Anupam- The Dreamer

Time and again, you must have heard some successful people saying that they are “self-independent” and “self-sufficient”, and that they are not dependent upon others for their survival, success and something else. But, this notion of “independence” needs deeper analysis in the context of human society, as I believe that noone is truly independent or self-sufficient in this inter-connected and inter-linked human world.

The early humans, or the early (wo)man as they call it, realized it very early that the survival of humans is not possible without cooperation with other individuals. The humans are physically weaker than many large animals like lion, tiger, bears, boars, elephants etc. and they cannot compete with these animals in a one-on-one fight. Therefore, for something as basic as survival, they started to form small groups (later called tribes). The group stayed together for protection of kids, men, women and old persons. They distributed responsibilities of food collection, cooking, doing other chores and caring for the young ones. Nobody was truly independent, not even the head of the tribe. Each person had a specific role in the tribe and was dependent for other functions on others. Like if a man was incharge of security of tribe, then he was dependent on others for food. Therefore, co-dependence and cooperation was the hallmark of the early human society.

Then, as the societies got more complex, there was birth of civilizations like Indus valley civilization. Here, the demarcation of role was even more specific and specialized. The humans developed various skills like agriculture, trading, pottery, jewellery etc. and everyone had to perform the assigned role as a member of society. The potter was dependent on farmer for food, and farmer was dependent on the potter for getting pots for storage of his grains. And these skills were passed on from one generation to another by the mode of teaching, observational learning, scripts etc. So, the newer generation also cannot claim that they have learnt the skill “independently” without any knowledge transfer from the older generations. Similarly, when the society achieved more sophistication in the later periods of kingdoms and then democracies, the “accumulated knowledge” of previous generations and humanity was transmitted down to the later generations. The current era humans cannot claim that they are the best, when they themselves are utilizing the knowledge of the previous generations that came before them. Even the great intellectual and genius of our times, Albert Einstein could not have developed his theory of relativity, had he not utilized the knowledge of counting numbers (developed by mathematicians like Aryabhatta), higher mathematics, physics etc. which was developed by scientists, researchers and intellectuals who came before him. And even while formulating the theory, there would have been contribution of several of his professors, colleagues, and fellow scientists that we do not know of. So, even Einstein could not claim that he developed his theory “independently”.

This notion of “freedom of individual” and the proclaimed “self-independence” came from the thinkers of the Western world, who fiercely advocated for the “individual rights and freedoms”. Like in the United States of America, it is believed that the rights of individuals are supreme, even above the rights of the society of the whole. This is a big fallacy which they have come to believe, that is why they have given “gun rights” to every American citizen. They don’t have any problem if an individual kills 10 others, for preserving his own freedom and autonomy.

But, in the Oriental part of the world like in India, we believe that the human society is close-knitted and we are dependent on each other. We have individual rights, family rights, community rights within the larger framework of governance of the country. We recognize the contribution of the millions of people who have walked on this planet before us, their role in shaping the present society, the accumulated knowledge that they have passed on to the future generations, that has brought us to where we are today. We believe that every person is made from the contributions of several people around him/her, from the parents and immediate family members in the early age, to the role of teachers in the childhood, to the farmers who grow food for the person, to the sweeper who cleans the roads, the workers who fuel the economy with their sweat and blood, the inventors who makes products that make our life comfortable, etc etc. In our whole lifetime, we are dependent on so many people for our basic survival. And even when we achieve success in life, we can never downplay the role of numerous people in our lives who have helped us become what we are today. We are not self-sufficient and we are not self-independent. Because, if we are truly so, then can we live on an uninhabited island without any knowledge, skills or resources from others? I believe that hardly anyone of us can do that! Can you drive your own aeroplane? No! Can you make your own computer? Certainly Not! Can you work in your organization without the cooperation and support from others? Are you kidding? 😀

This thought of recognizing the contributions of so many people (living or dead) in our lives, our continued dependence on so many others in our daily routine, and the continuous give-and-take with other human beings and even animals that marks our lives makes the life even more beautiful, joyful and worth cherishing. Although we are individuals in our own sense, yet we must be mindful that we are also a part of the larger society that we live in. And we are not separate from the whole, not even in terms of materialistic living and neither in terms of being a small part of the larger and deeper consciousness that connects us all.

Until next time….