INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

    TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK 'MARANAM-PARAMANANDATHINTE THAKKOL' WRITTEN BY ANAND UNNITHAN. TRANSLATED BY:KRISHNA(KRISHNANKUTTY NAIR).copyright@anand unnithan(author of the book) 

                                                          5

                           INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

            He thought. “Who is this Society?”  Even after searching everywhere, he could not find the person who is The Society.

            On which basis the society is made is to be clarified here.  Society itself is of different types.  Hindu Society, Christian Society, Muslim Society, Indian Society, Western Society, American Society, Arabian Society, Industrial Society, Consumer Society, Saints’ Society, Priest’s Society, Common Society, Keralites’ Society, North Indian Society etc.  Apart from these, there are the sub units of above societies like Nair Society, Ezhava Society, Brahman Society, Sunni Society, Shia Society, Orthodox Society, Catholic Society etc.

            But alive and existent are only human beings. (Apart from plants and animals). 

            Then there is no society. Isn’t?

            No. It is there.

            Even the human race can be called human society using metaphorical language.  But the truth is that there is no specific advantage in just calling it human society.

            Because each individual is unique.  And therefore, Society is only an odd assemblage of people on some or other basis, whose names could be written under some heading. 

            But it does not create a real camaraderie.

            Because each individual is unique.

            A Cancer patient and a fever patient do not deserve the same medicine.

            Like that, each individual has different likes and life styles.

            But the society does not permit it!

            Those who do not like to be kept within the cages of restrictions of the society are being laughed at and punished by the society.

            Sitting on a wooden bench lying by the wayside, if a Lover, out of sheer love, kisses his Love, the society will interfere.

Who is this society?

            Is it that group of individuals who interfere in the name of morality?

            If they are individuals, those who were engaged in kissing each other were also individuals.

            Their kissing did no harm to any individual of the society.  It was not a forced kiss by a man seizing an unknown girl, who was walking on the road, thereby insulting her.

            It was a kiss of a friend given to his girl friend.

            What is wrong in it?

Why should a group of people, who claim to be the champions of morality, interfere in this?  

            Even if they saw it, the right step for them was to go ahead without interfering.

But it usually happens the other way.

Although planet Earth does not belong to anyone, it is destined to be the living place of everyone.  

 The same is the case with religion also.

            Take the case of a fight between a Hindu and A Mussalman, the cause of it being their personal issues.

Religion is not at all the reason of the fight.

But quite unexpectedly, it takes a violent turn.

It becomes a fight between a Hindu and a Mussalman.

And people take sides in the name of society and start fighting.

But is it the decision of entire Hindus or Muslims?

Never.

There also there are different opinions.

Then how can we call it as society? Because, it is already divided in two groups. Those who like violence and those who do not like.

Then how can it be a single society?

So if we start dividing human race in the name of Religion, politics, points of view etc. we will ultimately reach in the individual.

An individual who has his own likes and dislikes.

Likewise, the other individuals too, who are totally different from each other.

If we need to address them together, there will be only one society. The human society.

One of the biggest challenges which we face now is today’s young generation, which is not conscious of the purpose of their being.

Just because they give importance to their individual freedom,

They fall in love.

In their point of view, it is their personal affair.  There is no need for society to interfere.

It is correct. Society should not interfere!

What is needed is a rewriting of the social laws.

By giving freedom to love if one wants to love and not to love if one does not want to love, it will become the society.

If the society has to exist, there should be clear idea about freedom. Love is freedom and infliction of pain is assault on freedom.

Those who made the rules to bind the society together as a single unit,

were aware of this fact.

            But when the rules are being twisted and distorted for the benefit of a few, who have no proper idea about it, the society dies.

            To stop destruction of forest is an urgent need of the human beings and the world.  Otherwise, human race itself may disappear from the face of Earth!

            But if a person walks around naked or semi-naked, society will not approve it.

            But he has the freedom to do so.  He is not harming the society in any way. Nobody dies just because of his walking around like that.  It does not trouble any animals or birds!

            It is his freedom. Moreover, he was born without any clothes.

            But the society dies again, if it interferes in the matter.

            Probably, as Osho said, the reason for this may be the disturbance to the belief that humans are not animals.  

And above that, the social rules governing the baseless concepts of morality are also the reason for this. 

For example, as per Islamic faith, a man can have any number of wives, if he is able to look after them. But to a Hindu, he can have a second marriage only after he is freed of the first marriage.

Even the existing rules and laws will not help in explaining this dissimilarity in a justifiable manner.  

And this divides the society again.

But no rule or law is daring enough to say that from now on a Muslim male can marry only once.

It is because such a ruling will, no doubt, create problems. 

Therefore, those who have organizational strength are being approached diplomatically by the governing bodies while those individuals who are not organized are being dealt with by the same bodies as dictators.

Because an individual alone is weak.

He may be forced to obey.  It is very clear in History. Many of them who raised voice for individual freedom were punished.

Yet, some of them were recognized later.

If we need a strong and stable society, the rules need to be altered.  Otherwise, they will change according to the needs of time.  Let the rules and laws have a universal approach to all problems.

Because, that itself is godliness. Murder and slaughter and robbery and destruction are against nature. They are to be prevented.

But the universal freedom must be safeguarded at any cost.

Freedom to walk in rain wearing or not wearing clothes, Freedom to love, Freedom to enjoy or not to enjoy life with one or more pairs or companions, Freedom to commit or not to commit suicide (ending of life for having no source of living is not meant here) - Freedom to travel and to stay, Freedom to believe or not to believe, Freedom to produce and eat food, Freedom to learn and not to learn.

But one individual’s freedom should not curtail another individual’s freedom.

Take the example of sexual relation between a man and woman.  If they engage in sex with mutual consent, there is nothing objectionable in it.

But if the man is trying to force the woman to engage in it without her consent, it should be stopped. Because it will be infringement of her freedom. 

It is already late for human beings to decide matters in this manner.

But he is always busy. And that too after needless issues.

He thinks that God created planet Earth only for him!

That is why he thinks that pests and worms should not eat vegetables.

Therefore, he sprays fatal pesticides on the plants.  And ultimately lands in trouble.  He must learn to apportion everything to whoever deserves it, realizing and approving the fact that the worms and birds and ants deserve the vegetables equally with him and he has no special right on it.  Or on anything else.

One who cannot give life has no right to make genetic modification and to change the divine genetic system of vegetables or plants in the name of increasing production.   To increase production, the right path is to involve more people in agriculture, thereby cultivating more land.

Yes. It is high time for man to return to nature.

If some of the customs of the olden times had prevented his immature intelligence from doing something, it was for the nature and the living beings.

But when his intelligence developed, many of the customs became seemingly false and meaningless. On the other hand, he did not recognize the real wisdom behind many of the customs.

And he laughed at and discarded everything in the name of a few detrimental customs and rituals.

Those who pretend to possess scientific accuracy in everything have to realize that the ultimate science is the universe.

Prajnjaanam Brahma.

Yes. Brahman (The supreme one) is knowledge.

And if one has to accomplish that knowledge, he must have universality of comprehension.  Then he will become spiritual. He will become divine.

Because nature is not different from spirit.  God is the combination of both.

When they are separate, there will be the darkness of sorrow.

The wise ones realize that those which possess form and those which are formless are one and the same.

Yes. Each person is a whole Universe.

In order to acquire the ultimate knowledge, humans have to take a number of births sometimes. Rebirth has been scientifically proven now.

Yes. Life is a continuing phenomenon.

But why so many births?

At the time of birth, a man will be devoid of conscience and he will have to create a deep yearning for achievement.  A non-extinguishable wish to possess something, which ultimately he will be able to acquire.

But to create the yearning, there must be proper idea about the target. And target is a hidden treasure.

His condition will be like that of a small boy who happened to be alone in a dense forest.

In front of him are many wild animals, birds, rocks, creepers and bushes and thickets, clumps of trees, tasty fruits, moonlight and coolness and heat and sunlight and rain…and everything like that.

His journey through interesting and diverse experiences is commencing.

By now he forgot as to wherefrom he has come and why he has come and where he has to go now. Every moment, the forest is making him more and more

excited.

            When he passed from the flower garden to the grove of bamboos, he felt very sad.  How can he leave this garden behind?

            But how can he avoid going to the equally beautiful bamboo grove?   

            Yes. By this time, he has become a materialist. 

He had forgotten his aim much before.  So he created fencing around the garden.

The reason was that he existed at the low level of consciousness and thought process.

Thinking that the garden is his own, he went to the Bamboo grove, which too excited him greatly.

The situation and power which work in him and make him excited and intoxicated in everything so as to forget the reality may be called in Indian Philosophy as Maya (illusion).

As usual he made fencing around the Bamboo grove and moved towards new tastes.

But he could not find ultimate happiness in anything.

So moving ahead and ahead for fresh tastes, he turned the majority of the forest into his own property.

Then one day he happened to see a dead Lion.

He felt aggrieved.  Poor Lion! How sad that It had to go leaving behind this beautiful jungle!

Suddenly, like a lightening, a thought entered into his mind.

I too will die one day like this Lion.

On that day, I will lose all these beautiful things which I possess.

His mind became fidgety.

And in the subsequent restiveness he saw that. 

The exit.

But he was not able to go out.

How can he go out leaving behind everything, which he managed with great difficulty to possess?

From there, he began to run towards his beloved forests.

But he could not forget the momentary vision of the truth.

Even while searching for new venues, he was restless.  The fear of death and the Exit were tearing off his otherwise beautiful moments.

At last he was persuaded to control thoughts.  And he pondered over the past incidents.

The pull of attraction of the forest at one side and the power of truth on the other side created a grave tension in him.

To calm the mind, he tried to forget everything, sitting with closed eyes. And to block all thoughts, he concentrated attention on his breath.

Slowly, he awoke into meditativeness. 

And when his mind calmed down he sensed that the past was only a drama.

Yes. He was freed of illusory bondage.

And it made him realize that the things which he took as his own were not belonging to him.  And he discerned higher stages of consciousness. 

And he decided to get away from that forest, which so far tempted and kept him in its hold.

Now he has a target.

And he has acquired the will power to attain it.

And he engaged himself in travelling through the forest in order to get out of it.

And throughout the journey, the forest continued to lure him in order to make him retreat.

But he continued with his effort, being conscious of the fact that the attractions demonstrated around him by the forest were deceptive.

At last he came out of the forest.

Yes. He is relieved of all illusions.

And had become the possessor of the ultimate happiness.

And if everyone can embrace the ultimate awareness as done by him, all the problems of this world will vanish in a moment.

But it does not happen.

And the real problem is that even a conscious individual has to live in this society of conscious individuals.

And above that, all the individuals of this society are at various levels of consciousness and wisdom.

Even if the person who speaks has already reached the level of ultimate awareness, it does not mean that another person must necessarily understand it.

Therefore, many of the seekers of ultimate truth as well as the prophets explain it in a hidden manner.  

Or they explain the truth in a simple way for the common man, hiding facts which have to be hidden.

All the religions as well as the governing systems are established in this manner by those who had attained true awareness.

He forms rites and customs which eventually lead to the Ultimate Truth. And he makes rules and laws and governing systems in order to make the non-violent people live with the violent, cruel ones in harmony.

Because he is aware of the fact that if these are not there, only the stronger ones will be able to survive here.

He also knows that man, who has the powers of discretion and prudence, have to love each other and have to work for the benefit of everyone. 

And he makes vast and elaborate arrangements for this purpose.

But these arrangements decay when stupid persons reach the top.

When greedy ones reach the seats which were once occupied by selfless persons, the consequence will be utter fiasco, which will further result in acute suffering to the nation as well as to the individuals.  

And moral failure is repeating.  It continues.

Yet, nobody can stop the incarnations of those great men who reach beyond the ages in which they are born.

Great people like Buddha and Christ and Gandhiji take birth periodically and they will create new arrangements relating to existence and those who are generally being addressed as the populace will easily get attracted to them. 

It is the union of Jeevatma (individual soul) with Paramatma (Supreme soul).

And their field of attraction will expand, pulling more and more people towards them. And the field of attraction will exist for many more years even after the demise of the great men.  In Its brightness, many souls will get the ultimate truth exposed to them making them work for the well-being of the universe.

Yes. Uncertainty is a universal truth. 

Everything perishes.  Slowly.

It is a continuing process.

Creation, persistence and destruction.  

Destruction is the beginning of re-creation. 

It is in this way that nations, governments, religions and philosophies come into existence for the well-being of the world, which later get corrupted and destroyed.

Yes. Everything is a continuing process.

And those who are at the peak of every social and political organization should realize this and act accordingly.

Without realizing the Ultimate, do not impose rules and laws on people because then they will be hollow and worthless. 

Such systems of administration will not help the inner growth of the individual. It will only help suppressions.

If the individual wants to walk naked, permit him to do so.

Otherwise, he will go on bearing the weight called clothes for fear of punishment.

And it will persuade him to destroy all the set-up around.

He will become a forceful wave of negativity, a negative magnetic field, with many followers.

But if he gets the freedom to walk undressed, he will enjoy the liberty. And it will help him to be calm and reflective.

Sometime he may even realize that there is no difference between well-dressed and undressed.

And he will continue to live wearing or not-wearing clothes.

But he, as an individual, is being honoured there. And as a result, the Thamoguna (The negative qualities) will not be become awoke.

If the law blindly orders that a person must wear clothes, it is utter foolishness.

Because it will be a bondage. And it will result in his slipping away from Sathwaguna (Positive qualities).

To verify and learn is the birthright of every person.  And it is the duty of administrations to approve this.

Let nations and societies form. It is welcome. But do not forget individual.  Society does not need treatment. Only the individual can be treated.

Society is created by individuals. But individual is created by that power which is beyond human intelligence.  The regulations made by man may go wrong.  It is not necessary to obey it always and in every circumstance.  But there is no way except to obey the divine set-up, which may otherwise be called as the universal laws.

A constitution can be amended or revised.  But nobody can amend birth or death or the in between.

Better is the conscious one who breaks morality with the ultimate aim of realizing the self than the soldier of morality who deceives himself.

Do everything with absolute certainty.

Since the realities around us being as said above, let us pray for a proper set-up, to suit the growth of spirituality in individuals.

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