Narrow lanes and wider horizon

Who am I . Its the question many have pondered on . Great minds have applied themselves earnestly to get an answer but have hardly ever reached a logical conclusion . Since birth we come with a baggage. The baggage of the name we are carrying , the family , the religion the society we belong to . This baggage which has been stylishly termed as culture and values. Slowly as we grow up the so called values and principles become so intervened in our lives that we fail to see beyond them.

We choose the language , religion and ethics of our society as well as the morality , norms and restrictions.No doubt the values , ethics and morals bestowed upon us by our parents and elders have evolved over generations and have survived  the test of time. This is only possible if there is something inherently good about it. But as with everything else in this world , all of these have deficiencies which should be accepted , discussed and addressed

Each society world over has developed in its own way and have been influenced by the radical and revolutionary men who shaped their core. However like everything else in this world , each of the great civilizations , societal and nationalistic arrangement has its own set of deficiencies along with every virtue they carry .Sadly most of the civilizations except for the western world have been shaped on the basis of the religion.The western culture is also marred by high materialistic sensibilities , resulting in overt emphasis on consumption ism. This has given rise to a world which although has great virtues of free will, and democratic beliefs ..is also defined materialistic,consumerist ,insensitive , celebrity worshiping culture.

Likewise all the cultures have their own merits and demerits. I am not going to dwell into that. the point I would like to make is ,why are we so engrossed and entangled in this societal framework . Why we don't question the beliefs and practices ..if we feel that they are no longer relevant and have become outdated. Millions of young inquisitive minds are hiding their spark because of their culture and societal upbringing. And millions don't even think about it , their minds have been shaped and morphed by the so called torchbearers of their culture.

I fail to understand why some people just follow others with so much faith and devotion. Why they surrender their whole existence in the hands of the few. Charisma and personality do play their roles . Hitler could sell his theory to the German public because of his amazing charisma and oratory skills . But it was also because he showed them a bright future ..the dream of the future where their race in its pure form will be ruling the whole world.. Sadly for Germany that road lead them to utter destruction and loss.This is what blind faith do. It removes the ability to think , and analyze and moreover question.Much the same could be said about the Islamic jihad.

This article is not about terrorism and the reasons for it , not its about the civilizations and societies of the world .This about the darkness which has engulfed the mind of one and all leading to the ultimate failure of free will and thinking.We accept what we are told , we do what we are told. From the childhood , we are told to accept and incorporate whatever that has been followed through Generation. Every morning , we are taught ..to sit in the front of deity ..and pray. If u are a Hindu ..pray , and chant , and praise the lord ..and that too in Sanskrit. We chant mantras in the language most of us don't understand. Do we ever cared to understand and think about what we are saying and chanting with so much compassion and devotion.Its just an example.

I am special not because I am a Hindu , or  a Brahman or an Indian .These are cultural tags that have been put on us . I am special because I am a human. I am special because I have the power to think , analyze and shape the future of myself and the future generations.

A democratic and free will society must accept and consider any new ideas that comes up. I had an interesting conversation with one of my friends a few days back. I told her that I don't believe in patriotism  , that I  think every creation in  this world is same and to be loved and not just what belongs to the country i was born. She termed me a traitor , and blamed people like me as the reason India is the way it is today. Well I tried to make my point clear to her ...gave her logic's in support of my argument ..but although she could not put a counter logic to it ..she remained adamant and stubborn ...sticking to the point she had made.I would had been happy if she had made a valid argument in support of her point ...and would had considered even accepting her theory ..but that argument only made me more convinced of my theory than her ..since the conversation only made me think more about the point and provided myself a lot more arguments to support it .

Let me share a little bit about my thoughts on Patriotism and Universalism.

What is patriotism? Its about loving your country . There is nothing bad in being patriotic. Its like loving your family. But if Mother Teresa had only been more patriotic than a humanist ..she would not have been honored as Mother.Its great if we love our family , but isn't it even greater that we love each and everyone as a family member.The theories in support of nationalism is per-se the same as in support of regionalism. What is a nation. Within the boundaries loosely decided upon by some humans , who were supposed to be more intelligent than us , we confine ourselves and call it a nation.We are supposed to keep ourselves within those boundaries and discourage others from entering it. We have soldiers guarding those boundaries with the license to end a human life.

.....................to be continued