Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test the character, give him power

Disney's Aladdin (2019) showed that while facing adversity brings out one’s resilience, it is the power that ultimately uncovers one’s true nature. With great adversity, when both Jafar and Aladdin got the magic lamp, the former fueled by revenge, sought all-more power, while the latter, filled in love, wished to free a friend in Genie. Similarly, in life too, the power has the ability to expose one's character and bring out the depth in its features. And the depth in its features, in turn, determines the degree to which one can withstand the perks of power.

Power – Indicator of Character

“World is a stage, we are all its puppets who are stringed and controlled by puppets above us in the hierarchy.” –Anonymous

In such a puppet show, the power is perceived to be capable of liberating one by cutting such strings. This cassette of freedom plays the tunes of empowerment for some, eternity for a few, and becomes addictive for others. One becomes like an over-compressed spring. Upon cutting of strings, the spring explodes out of control unless and otherwise contained.

Mohammed bin Tughlaq was one such notable exploded spring. When he became the all-powerful sultan of India in 1325, the fragrance of his unquestionable freedom evoked his deepest desires of experimenting different ways to send a person, presumably those who opposed him, not to paradise but to death. His creative brutality might have even terrify the goddess of death herself, recalls many historians.

However, in a history shaped by many complex characters, not all of them had such dreadful desires. Sher Shah Suri was a great visionary who raised from the ranks of simple revenue officer to become an all-powerful sultan in 1540. And his desire, forged by sufferings of his people, made him administer justice impartially.

The fragrance of freedom, besides evoking desire, tests one’s value system. It simply makes one express what one values the most. In the modern age, the popularity has become a simple yet powerful weapon. In that line, actors became the uncrowned powerhouses who can either influence their fans positively, or seduce them into a misery. Those actors who valued morality campaign for initiatives that can bring a responsible behavior change in the followers, as seen in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign. Whereas, those who valued money through any means seduced their fans by endorsing in online real money games advertisements, brutalizing their followers’ lives.

How-much-ever noble the values are, without tolerance, it would not sustain its nobility. Freedom, thus, tests one's tolerance to critics because inherently, any ideology per se will be challenged by some people, that being the spirit of diversity. Emperor Ashoka was one of the powerful examples of tolerance. Despite being an all-powerful Buddhist king, he was very accommodative towards all religions. He organized and encouraged intellectual debates, pacifying the sound of opposition with his voice of justice – dharmagosha, rooted in tolerance.

Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere. Rospierre was one of the heroes of French Revolution who was popularly called as ‘the incorruptible.’ But this popular title couldn’t stand the test of power, which exposed his insecurities with the help of critics. Thus, once a liberator, drove France into ‘the reign of terror’ (1793-94), replacing tolerance with guillotine justice.

Finally, the elixir of power invokes one’s ego, blinding even great scholars. In Ramayana, Ravana was a well-versed philosopher. Yet his unworldly power never let him repent for his evil deeds. He let it suppress his divine knowledge by evoking his ego and thus, pushing him into the path of self-destruction.

However, signs of hope too shines in the sky when we see some powerful people exhibit humility. For instance, PM Justin Trudeau was humble enough to apologize to India in 2016, on behalf of the Canadian government for the Komagata Maru incident (1914), when his country unwelcomed Indian immigrants.

While such incidents are momentarily pleasing, giving in a sense of confidence and hope, peace and justice will not endure in this world unless everyone realizes the true nature of power and attempts control its influence.

De-Veiling Power

As contradictory as it may sound, the true nature of power is not independence, but responsibility. As the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Power necessarily creates in oneself, an obligation towards others. This obligation, in turn, constrains one’s freedom through moral boundaries. Therefore, the widely prevailing theory of ‘power giving freedom,’ is nothing but a myth.

Furthermore, the trusteeship doctrine says that powerful people are endowed power in the form of wealth, skills and resources in order to aid those who are devoid of it. Therefore, all the power centers in this society – politicians, rulers, celebrity and, even fictional superheroes, exist to fulfil such noble responsibility of service to people.

And to prevent such noble responsibility from turning into violent autocracy, an ethical and just foundation must be laid. For such a foundation, while humility, altruism and compassion form its roots, weeds such as greed, pride and envy must be chopped out. Such kind of moral rooting was shown by Emperor Marcus Aurelius who lived like a saint, devoted to his people, unshaken in the storm of luxuries of his powerful kingdom.

Besides such moral base, a safety valve must be installed to preventing wild turns at times. This means external checks and balance must be ensured, especially in a sovereign state, to prevent misuse of power by the powerful. This is usually done by dividing and de-concentrating power, and establishing various accountability mechanisms. Even in ancient times, Kautilya advocated to hold the king accountable by protesting against him, if he became unjust. And modern world has diversified the means of protesting via elections, media, judiciary, social audits and so on.

Although power poses itself as an ultimate liberator from shackles of control, it actually entrusts one with a noble duty of service towards others, enchaining one with responsibility. The one who realizes this truth becomes the true altruistic hero, while those who fall for its fantasy become the new evil genie who must eventually be contained in such an itty-bitty tiny space in lamp. Therefore, in the test of power, one withstands its whims and fights its fancies, with what we call “Nishkama Karma” – Selfless duty!

Do you agree on my take that power is the true measure of character? Share your thoughts below.

The Honest Crumbles when Expects Good

Whether in reel-life or real life, at schools or at the workplace, in the neighbourhood or in a distant place, it is always the honest person who is painfully yelling. Wonder why? It is not because of sacrificing the luxuries of material desire. Not due to the loneliness from walking alone. Not even because of being victimized for their integrity. Then what crumbles them? Unfortunately, it is their own self that melts them down. But how?

Often, honest people are very altruistic. But such altruism also gives rise to a hidden expectation. But what do such selfless people expect? Nothing less than a black and white world!

An honest person always expects a life where they want to fight for the good and resist the bad. But unfortunately, the world is indifferentiable. The subjectivity of ethics makes the good and the bad always blend. Even their composition is not fixed. It is extremely contextual. So, if the people for whom an honest person is going to sacrifice is also corrupt in some or the other way, then what motivates one to be honest? This is the very question that breaks even the unbreakable. This also becomes the justification for corruption in society that cuts aspiring honesty at its very roots.

But what an honest one fails to understand is that integrity is neither a sacrifice nor a badge of valour. It is just the right way to live. If everyone becomes dishonest, it degrades trust in society. Society will go insane. So, honesty is not an exceptional state, but a basic survival trait for humans to live.

Another thing that a truthful person must realize is that Life is not a movie where an honest and selfless protagonist defends good people from a selfish villain. It is an ever-running video game where we must continuously save our good selves from our evil selves. And being truthful is the only way to do that. So, honesty is not purely altruistic. It is a vaccine that prevents guilt from attacking our conscience.

Then what about the protagonist saving others? We can, at the most, guide others to protect themselves. We can't do it for them. All the Gods people worship today, only preach goodness, aspiring to change. They never force it on others. Because one’s way of life is a choice. Forcing an option may contain evil but never transform into righteousness. And only a transformed self can sustain virtue, not the one who has momentarily constrained oneself in fear or fame.

Thus, expecting honesty as reciprocity from others just because one is truthful is like a child expecting a tree to grow the same day as soon as the seed was planted. Such expectations are neither realistic nor justifiable! And these kinds of greedy expectations will not only halt further service if they go unfulfilled, which in most cases they do. But also turn the moral person into a bystander, and in the worst case, into a corrupt being!

Therefore, instead of expecting honesty back, one must aspire to earn it. While the former is about dreaming, the latter tries to bring it to reality. In this way, there won’t be any disappointments, but only duty.

Nevertheless, in such a journey to win trust, one must face failures, betrayals, and backlash. It will be defeating, overwhelming, often leading to questioning one’s own path. It is natural to feel so. In fact, such self-inquiry eventually brings clarity to re-strategize efforts. So, in such times, the thought of giving up must be given up and the necessity of resilience must be realized.

Hence, cultivating morality in others through trust extracts consistent efforts. But, just like how a well-grown tree, even after years of watering, needs more water regularly to sustain its life. Similarly, nurturing ethics in others is not a milestone but a never-ending journey which must be continued by our successors too. To inspire our future generations, we must become a symbol of probity by consistently sailing through the storm of stigmatization, victimization, and self-doubt.

After all, honesty is fidelity to our own soul, not a favour to others. Thus, we must drop the weight of crushing transactional expectations, and aspire to persistently sail into a world where honesty is no longer a stranger but an all-friendly commoner!

What are your honest opinions about my take? Comment your honest thoughts below!

History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man

Many students perceive history as just a record of dates, personalities, and events. Yet, our past is more than just a chronicle of facts – it is a series of wars fought between scientific and romantic humans trying to influence the world. Though traditionally viewed as black and white, in reality, the true victor has often emerged from shades of grey – a rational person with an ethical heart who blends science with romance!

This essay explores how science dominates the historical rhetoric over romance and why its victory is dangerous if not confined by moral romance. Let’s get started!

Science-Romance Differentiation

The confrontations of scientific and romantic humans can be better understood by knowing their meanings. Science involves rational and critical thinking before performing an action, while romance refers to irrational, cultural, and emotional reasons for doing the same. Generally, a same action has both scientific and romantic backings. For example, greeting others through “Namaskar” is being followed as an Indian tradition. But due to no hand-to-hand contact, it also prevents transmission of diseases as seen in COVID-19!

However, actions and events in history did not have an equal blend of both. In fact, till the time of the scientific renaissance (revolution), romantic thoughts prevailed. While it certainly helped to bring morality into society at first, it soon transformed into a tool of oppression under power-hungry elites who tried to keep society under their control. To win over their irrational manifestative reasoning and bring in universal prosperity, many scientific wars in different forms were fought throughout history in which science ultimately triumphed.

Science Triumphed Over Romance

Throughout our past, victories of science have been distributed among various fields and aspects to comprehensively move towards this scientific world.

There was a time when economic relationships in many places were predominantly based on trust. Eventually, the exploitation of innocent workers by so-called trusted employers started to increase, giving rise to the workers’ movement. This movement was truly a scientific intervention, as it helped in formalizing labour rights by defining working hours, the pay scale, rules, etc. through written contracts, thus giving them a voice in history, which was earlier choked in the name of romantic trust! 

Politics was another major domain of elite rule and the 19^th and early 20^th century USA was a notable example. Until scientific interventions by US President Wilson, and many other scholars, including Weber, politics was corrupt, nepotism prevailed over merits in public service, and exploitation multiplied due to poor checks and balances. Their efforts gave rise to a scientific bureaucracy, restoring rationality in the political structure that mitigated the sufferings of common people.

Society is an arena where frequent scientific revaluation of reasoning for social practices becomes important to prevent injustices. While the varna system in the Vedic period was mobile, the elite intervention over the period made it rigid, attributing the caste to the birth. Not until the original Vedic scriptures were scientifically reinterpreted by social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, etc., did the people understand the truth that the caste is based on their profession and even that profession is based on their choice and not hereditary.

Further, Science itself is a field where science must war against romance. There was a time when people believed in geocentric theory which held that celestial bodies, including the sun, revolved around the earth. Any critic on this view was challenged by the Roman Catholic Church as they believed it opposed their long-standing intellectual and theological authority. It was only after the efforts of scholars, including Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler, that the rational heliocentric model, where planets including earth revolve around the sun, was accepted. This became an important chapter of European history for accelerating the scientific revolution by breaking dogmatic authority.

The expectation of the education system to blindly accept adults’ sayings without asking why, was also culturally masked in the name of respect. This led to the domination of the elderly, thus prioritising blind compliance over creativity. Again, scientific humans like Socrates were needed to bring back the scientific temper and courage to challenge the irrationals and negatives.

While all the above cases may make us believe that the scientific world is the most just world, this is only partially true. In fact, history has illustrated that science with no romance is a double-edged sword. It can pierce even the good if wielded by an immoral hand!

Romance as a Guide

The scramble for Africa is a classic example of how science can exploit innocents if driven by corrupt forces. The technological advances fuelled by imperialistic and economic ambitions led the European colonial powers to artificially divide Africa among themselves, paying no regard to the innocent African souls. Effects of such scientific colonial exploitation are still being reflected today, as we can see from Africa’s malnourished children, underdeveloped infrastructures, terrorizing coups, and continued economic and political instabilities. What went missing here was not rational thoughts, but empathetic minds.

The cases that we discussed before, from legalizing labour rights to rationalizing bureaucracy, from reinterpreting religion to questioning authority, all seem to heroize science over romance. On contrary, this African Scramble example seems to warn against science. Finally, all these cases keep the focus on the victory between science and romance. But the meaningfulness of that victory has always been determined on whether the victor was rooted in moral romance or not.

That is, every heroic scientific intervention, from labour rights to questioning authority, was backed not only by rationality, but also rooted in morality and justice, which is nothing but moral romance. Without such moral foundation, mere scientific victory seemed destructive as seen in the case of Africa. So, battles in history were truly won by rational humans, who were grounded in morality. 

And further as we advance in science, such battles will be replicated at a huge magnitude. That too in this AI age, which attempts to replace human thinking with that of machines, rooting science in ethical values is never the more relevant.

So, although history is a triumph of empirical fighters over emotional ones, it also shows how even such scientific warriors can lose in the battle of desire, if not guided by a moral compass. Opposed to solely scientific ones, the future needs virtuous technocratic commandos who can lead their people into a glorious age of responsible prosperity!

This is our turn for bringing scientific renaissance. Give your scientific temper a boost. Share your logical thoughts in the comment section below.

Are Our Doctors Losing Their Soul?

On August 22^nd of this year, in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, a moral failure in the medical profession was witnessed when a man came to the Collector’s office carrying his dead newborn in a bag, alleging that a private hospital had been raising the fee and delaying the delivery. While that private hospital was immediately sealed for inspection, this disturbing instance of moral failure raises an important question – are doctors in India losing their soul?

Eroding Medical Ethics

The INDIAN MEDICAL COUNCIL (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, state that “The prime object of the medical profession is to render service to humanity; reward or financial gain is a subordinate consideration. Who- so-ever chooses his profession, assumes the obligation to conduct himself in accordance with its ideals.” While the medical ethics code clearly puts financial gain subordinate to service to humanity, unfortunately, many doctors see it the other way around. But this problem of the reversal of value priorities, keeping financial gain at the forefront, cannot be solved unless this issue is understood across different levels – from medical education to actual practice.

Education is the first place where ethics can be imbibed into the hearts of future doctors. But unfortunately, now-a-days, education is also where the ethical failure begins. Many private medical colleges demand high capitation fees (illegal donations) for admission. This financial entry barrier creates in students a sense of “I must earn it back” kind of mindset, thus imbibing financial obligations instead of service values.

In the medical education, although the National Medical Commission (NMC) has included ethics modules in the syllabus, the dearth of ethical role models has become a major reason for the poor internalization of these ethics in students. Unfortunately, these role models, mostly the senior faculty, consistently reinforce in students a “sense of entitlement,” i.e. a prevalent mindset among some students who believe they deserve special privilege simply because they are in medical profession, rather than earning them through competence, discipline, and ethical practice. Sense of entitlement makes them view the medical field as a prestigious, high-paid job rather than as a genuine opportunity to serve patients. This also makes them focus on their personal welfare, as opposed to patients’ needs, hampering empathy.

Another, less emphasised issue with medical education is desensitisation. While desensitisation is helpful in the professional handling of surgical procedures, it often fails in the context of a doctor-patient relationship. One example of this is the cadaver lab (a cadaver is a dead human body). While the cadaver is a great educational tool for learning human anatomy and surgical procedures, there is often less discussion about the cadaver as once a “living person.” Consequently, students may start to look at the patient as a mere “subject” rather than a “wholesome person,” and thus, become desensitised to their pain and agony.

To increase sensitisation along with hands-on experience, the NMC has mandated the Family Adoption Program (FAP) for MBBS students. MBBS students are mandated to adopt families, typically from rural or underserved slum areas, to conduct regular visits and understand the health challenges of the underprivileged. While this program is aimed at fostering student-patient connections, it often suffers from implementation challenges due to students’ lack of interest, language barriers, logistical issues, and staff shortages.

These shortcomings of medical education often produce doctors who prescribe mechanically rather than engaging empathetically with patients. The consequences of such value erosion become manifold when the profit motive of corporates is added, leading to “Corporatization of the medical profession.” Many corporate hospitals make doctors chase unethical revenue-per-patient targets, increasing the work pressure and mental stress, thus furthering their compassion fatigue toward patients.

Another important issue is the loss of autonomy of doctors in corporate hospitals to independently decide on medications. Every decision they make is influenced by the management’s guidelines, tie-ups with pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. This puts a serious dent in doctors’ consciences if these tie-ups and partnerships are solely profit-driven and disregard quality and fairness in healthcare.

As these structural problems are becoming more concerning, proper reforms at each level become necessary.

Internalise Medical Ethics

Firstly, besides digitising the payment records and independent external audits, there must be a dedicated educational tribunal to address education-related grievances, including capitation fee issues.

Secondly, through awareness programs, medical colleges must de-heroize unethical role models who idolize entitlement behaviour. Thirdly, while the NMC has introduced a “cadaveric oath” reminding students of the altruism behind body donations, a voluntary “body donation pledge” for educational/medical purposes can further empathize students. Fourth, with respect to effective implementation of FAP, students must undergo sensitivity training before such village visits. Robust supervision of student-patient interactions by faculty, coupled with proper feedback, can bring back the seriousness of FAP among students. And language barriers can be resolved with AI voice translators. Further, logistical and faculty issues must be resolved with proper pre-planning.

Fifth, Independent ethics committees to act as doctors’ grievance units must be set up within hospitals. Sixth, doctors should prescribe medicines with their generic names and leave the selection of brands to the patients’ convenience. For its effectiveness, proper maintenance of drug-quality standards across brands is crucial. Finally, there should be patients’ feedback on treatment, their expectations, and suggestions. While positive responses might improve the morale of doctors, negative responses can increase the scope for improvements.

The ethical meltdown of doctors is a major obstacle for India in becoming the health capital of the world. India must act now, as further delay might lead to the vanishing of the remaining humanness of doctors in this fast-growing corporate world!

The views are personal and never intended to hurt anyone's feelings. Just a constructive criticism from a victim point of view. Kindly contribute by letting me and the world know your views. Do comment below!