The Moral Me

Many of my friends, peers and colleagues have had rather different views to the ones that I hold about some fundamental principles in life. Perhaps you can say I always was and am the ‘odd man’ in the ‘Odd man out’ game that we played as kids growing up in school. My fundamental views about faith in particular contradicted most commonly accepted or rather as I would put it ‘passed on’ views from generations. 

What did strike me; rather oddly was, why then, as a person, was I not any different to them when it came to empathy moral code of do’s and don’ts , values since we as humans attribute many of these traits to ‘word of God’. The moral code of god which we must follow or else face eternal hell. 

Well, enough of the Odds for the moment let’s try to ‘even’ out the reasons behind this odd trait. As children we simply come to accept the word of authority ‘Do not touch the electric pole’ or ‘Do not climb the ledge’. This word of authority is invariable comes from our parents and elders, the kith and kin who have the greatest influence on the formative years of our lives. That simply is because we just don’t have enough time to question and learn about anything and everything around us and live long enough to know it all by the end of the road. 

Naturally we take up the mantle from our parents about what they teach us and pass that on to the generation next. Be it about worshiping one particular God and how we should not sin because otherwise the ‘all powerful’ will punish us. ( Uparvala saab dekh raha hai -God is watching). Perhaps then people like me should be devoid of any morality and/or the virtue of right and wrong. Since I know there is nobody up there who is going to punish me for what I do in this life (since I don’t have to worry about heaven and hell, life and after life depending on which particular God you follow). 

But to my surprise, I find that the moral values that I share with most others are more than equal. In fact I can confidently say that my empathy towards my fellow beings is of greater magnitude then my faith-full friends. And I think we share the podium when it comes to moral values and do’s and don’t. 

So what is it that makes me think with compassion the sense of right from the wrong? Altruism surprisingly is not a trait found only in us Humans. It is apparently prevalent in many other living species. Also the ‘you scratch my back and I will scratch yours’ principle vividly seen in chimps and other ‘ape cousins’ is an evolutionary phenomenon.  As hunters and gatherers our ancestors had a advantage in bonding as a group and co-operating many a times giving without having anything in return to ensure that we as a species survived the harsh environment around us. Co-operate, nurse, empathize to out-compete the other species for the limited source of food naturally available. 

Of course with the advent of agriculture around 10, 0000 years ago that started to change and sure enough the Moral values also evolved. Today we all accept that the murder of  a fellow being, rape, and slavery is morally wrong. But just about 2000 years ago slavery was not only permitted but the number of slaves was an indicator to your position in society. We also have devised a mechanism of punishing and socially denouncing people who do not follow this code of conduct. And therefore we do by and large follow this code irrespective of what we thin kink individually about rotting in hell.  

But this too is not an ‘only’ human trait. Blood sucking bats or what are popularly known as ‘Vampire bats’ donate blood to their fellow Bat mate when he or she is hungry for days and return the favour when needed. The Bats who do not oblige in return after benefiting are registered in the ‘bat programme’ and sure enough have to face a non co-operative movement in the bat colony if they continue to do that! 

All in all morality is imbibed in our genes. It is not something that we do because we fear the curse of God. So next time you hear that that there is order and law in the world because we have faith and the word of god, think again. Perhaps there is a god within, that I call my survival instinct, the genes within that have evolved us to do that rather than the fear of the Hells houses waiting for all the sinners after life. 

As far as believe in God is concerned I would say each to his own and conclude by quoting Dawkins ‘we are all atheist about most of the Gods that societies have ever believed in; some of us just go one god further’

 

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The Great Gatsby - a review

The Great Gatsby



Hundred books you must read before you die features The Great Gatsby, a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I had heard the praise of this book from many people. So I thought I myself should give it a read. I was surprised to find the book to be relatively short. But in this small book, Fitzgerald has managed to weave a story that is immortal and memorable.

The great Gatsby is set in the Jazz Age of America. The post World War I era which brought with it unrestrained materialism and prosperity. However, it also brought with it, a total lack of moralities and breakdown of Social Norms.

The main protagonist in this book is Nick Carraway, a Yale passout and a Wall street trader, living in New York. Jay Gatsby is the mysterious next door neighbor, whose mystery remains unsolved even at the end. Nick is the narrator and is often biased in his judgement and his views. This book describes the "we are above everything, even the law" attitude of the rich people. This attitude still prevails and its easy to identify with it. There is also a subtle mockery of the hypocricy of these people when it comes to basic things like trust. They all vote for trust but it is actually a feeling that keeps filtering in and out of their lives, used according to their conveniences.

All the characters in this book give no apparent resons for their actions. Lust, greed perhaps being the only driving force behind them. Be it Daisy and Tom Buchanan or even Jay and Nick. Each of them lives a life that is convenient to them.

This book is an easy read. The narration of Nick Carraway makes it a great story, resembling real life. No justifications are offered for the actions of the protagonists. There is only the interpretation of the actions by the narrator.

I cannot cite any reason as to why I was haunted by this story long after I had actually finished reading it. A must read story.

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