The inherent goodness of humankind!

Despite setbacks, and there have been many, I refuse to dilute my belief in the inherent goodness of men at large. Evil, though it often lurks in the most unlikeliest of places has not yet succeeded in changing this belief despite tremendous environment inspired efforts.

I have always believed that men are inherently good and why not – after all, all of us are a part of the tremendous cosmic energy that we recognize as God. And if God is good, how can his constituents be bad or evil? What we generally witness are acts that are bad or evil and we often make the mistake of treating the act and the actor as one. Difficult it is to differentiate between the two, yet we have to, for therein lies the essence of life.

And therefore those who form their own opinions based on the true understanding (if that is indeed possible) of the infinite cosmic energy, and are not swayed by the opinions of masses are the ones who live life to the fullest, and that is how it is designed to be.

The theory of Karma sounds good and often takes a lot of burden off our heads for our acts of misdemeanor, yet I fail to be firmly convinced.  After all the infinite cosmos is not meant to be like humans – holding us responsible for each and every single act of ours – for by its supposed nature and constitution it has to be forgiving and not revengeful. And there is also no supercomputer at work, logging down each and every single act of over six billion souls and then paying them back in the same coin in this life or thereafter.

Yet goodness by itself is a reward that should enthuse those who indulge in evil to take recourse to course correction. Acts that are good and humane in nature impart a deep sense of satisfaction that is often divine in nature. Yet the intent is what really matters, good acts committed with the intention of appearing good in the eyes of others may not yield desirable results.

And that leads me to think whether there is a level above mere acts of goodness or evil. And if there is, it has to be genuineness and that again would come out of a deep and pure thought process that too over a period of time. Being genuine is maybe what really matters, to and in this world of ours and the great cosmos.

Being a good human being is the crux!

Drinking and smoking are considered to be universal vices more so in the hindu society at large that generally scoffs at what it considers are drunkards and smokers. Yet my heart as well and the brain plainly refuses to accept the premise that all those who partake of the bottle or the packet are sinners or a bad man, on a scale higher that those who do not. For me, drinking as well as smoking falls in almost the same league as partaking of food for survival. At best these can be regarded as human traits with a slightly negative connotation bordering on health related issues.

I find it strange, often ridiculous that the society lays a strong negative premium on these traits, while at the same time accepting bigger vices like corruption or sexual misdemeanors without even batting an eyelid. Often it places on a high pedestal, people with power and pelf, regardless of the bloke having his hand perpetually in the till or indulgence in vices related to the fairer sex.  Whether one is a good human being with the milk of human kindness freely flowing within him or not, rarely merits consideration. Moreover while goodness is normally looked upon with awe as well as appreciation, yet the ability to recognize goodness gets clouded by irrelevant considerations. 

Perhaps the society at large is unable to differentiate between goodness and evil, yet attempts to do the same on the basis of visible traits like affliction to the bottle or general behavior. The attempts are however confined to merely scratching the surface and judging people on symptoms rather than their deep interiors. Often our appreciation of the goodness or the evil in a person is also clouded by the glamor that the person exudes based on the power or wealth at his command. And so the bureaucrats, politicos and industrialists generally command aura and awe despite their goodness coefficient often being in the dumps.

It is likely that our response or appreciation in these matters has been conditioned by our remaining under mughal followed by british subjugation for a very long period. It is however time that our benchmarks for assessing human beings assume proportions at par with the developed world.