in one matter, he is likely to evince the same unreliability in other matters; if he is guilty of untrustworthiness on one occasion, the chances are that this trait will show up time and time again.

There is only one kind of person who is an exception to that rule, and that is the one who subjects his own behaviour to constant re-appraisal, who is continually scrutinizing himself for weaknesses and faults and who, once having found such faults, wastes no time in rooting them out.

A man who has made a mistake can completely erase the marks of what is an unfortunate experience for others by admitting his mistake and begging forgiveness. Some people are pricked by their consciences, but do nothing to assuage the ruffled feelings of others, thinking that to do so would be sheer weakness and would mean a loss of face. Such people can never have healthy social relationships and can never win the respect of their fellow men. They do not realize that a man displays his true mettle when he sees his own wrong actions for what they are, and humbly asks forgiveness.

It is only he who has learned the art of moral introspection who will, in the long run, prove himself a person of inviolable integrity.

Looking forward to your valuable comments.