Social maladies of our times

Durand Appuhamy

There is a biblical saying that there is nothing new under the sun. Thus the brilliant mathematician/philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-62) who wrote about the people of his time, also foresaw our modern malady in the latter half of the seventeenth century, after having indulged in the worldly pursuits of high society such as dancing, gambling, hunting and amorous adventures. This is what he wrote in his book Pansees (or A Collection of Thoughts).

“The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know h ow to stay quietly in his room” All the hustle and bustle and the ego boosting activities are merely diversions to avoid confrontation with the menacing silence confronting man when he contemplates his fragile and bleak existence. “Man finds nothing so intolerable as to be in a state of complete rest, without passions, without occupation, without diversion and without effort.

Then he feels his nullity, loneliness, inadequacy, dependence, helplessness and emptiness. And at once there wells up from the depths of his soul boredom, gloom, depression, charging, resentment and despair.” Other philosophers like Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Durkheim and Sartre too have delved into this problem of boredom and anxiety in their numerous writings.

Given the discordant and perilous condition of man, Pascal was moved to write “what sort of a freak then is man! How novel, how monstrous, how chaotic, how paradoxical, how prodigious! Judge of all things, feeble earthworm, repository of truth, sink of doubt and error, glory and refuse of the universe”.

Pascal sought an answer to this bundle of contradictions not in man but outside man and in the submission of human reason. “Know then proud man, what a paradox you are to yourself. Be humble, impotent reason! Be silent feeble nature! Learn that man infinitely transcends man, hear from your master your true condition, which is unknown to you. Listen to God”. As a Catholic, Pascal sought the answer to the enigma of discordant human nature in the Christian message in the Bible.

Meditation

In our country there are quite a number of persons who engage in deep meditation (Bhavana). They do have insight into the uncertainty and insecurity of human life, man’s forlornness and his perilous state of discordance. Such enlightened persons, if they are Buddhists seek solace and contentment in the teachings of Buddha, if they are Hindus, in the teachings of Veddhas, if they are Muslims in the Holy Quran and Christians in the Bible. What is meant here is that the fragile human condition is not a malady to these serene people. It is a fact of life they are quite untroubled to live with and end their life in. They have, to a very great extent, conquered the terrors of our transient life.

The vast majority of people are overwhelmed with the problems of daily life that they have no time to stop to reflect on what life is all about. There are regularities in human behaviour and a great deal of this behaviour consists in living out routines and roles running on predetermined grooves. These people are “serialized” (Sartre) by routines and rigidities of society. They live out the malady as a unit of society known and recognized as such by their friends and relations. Of course, many find consolation and satisfaction in this state of affairs within the close knit society of friends and relations.

There are others who do not accept the human condition. They seek escapism via tamashas, soirees and parties in expensive hotels and exclusive venues. Addictive conspicuous consumption is their manthram to overcome the harsh reality of the fragile existence of man. Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (enjoy today, trusting little in tomorrow).

They spend millions trying to impress others in their circle until their gormandizing and voluptuous life wreaks their health and makes them invalids and disabled outcastes from the membership of the exclusive circle in which they were erstwhile members. Many rich people suffer from this malady and perish disappointed and unsatisfied that their millions failed to provide them solace and consolation in this life. A few super rich in America have now reverted to simple living and have now formed charitable foundations to give away their wealth to help others in need. They, no doubt, have some satisfaction in seeing the amelioration in the conditions of lives of the poor they have helped.

The other social malady is the efficiency and achievement oriented modern life of economic growth. Man is caught in a vicious circle of increasing production to increase consumption. New needs are created to replace old ones and yesterday’s luxuries have become today’s necessary consumer goods.

The expectation of prosperity and satisfaction with increasing consumption is held out as the essential proof of a prestigious and successful life. The outcome of this process of competition and prestige is the cult of abundance leading to waste and pollution, ruthless and extensive exploitation of raw materials and natural resources. Humans caught in this uncontrollable economic race soon become workaholic automatons bereft of humane feelings and attitude towards his fellow beings. We do have many examples of these one dimension men/women in the world. They always strive to make others around them also automatons like them with no regard for the rights, dignity, and respect for others.

It is true that this drive for achievement and efficiency have enabled many people to experience some satisfaction. Society too has benefitted from the many labour saving devices produced by this cult of abundance. Yet the real and unseen cost of this economic progress has become all too apparent only now. We have had near collapse of the capitalist economic system. We have pollution of environment, air, sea, and our waterways. We have denuded our forests, decimated the flora and fauna therein. We have climate change and unheard of natural disasters all over the world. And we are the victims of many social diseases of mind and body.

These automatons soon become the victims of the present-day social malady known as occupational stress and burn-out. When it is prolonged, it endangers life and emanates in various diseases such as hypertension, heart attacks and strokes.

What can be done? A change of environment, though not always possible, may help some automatons. Most of all such a person has to dig deep into himself to discover the human person he is and that his happiness is not entirely based on consumption brought about by ever striving for abundance in the acquisition of material things.

He would surely need counselling to restore his mental balance and take control of the environment that leads to stressful situations. Unfortunately the modern man appears to know only the pursuit of happiness by escalating his expectations and pursuing in earnest their attainment. It was of this man that Pascal wrote that he could not “stay quietly in his room”.

He is, in many ways, an addict who also revels in power that his high achievements bestow on him. If such a person uses this power to dominate others, he will become intolerable to others. If he uses power to be of service to others, then his humanity will soon surface and will cure him of his stressful life of frustration and constant irritation. Seneca had a salutary advice to all who indulged in excesses, nemo liber est qui corpora servit (no one is free who is a slave to his body).