On Manthara - the cornerstone of Ramayana
Inflicted upon with a physical deformity - a hunched back - Manthara's childhood became a victim of social marginalisation and discrimination. Due to this, she never felt loved or accepted, and as a result - developed a highly selfish, embittered, and prickly personality. She grew up to hate almost everyone around her. She became paranoidic and developed a conflict world-view. She had seen so much worse of the people around her that any possibility of her believing in existence of goodness in others was diminished altogether. Any kindness from anyone looked fake to her. She doubted her lovability so much, that she couldn't trust in any love that she occassionally received from other people. Her lack of self-love made her insecure and doubtful of everyone. She denied other people the right to disappoint her, by lowering her expectations from others to nothing more than abuses. This was her defence mechanism against getting hurt - she expected the worst from people.
Despite growing up to be a highly selfish person, Manthara did have capacity for love. Her circle of 'self' wasn't limited to herself but also included the people she loved and considered parts of her extended self. Within this circle, she was selfless and gave love unconditionally. She wanted the best for Kaikayi, and couldn't bear the thought of her dropping in power. She had seen how life is like at the bottom of the pyramid, and considered power as essential for a dignified survival. She aggressively pursued 'win', with complete apathy to whether those she considers 'others' lose or win.
There is a Manthara within all of us, and she begins to come to surface in situations of competition and crisis like the current pandemic. Our self-centredness becomes evident when we scramble for limited stocks in shops, hide our travel history to avoid social sanctions at the risk of spreading infection, exercise undue influence to get our spot with limited hospital beds, blame migrants for disease while they do nothing more than attempt to avoid famishment. The growth of this Manthara should be checked. She doesn't have to be ended, but moderated to healthy limits.
Outcomes of Manthara's actions couldn't possibly have been good in the long run, no matter how the story might have unfolded.
"The best for the group comes when everyone in the group does what's best for himself AND the group." - John Nash, Nobel Laureate (movie- A Beautiful Mind).
Nash's observation was more apt than the old, outdated, Manthara style, Adam Smith's assertion: "The best result for the group comes from everyone in the group doing what is best for himself."
The best for humans will come when we do what's best for ourselves AND the environment. And the best for our nation will come when the nation does what's best for all classes of people.
We can reduce/moderate the growth of Manthara in our society by promoting little acts of kindness and cooperation for strangers and people outside our circle of 'extended self', and by giving better, loving childhood to children so that they grow up with a healthy level of faith in love and humanity.
वसुधैव कुटुंबकम् - The whole world is a family.
Despite growing up to be a highly selfish person, Manthara did have capacity for love. Her circle of 'self' wasn't limited to herself but also included the people she loved and considered parts of her extended self. Within this circle, she was selfless and gave love unconditionally. She wanted the best for Kaikayi, and couldn't bear the thought of her dropping in power. She had seen how life is like at the bottom of the pyramid, and considered power as essential for a dignified survival. She aggressively pursued 'win', with complete apathy to whether those she considers 'others' lose or win.
There is a Manthara within all of us, and she begins to come to surface in situations of competition and crisis like the current pandemic. Our self-centredness becomes evident when we scramble for limited stocks in shops, hide our travel history to avoid social sanctions at the risk of spreading infection, exercise undue influence to get our spot with limited hospital beds, blame migrants for disease while they do nothing more than attempt to avoid famishment. The growth of this Manthara should be checked. She doesn't have to be ended, but moderated to healthy limits.
Outcomes of Manthara's actions couldn't possibly have been good in the long run, no matter how the story might have unfolded.
"The best for the group comes when everyone in the group does what's best for himself AND the group." - John Nash, Nobel Laureate (movie- A Beautiful Mind).
Nash's observation was more apt than the old, outdated, Manthara style, Adam Smith's assertion: "The best result for the group comes from everyone in the group doing what is best for himself."
The best for humans will come when we do what's best for ourselves AND the environment. And the best for our nation will come when the nation does what's best for all classes of people.
We can reduce/moderate the growth of Manthara in our society by promoting little acts of kindness and cooperation for strangers and people outside our circle of 'extended self', and by giving better, loving childhood to children so that they grow up with a healthy level of faith in love and humanity.
वसुधैव कुटुंबकम् - The whole world is a family.