Monday, September 29, 2008

As you like it

Recently I attended a seminar held at the American Centre where we were forced to contemplate on many out-of-the-box issues. We had a renowned doctor as a guest speaker for the seminar and it was a pretty good experience dealing with such issues based on bias, emotions, logic, conscience, rights and wrongs. So here's a little in-sight to the pretty serious Tête-à-tête between the members of the pannel, about what’s right and what’s wrong!
“Sir I have a question” a young man, probably in his early tweens, raised his hand desperately. By the look on his face one could say that he was really craving to ask his question. Dr. Jutshi, the renowned psychoanalyst and psychiatrist was greeted by a host of other hands from all over the dimly lit up auditorium. But the look on that young man’s face couldn’t be missed even by the doctor.
“Yes there, you- the young man in blue shirt please.” His voice as soft as a murmur echoed loudly from his microphone.
“Sir, I might be wrong, but what would you do when emotions guide you over your conscience? Do you think being faithful or loyal to someone could bring in the emotions at play and overshadow the conscience?” the young man asked the doctor.
“Now, speaking of an action guided by emotions is perfectly natural but I am afraid it’s not rational or logical. But unfortunately most of the time the actions driven by emotions and not logic and the sense of right and wrong, are not the correct actions. For instance, maybe you are loyal to your friend to such an extent that if he is hit by someone, you will defend him and maybe take revenge for him. Now being faithful and loyal is alright but the revenge guided by your emotions might not be the right action.”
“Sir, but what is right? Don’t you think it’s a fair judgment to take revenge? Don’t you think by taking revenge I am doing the right thing?”
“Well if you ask me, I would completely agree with you, but that doesn’t mean that I would be doing the right thing there!” the doctor answered
“Well, sir to talk about the Nazi Germany during the world wars. The mass murder of the uncountable Jews by the German soldiers, will you call that right?”
“Why don’t you give me the answer to it!” the doctor added
“Sir I think it was absolute madness…but at least to some people it seemed right and that’s why they did it. Because…”
“Because some people thought it to be right!?? Amazing!...” the doctor cut him short “look when something is right, its nothing but right…and when something’s wrong its just wrong and nothing else. So how could you say that because a handful of crazy people thought something to be right that they were all good to carry on with the mass murder!??”
There was a silence in the auditorium. Sometimes silence comes so uninvited that it is more deafening than you could ever imagine. And then someone from the middle-right row stood up a broke the silence by adding. “Sir I agree to that completely but can I add here that sometimes logic has no meaning! And we most of the times force logic to everything!! Emotions need no logic to guide someone to go and take revenge. And I would rather say that most of the actions are more like accidents rather than logic or rational thinking! That is ‘I being Me is not logic…. but an accident!!” the crowd applauded to this and the whole hall suddenly was filled with little talks and giggles from all corners! The doctor was amused and he nodded with a sly grin on his face. At last some one was talking something that could challenge the whole knowledge out of him.
“To answer to your question, over there on my left, tell me something what would you do if you were pushed to the limit where you are compelled to act out, say for example you are a policeman and you are carrying your gun with you, and some criminal sticks a gun at your face?” the doctor snapped.
“I don’t know sir, but I would do whatever possible to save myself…and maybe if I am carrying a gun myself I will take it out and try to shoot him dead!” the young man answered.
“Nicely said, that. But son, when someone sticks a gun at your face you don’t think! You don’t think about taking out your gun and turning the table around. Everything goes numb! For all you remember are your happy memories that come flashing before your eyes. You don’t think! All the thinking comes some fifteen minutes later. Trust me I know best here.” the doctor concluded. “When a push comes to shove, you really don’t think…your logic, your reasoning does not work, and you don’t want to be right or wrong! All that’s in your mind is so fudged. You just act, you barely think!”

And what he said was absolutely true. It sometimes so happens that we are offended or are wronged, but we choose to keep quiet instead. But later on we do give it a second thought “hey what was that! that douchebag really deserved something back there! How could I not blast him off!!! arghh!!”
But that’s how things are. Maybe it’s the right thing for things to be like that! (Well I don’t have the slightest clue about what I just said there!)

Seems like a crude way to end here. But trust me I have to…its almost 1 am in the night and I am pretty red in the eyes.

No comments: