Human Values in Social Life

If wealth is lost, nothing is lost, if health is lost, something is lost, if character is lost, everything is lost; in the light of the increase in crimes, scams and other unlawful acts, this saying is more apt and relevant in today’s world. The saying simply means that ‘character’ is the most important thing for an individual. Character is a bundle of behaviours. Behaviour of a person depends on his values, morals and principles. Thus, the simple logic is, values determine the character of an individual. Good values, good character and vice-versa. Human values are those values that are essential for a human being. These values include a sense of belongingness to others, compassion, non-violence, commitment, loving, sharing, caring, preserving the natural environment, social service, etc.

Social life is the life of an individual when he comes in contact with the society. Man is an inter-dependent animal. Hence, he has to interact with other people in the society for a smoother life. We are all born with certain values, but, as we grow up, somewhere dirt covers it up and loses its importance. Only when the dirt is washed will it come into light again.

So, what is the need for human values in this social life? In this world where competition, jealousy, selfishness, ego is on the rise, people would go to any extent to just get their work done. When corruption is on the rise, development takes a back seat. Hence, human values play a decisive role.

Is it practical to expect people to follow human values in today’s materialistic world? YES!

One inspiring example is that of Kathewadi, a village in Maharashtra. This village was called the ‘model/ideal village’ by the national news channel, NDTV 24/7. The specialty of this village is that there is a shop named ‘JAI GURUDEV’ which functions without a shopkeeper. All products are priced, the customers pick up what they want, keep the money, take the change is required and go. The first time I heard it, I thought it was just a dream. I don’t think such shops exist even in the so called ‘developed countries’. This village is an embodiment of human values. The village is witnessing economic, educational and spiritual development. Trust, loving, caring, sharing can be seen at its best in this village. The village is also free from alcohol and drugs. The villagers themselves burnt it all in public. The villagers have made their own roads and drainage systems without any kind of Government intervention. Kathewadi is an example for us to learn from.

Why is it that we don’t follow human values? It is easier and more convenient to not follow. The advantage of living human values is that life becomes more simple and smooth. One formula to create an ideal state is to follow the principle which was said by Plato during his times, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

What is that essential human value for today? The answer would be commitment, which means, everyone sticks to their promises. Let us assume (for the sake of an example) the organizers decided to not turn up today without any notification to the participants! The participants would have grumbled a lot. This is what is happening today. Not everyone is keeping their promise. In today’s social life where corruption, nepotism, red-tapism has become the order of the day, commitment from people will ensure everyone performs their respective duties. When everyone performs their duties properly, where is the need to give bribe or accept bribe? Automatically everything sets right on its own.

A Universal Declaration of Human Values was unveiled by H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in 2007. H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has also set up the International Association for Human Values. It is based at Geneva with a mission to cut across all borders, cultures to help the human values blossom in people. The IAHV conducts various workshops, trauma relief camps, other programs connected to empowerment of youth and women. 

What is the next step ahead? Education! By education, I’m not referring to the number of degrees one holds. Education is moral and intellectual teaching. We should work towards creating an education system where values are given more importance than marks. With a value based education system, we are sure to create a self sufficient world of loving, caring and sharing people. 

Education-The need of the hour!

'Educate', according to the Oxford English Dictionary means, to give moral or intellectual instruction. Intellectual means the power of reasoning and understanding. Morals are the principles of right and wrong, like, being honest, saying the truth, helping others, being kind, etc. Morals are those essentials with which we live a better life.
'Education' is one of the most commonly used words. If we closely observe, it is also one of the most misunderstood words. We usually associate education with the degree or the extent of a person's academic achievement. 

If a person has completed his Masters in Law, Science, Medicine, or any other subject for that matter, is respected in the society and is considered as a highly 'educated' person. Actually speaking, is not necessary to have a degree from a reputed college to be an educated' person. 


Now for some facts: 

• Mr. Ramlinga Raju who did his MBA from Ohio University is now behind the bars as an accused in a  7,800-crore fraud. (FYKI, the official moto of the OHIO University is to uphold values)
• Mr. A. Raja holds an M. L degree and is now in Tihar jail after what is considered as the country's largest scam.
• Mr. Dayanidhi Maran has studied in Harvard Business School, USA ans is also awaiting trial in the 2-G spectrum case.
• Kerala which is considered to have almost 100% literacy rate also has a very high crime rate (especially against women)

The list goes on. 

In ancient times, the 'Gurukul system' of education existed. 

When we compare it with our present day system, it was  a much better, more useful and a  more cooler system. Students were trained with basic values of love, empathy, selflessness, responsibility, caring, sharing and many more. It is true that there were villans in those days also, but, the villans were those who didn't get EDUCATION in its true sense. Today, we are more marks and money oriented. I'm not saying marks are insignificant, but, they are not the ultimate goal of our lives. Marks and money should be a means to an end and not an end by itself.  Values will automatically fetch us marks and money, in the long run. 


26/11 will be a date that will not be forgotten for many years. A summary of what happened on that day- 10 youngsters came, killed and literally brought the entire country to a halt! These were men who didn't get education in its truest sense. 


Gandhiji was known for his principles and values. It was not his law degree that brought us freedom, it was his effort along with that of thousands of others. Gandhiji's principles and values were up against the British rifles. In the end, the values won. India has had a great history of people with such values and principles. Somewhere these morals have lost track. It is the morals that are more important than the degree. There is never a wrong time to do the right thing. Let us get back to our basics, learn our values and make them a part of our life. Having values will make us successful in the long run. Let us get 'educated' and 'educate' others!

Youth and Responsibility!

It is a general tendency for the elders to consider 'youth' and 'responsibility' as oil and water, not going hand in hand. Not that we behave any better. So, are we responsible for anything at all? Yes! we are responsible for our lives and to some extent of the others around us. Simple example, we are responsible if we flunk in our exams and also responsible to an extent if our friends fail.

We have responsibility in every phase of our lives. We have responsibility towards our parents, our college, our friends, our country and so on. If we are not good at our profession at the end of 5 years, it would be because of lack of responsibility taken by us in our college days. If we participate in debates, Moots, grabbing every opportunity to improve ourselves, there will be no stopping us. 

What we usually say is, "We'll become responsible after we become 25-30 years old." This is one of the biggest mistakes we make. Responsibility is right NOW! A few votes in an election can decide the fate of a political party, a few responsible residents can ensure the hygiene in their neighbourhood. The list goes on. Miracles happen is we take responsibility. We need to take the initiative and the others will automatically follow if its for a good cause. We have no right to complain without taking responsibility. Taking responsibility gives us power.

We wouldn't have got independence if great men like Gandhiji, Bose, Tagore, Mangal Pandey, Sarojini Naidu and many other freedom fighters wouldn't have taken the initiative. Gandhiji could have decided to not fight, he was 60+ years old, anyway he would have died in a few years, so what was the point for him to fight day and night for freedom ? Just imagine for a second the plight of our country if it was not for the sacrifice of those great men and women!

There is an urgent need for us to take responsibility, right NOW! We youth can do wonders. We constitute more than 50% of this country's population. If we take the first step, there will be 99 behind us. Taking responsibility is important, but the cause or purpose for taking it is even more important(In simple words, it has to be for a good cause). 

If we have a problem with the government, corruption, climatic change, poverty, we must raise our voices and stand up against it. An essential ingredient to be kept in mind while taking responsibility is the modus operandi(mode of functioning). Taking responsibility does not mean screaming, protesting, killing. We must have an organised approach. This is an art and will need time and patience to master :) Time has come, we have slept enough! Rise now!

We live in a country where...

With due respect to our glorious motherland, we live in a country where..

· There are too many sayers and very few doers.

· Pizza reaches faster than an ambulance

· Police reach after the crime

· Mobile phones don’t get us close to people; it just takes us away from the ones sitting next to us.

· We get rice at Rs.30 and Sim card for free.

· Youth give more importance to the quality of clothes than the quality of education,

· We bargain on the streets and not in a mall.

· Rumor spreads faster than the Sun's rays.

· Too much money in the hands of very few people.

· The safest person in India after 26/11 is Ajmal Kasab

· More number people fight for a seat in the bus than against HIV.

· We are more interested in what happens in the other's life than our own.

· People spend half their health to gain wealth, and then spend half their wealth to regain their health.

We've slept enough!

It's time!

Let us take responsibility.

Let us join hands towards a better way of life!

7305 and 1/4 days old!

Wow!!! I turned 7305 and 1/4 days old on 17/04/2011 B-)

Seems it was just yesterday when

• I cried for that extra bottle of milk, extra shirt, extra bite of the chocolate
• I smiled at the butterflies, played with my puppies
• Wondered at the Sun, Stars and the Moon
• Fought with mum while she was feeding me
• Laughed whole heartedly
• Irritated dad
• Bossed around friends
• Stepped into school
• Drove a cycle for the first time, fell for the first time
• Stepped out of school
• When I got caught for copying
• When we mass bunked
• When I had to separate from friends
• When I had no money
• When we shared food
• When I was in many not so comfortable situations
• When I cried n cried .....

Its all like a dream. I have to move on. This is just the beginning, have a looong way to go!

In the words of Robert Frost...

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep"

I thank Him for all that I've received and all that I will receive.

This is a prayer of His child requesting for more strength to make us more useful to this wonderful creation of His!

Looking behind the curtains!

The curtains of the K.L.E Society's Law College Fest-2011 rolled down last week. Almost the entire college worked for its success.

When I look behind the curtain, I see moments of joy, sorrow, anger, appreciation, love, disbelief and many more. Someone has rightly said that every moment has to be thoroughly enjoyed. Every moment of joy, sorrow has something hidden for us to grab. Wise are those who seize it.

What about the ones who don't seize it??

They'll get another chance :)

It is just like yesterday that we were inviting Judges for the event and today, we were thanking them for coming. Indeed, time and tide waits for no man! The nostalgia of those 3 days of the Fest is a true journey in understanding things better :)

I've heard people say, "Whatever happens, always happens for the good." I hadn't understood what it 'actually' meant. Recently, I've been experiencing times of joy, sorrow, anger. I wondered why God gave us problems though we were his dear children. I always thought it would have been so much easier if God created us as Mr/Ms. Perfect. Earth would have definitely been a better place if everyone were born without defects.

But, sometime back I understood that life wouldn't be fun if everything was perfect. Life would be monotonous without imperfections of today's world. A man's life would become miserable if he stayed happy all the time. Its nice to be unhappy at times :) (that is when we actually cherish the happy moments) So it is very NATURAL to get angry, to be sad, to lose hope, to fail, to mess up things, to do wrong, etc. But, this is not an excuse to do wrong! It is a mode of stabilising the mind to work better :)

During the Fest, there were moments when I was sad, frustrated, angry. Accepting the emotion (courtesy the Blessing Course) instead of fighting against it, lightened the mind to such an extent that it helped me get out of the situation faster :)

I get displeased when I see people not fulfilling their responsibilities or duties. This was a common sight while working for the Fest. It irritated me a few times. Later, by just accepting that very fact of displeasure relieved me of that burden. The whole system felt lighter. Only with acceptance comes peace. Only with peace can we perform better!

Next time you are up against your mind, don't resist it (however negative the emotion may be). Just accept it the way it is and it will surely become easier to handle the situation better :)

*Feel free and post your questions @ jayanthdevkumar@gmail.com

The Law of Satisfaction!

Every time I pass by a chocolate shop, my mouth waters. Thoughts to eat more and more chocolates storm the brain :P I'm sure this has happened to many. This is an attempt to share an experience of mine which remains very close to me and which I'm sure will make you think, at least for a moment :)

Economics is one of my favourite subjects because of its applicability in our daily life. Economics has many theories, many Laws covering various aspects of human behaviour. One such law is the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.

Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, in simple terms is, 'The satisfaction we derive after the consumption of a commodity reduces as we continuously consume more of it.'

This is an ongoing process. Awareness to this very fact itself brings a shift in the mind :)

A recent incident made the foundation of this Law stronger in my system.

Me and my friend were called to act as 'Clients' for a 'Client Counselling' event. I was very excited. I've always enjoyed playing around with words and beating around the bush when someone asks me something. And, I knew, this is what was required to be a tough 'Client' to crack :P. The event started. I played around with the first few Counsellors and enjoyed it thoroughly. As I continued, I reached a stage where I was waiting to stop being a 'Client' and leave that place ASAP! I was tired of having fun as a 'Client'. True fun was only with the first few Counsellors. Gradually, the satisfaction I derived from the process reduced.

A similar thing happened with my favourite dish also :P

I just savour any dish with paneer. I was in Thiruvananthapurum for a competition. There, I literally had paneer every day. At one point I stopped enjoying it. Eating paneer became mechanical. I was getting no great satisfaction, but, I still continued to eat.

This is applicable to almost every action of ours- desire to drive, to eat chocolates, ice-creams, to make money, to gain marks and so on. But, awareness to the Law really lightens the mind, makes things easy and more enjoyable :)

Today we compete sooo much that we have no idea where we are heading. We do all sorts of natak in life, but in the end, we can only eat 3 times a day (max 4) that too in limited quantities. Next time you want to get your hands on that extra chocolate, remember the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. Become aware of the satisfaction derived with every bite instead of just gulping in that extra chocolate :)

I'm not saying don't desire, don't have higher goals, aims etc etc. I'm just saying, drop that feverishness to be satisfied, drop the thought that, 'Only if I get XYZ commodity in ABC quantity I'll be happy.'

Exception to the above mentioned Law:

I started the post saying this Law applies to 'almost' everything. So what is that exception??

Its the 'desire for knowledge'. This urge to gain more knowledge can not be satisfied. It will only push us to desire for more. And its a good sign :)

If you could comprehend it, well and good. If not, its ok. Someday you will :)