Anish Dua : Morality, Values, Ethics………….. who cares?This is the reaction, when these words are mentioned to someone in current times. A generation that was fed on values, was inspired to be righteous and was largely ethics-driven is fast becoming a minority and before it is too late, and it becomes extinct, we need to be putting our attention on this marginalized community, learn from our good practices and increase the virtuous percentage in Human population. No society can become better if it has severed its ties with its roots. It may progress materially but soon one shall realize that the happiness, the contentment has evaded the practitioner if contemporary modern styles are devoid of these values. And these roots, these values, are Universal, are the basis of all religions, societal-behaviors and are practiced across wide spectrum, ranging from ethnic-groups to cosmonauts.
Whom do we blame, for this degeneration, or if I may re-frame this question, why has there been such a catastrophic downfall in the collective behavior of a society? We have heard parents, teachers and employers giving their judgments on this tech-savvy generation that lives on mobile apps and feeds on cheese, sugar & white-flour. Some blame it on technology, and the others put it on commercialized education system. Each one of us would have witnessed someone or the other, in drawing room conversations,on how, mobile phones, internet and crowded schools have changed the social ethos. During these verbose, highly opinionated sessions, we do not acknowledge those families or individuals who still are looked-up to, in terms of being disciplined, being respectful and being sensitive. In changed times it has become a fashion to be rude, insensitive and intrusive and it is almost a sin to be an introvert, and sensitive.
When and how did this damage occur? It seems that we as parents, as teachers, as elders, as mentors, have failed to inspire them to be responsible denizens. Inspiration is the driving force and we need multiple nodes of this in terms of purpose & persons, to uplift fellow beings. For this, what is required is if more & more people practice morality and ethics. For, machines, soft-wares, and fast pace alone cannot and shall not build empires. It is the practitioners who are wisdom driven, are sincere, and are conscientiously driven, that an organization or a Nation shall be looked at, as an entity to be emulated by the others.
Individuals who are given responsible positions and those who are the architects of fate of their community are the ones who are disciplined & hard working. Chances are that a family that is cemented with love, where grandparents are respected, where TV set is in a common home space rather than in each room, shall not have unhappy kids. The modern day jungles (shopping Malls) where money is spent by gatherers for articles that are for the greed and not for need can easily corrupt the malleable young minds, forthat is the only knowing that they are witnessing. And more than anything else, the kind of stories that we are surrounded with, in our homes, in workplaces, in films, on TV, surely shall have an impact in this direction. A friend of mine, some ten years ago said, that his father was never worried about him when he was in college. And when asked what gives him this confidence, the father said, “Son, I know your friends, I know you are interested in outdoor sports and you read good books. And you do not lie to me”. This is enough for me to know.
So what do we do?Let us practice what we preach, for it is said that “knowing is not enough”. One has to implement what one knows. And, each one of us is influenced by; inspired by those who were virtuous practitioners rather than those who were giving us hollow motivational talks. If we are truthful, chances are, we are creating a culture of the same kind around us.
The author is a practitioner of life skills