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Yesterday’s post is a long-standing joke amongst
friends and we often cite it whenever do-gooders or self-believers get
a raw deal. This thought was sparked off by a line in Serena’s post,
which is "believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned". I
have always believed in the veracity of this statement and strongly
advocate its belief. The evergreen shloka "karmanne vaa dhikarastu mahafaleshu kadachana.."
from the Bhagvad Gita underlines the instrinsic essense of doing your
duty without expecting the fruits of your labor. Some people are
disillusioned by false hopes, broken hearts, dashed expectations and
soon give up on their altruistic attitude. Every person, contrary to
Adam Smith’s rational man principle, has an altruistic attitude which
is manifested in different degrees; right from sacrificing your life
for the sake of your country to helping a blind man across the street.
These acts are justified with the demand of return. We face numerous
circumstances in our daily life wherein we either think rationally,
selfishly or altruistically. Most of us contemplate on "what is in it
for me?" question before attempting any decision-making process. But
sometimes this basic question is rendered falliable under pretexts of
love, friendship or sympathy. But then aren’t all actions prompted by
an hidden ulterior motive? When you help an old man cross a street, you
feel good about yourself. But here,i think little bit of economics
comes in handy. The marginal benefit of helping a geriatric man is far
greater for that person than it is for your self-esteem.Then, is any
task selfless? I suppose not. But if the net benefits accrued tilt the
balance towards an enhanced social good or rather away from your
selfish interest, I consider the task altruistic.
Now the
fighter syndrome, when you relentless pursue a task close to your heart
but receive negligible benefits, you end up disillusioned. But why do
we think in the short term? Haven’t you even experienced a situation
when the circumstance weighed heavily in your favor for no rhyme or
reason? Thats’s what is popularly termed as a purple patch when nothing
can go wrong and everything you do clicks. We never question those
days. Well, those are the days when life pays you back in full measure
for all the selfless things you have done in the past. Life balances
out everything and you pay for everything you do, good or bad in this
very life, the concept of reincarnation not withstanding. I believe in
the goodness of humanity. "Sau mein see assee beiman phir bhi mera bharat mahan" is redundant because the immaandar 20 more than make up for the beimaan
80. Those 20 I believe have taken the country further on the path to
progress in spite of horror stories of rampant corruption, bureaucratic
quagmires, and omnipresent apathy. Yup, I have been screwed over, taken
for granted, taken advantage of, relied upon beyond my limits, blamed
unjustly lots in my brief life but "thank you, beta" from the grateful old man makes me wanna do it over again.
by Patrix | on Friday, July 18th, 2003 at 4:18 pm | 
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