1.Dont feel like studying
2.The last piece of poetry I wrote is damn narcissitic,so will put it up when I am on cloud 9 :)
3.Cant find guitar tuition ka notes,so cant practice
4.There is no one to call
5.I just wanna waste some time
I was talking to one of my closest friends yesterday and as I am known to very few people..asked her a random question,"needs or principles?",idealist that I believed she was,she surprised me by answering "needs".Following that I had conversations with a few people, and somehow from last night to now set me thinking what drives us to act,not when it is about our,but someone else's needs(everybody acts for their own needs)More so because I was asked to do many things which I wouldn't have liked to do in the same span of time :).These were my conclusions...
Half the people lack the conscience and find inaction as the best solution and would choose something like "arre mera thodi banta hai yeh karna" or "I dont think so he/she would have done the same thing for me" as their excuse,but what if "Tera banta hai" or "He/She would have done the same thing"..that is where this half firmly believes "Ignorance is bliss" and they find their comfort.
The 'others' or according to the previous category of people "the foolish ones" or the "ones to be taken advantage off" have three reasons to do what they do..
Fear
Responsibility
Love
Fear I believe is the biggest driver for human action,fear of "losing someone,getting hurt,getting disliked,being spoken ill about etc etc".Though this reason is the worst of the above three,but it is fair enough..atleast you are doing the right thing.But this does get back to you at one point of time because your fears afterall only make you more vulnerable.
Responsibility is something I believe in,because you would only want to be responsible if you have a sense of self worth.If a responsible person cannot do something which he is supposed to do,he'll feel guilty and would look down on himself.So in a sense he is doin it for himself as much as for others which is commendable because he is equating needs of others to his own.
Finally,love,the least visible and the most potent reason of all.You place the ones you love above yourself,their needs more important than yours,you throw yourself overboard to save them from drowning(though you yourself don't know how to swim) and it also gives rise to the above two reasons,"fear of losing ones you love and feeling responsible for them".
The world would be a better place if more of us can believe that there are more important things than instant gratification and playing on someone's fears!Ending it with a few lines from one of my favourite songs...
In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me,
“Son,Fear is the heart of love,”
so I never went back
If you asked me the same --- principles i guess.
ReplyDeletelove the post.
:) thanx
ReplyDeleteNice post. Very thoughtful. I have few points to make:
ReplyDelete1. 'Needs' and 'principles' shouldn't be pitched against each other.It's unlike comparing light and darkness ('the absence of light').Apparently the only connection which I can think of between them is that, when needs becomes unreasonable, then man might distort his moral framework (or his principles)to fulfill his 'felt' needs.But again-the man might not do it (depending on his principles).It is absolutely possible to live a principled life, while deciding your actions based on your needs-at the same time.We just need to stay rooted and keep our needs in check.So, no questions of 'versus' nature arises between needs and principles. They can exist in harmony.
2.Does acting on one's needs, makes one selfish? Is acting on needs a less honorable thing than than living solely by principles? If you would have asked me this question, then I wouldn't have given you a straight answer. I feel reacting to stimulus, however short term it might be, is what makes us human. That's what differentiates us from a stone, you see. Keeping aside the argument that 'instant-gratification-is-short-term', acting on needs, by no means, imply anything evil. BUT, making use of others fear, or sense of responsibility or love, is a totally different thing altogether and it is THIS that's evil.
3. If I say that I'd rather live a 'wholly principled life' than a 'needs driven' one, then I would be fooling myself.
But-in perfect irony to my previous comment-I would like to share some of my observations, with you. History always remembers his name, who died for his principles. I've been reading about Che Guevara lately. A truly principled man, if one is to ask me. But then such men (or women) are rare. Reminds me of my favorite dialogue:'You go on searching for one for your entire lifetime, and still it won't be a wasted life'.
ReplyDeleteWhile, the rest of us mortals, live our lives fulfilling our needs and are then wiped off the face of earth, no vestige remaining, whatsoever.
THAT is the true trade-off between living 'purely by principle' or 'purely by needs'- a question of whether you want your name to linger for centuries after you're gone. and NOT whether you have become 'selfish or not' by adopting a taste for felt needs(or by abdicating principles)...
But, a truly remarkable question to ponder upon.Well done...
ReplyDeletevishwas..thanx for takin so much interest..i know there isn't a straight answer 2 dis...d problem arises wen u can't seperate d need from greed.dat is y i believe i think ur principles shud b urs..n not d society's.in d end if u can justify ur actions 2 urselves..den u can do so 2 ne1.N yes Che Guevera was an exceptional man..read n watch motorcycle diaries!
ReplyDelete