After all these definitions now we are in condition to discuss about this topic.
First talking about our daily observations, one who uses the Western commodities and norms regularly is considered as advanced. For status, people are ready to do almost anything. And in turn society has placed their norms on people. I am supposed to go to the club in party wear, who decided that norm! Paul Sweeney argued quite correctly, " How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?". If a man kills another man, he will surely be punished and even in every religion this is considered as sin. But if the same man kills 20 other men on the war front, he will be awarded. Similarly killing someone for self-defense is not considered as sin. So basically the idea of norms and duties changes with the place and the circumstances. In the early 19 century there were notorious bands of robbers in India called thugs; they thought it their duty to kill any man they could and take away his money; the larger the number of men they killed, the better they thought they were. That was right for them. Therefore we see that it is not the thing done that defines a duty. To give an objective definition of right or wrong is thus entirely impossible. Yet there is the subjective side.
The highest form of duty(right or wrong) is like worship. Do your duty towards your parents, do your duty for your wife, children, society and if everything went well, you will be at peace. But the problem with this statement is that it doesn’t apply to modern era, where if you are following this philosophy, you are only one following. This philosophy undoubtedly can make this world a better place if everyone follows it. If a man fulfills his duties for his children and his wife, if his son fulfills his duties towards his father and his mother, if his mother is fulfilling her duties for both of them, the family will surely be at peace and happiness will prevail. But even if a single person doesn’t follow it, the idea flies away. But I forgot to mention the last but most important line ,”When a duty is done, no expectation in return”.
"Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue likes, and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has."-Randolph Bourne
In the following paragraph one can treat moral as right and immoral as wrong, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Human society is a graded organisation. We all know about morality, and we all know about duty, but at the same time we find that in different countries the significance of morality varies greatly. What is regarded as moral in one country may in another be considered perfectly immoral. For instance, in one country cousins may marry; in another, it is thought to be very immoral; in one, men may marry their sisters-in-law; in another, it is regarded as immoral; in one country people may marry only once; in another, many times; and so forth. Similarly, in all other departments of morality, we find the standard varies greatly.
According to KarmaYoga, "Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he can never hope to accomplish. For instance, we take a child and at once give him the task of walking twenty miles.Either the little one dies, or one in a thousand crawls the twenty miles, to reach the end exhausted and half-dead. That is like what we generally try to do with the world. All the men and women, in any society, are not of the same mind, capacity, or of the same power to do things; they must have different ideals, and we have no right to sneer at any ideal. Let every one do the best he can for realising his own ideal. Nor is it right that I should be judged by your standard or you by mine. The apple tree should not be judged by the standard of the oak, nor the oak by that of the apple. To judge the apple tree you must take the apple standard, and for the oak, its own standard."
In India there was a very old custom for princesses to choose husbands in this way. Each princess had certain ideas of the sort of man she wanted for a husband. Some would have the handsomest man, others would have only the most learned, others again the richest, and so on. All the princes of the neighbourhood put on their bravest attire and presented themselves before her. The princess was taken round on a throne, in the most splendid array, and looked at and heard about them. If she was not pleased with what she saw and heard, she said to her bearers, "Move on," and no more notice was taken of the rejected suitors. If, however, the princess was pleased with any one of them, she threw a garland of flowers over him and he became her husband.
Try to practise this today !! I can't even imagine what will happen. Earlier what was correct has now been changed. Now at someplace girls are not even asked about their opinion for marriages. They are just made to sit on the mandap and do as their parents will tell them and then follow the instructions of her husband for rest of their life.
Now lets dig it deeper, if a Christian finds a piece of beef before him and does not eat it to save his own life, or will not give it to save the life of another man, he is sure to feel that he has not done his duty. But if a Hindu dares to eat that piece of beef or to give it to another Hindu, he is equally sure to feel that he too has not done his duty; the Hindu's training and education make him feel that way. When it comes to marriage in our society, the conflicts are seen, the norms framed by society comes into picture. Parents are willing to send their child to foreign countries, to live their lives as they want, but as they are nubile and ready for marriage, they are supposed to follow the social norms.
Still the question remains what is right and what is wrong and who decides this? Society decides it all for a person, then the idea of free will is partially gone. There is a code attached to every single place, thing or time. It's not a revolt, I was just trying to figure out the quote "Life isn't about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself". I guess the debate continues.
First talking about our daily observations, one who uses the Western commodities and norms regularly is considered as advanced. For status, people are ready to do almost anything. And in turn society has placed their norms on people. I am supposed to go to the club in party wear, who decided that norm! Paul Sweeney argued quite correctly, " How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?". If a man kills another man, he will surely be punished and even in every religion this is considered as sin. But if the same man kills 20 other men on the war front, he will be awarded. Similarly killing someone for self-defense is not considered as sin. So basically the idea of norms and duties changes with the place and the circumstances. In the early 19 century there were notorious bands of robbers in India called thugs; they thought it their duty to kill any man they could and take away his money; the larger the number of men they killed, the better they thought they were. That was right for them. Therefore we see that it is not the thing done that defines a duty. To give an objective definition of right or wrong is thus entirely impossible. Yet there is the subjective side.
The highest form of duty(right or wrong) is like worship. Do your duty towards your parents, do your duty for your wife, children, society and if everything went well, you will be at peace. But the problem with this statement is that it doesn’t apply to modern era, where if you are following this philosophy, you are only one following. This philosophy undoubtedly can make this world a better place if everyone follows it. If a man fulfills his duties for his children and his wife, if his son fulfills his duties towards his father and his mother, if his mother is fulfilling her duties for both of them, the family will surely be at peace and happiness will prevail. But even if a single person doesn’t follow it, the idea flies away. But I forgot to mention the last but most important line ,”When a duty is done, no expectation in return”.
"Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue likes, and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has."-Randolph Bourne
In the following paragraph one can treat moral as right and immoral as wrong, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Human society is a graded organisation. We all know about morality, and we all know about duty, but at the same time we find that in different countries the significance of morality varies greatly. What is regarded as moral in one country may in another be considered perfectly immoral. For instance, in one country cousins may marry; in another, it is thought to be very immoral; in one, men may marry their sisters-in-law; in another, it is regarded as immoral; in one country people may marry only once; in another, many times; and so forth. Similarly, in all other departments of morality, we find the standard varies greatly.
According to KarmaYoga, "Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he can never hope to accomplish. For instance, we take a child and at once give him the task of walking twenty miles.Either the little one dies, or one in a thousand crawls the twenty miles, to reach the end exhausted and half-dead. That is like what we generally try to do with the world. All the men and women, in any society, are not of the same mind, capacity, or of the same power to do things; they must have different ideals, and we have no right to sneer at any ideal. Let every one do the best he can for realising his own ideal. Nor is it right that I should be judged by your standard or you by mine. The apple tree should not be judged by the standard of the oak, nor the oak by that of the apple. To judge the apple tree you must take the apple standard, and for the oak, its own standard."
In India there was a very old custom for princesses to choose husbands in this way. Each princess had certain ideas of the sort of man she wanted for a husband. Some would have the handsomest man, others would have only the most learned, others again the richest, and so on. All the princes of the neighbourhood put on their bravest attire and presented themselves before her. The princess was taken round on a throne, in the most splendid array, and looked at and heard about them. If she was not pleased with what she saw and heard, she said to her bearers, "Move on," and no more notice was taken of the rejected suitors. If, however, the princess was pleased with any one of them, she threw a garland of flowers over him and he became her husband.
Try to practise this today !! I can't even imagine what will happen. Earlier what was correct has now been changed. Now at someplace girls are not even asked about their opinion for marriages. They are just made to sit on the mandap and do as their parents will tell them and then follow the instructions of her husband for rest of their life.
Now lets dig it deeper, if a Christian finds a piece of beef before him and does not eat it to save his own life, or will not give it to save the life of another man, he is sure to feel that he has not done his duty. But if a Hindu dares to eat that piece of beef or to give it to another Hindu, he is equally sure to feel that he too has not done his duty; the Hindu's training and education make him feel that way. When it comes to marriage in our society, the conflicts are seen, the norms framed by society comes into picture. Parents are willing to send their child to foreign countries, to live their lives as they want, but as they are nubile and ready for marriage, they are supposed to follow the social norms.
Still the question remains what is right and what is wrong and who decides this? Society decides it all for a person, then the idea of free will is partially gone. There is a code attached to every single place, thing or time. It's not a revolt, I was just trying to figure out the quote "Life isn't about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself". I guess the debate continues.
