Humanities, literature, poetry, ethics are a baggage which have rightly been left in the cloak room.
An Undelivered Address to a Business Conclave of IT Professionals
Dr. Jernail S. Anand
Dear friends, you have invited me to your business conclave. I am thankful to you. But at the same time, I must say, your choice is not proper. I am not the person to be invited for a keynote address at a wonderful program which is aimed at honing the skills of young entrepreneurs so that they can create opportunities for themselves. I am not the right person, because, I come from the humanities stream, and I will talk about ‘Shubh Labh’ [Just Profit], which is entirely irrelevant to your style of working and thinking. I belong to the old world of good times, and my thoughts also come from the old stock. So, if I sound uninteresting, if not entirely boring, please bear with me. After all, it is a matter of 40 minutes.
First of all, let me introduce myself as the protagonist of a field of education which is entirely irrelevant to your studies. It is humanities. Because, all that you are taught is how to be a successful professional. Humanities deal with subjects that make you human. If professional studies have removed literature, it is not without a cause. Because they do not want you to remain human. The entire focus is working to surpass and setting your own example in achievement. You are carrying all the things that are necessary for your space journey. Humanities, literature, poetry, ethics are a baggage which you have rightly left in the cloak room.
The Human Package
The essentials of humanity come to you in a package. You have a mother, a father, and a sister and a brother, that is minimum in the package. A house is also sometimes granted. And, then, before all this, you have a mouth, eyes, nose, ears, heart, lungs, – kidneys, stomach, legs, sex organs, feet … they are all in the tiffin box.
Now, the essential emotions, which are imparted to you in the milk of your mother, for which, you neither have to go to Swiggy, nor place any order. Everything is prepaid. You get love, you get affection. You get care. You get homilies. Good character. And Good thoughts. These too are granted.
The heart sometimes asks for love, and sex organs also start disturbing you. So, you have everything, no problem. Love simply means sex, and you have your female or male colleagues, who are in equal need, and it is done. The feet need a destination. You have your eyes on the stars. And feet sometimes feel helpless coping with your ambitions. But all is well. You have everything in the package.
Now, the question is what you have got from the College or the University. The entire education was focused on your subjects. I have heard of a University, in a country Lustonia. Its name was Lustus University. They offered great courses. A Master’s Degree Course in Uncivil Engineering. Doctorate in Floor Crossing. Bachelor’s Degree in Home Breaking etc. Very popular courses indeed. Now, you are to become high professionals, and you are spending 26 hours a day [you take 2 hours from the next day] to compete and win laurels. In the process, you have never thought about anything else.
Letting Go of Human Emotions
Have you ever thought about love? Have you ever thought about your parents? Have you ever thought about the poor of your village? And the dispossessed people of your country? You are in your cocoon, a table and a chair and a laptop are your world, and you are thick into the subjects which will give you a great degree, after taking which, you may be exported to America at a great package, may be 4 lakhs a month, unthinkable in India.
Do you realize what have you missed? Are you not a family man? Are you a scoring machine, not a living human being? How will you live? Can you love your books at night in the bed? Can your laptop deliver babies who carry on your generations? Can anyone replace your father and your mother, who have died in your village, waiting for you?
Lectures on stars, stripes and feathers in the cap, topping the examinations – everything is fine, but don’t you feel something is missing in your training as a man? You have very well been trained as a professional. But, are professionals not men and women? Do they not marry? Do they not have children? Do they not have friends? Do they not have love?
They too have their sisters, who wait for them. They have brothers who have been left behind to pay the debts which were taken on land, to send you to America for higher studies. Father and mother are suffering the trauma of losing you forever. Have you ever realized their pain?
The Incomplete CV
This training is missing from your CV. First of all, you need to remind yourself that you are a man. You have left behind a family, who has always prayed for your success. And, do you remember, your age of marriage has already passed. Now, you do not feel like marrying. Affair with a colleague can do. But, please try to understand the difference between ‘can do’ and ‘must do’. Are you living only on assumptions? Don’t you feel you should be more accurate in your personal life?
Oh. Sorry. You don’t have any personal life. I have seen your ‘to do list’. It is busy all the day, and all the night. You have a nap in the chair in your office itself. Not sleep proper. And, you visit your flat at night only. You switch on the light, have a drink, and go to bed.
Marriage, a Non-starter
So, you have never thought of wedding any girl. You had no time for romance. There are some girls also in your office. They are scared of romance, because it might lead to marriage, and that would be the end of their career. They are career conscious. So, no marriage. No kids. Only fiddling. Living in a relationship. If you love someone, come close, and when you develop dislike, part. No kids, no responsibilities. You will become helpless only if you give birth to sons and daughters. So, to avoid that, don’t become parents. Don’t marry.
As a high-end great professional, you are a great scholar also. You have touched all subjects to clear the examinations. But, you have not lived literature. You have not lived poetry. You have no connection with art. They actually waste your time. So, it is all passe.
What makes me happy is my success in my job. My boss is happy. He has given me a flat. And has raised my salary. Very good. Congratulations. Live alone. Loneliness is your prize. If you call it happiness, I wonder who wrote the syllabus for your studies. This is not the definition of happiness. Happiness comes when things are shared, lived together, and enjoyed. What are you enjoying? Is there anything to enjoy? Except your lofty loneliness? A success which has no shareholders? I never found a man so isolated, so self-centered, and so clear-headed about his progress. No affairs. No family. No love. Only dreams. Stars. Wealth. And loud living.
PS: It would not be good on my part to leave without giving you a sane advice. So, in serious vein, let me say: Whatever your dreams, you must be in search of happiness. Happiness has nothing to do with achievements. You are here because of the society towards which you have a responsibility. Profit should not be your only motive. Business is a service also. Always imbibe the spirit of ‘Shubh Labh’ i.e. just profit. This will give you happiness. Otherwise, you will be running a rat race, in circles, with no end in sight.
Read- DARVISH & JEALOUSY: THE ‘GREEN-EYED MONSTER’
__________________
Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, President of the International Academy of Ethics, is author of 161 books in English poetry, fiction, non-fiction, philosophy and spirituality. He was awarded Charter of Morava, the great Award by Serbian Writers Association, Belgrade and his name was engraved on the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. The Academy of Arts and philosophical Sciences of Bari [Italy] honored him with the award of an Honorable Academic. Recently, he was awarded Doctor of Philosophy [Honoris Causa] by the University of Engineering and Management, Jaipur. Recently, he organized an International Conference on Contemporary Ethics at Chandigarh. His most phenomenal book is Lustus: The Prince of Darkness [first epic of the Mahkaal Trilogy]. Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com
Link Bibliography:
That’s really a whiplash at the way present education system has resulted in. Professional courses have to include certain important curriculum that will create humaneness and realise what is true happiness. Well said Sir.
[…] Read: IT Professionals and the Essentials of Humanity […]