EGOISM-THE CURSE OF INDIANS--- you can as well substitute the author’s name for Mr. Raghuraman As a boss of a security organization Mr. ISHWAR CHAWLA called his TRAINING MANAGER Mr. RAGHURAMAN over phone and advised him to cut short the training period of the recruits of the present batch by dropping “fire prevention classes” of 2 days as there was immediate demand for securities from a leading software company. That was the natural fear from his boss that any delay would amount to losing the business to other rival firm. The Training Manager’s convincing argument that quality couldn’t be compromised for the benefit of short term benefits as the subject going to be missed was vital and any mishap by a fire accident in that firm would create serious damages to the reputation of that company. Actually that retired brigadier from the army was convinced but for his EGO problems. He insisted on his previous orders and as bad luck would have it on the next week of posting the recruits to that company an outbreak of fire took place for which the raw recruits were ill equipped with knowledge. This is not a solitary instance in an office –but happening every day on day-to-day basis in organizations, schools, colleges, houses, governments including police departments and defense setups. It takes a rare breed of people to move out of EGO and attempt to see the situation from the other person’s point of view. Even as a child of 5 or 6 this no virtue of EGOISM occupies the brain of human beings, though its degree varies with individuals. Normally it is in a mild form when you are average in status, wealth or position. However when anybody claims over the ladder of prosperity, popularity or skill over a period of time, they immediately start classifying themselves as different class of people than rest of others. There are cases where to satisfy their own EGO, exploitation is being done using their powers. This tussle for supremacy which is actually another term for EGO can be seen among people of same class and even between father-son, husband-wife, brother-brother, or brother-sister. Such people are ruthless and hurry to malign others only because their EGO has been hurt by them. With the progress of technologies and widening of the education these problems are becoming worse. This no virtue has become a big social problem especially in INDIA with the yawning gap between haves and have-nots, educated, and uneducated, conscience of high and low castes and so on. Many times people never feel like getting vital and valuable information from the public or co -passengers resulting in missing trains, losing goods or causing discomfort to themselves only because they won’t talk or seek information from others as they suffer from ego problems. Recently the girl students of CHANDIGARH COLLEGE were on strike only because the teacher had to slap a girl as she violated the discipline in bringing the mobile to the college. This is a very small issue for which there was confrontation between the EGO of students and teachers causing hardship to cover the portions in time. It looks like people have forgotten the art of forgiving and respecting the teachers only because of EGO problems. Conflicts between individuals, organizations or even countries cause great degree of frustration, discomfort, anger, sadness and sometimes even pain. Conflict is nothing but a struggle to resist or over come contest of opposing forces of powers to substantiate the truth or reality. But EGO of the concerned parties prevents to arrive at a reasonable solution causing damage to both of them. KASHMIR PROBLEM is an excellent example of conflict due to EGO problems of leaders, parties and different groups maintaining perpetual blindness of the damages done to the economy, prosperity and more preciously the lives of people who are only brothers genetically and also geographically. Conflicts are always part and parcel of our lives and one should strife to get scientific solution by mutual discussions and in these exercises EGO of all the concerned should be shed down to the last. EGOISM makes you to believe that you are always ‘right’ and all the time pushing you to defending your position at any cost and many times unreasonably. Though the quickest and shortest way to diffuse an argument/conflict is to surrender admitting to your mistakes it takes a big heart , humility to agree with the opposition’s points and making your self ‘suffer’ from that so called defeat. But there are also quite a number of people free from this mental disease even at the very top level. To quote only a few the world chess champion Mr. VISWANATHAN ANAND and the ever green TENDULKAR stand as sterling examples in their behavior and humility. We are also having examples for just the opposite trait in our own country in cricket and politics. Then what is the remedy to correct ourselves from this mental disease? It has been claimed by psychologists that YOGA or even MEDITATION may bring down this unwanted human attribute. Here are a few quotations for making your mind healthier. THE CAUSES OF ALL SINS IN EVERY CASE LIES IN THE PERSON’S EXECESSIVE LOVE OF SELF. ----PLATO THE TROUBLE WITH MOST OF US IS THAT WE WOULD RATHER BE RUINED BY PRAISE THAN SAVED BY CRITICISM---NORMAN VINCENT PEALE “LEARN TO SAY ‘I DON’T KNOW. IF USED WHEN APPROPRIATE, IT WILL BE OFTEN”---DONALD RUMSFELD. By J. panchapagesan
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 02:39:12 +0000