CHAPTER VII

Selfishness is a disease

It is often said that every human being is selfish by nature. Selfishness denotes the precedence given in thought or deed to self interests and self concerns, the act of placing one's own needs or desires above the needs or desires of others.

At the root of every problem is selfishness. Selfishness always breeds arrogance and ultimately destroys you. As Sri Aurobindo said, “Selfishness is the worst disease.” It degrades a human being.

In the words of another thinker, Swami Atmananda:

Individual view brings about selfishness and all its subsequent problems. Even though every person has some fundamental responsibilities towards himself, that alone should never be the sole objective of life. Everyone should take care of one’s basic necessities, but even to fulfill these objectives one has to look beyond oneself – to begin with towards one’s family and later towards the society as a whole too. Any person who is obsessed with himself so much that he does not have anytime even for the family around, is always a potential danger. They are demons in the making. Such people look at their children and other relatives too as pawns to be used for their own selfish ends. They have no love in their hearts; or rather do not know the real meaning of love. Their life is dry and lonely, and in spite of their obsessive and blinding concerns for themselves they do not satisfactorily fulfill even those objectives they are so concerned about. They definitely seem to be on the wrong path.

A human being brings sorrow and misery upon himself because of his ego and selfish desires. The world shares your pleasures, but not your woes. The law of life is: Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and none weeps with you. Rejoice, be cheerful and people flock around you. Grieve, be miserable and they leave you alone.

In order to evolve from selfishness to selflessness, it is imperative to study the three elements of right living: Giving, Love and Knowledge.

Two broad principles govern human actions based on the attitude of giving and taking. If the attitude of taking prevails in the society, that will bread selfishness and as a result we will be stressed out. We will be infested with unhappiness. Once you change your attitude and drop selfishness, you will enjoy peace and harmony all around.

The dignity of the human race is founded upon the principle of giving. In his famous classic ‘Les Miserables’ Victor Hugo maintains, “Life is to give, not to take.” No man has a right to claim anything as his. He ought not to desire, demand from society. Perhaps his only right in the world is to give, to serve.

To quote Jesus Christ, “Be content to serve. When you serve the world, the entire world stands in obeisance before you.” Objects and beings are at your beck and call. You are a master, not a servant.

The first of the two principles is based on the attitude of ‘giving’. The second is based on the attitude of ‘taking’. If the attitude of ‘taking’ prevails in a society you will find its members possessed with multifold selfish demands and desires. Consequently, there is struggle, stress and strain in that society. Let their attitude change to ‘giving’. Harmony, peace and happiness reign in the very same society.

The second element of right living is love. Love is realising your identity with the world. It means realising your oneness with the whole. The universe is made up of one infinite ocean of love. If you do not recognise this sublime truth you live in an island of your own. You segregate yourself from the totality. Your suffer the sorrows of separation

Love is to appreciate what is happening with you and around you. It is a feeling of oneness.

A person sensitive to others alone has a heart full of love and peace. He does unto others what he expects others to do unto him. This is possible only because of his high degree of sensitivity and love for everyone around.

We often use harsh words against others without realising the hurt that it causes to them. Only when we put ourselves in their shoes do we realise where it pinches. Love is to identify ourselves with the other person, to be loving and caring. This leads to oneness among the entire body of people in the universe. This is what is love, not a male-female relationship or a heterogeneous relationship.

People often say, they have fallen in love. But I do not comprehend why somebody should fall in love. They should rise in love. In love we are selfless and seldom expect anything from others. Thus, you should rise in love, not fall in love.

Lack of knowledge breeds ignorance

The third element of right living is knowledge. That is, when the body realises the importance of service towards others. True knowledge helps you to discriminate between the spirit and matter, between the real Self and the enveloping material layers.

True knowledge is gained through independent reflection, original thinking, and free reasoning. It is the faculty which helps you recognise the true Self which remains ever-constant in contrast to the changing world around. Thus, true knowledge has little to do with erudition and scholarship in religious literature. A man may be most learned in the scriptures, he may memorise and recite volumes of psalms and passages and yet lack the ability to perceive the unity in diversity, to see the true Self in everybody and everywhere. You acquire this knowledge when you recognise your real Self.

Serving others is the right thing for the human body. When the mind starts loving the universe as a whole, that is, all creatures around you, you renounce selfishness. That is how you start loving universally, rather than selectively. To achieve this, your intellect should seek knowledge. Knowledge is to understand, what permanent and impermanent are. This enables you to understand your true real Self. But we are unaware of the powers that we possess within ourselves. This is because we are living in ignorance.

Remain detached from worldly excitement

Ignorance of the Self manifests itself in three different temperaments. Based on this, human beings can be categorised as Inactive People, Active People and Super-active People.

Inactiveness is when you are oblivious to your surroundings. Such people are normally dull and lack motivation. They have to be compelled to do even their basic work. They fail to apply their mind. Only sustenance matters. They have no place for love and are selfish down to the core. They resort to negative ways very easily. They are insensitive, unhygienic and unintelligent. They seem to live in a dream world.

An active person is passionate and his mind works all the time. Such people are dynamic. They are totally involved in the affairs of the world. Thus, their equipoise is shaken soon. They are susceptible to emotional imbalances and upheavals. They are motivated to act only by some definite and perceptible results. The direction and nature of their work is decided by some extraneous factors rather than from within. As a result they remain dissatisfied. Such people are generally found to be under stress.

A super-active person is equanimous. Such people do not get over-excited about successes nor do they lose heart over failures. They are mature, contemplative and detached from worldly involvement and excitement. They are the most positive and creative ones. They are calm, cheerful and boast of a highly intelligent disposition. They are caring, yet do not get swept away by any emotion. Nothing shakes or deters them; they can retain their equipoise and a high degree of alertness under all circumstances. They seem to have inexhaustible energy with a never-say-die attitude. They are the originals, pioneers in which ever field they may be. As all pioneers their motivation does not seem to be merely some ego-centric gains. It is much more subtle. More often it is a passion and love for their particular work, which they feel inspired to do. They seem to take directions from within rather than outside. They can take risks easily, can tread an unbeaten path fearlessly, and have the strength to live up to their conviction. They learn from past, have a clear idea of their goals in the future but intensely live in present. They rarely have stress related problems and generally enjoy good health.

In other words, an inactive person is said to have tamsik pravrithi. An active person is rajsik, while a super-active person is satvik.

Nobody is free from these three temperaments, though the percentage of satvik, rajsik and tamsik tendencies many vary from one person to another. These temperaments manifest themselves at one point or the other in all of us. They also surface during different times of the day.

We are in a satvik state between 4 am and 6 am. Your satvik qualities are the most prevalent during this time. As the day progresses, our rajsik tendencies take over. This involves our office and work.

By evening, our tamsik temperament begins to surface. Between 6 pm and 4 am, the rakshasa qualities of the human being come to the fore. You think of the parties you have to attend or often allow vices to over take you.

You need to gain the right kind of knowledge to elevate yourself from tamsik to rajsik and then to satvik stage. That is, from inactive to super-active stage.

Do not be possessed by the world

Most of us are possessed by the world. That is because we claim certain possessions from the world. We expect certain fruits from all our activities or actions. Thus, we are attached to these actions and consequently to the world.

However, the same day-to-day work or action which binds you to various objects can be converted into an instrument of spiritual progress. This can be achieved by detaching yourself from the fruits of action. In other words, it is not work that causes attachment, but the desire for the fruits of action.

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among human beings, he or she is a yogi and a doer of all action.

Many devotees would ask Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa if they should give up their jobs and families in order to be detached from the world. And Paramahamsa would reply that one could realise the true world by remaining in the world. You should be like the lotus leaf which remains in water, yet does not get wet.

When you leash your pet dog, you feel you are in control of him. But you do not realise that you are also possessed by him. The moment you let go of the chain, he is free to run. And so, you cannot leave him. You are possessed by him. You can possess things in life with a sense of dis-possessiveness. The moment you have a dis-possessive feeling towards your possessions, you will always be a happy man.

The biggest possessiveness is the present day caste system. We are today so possessed by our surroundings that we identify ourselves by our castes.
This is one of the reasons why I dropped my surname Goel / Goenka. In 1990, the entire country was consumed by the frenzy of Mandal, with one community being pitted against the other. The events that unfurled left an indelible mark on my mind.

The then Prime Minister, V.P. Singh divided the country on caste lines. Communal flames engulfed the entire country. It was very unfortunate.

As the Mandal mania raged, I met a couple of friends one evening to discuss the sad state of affairs prevailing in the country. That was when I had an urge to do something within my means to express my disgust.

That very evening, Subhash Chandra Goel became Subhash Chandra. I dropped my surname to protest against the present caste system which is dividing the society. When we recruit associates to the Essel Group, we never ask them their community, so why should I flaunt my caste?

Subhash Chandra can be born in a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Shudra’s house. When people hear my name today, they do not recognise me by my community.

The Varnashrama-dharma enshrined in our scriptures was a natural classification of human beings. Individuals have different innate tendencies for work and exhibit a variety of personal qualities. There are also natural phases in life, when it is easier and more rewarding to perform certain activities. Our scriptures teach that individuals best realise their potential by taking into account such natural arrangements, and that society should be structured and organised accordingly.

In an ideological framework, the castes were defined as priests and teachers (Brahmin), rulers and warriors (Kshatriya), merchants, craftsmen, and farmers (Vaishyas), and those who perform menial jobs (Shudras). In this way, the system of varnas placed individuals in positions that best suited their psychological makeup. The original class system was based on human temperament.

A person with the temperament of a satvik, that is, equanimous, contemplative, interpretative and able to impart knowledge was considered a Brahmin irrespective of whether he was born in a Brahmin or Shudra house.

In a Brahmin kind of a person tamsik qualities are at the lowest, while satvik qualities are the highest. In Vyshyas, for instance, the satvik qualities are low. Tamsik qualities are the highest among Shudras.

In the past, the society would consider a Brahmin as a Shudra if he indulged in tamsik activities. Similarly, a Shudra would be treated as a Brahmin if he was a satvik person. Parentage had nothing to do with one’s community.

I often advice the HR department that jobs should be assigned based on the temperament of the individual. This will help identify the right kind of person for the right kind of job. Such individuals will excel and progress in life. In the bargain, the company too will benefit.

The caste system was well planned for the benefit of the people. Later when the administrators misinterpreted the system, it lost its purpose. Thus, the division based on vocation has lost its relevance, with people developing their own castes and building barricades around themselves. It has now become impossible for people to cross-over these self-imposed walls of division. This has vitiated the atmosphere in the country, leading to distaste and distrust in the society. A blessing has turned into a curse. The present caste system is the biggest malady afflicting the country.