3Rs

First up, I must say that I am disappointed that I have not been able to write much since I left college 7 months ago. Not that I have been too busy to write anything or too unimaginative or insipidly and nonchalantly occupied with something more important during these many months. It is  just that I did not get enough positive "force"  to displace my inertia of laziness to write  (rather compile my "story" because essentially that is what this blog is - a historical account of my life). Surely, my experience post MBA of working in an organization under revival post survival could account for a truckload of blog-able content. However, I don't want to belabor about this intervening period, one of bountiful frustration. It will take too much time to compile if I were to do sufficient justice to the magnitude and seriousness of it. So without more digression let me turn right back into the topic that I really wanted to write about.

One fine day, while ruminating over the modalities of arguably the most important "next step" in my journey I realized that I needed to understand what my values really were. It eventually led me to my usual "idea" moment. I came to a quick conclusion that my values can be encapsulated into "3Rs" as I would like to describe them. Yea, they are distinct from the traditional 3Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic while being as important if not more  because of their equally universal appeal  in my opinion. If you are still wondering what the 3Rs are, let me dispel the mystery. They are relevance , reasonableness and responsibility. These 3 best describe the universal values that I would like to identify myself with. I hope that they will guide me through all the moments of indecision that I may face in my life. Let me describe each one of them in brief.

1)"Relevance": Relevance in my opinion is perhaps the most important of human values. Every thing that we do can be examined using a "relevance" lens. For instance, I need to ask myself, is the work I do relevant to myself, my family, my company, my country, the society  and ultimately the world at large? I think every person and organization must ask itself the question: How can I be more relevant to the society or the world at large? Relevance can be more effectively and better understood by examining examples of irrelevance. An instant one  that I can conjure up is that of the likes of "Paris Hilton". With my limited knowledge about her, I would like to know how relevant Paris Hilton is to our society or  to the world at large. If I discount any charities that she might be supporting actively through monetary contribution or otherwise, partying 365 days a year would not account for much relevance in my opinion. Most hedonistic pursuits like drinking, drug abuse etc. would in some way come under  the irrelevant category. More than the  well known faces like those of Paris, I am more concerned about mindless followers of hers and their  ilk. Another classic Indian example would be Rakhi Sawant. I am not for a moment suggesting that people should not enjoy, but majority of the work that we do in our day to day lives and in every major activity of ours we must ask ourselves, where is this all leading to? If I can remotely relate it to the greater  human goal I would continue to pursue that activity. One many now ask quite rightly, what is this "greater human goal". It is difficult at this point of time for me to describe what the "greater human goal" is and what it should be. I am in no position to proclaim what it should be. However, a fair idea of what  could generally be accepted as a greater human goal would be -  "Maintaining evolutionary progress through preservation of overall ecological  balance".( I may be excused for drawing this conclusion from my excessive indulgence in  watching NGC, Discovery and Animal Planet ). There are many examples which I can draw upon. If  our observations of nature were to be taken as a lodestone, "evolutionary progress" emerges as the only ultimate goal. Numerous animal and plant species come together only at the time of mating and never meet again.  Animal and plant species have developed extraordinary adaptations for survival. They have employed strategies that will beat the shit out of all the fancy "blue ocean" strategies of the business world. ( The examples to demonstrate this are simply too many and I would like to write a separate piece to describe them one day).

 2) "Reasonableness": The second most important of human values according to me is "Reasonableness" which  essentially describes the attribute of fairness in dealings. Reasonableness derives itself from the first value which is "Relevance". If I were to accept my hypothesis of evolutionary progress as the ultimate human goal,  then  "social living" could be described as a means to achieve that goal. Whether one chooses to call it "division of labor" as described by Adam Smith, the fact remains that living in a society greatly enhances our chances of survival and evolutionary progress. And it is in this need for social  living that "Reasonableness" finds its "Relevance". In most situations we as individuals are aware of what is fair and what is not. It is to an extent tied into the "social living" concept.  If we consider that man has been gifted with unique gifts by god then the gift of conscience - the ability to judge to oneself " the wrong from the right"  would be the most important of all. I cannot remember a single instance in my life when I did not know what was fair and what was not. (Whether I  tread the fair  path is another matter and one of regret). Thus, "Reasonableness" constitutes the second in the triad of human values. Without reasonableness, there would be anarchy, reflected so vividly from time to time in various coups and revolutions.

3) "Responsibility": Last but not the least, responsibility both personal and for the greater society at large is the third most important of human values. Taking responsibility of one's own actions goes a long way in establishing a sustainable world order. Whether it is parking the bike on central stand in a parking garage or driving in your own lane or avoiding driving while drunk, avoiding wastage of electricity or water etc are some of the examples of responsibility. It is an element of personal responsibility we need to endorse for the collective good of all.

Finally, while, I am convinced that these are necessary to describe my values, I am not certain if they are sufficient. With limited rumination over them and true to my nature of not going too deeply into most philosophical pursuits, I hope they are necessary and sufficient.